I finally got the chance to tour the newly re-opened Fairmont Golden Prague Hotel (aka the former Intercontinental) a couple weeks ago. I have some history with the hotel going back to the 1980s. I think they nailed it with the renovation. Here are my impressions: markbakerprague.com/brutalist-ic...

Being a travel writer in Prague comes with heavy responsibilities. Once a week or so, I’ll get an email from a friend or acquaintance telling me they’re coming to Prague and could I recommend a good hotel? It’s a fraught situation. Here’s a handy link to save: markbakerprague.com/ten-great-ho...

I finished writing the second part of the story of how I ended up in Bucharest the same week -- 35 years ago -- that angry miners were ordered onto the street to bash in the heads of pro-democracy demonstrators, and how the episode still has relevance today: markbakerprague.com/part-2-bucha...

35 years ago this week miners were called out onto the streets of Bucharest to violently suppress pro-democracy protests. It was chaos. This disgraceful event still has relevance in our modern political moment, when democracy itself still feels endangered. markbakerprague.com/bucharests-b...

I've been getting a few emails about Romania lately, so I figured it was a good time to publish this 'first time' guide to the country. With lots of popular spots in Western Europe increasingly 'overtouristed', Romania is still very happy to welcome tourists. markbakerprague.com/first-time-g...

Last year, Kinfolk magazine asked me to write about the Vila Volman, a restored functionalist villa near Prague. The edition is now out. Here’s a link to my blog story: markbakerprague.com/touring-the-... Link directly to Kinfolk to for the published version: www.kinfolk.com/stories/home...

@coldwarpod.bsky.social it’s about time! 😄😄

A tease for a feature story on the Vila Volman, near Prague, for Kinfolk Magazine. The photographer, Marina Denisova, did an incredible job. The whole edition looks good. The magazine will be on newsstands in March or pre-order on Amazon: www.amazon.com/Kinfolk-55/d...

The biggest hotel news in Prague the past year has been the reopening of the Hotel Evropa on Wenceslas Square. The hotel had been closed for years. I loved the old Evropa and was a café regular in the ‘90s. I was dying to see the new place: markbakerprague.com/a-peek-insid... (Live link in bio)

A sneak peek into what will become Prague's second Mucha museum in February. The setting is the restored baroque Savarin Palace. The interiors are beautiful and the collections thoughtfully curated, but the exhibition is relatively small. In 2028, the Slav Epic may find a permanent home here.

For my first blog post of 2025, I will pull the blog back into a travel-writing direction. This story was originally commissioned by Lonely Planet and is aimed at readers who are new to the Czech Republic and want to see the highlights or best-known spots. markbakerprague.com/best-places-...

The air is so clean and the light so clear tonight. Prague‘s Old Town twinkling in the darkness.

Finally got my hands on this latest edition of Lonely Planet guide to Romania & Bulgaria (they sent the copies to my Ohio address and not to Prague). This was a monster update. If you're planning a trip this year to either RO or BG (both highly recommended), this guide will help to see you through.

As an author, I try not to read my reviews. And when I do succumb to the temptation, I read with a little trepidation. I was really happy to see this review of 'Čas proměn' on Goodreads from a reviewer named 'Kent'. Thank you. www.goodreads.com/book/show/58...

@drichterova.bsky.social I was wondering as I was listening to your interviews if you'd gotten into the Charles Jordan disappearance/killing in your research? I'd like to write about it sometime for the blog.

1) My first post for 2025 will be a podcast/book recommendation. I really enjoyed the discussions with Daniela Richterová on Prague’s clandestine role during the Cold War as a haven for Middle Eastern and international terrorists. Find a link to Cold War Conversations here: coldwarconversations.com

@drichterova.bsky.social Well done! I really enjoyed your interviews with Ian Sanders and Ian Willoughby. Looking forward now to reading your book.

In September, I spent two weeks at a Czech medical spa - the ‘Beethoven’ in Teplice - to help recover from an muscle illness. It was fun and weird in equal measure. If you’ve thought about a spa stay or think this might someday be in your future, give this a read: markbakerprague.com/beethoven-an...

Happy National Day to my Romanian friends. I like this map because the regions correspond almost to what we call them in our Lonely Planet guide. 🙂 💙 💛❤️

A few weeks ago, Lonely Planet asked me to sketch out a list of Czech towns and cities that would appeal to first time visitors. If you were thinking of going, this is a good place to start: www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/bes...

This is going to be good.

Just when I vowed to keep this Blue Sky account non-political, Romania has the craziest (scariest) first round of presidential elections since the fall of communism: www.politico.eu/article/coul...

Some context on my trdelnik post a little earlier. I'm fascinated by the growth in popularity of these chimney cakes in Prague and even wrote my own parody history. Turns out maybe the parody isn't total BS (and maybe there's a glimmer of Czech 'tradition' here): markbakerprague.com/the-history-...

Before yesterday I had never even heard of this guy.

Not exactly traditional, but not exactly a tourist trap either. This article sheds a little more light on the ‘trdelník’ mystery :)) www.czechology.com/trdelnik-his...

If you are into Central Europe, Prague, Slovenia, Romania, travel, travel-writing, history, Cold War stuff, film, architecture, I’m your guy.

New to this space. Any tips on building up contacts (or better yet, rebuilding that great community we used to have on Twitter)?

I’ve admired Vít Pohanka’s ‘Czechast’ podcast for a while now. I felt honored to be interviewed for his episode on the 35th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. We talked about Prague before and after the fall of communism and lots of other things. Listen by following this link: bit.ly/3OdNJ9M