The other day, I had a very local Czech experience. And by ‘local’, I don’t mean stereotypical. This is not some story of me hanging out in a small town Czech pub or anything like that. Instead it takes place at a small town market festival in a castle courtyard. This was an event geared entirely to local people, with music, and arts market, cafes and food stands. It was not something foreigners would usually hear about or go to, with one exception: me. I was there with Hanka and her friend Stefan.

Since Hanka sells her hand-made stuffed animals for a living and Stefan sells artistic wood carvings, holiday festivals like this are perfect for them. Therefore, I went along to keep Hanka company ant to check out a new experience. The location itself fascinated me right away. The festival took place in a medieval open courtyard that had a bit of a castle feel. Many different artists had set up tents and a stage was constructed for performers. Several local musicians were gathered around a fire that was set in the middle of everything, and a few small stands were selling food and hot beverages. It all seemed amazing, except for one thing… the weather. Throughout the day, there was on and off rain freezing rain that turned the whole courtyard into a cold, muddy soup. Nonetheless, it was all part of the experience.

Alongside Hanka’s stuffed animals and Stefan’s wood carvings, there were paintings, hand-drawn calendars, notebooks, illustrations, winter clothing, books with short stories, and far too many things for me to remember and/or list. As for the musicians and performers, there were a variety of traditional songs and dances, including a festive nativity play without words (just movement and music). But in my opinion, the most necessary stand in the whole place was the pop-up cafe that sold coffee, tea, and hot wine. All of which were strongly needed by literally everyone at the cold, wet festival (myself especially included).

Despite the terrible weather and remote location, the event was actually very well attended. Families from all around town showed up and there never once seemed to be a lull in the crowd throughout the day. A few attendees even brought musical instruments with them and put on their owl little show by the fire. It all turned out to be a really fun atmosphere, where everyone enjoyed themselves and we all struggled to stay warm together. My personal strategy was to repeatedly consume hot beverages (switching between the coffee, tea, and wine), all while continually moving since the cold tends to grab hold of you when you’re still. In total, we all spent about 8 hours at this outdoor winter event. Both Hanka and Stefan had more sales than expected, and it ultimately made for a positive memory and unique experience. That said, if I were to do something like this again, I would strongly prefer there to be no freezing rain next time.