The short version:
As much as we would love to fulfill our commitment to our guests who have been so generous to have booked a tour with us, we now have to, given the circumstances well beyond our control, suspend all of our tours starting tomorrow until further notice. If you have booked a tour with us due in the weeks that follow, you will be receiving a message shortly.
The long version:
We have been observing the events first in Asia and then in Europe with growing unease and concern for a few weeks now. And we have not been alone: we have been receiving many messages and questions about the tour and the situation in the Czech Republic. So let’s get to that first:
The Czech Republic will enter a nearly complete lockdown this Sunday (March 15). Virtually all non-essential travel to and from the Czech Republic will be banned. Cross-border bus and train lines have been suspended. Czech Airlines have suspended all flights to and from Prague, and many will follow. Schools are shut, joined by museums, fitness centers, public pools and such. Restaurants, pubs and bars may only be open between 6am and 8pm. All public events and gatherings with planned attendance of over 30 are banned.
Legally, this state of emergency may only last thirty days, but if the outbreak does not show any signs of improvement, we are sure the government will find parliamentary support in extending the emergency by all legal means. We will be the first ones to criticize the arrogance of what we consider to be a populist government leading our country, but we must give them a pass this time around: however painful these measures may be to us and others working in tourism and the food industry, we do understand and actually support these measures.
As a result, we are suspending all tours effective immediately, until further notice. This is very painful for us for many reasons. Just two weeks ago, our only concern was the fact that we had to cancel our long-planned and so meticulously researched 6-week trip to South Korea, Taiwan and Japan. (We were supposed to leave on March 17.) Now our concern is that we will lose members of our team, people we love so much on a professional and personal level but for whom we currently have absolutely no work, while the rely on us for income. It is truly heartbreaking for us.
It is also painful for us to say no to people who have reached out to us and wanted us to guide them through the wonders of Prague’s food scene. We hope this is not an end to our relationship started when you booked the tour. We hope to see you in better times, hopefully soon, when travel becomes again what it should be in the first place: a way to connect with other people and cultures. Please stay healthy, safe and in touch in the meantime.
For our Czech readers and followers: please support your local small, independently owned businesses, who are struggling and will probably continue to struggle for some time to come. Order take-away. Buy food from delivery services that cooperate with your favorite local restaurants. Buy a gift card for you or your loved ones as a way to support the people and businesses who have served you so well in the past and may be going through a rough time at the moment. This is the time when we have to unite and pull through this together.
Thank you again. Please stay safe, healthy and sane. See you in a bit!
Zuzi, Jan, Karolina, Markéta, Anna, Hana and Martin