Welcome to the Archives of Velvet Magazine! For those of you who might not know, Velvet was Prague's first city magazine and sadly published just a few issues. I, Jeffree from Think Magazine, designed the very last issue of Velvet, which was killed the day it was to go to press... and thus, I turned my attention to making Think. A lot of the contact, adresses and business information here is too old to be useful, but why not take a walk down memory lane and enjoy yourself?
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 e know that sometimes you just don't want to go sightseeing, shopping, eating, or be entertained in any way, so the following is a list of seven spots to relax and enjoy the blazing rays of the August sun.
1) Podoli Swimmming Pool Podolska 34, Prague 4. Phone 43 91 51. Trams 3, 17. Admission: 15 Kc an hour; 30 Kc a day. Prague's popular swimming spot has both an outdoor and a heated indoor pool, saunas, steam bath, massage parlors, and a fitness center. Open Mon-Fri 6-21:45.
2) Svetozor Passage Park Entrance on Vodickova Street, Prague 1. Metro Muzeum or Mustek; trams 3, 9, 14, 24. Enter the Svetozor passage by the cinema and grab a snack on your way to the park. Choose from either a gooey smazeny syr (fried cheese) sandwich for 11 Kc or a 7 Kc cool soft-serve sorbet. Make your way through the passage to a charming little park tucked away from the streets, filled with benches and rose-covered trellises.
3) Mala Amerika (Little America) located 25 km south of Prague. To get there by car, follow signs to Plzen to join the E50, leave the highway at exit 10, and follow the signs to Karlstejn. The path that leads down to the quarry is about 7 km before Karlstejn. Look for the parked cars along the side of the road. Only accessible by car, this quarry turned swimming hole has surprisingly clean water and is a great place for a relaxing weekend swim.
4) Koupaliste Ticha Sarka Sarecke udoli, Prague 6. Phone 312 10 88. Metro Dejvicka then bus 161 or 254. Adults: 15 Kc; Children under 10: 5 Kc. Two outdoor pools, one for wading and one for swimming are fed by natural spring water and surrounded by shade-providing trees. Open June-September, daily 10-18.
5) Stromovka Park Prague 7. Trams 5, 12, 17. Located right next to the eclectic, old-fashioned fair gounds/amusement park Vystaviste, Stromovka is a sprawling park with bike and jogging paths, open fields, benches, ice cream stands, small streams, bridges, playgrounds, a zoo, and more nature than can be found anywhere else in the city of cobble stones. If you're into cool old abandoned buildings with plants growing out of them, follow one of the two paths on the left (if entering the park from Vystaviste) for about ten minutes until you reach "the ruins."
6) Letna Park Prague 7. Metro Hradcanska then walk downhill towards the soccer stadium; or trams 12 or 17 to Cechuv most and then walk up the stairs. Letna runs between the castle and Prague 7 and provides a breathtaking view of the city. There's also a large beer garden in the center and a working carousel.
7) Botanical Gardens Vysahradska, Prague 1. Metro Karlovo namesti and then walk downhill; Trams 18, 24. Not often visited, Prague's Botanical Gardens are a nice spot to relax, observe a green house, or buy a cactus.
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