Clever
Regina is a nimble, grey-haired and clever rat. She can read and has an unusual job for her species: she works as a tour guide and shows rats the beauty of her hometown Prague.
Sad
However, Regina is sad. She knows that rats do not live long and that her last beloved hibernation is imminent. In addition, her life has become boring because the tourist rats stayed away and she can hardly do her job anymore.
Active
Together with her brother Rudolf, she embarks on a search of a mysterious, medieval elixir that is supposed to double the length of their lives. To find recipe and ingredients, they visit old pharmacies, the catacombs of the Old Town Hall, the hidden top of the Old New Synagogue and the Vltava River.
Can Regina and Rudolf prepare all the ingredients correctly and does the potion work at all?
Enjoy a completely different journey of discovery through the Golden City of Prague with unexpected surprises!
OrderĀ the book here
Gunnar Habitz: The ElixirĀ of Prague
Independently published
First editionĀ February 2023
Cover: Josefina Luna, Sydney
Edited: Belle van den Hout, Sydney
Photos: Gunnar Habitz, CzechTourism, Envato
ISBN: 979-8-3762-4094-6 (Paperback)
ISBN: 979-8-3767-0333-5 (Paperback Premium)
ISBN: 979-8-7705-4519-7 (Hardcover)
Want to get a hand signed book? Please order here:
Pickup in Sydney - Sent within Australia or New Zealand - Sent worldwide
About the author
My wife Alexandra and I live in Sydney since 2016 where I work in the software industry as a Senior Partner Manager. Before that, we commuted between Zurich and Prague for almost two decades.
During my studies of computer science I accompanied tourists to Prague and followed the development of the Golden City from the booming nineties to the present day. Further I became a part-time journalist for the German speaking Prager Zeitung, primarily about gastronomic and cultural aspects of the Czech capital.
As Swiss author with roots in Bremen I published numerous tour guide and hotel books, travel articles and theatre reviews about the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Germany and Austria over the past 24 years, and meanwhile also about New Zealand and Australia.
The photo shows me in the Pied Piper city of Hamelin in 2022 with the cover for this book.
Explore our travel blog
All characters
We discover the elixir of eternal life!
Regina, tour guide
Can we even accomplish that?
Rudolf, her brother
Great, this will be fun!
Remy, chef in Café Frog
We recycle everything!
Rolf, shop owner
Does anyone listen to me anymore?
Radomil, rat eldest
You're doing it wrong, we do that much better.
Rüdiger, knows everything better
I can whisper a secret.
Raphael, synagogue guard
What a treat!
René, delicatessen grocer
That is impossible!
Hagen, rat researcher
Questions and answers
How did you come up with the idea for the book?
What languages is the book translated into?
Are there only rats in the book?
Is this a fairy tale for children or for adults?
Book as PDF?
Once you bought the book you will find a hidden password to get the PDF version.
In return I can keep my readers updated on new writing projects.
I do not give away or sell any personal information, promised!
