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Czech mate: Have teddy, will travel

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Catherine Deshayes

Suddenly a teddy bear's picnic in the back garden seems awfully tame when faced with the prospect of a brand new travel agency for teddy bears and cuddly toys that has launched in the Czech Republic - so will anyone really fork out their hard earned cash to send ted on his travels?...

In a refreshing break from the credit crunch doldrums, a newly formed Czech travel agency has spotted a soft-toy shaped gap in the market and is offering the chance for your teddy to pick up some passport stamps.

For a fee of between £80 and £130, your most loved ted can be whisked around the sights of Prague by 'Toy Traveling - Travel Agency for Teddy bears and cuddly toys' and have his photo taken in front of its landmarks.

The website sendyourdarling.com is the brainchild of a 22-year-old decorator called Marek Hlavka who pitched the idea to a Dragon's Den-style TV reality show in the Czech Republic last month.

The concept was inspired by the 2001 film "Amelie from Montmartre" in which the heroine has pictures of her father's garden gnome posed in front of various world landmarks sent to him to convince him to fulfil his dream of touring the world.

Two of the Czech dragons each chipped in a whopping £5,000 each to make the traveling ted a reality.

One of the dragons, businessman Tomio Okamura, said, "As we start, we're focusing on north American and Japanese markets, where there is a huge amount of people owning stuffed animals."

And if - don't laugh- you decide that ted deserves a bit more luxury, you can even upgrade his travel package to include a candle-lit massage.

"The most expensive package includes a massage, which takes place on a special rug laid out at a place with the view of the Charles Bridge. We light candles and incense sticks, lay down the plush toy on its back and Mr. Hlavka starts the massage," said one of the dragons.

Amazingly, the website has already attracted more than 15,000 visitors. Japanese customers are very keen to have their ted's picture taken at a Bayern Munich match, before their stuffed pal is escorted home in luxury- with his own cushion and duvet.

Priceless.

Check out homes for sale across the Czech Republic at http://www.themovechannel.com/

Picture by egomedia