We dropped into Prague late on a Friday night with just enough time to catch a cab, announce our arrival at the hotel and hop into bed. After several crazy weeks at work, I was happy to know that Pedro had been able to take care of the hotel in respecting the two critical criteria: close to the city center and cheap! I was afraid that the first criteria would be lost as the taxi cab went around the city whose view by night was simply extraordinary. However, the taxi brought us right into the heart of Prague. With a hotel room at the top of the building, I could not resist the temptation to open the skylight, to climb out onto the roof and to take a look at the city that we were to explore the next day. Prague is among the most beautiful cities that I have ever seen.
Saturday, October 16
We woke up a bit late and decided to take a look at the city guides offered by the hotel. As chance would have it, guided walking tours were starting in 15 minutes just around the corner from our hotel. We finished getting ready and rushed to the Astronomical Clock, the designated rendezvous. The guide was our first good introduction to Eastern European culture. His words were slow and without the slightest excess of emotion. As he recounted a summarized version of the history of the Bohemian people, every anecdote seemed begin with a slight ray of hope and end with, “…and this was a great tragedy.” Nevertheless, as the tour continued on, we managed to get a little bit of humor out or our solemn guide.
I am fairly sure that Prague is the most beautiful of all of the cities that I have visited. For me, it is only rivaled by Paris and maybe Lisbon. Our first visit was the point of departure, the Astronomical Clock.
The Prague Astronomical Clock or Prague is a medieval clock mounted on the southern wall of City Hall in the Old Town Square. The clock is like a primitive planetarium, displaying the current state of the universe. What is most impressive is the astronomical dial. It has a background that represents the standing Earth and sky, and surrounding it operate four main moving components: the zodiacal ring, an outer rotating ring, an icon representing the Sun, and an icon representing the Moon. There is also calendar dial with medallions representing the 12 months. Every hour on the hour "The Walk of the Apostles" can be seen where figurines of the Apostles and other moving sculptures present themselves. The clock was designed by Mikuláš of Kadaň. According to our guide, legend would have it that the clockmaker was offered many jobs after this most impressive creation. However, because the ruler in Prague wanted the clock to be unique, he forbade Mikuláš to accept any of these offers and ultimately decided to take the artisans life. As a dying wish, Mikuláš asked to touch the clock one last name. Simply touching his creation in the perfect spot, he was able to make it stop. It would take over a hundred years to figure out how to make it work again. What is true is that the clock was stopped during a very long period of time. Again, the story ended with “…and this was a great tragedy.” Nonetheless, the clock was working when we even saw it chime.
Second stop, the Charles Bridge! I had been told about the bridge before coming to Prague. It is considered to be an outdoor art gallery. The bridge is lined with sculptures each representing important parts of Prague’s history. Built of stone with old world lanterns on either side, it is quite spectacular. From where we were positioned, we were overlooking the Prague castle, the ancient cathedral, and the bronze roof of the Italian Chapel. The skyline in Prague is everything that an American would have in mind when thinking about the setting of a romantic movie that takes place in Old Europe.
One of the statues is reputed for granting your wish if you touch the bronze icon. Our guide told us to be very careful to only touch the bronze lady and not the dog as the dog would bring misfortune. Apparently, one night in history the king had decided to sleep with his hunting dogs. Unknowingly, the queen slipped into the room and tiptoed into the bed. The dogs mistook her for an intruder and she was devoured. Our happy guide explained in detail how her legs and arms were found in different parts of the room and how her eye was found beneath the dresser; a bit of Bohemian humor! This also was “…a great tragedy.” Needless to say, we all avoided the dog.
Just on the other side of the bridge we walked up the stairs to the Prague Castle. This was where Obama had delivered his speech when visiting Prague earlier in the year. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Prague Castle is the largest coherent castle complex in the world with an area of almost 70000 m², being 570 meters in length and an average of about 130 meters wide. The castle dates back to 870AD. The guide spoke of the Thirty Year’s War where the Swedes looted the castle, taking most of its most precious paintings and wealth. The former president of the Czech Republic had recently asked that Sweden return some of the goods, but he replied that this was an old story. This too is “…a great tragedy.”
Within the castle is the Gothic Saint Vitus Cathedal. The full name of the cathedral is St. Vitus, St. Wenceslas and St. Adalbert Cathedral and it contains the tombs of many Bohemian kings and Holy Roman Emperors. The cathedral was heavily influenced by French architecture and culture, and many of its aspects are similar to those of Notre Dame. The church has some of the most beautiful stain glass windows that I have ever seen; two that are extremely impressive: the blue and the green windows. These windows are in a Neo Gothic style and stand out from the rest. Our guide told us that there was not enough money to complete the windows and the so that private parties were asked to make donations. The companies that made the donations asked for advertisements in return and so at the bottom of these two windows there is a small advertisement saying by whom they were donated. Our guide pointed out that each company had gone bankrupt the following year. “Divine punishment”, he attested.
Just outside the cathedral, they were selling hot wine. I love hot wine and I do not intend to have another Christmas season without it! Our guide was careful to point out that this was not German tradition, but that it originally came from Bohemia.
By this time, we had left the guide and decided to visit Prague on our own. We walked through the Convent of Saint Agnes and the Powder Tower. The gothic Powder Tower was built in 1475 during the reign of King Vladislav II at the site of an 11th century gate, one of Prague's 13 original city gates. It got its name because it was once used as a store house for gun powder. Up at the top, the view was simple breathtaking.
From there we walked through the city visiting, passing by the Romanesque Tyn Church and the Estates Theatre with its golden roof. Heading back for dinner we happened upon the Medival Museum of Torture. This was quite a detour from the romantic atmosphere in Prague. It is unfathomable how in a time when technology was only pudding, the science of torture had been studied to the finest detail. After this gory interlude, night was falling and it was definitely time to eat!
We happened upon the most picturesque restaurant in Prague! Not a soul was in the restaurant apart from the waiter and us. We were sat in front of the window as the lanterns were being lit and a light rain was beginning to fall. I did not expect much from the food in the Czech Republic, but the dinner was amazing. As a starter I had roast duck with cranberry sauce followed by a lentil cream soup. I then had slow cooked pork served in a blue cheese sauce and profiteroles for desert. I was so enamored with my food that as I write this, I can scarcely remember what Pedro ordered. Even the Prague wine was good. I did not even know that they had wine in the Czech Republic.
All and all it was a perfect day and a perfect evening in the “Heart of Europe”.
Sunday, October 17
Our first stop Sunday morning was the Jewish quarter. Of all of the cities affected by the Holocaust, Prague is the only city in which not one Jewish child survived. Inside the Pinkas Old New Synagogue, there is an art exhibit of paintings that were done by Jewish children during the way. Enclosed in the Jewish ghetto, the only place to play was the old Jewish cemetery. Their paintings were haunting to say the least. The walls of the synagogue were lined with the individual names of each Jew that died during this period. The names were painted by hand. Just to look at the sheer size of synagogue and to see all the walls covered with names, it seemed unimaginable that so many people could have died; more than 80,000. Just outside the synagogue, we walked though the cemetery where the imprisoned children would play. The tombstones themselves are literally overlapping one another as if to remind us that the number of dead was just too excessive for such a small area. Little pebbles could be found on many of the tombs. Apparently, the pebbles date back to the time when the Jews lived in the desert. As no flowers could be found, pebbles were placed on the tombs as a way of paying one’s respects to the dead.
We also visited the Jewish Ceremonial Hall explaining the Jewish customs for preparation of the dead, still following what can be read in the old testament of the Bible.
By this time we were starving. We came to a traditional restaurant and decided that it was finally time to test out the food in the region. We both ordered potato soap in a bread bowl. Pedro had the pig knuckle and I had a plate of various kinds of meat with cabbage. The waiter looked like he had just gotten the news that his only son had jumped out of a plane before he had had the time to properly strap on his parachute. He was so stoic that it was almost comical. The only moment where we saw a glimmer of emption was when we had completed our order. Unfortunately, the small nuance of change brought about upon the expression of his face was too fleeting to have been properly discerned. However, I understood very clearly once the food came out. The bread bowls were a meal in and of themselves and each dish was intended for two. The pick knuckle was served on a roasting spick and my plate of meat consisted of sausage, cuts of pork and an entire duck! The worst part is that we were so hungry that we pretty much finished everything. Despite the apprehensions that I had going into it, the traditional food in Prague was not too shabby.
Our last stop in the Jewish quarter was the Spanish Synagogue. This synagogue has a strong Arabic influence and the interior painting on the walls was so elaborate that I do not think that even a picture can properly demonstrate the grandeur.
As the time to head back home was drawing near, we decided to head across the Charles Bridge one last time and to visit the Italian Chapel. The frescoes in the chapel reminded me of the Sistine Chapel and we were even allowed to walk up the stairs in order to see them from up close. What a fantastic ending to our time in Prague!
Not quite… getting ripped off by the taxi driver on the way home left a bitter taste in our mouths that only a double chocolate mocha frappicino from the Starbucks’ Airport could wash down. I will come back to Prague!
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