Month: June 2018

Wednesday, June 6

We had a full day planned.  The idea was to kill some time before getting to the Trade Fair National Gallery location.  The gallery is supposed to be free of charge from 3:00 pm til 6:00 pm on the first Wednesday of every month.

We started off with a walk across the Charles Bridge.  The bridge is always crammed with tourists and home to a myriad of trinket sellers, art dealers and street musicians.  We’ve been impressed with the quality of the street music here in Prague.  It’s surprising to see that Dixieland Jazz of all things is very popular.  Most of what we’ve heard is either Jazz or classical with the instrumentation ranging from single instrumentalists accompanied by a boom box to six piece ensembles.  We hope that the quality extends to the theaters because we have opera tickets for next week.  Fingers crossed.

The price for museums and concerts here is much higher than any place else we’ve been.  The opera tickets cost almost as much as prime seats in the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.  Virtually every church has daily concerts and they charge around as much as $35 per person.  Even the cost for the National Museums has been higher than expected.

Once on the West side of the river we walked over to the Lennon Wall.  It’s a tribute to John Lennon and since the 1980s has been covered in graffiti and lyrics to Beatles songs.  In 1988 students wrote grievances about the communist government on it which lead to a clash with hundreds of students. Occasionally the government would paint over the wall only to find that the next day it was once again filled with flowers, poems, grievances and the like.  Today the wall is a symbol of peace and love.  It’s a very popular place for tourists to take pictures.

(John Lennon Wall)

Afterwards we took the opportunity to explore Malá Strana or The Lesser Town.  The town was founded by the Bohemians in 1257 and served as a residence for kings and nobles.  The town is located at the bottom of the hill upon which Prague Castle rests.  Today it has upscale shops, museums, gardens and churches.  Many of the former royal residences are now used as government buildings.

Ordinarily we’re not too excited about seeing chain stores but we were pleased to see that there was an Amorino in Malá Strana.  They have the best gelato outside of Italy and we just couldn’t resist.  I had a scoop of chocolate and a scoop of amarena in a cup while Deborah had a frappe made with espresso and gelato.  The total cost was just over $14 but we considered it money well spent.

(Snack at Amorino)

Eventually we worked our way over two miles to the north and got to the museum at around 2:30 pm.  We decided to get something cool to drink while we waited and sat down in the adjoining cafe.  At ten minutes to the hour a waitress finally came by to take our order.  We decided that by the time we ordered, drank and paid the museum would be closed so we just left and went over to the ticket office.

The ticket clerk informed us that the cost of tickets would be $7.50 each.  We explained that the first Wednesday of the month was supposed to be free of charge in the afternoon but apparently she’d never heard of that.  We paid for our tickets and got a map showing that two of the four floors were currently closed.  The floors that were open had exhibits of Czech Modern Art (1850-1930) and Czech Modern Art (1930-present).  The fourth floor also had an exhibit of Viennese Modernism.  We were looking forward to seeing Mucha’s Slav Epic; the rest was just gravy.

We started on the fourth floor with the Viennese works.  They had several Klimts on display including a large scale work entitled The Virgin.  They were very impressive.  Eventually we made our way over to the Czech 1850-1930.  We didn’t recognize many of the artists presented but found nay of them to be interesting.

(The Týn Cathedral by Rudolf von Alt – 1843)

They also had a stunning painting called Bohemian Heart Charity which Mucha had done in 1917.  We didn’t see the Slav Epic and figured it was elsewhere.

(Bohemian Heart Charity by Alfons Mucha – 1917)

Next went to the second floor to see the exhibit more modern works.  We don’t tend to enjoy these works as well.

We returned to the main floor and asked two different docents about the location of the Slav Epic.  We were pretty sure that it was supposed to be in that museum.  One docent told us in broken English that it was there last year, was currently in storage and would be moved to another museum next year.  Another told us it was on display in the city of Brno.  When we got home we did some more googling and found that it was in fact in Brno until the end of 2018.  We might have to take a train ride out there to see it.

We took the scenic route back home and walked over the bridge that crosses an Štvanice in the river.  There wasn’t much on the island but we did wind up taking another part of the city.  By the time we hit Old Town Square the sun was low in the sky and the light was perfect for taking photos.

Distance walked: 9.2 miles

Tuesday, June 5

We started the day by going out to a new coffee shop.  It’s called Friends Coffee Shop.  It has no relationship to the TV series of the same name but like its namesake it is a wonderful place to sit, relax and socialize.  The front section of seats features tables all along a glass enclosure overlooking a garden.  Further back are several large rooms with tables of varying sizes.  Many people were congregating with and without laptops.

We ordered an iced coffee with vanilla ice cream and a caramel frappe.  Both were vey drinkable but nothing special.  It’s seems that from now on we’ll be comparing all coffee drinks to the ones we got at Gerbeaud in Budapest and they will inevitably come up short.  We sat and gabbed for over an hour.  It’s hard to believe that after 32 years of marriage we still have that much to say to one another.

Fully caffeinated we walked over to the Jerusalem Synagogue.  This one is near the main train station about half a mile from the Jewish district.  It wasn’t included in our ticket from the day before.  The exterior of the museum is a combination of Moorish and Art Nouveau styles with high arches and a Star of David embedded in a rose window.  The floor plan has a triple naive with two transverse wings.  The cost of entry was about $7.00 a person.  Since we’d seen so many the day before we decided to admire it only from afar.

Next we made our way over to the Mucha Museum.  Alphonse Mucha (1860-1935) was a Czech painter and graphic artist whose works were in the Art Nouveau style.  His career enjoyed a huge kickstart when he was engaged to create a poster advertising a theater piece featuring Sarah Bernhardt.  Ms. Bernhardt was so impressed with his work that she insisted that all future work be done by Mucha.  He was also an ardent nationalist.  When Czechoslovakia achieved independence he designed the bank notes and the stamps for the new nation.  His works included all sorts of graphic arts including designs for tins and illustrations for books.

During his training in the Académie Julian in Paris he was also trained as a painter.  His most famous painting is a series of 20 large canvases called the Slav Epic which depicts the history of the Czech and Slavic people.  That work is on display in one of Prague’s national museums.

During his life Mucha  produced many different series of posters that included themes such as the seasons, flowers, music, poetry, painting and dance.  During his life his works were produced as lithographs and the museum had displays that included representative works from each collection.  We also saw several original oil paintings as well as a documentary on his life.  No photography was permitted.

(Poster Advertising Champagne)

Mucha’s distinctive style is easily recognizable.  Today his works are as popular as ever.  Pieces produced in his lifetime are readily available for sale.  Many reproductions have also been made.

Several times during the day we had tried to look up something on my phone.  We weren’t having any luck and assumed that we were in an area with bad cell reception.  By the time we left the museum we realized that something was wrong so we trotted over to T-Mobile to enquire.  We had paid for an entire month and were supposed to receive four gigs of data; there was no way we had used that much data in only a few days.

Luckily we arrived when they weren’t busy and we were able to talk to someone right away.  At first the clerk tried to explain that my American iPhone wouldn’t work here.  We told him that we had a global phone and had used them elsewhere in Europe.  He then said that our American service plan would not work here and that we needed to get a different plan.  We explained that we had purchased a SIM card in that very store a few days ago and until that day everything was working.  Having covered his checklist for dumb Americans he resorted to looking up our account on the computer.

After a few moments he called over a colleague.  They spoke in Czech for a few minutes, typed frantically on the keyboard, and then called for a third person to help them out.  We thought that this was a bad sign.  After typing some more the third guy left and we were left wondering what was going on.  Our thoughts turned to the unfortunate service we had received in Rome.

Eventually our phones started making the usual noises when email and messages are received.  The clerk said, “it should work now”.  What was the problem?  We’re still not sure.  It’s not clear that he really knew but for now all is well.  We’ll keep you posted.

 

Before lunch we decided to make one more stop.  We went to the main post office to buy our Prague stamp.  It was perhaps the prettiest post office we’ve ever seen.  Sunlight was streaming through an arched ceiling made of glass tiles, the interior resembled a courtyard with designs painted on all the buildings and the window areas were designed to look like cafes.  We started to take some pictures but were quickly approached by a security guard who waived a finger at us (we did get one photo).  Off to the side we found a shop where collectable stamps were being sold.  There were many collections but most had themes that didn’t interest us.  We wanted something that had a picture of an iconic Prague building.  Eventually we found an individual stamp featuring Saint Vitus Church.  We were very happy.

(Contraband Picture of Prague Central Post Office)

We had lunch at our favorite sausage stand before heading back to the apartment.

Distance walked: 3.9 miles

Monday, June 4

We returned to the Old Town Square to see Saint Nicholas’ Church.  This is the one run by the Hussite order founded by Jan Hus.  There has been a church on this site since 1273.  At that time it was in the Romanesque style.  The church was reconstructed in the 14th century in the Gothic style.  In 1689 a fire, caused by French forces, destroyed the building.  It was re-erected in the 1730s in the Baroque style.

The interior would seem familiar to anyone who is acquainted with Catholic Churches although this church does not have a transept.  The high arched ceilings are covered in frescos and there is a magnificent crystal chandelier hanging from over the congregation.  High up on the choir balcony there is a pipe organ covered with golden winged angels.

After leaving the church we headed over to the Jewish quarter, where there was quite a lot to see.  We bought a combination ticket that would let us tour five synagogues, a cemetery, a holocaust memorial and several galleries.  All these sites together are referred to as the Jewish Museum.  Only one of the synagogues is still an active house of worship.  The tickets were good for seven days but since we are overachievers we planned to see them all in one day.

Jews first settled in Prague as far back as the 10th century.  They have a long history of being persecuted.  During the enlightened reign of Charles IV in the 1500s Jews had virtually the same rights as other ethnic groups but subsequent Habsburg rulers took away their rights and crowded them into a ghetto.  After World War II the communists continued many of the oppressive policies of the past.  It was only after the fall of communism in 1989 that the Jewish population achieved equal status under the law and have been free to live anywhere and pursue any occupation.

• Before World War II the Jewish population of Prague was approximately 56,000
• By 1968 the Jewish population of Prague was approximately 2,000
• Today the Jewish population of Prague is approximately 3,500

We started our tour at Klausen Synagogue.  The exhibits are geared towards the Jewish traditions with emphasis on Saturday prayers and holidays.  Next door was the Ceremonial Hall, also a former house of worship, which focused primarily on the history of the burial society and their rituals beginning in the 1600s.

Our next stop was at the Old-New Synagogue, the oldest active synagogue in Europe.  It was completed in 1270 in the Gothic style.  Why is it called the Old-New Synagogue?  Because, until 1867 there was one that was even older making this one the new synagogue.  The older synagogue no longer exists.  It was torn down in 1867 and a new synagogue was built in its place – making it the New-New Synagogue (it’s actually called the Spanish Synagogue, which is also rather misleading but we’ll get to that eventually).  Confused?  Join the crowd.

We’d never seen either a medieval or a gothic synagogue so this was a real treat.  The inside, with its vaulted ceilings and high arches resembled a typical church.  The main hall was rather sparsely decorated.  The ark, where the Torah scrolls were stored, was carved out of the stones that made up the far wall.  The rather small room could hold no more that 200 people.  Women are accommodated in a room behind the main hall and can only hear the services through small openings in the walls.

There is a famous story about a creature called The Golem (not Gollum from The Lord of the Rings).  The story is associated with this very building.  In the 16th century Rabbi Loew created a creature out of mud and brought it to life to help defend the Jewish population of Prague from anti-semitism and pogroms.  Each Friday night the Rabbi would deactivate the Golem so that it wouldn’t desecrate the Sabbath.  Legend goes on to say that one Friday evening he forgot to deactivate the creature and it ran amok.  The Golem was finally deactivated and stored in the attic of this synagogue in case it was needed in the future.  It has been said that, during World War II, a Nazi soldier entered the attic in order to find the Golem.  He was never seen again.

Next we visited the Holocaust Memorial at Pinkas Synagogue.  Downstairs we saw several large rooms with high ceilings where the walls were covered with the names and dates of all the Czech Jews who died during World War II.  Upstairs there were a number of exhibits showing life in Terezen Concentration Camp, which is about an hour north of the city.  In order to make life as normal as possible for the children makeshift schools were setup.  They attended regular classes and were even taught to draw and paint.  Some of their artwork was on display next to their photographs.  None of the children survived.  It was very moving.

(Children’s Art from Terezen)

To help lighten the mood we moved on to see the Old Jewish Cemetery.  For over 400 years the Jews were confined to a small ghetto near the river.  The area that was allocated for the cemetery was soon filled to capacity and all requests for more land were refused.  Their solution was to bury people one on top of another.  It is said that there are as many as 11 layers of bodies buried there.  Thousands of gravestones are crowded into a very small area one right next to another.  Many of the gravestones have traditional symbolic carvings representing family, tribe or occupation.  For example members of the Cohen tribe usually have a pair of hands depicted on their stones with a separation between the ring finger and the middle finger.  Levites’ stones often have a carving of a jug pouring water, and so forth.

Fun Fact: Jewish actor Leonard Nimoy, in his portrayal of Spock in the TV series Star Trek, used the hands symbol associated with the Cohen tribe as the Vulcan greeting for his character.

The Maisel Synagogue was built during the reign of Charles IV who granted the Jews many privileges.  Charles thought that if the synagogue looked like a church it would help the Christian population better relate to the Jews.  The outside was designed with twin spires and a rose window whereas the inside is in the Gothic style.  The displays centered on daily life and occupations throughout the centuries.

(The Maisel Synagogue Looks Like a Church)

On our way to the next synagogue we stopped in at the Holy Ghost Church.  It’s a Roman Catholic Church built in 1346 in the Gothic style.  Upon entering we were greeted by a beautiful recording of an a cappela choir singing in Latin.  The magnificent acoustics allowed each of the four part harmonies to be heard distinctly.  It was like being at a concert.  We would have purchased the CD on the spot if were for sale.  We highly recommend stopping in the next time you’re in the neighborhood.

After a quick stop to take pictures at a statue of Franz Kafka we headed over to the Spanish Synagogue.  We assumed it was so named because it had a Sephardic congregation but it turns out that it was because it was built in the Spanish/Moorish style.  The Old-Old (our term) Synagogue was on this site until it was torn down and replaced in 1867.

The interior of the building is absolutely gorgeous and extremely ornate.  Every inch is covered in muted reds, blues and greens accented in gold.  Upstairs there were displays of culture showing many books written by Jewish scholars and scientists.  They also had letters and musical scores that were written by inmates at the Terezen Concentration Camp.  At the very end there was a large crate filled with tefillin (small leather boxes filled with scripture that are worn during prayer) from those who died at Terezen.  It was disturbing.

(The Spanish Synagogue)

The last stop on the museum tour was at the Guttman Galerie featuring an exhibit by Jiří Slíva entitled, “My Cup of Kafka”.  Kafka, whose famous novella is entitled “Metamorphosis” was a Jew and one of Prague’s most famous sons.  Slíva, a native Czech, has long worked as a graphic artist, illustrator, cartoonist and musician.  This exhibition is an amusing commentary on the works of Kafka, Freud and the times in which they lived.  We enjoyed it immensely.

(From My Cup of Kafka)

On our way home we stopped by Wenceslas Square to take pictures of the monument dedicated to Saint Wenceslas.  Many of you may be familiar with the Christmas song Good King Wenceslas but it turns out that he wasn’t a king at all.  He was a Duke and was a good and kind man until he was assassinated by his brother who coveted his throne.  He was considered a martyr, was canonized by Pope Pius II and was posthumously raised to the rank of king.  He is considered the patron saint of the Czech Republic.

(Good ‘King’ Wenceslas)

Distance walked: 5.6 miles

Saturday, June 2

Today we went to the Náplavka Farmers Market.  This market is only open on Saturdays.  There are markets throughout the city but they sell more trinkets than food.  This one was reputed to have high quality, fresh produce and homemade quality baked goods.  It’s just the kind of thing that gets us geared up.  The market, which opens at 10:00 am, is located on the river front about two miles from our apartment.  We left a little extra early so we could do some sightseeing along the way.

Like Budapest, the city of Prague is bisected by a river.  The river’s name is The Vltava, which may be better known by it’s German name: The Moldau.  Our apartment is on the East side of the river and we’re just a few minutes walk from many of the most famous sites including Old Town and Wenceslaus Square.  The castle district is on the other side of the river.

To get to the market we walked south along the river.  From there we had great views of Prague Castle and the castle district.  We passed several bridges that cross the river including the most famous: The Charles Bridge.

The Charles Bridge, built in 1357, was the only bridge across the river in Prague until 1870.  It’s construction was an engineering marvel for its time.  There is a huge Gothic gate on both sides.  The 30 statues decorating the bridge date from the 1700s and are in the Baroque style.  The bridge was designed by Peter Parler, who also designed the Saint Vitus Cathedral in Prague Castle.

(Gate to the Charles Bridge)

The market stretched for an entire city block.  We did a complete survey before deciding where to indulge.  We were surprised to see that, in addition to the produce and baked goods that we expected to see, there were a large number of people selling all sorts of things like meat, cheese, jam and honey.  Some of the most popular booths were selling ready made foods like sandwiches, pasta, pizza and coffee.

We walked away with cheese, sausages, bread, honey, walnuts, apples, plum jam, stromboli and garlic bread.  Of course we had to sample a few items while we were there.  We tried some yeast donuts topped with a light cream and plum jam.  The cream was bland but the jam was really tasty.  Perhaps the most popular thing that people were eating was large hunks of toasted bread covered with herb butter and home made pesto.  We split one of those.  The herb butter had a wonderful flavor.  The pesto was good but could have used more garlic.

For lunch we had stromboli and garlic bread  The stromboli was stuffed with ham, salami, bacon and cheese.  It was greasy and delicious (no sauce).  We slathered the garlic bread with butter.  It was really good.

(Stromboli and Garlic Bread)

We’ve been having fun trying all sorts of combinations of foods from the market.  Of course the honey and jam go well with the bread but we also tried eating the apples with the cheese and with honey.  The best combination of all has been apples and plum jam.  Who knew!?

After lunch in the apartment we headed towards Old Town Square.  Old Town has existed since medieval times.  Originally it was surrounded by a moat and high walls.  Today it is the heart of district 1 and includes The Old Town Hall, churches, museums and the Jewish quarter.

We walked over to see one of the square’s main attractions: The Church of Our Lady before Týn.  It’s a large gothic Roman Catholic church that dominates the square.  Construction begin in 1256 and was completed about 100 years later.  One of the distinctive features of the exterior is the difference in width of the two bell towers.  Consequently they have been nicknamed Adam and Eve.  The difference in size was due to construction errors rather than purposeful design but the idea became popular and many examples of churches throughout Europe can be seen with this feature.

The interior of the church is classic gothic with high vaulted ceilings supported by large columns and huge stained glass windows.  It’s incredibly impressive.  The decorations are in the ornate Baroque style.  There are three aisles with chapels all along the outside walls.  There is no transept.  No pictures of the interior were permitted.

Near the center of the square is a monument to Jan Hus.  He was a religious reformer whose doctrine was similar to that of Martin Luther but proceeded him by about 100 years.  Hus began a new religious order that came to be known as the Hussites, who are still in existence today.  Jan Hus met a rather bad end.  He was burned at the stake by the Catholic Church for the crime of heresy.  To prevent the spread of heresy the Catholic Church initiated five crusades against the Hussites over a period of 11 years.  The Hussites won every war.  We attempted to visit a nearby Hussite house of worship, Saint Nicolas Church, but they were preparing for an afternoon concert and so were not allowing any visitors.

(The Church of Our Lady before Týn. Jan Hus Memorial in Foreground.)

Afterwards we headed over to the Jewish Quarter to check out the numerous antique stores.  We must have visited over a dozen.  Most had wonderful inventories of furniture, silver, porcelain, jewelry and paintings.  We also visited a gallery where Deborah found some very interesting sketches.  We were lucky to walk away unscathed. 😉

Distance walked: 8.8 miles

Sunday, June 3

Today we went on a paid walking tour of Prague Castle.  We met the group on the East side of the river and walked over the Manes Bridge (Josef Manes was a famous Czech painter).

Our first stop was at the Wallenstein Gardens.  Albrecht von Wallenstein (1583-1634) was the commander of forces for Ferdinand II (a member of the Habsburg family, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Holy Roman Emperor).  Wallenstein was a despicable person and a brilliant military commander who won many battles for his king.  As a reward he was awarded many tracts of land, including what was to become his namesake palace and gardens.  Today the gardens, in the French style, are open to the public for free.

We entered the garden near a small manmade pond containing large goldfish and carp.  In the center was a sculpture of Hercules fighting a dragon.  We had happy encounters with both albino and regular peacocks.  The albino peacocks seemed happy to pose for photos.

After touring the rest of the grounds, including a large aviary full of owls, we proceeded to take a tram to the Palace Gardens.  These gardens, in the Italian style, were started by King Ferdinand I in 1540.  The extensive grounds include several small palaces, riding stables, exotic flora and an orangery.  At one time wild animals, including lions and tigers, roamed the grounds.  There are records of the King compensating people for family members killed by these animals.  The park afforded great views of the castle and the surrounding dry moat.  We made our way through the park and walked over a bridge to enter the castle complex.

Prague Castle is a huge complex that includes several churches, government offices, courtyards, museums, a convent and so much more.  We plan to revisit and see everything in detail and will talk more about the castle complex in a later post.

(Prague Castle)

On our way home we stopped at a neighborhood restaurant for a late lunch.  Deborah ordered a Czech dish called svíčková.  It’s beef in cream sauce and came with bread dumplings.  I ordered pork with sauerkraut; it also came with bread dumplings.  Dumplings are very big here (in popularity and in size).  Dumplings are useful for mopping up any extra sauce on the plate.  Bread dumplings are stale bread soaked in milk and eggs that are formed into a loaf and sliced.  Both dishes were incredibly delicious.

(Beef with Cream and Pork with Sauerkraut)

Distance walked: 5.7 miles

Friday, June 1

Our first full day in Prague.  We got up early and, as usual, ate breakfast in our apartment.  The plan was to meet the Free Prague Tour at 10:00 am in the Old Town Square.  At 8:30 am we  left our apartment and were in search of an interesting coffee shop where we could kill some time.  We had found a place called Den Noc in one of the online guides that was reputed to have excellent coffee and the best pancakes in Town.  It seemed like a good fit especially because they were just a few blocks from where we would be meeting the tour.

As we were seated a waitress offered us some menus.  We declined and just asked for two cappuccinos.  She said she’d leave the menus anyway in case we changed our minds.  Of course we looked at the menus and, after seeing what other people were eating, decided to split an order of pancakes with sour cream and plum jam.  The pancakes were light and more like the pancakes that Americans are used to.  We thought the sour cream would be a little weird but it was fantastic separately and in combination with the jam.  This was “second breakfast”.  As is our habit we devoured half of it before we remembered to take a picture (sorry).  Where’s Andrea when you need her?  She was great at reminding us to take pictures BEFORE we starting to eat.

We had an opportunity to walk around the Jewish Quarter before the tour started.  We noticed some really nice antique stores and made a mental note to come back and check them out.

Our tour guide was a young Canadian man who’s been living in Prague for the last three years.  He teaches English, does travel podcasts and works as a tour guide.  He was funny, entertaining and chock full of interesting information about the city.  After about an hour and a half we stopped at a restaurant so people could use the bathroom and get snacks.  We ordered a soda.  That was “elevensies”.

After the tour we started walking back towards the antique stores and just couldn’t resist a slice of pizza with slices of meat that resembled pepperoni.  That was “lunch”.  After walking the district and visiting about a dozen shops we dropped by our local sausage stand and split a spicy sausage .  That was “dinner”.  When we got back to the apartment we munched on a bag of cookies.  That was “afternoon” tea.  We plan to have a salad for “supper”.

J.R. Tolkien would have been proud 😊.

Distance walked: 8.0 miles