September 11, 2017
While we are waking up in a converted monastery, now the charming Augustine Hotel, to cool, overcast and calm weather in Prague, we are watching what is happening in Florida on TV. The devastation from Irma and Harvey is overwhelming. Our property manager in Dickinson, Texas is just now getting the demolition of our surgery center under way. It took 2 weeks to get a property appraiser from the insurance company to inspect the building. The timing for us to be here is pretty bad, but with my mother gone, we chose not to buy trip insurance. So we are in Central Europe, while our team of helpers is working on our building. I am grateful and concerned at the same time. Although our attention is somewhat diverted, we will carry on with our adventure here.
It took more than a day to get from walking in Central Park to arriving at our hotel in Prague. We are both glad that long haul is over. We were on 2 flights with British Airways with a stop at Heathrow. Both planes were old and tired. Fortunately, there were no mechanical problems, the service was pleasant and we arrived on time.
Interior of the Spanish Synagogue, where we heard a beautiful concert
After an afternoon nap, we walked 20 minutes across cobbled streets and a bridge over the Vitava River to the Spanish Synagogue for a wonderful performance by 6 members of the Czech Symphony Orchestra
Franz Kafka sitting on a empty suit pointing at you.
including soprano soloist, Michaela Srumova. Between the quality of the musicians and the acoustics in the synagogue, we experienced a very special performance of Bolero, Carmina Burana, Porgy and Bess, the Barber of Seville Overture and more. Although we were tired, we were glad we went. Next to the Synagogue was a statue created of Franz Kofka – a large headless suit with Kafka sitting on its shoulders and pointing at you. Strange, but Kafka was strange himself. He was born Jewish into an antisemitic society, had Czech citizenship, but wrote his stories in German. He lived a No Win life and died at age 40 of TB. The statue was created by a man named Roma, who took inspiration from Kofka’s stories about one man’s struggles. It is situated between the Spanish Synagogue, a Catholic Church and a Protestant Church, the neighborhood in which he lived.
From there we walked through Old Town and got a bite to eat in an outdoor café. I was surprised to see hundreds of people, all tourists, wandering around Old Town so late in the evening. After eating we headed back to our hotel, but got hopelessly lost along the way. Finally, Mark hailed a cab. We were certainly never going to get home the way we were headed. Fortunately, the cab driver knew the way and we were home in short order and went directly to bed, but after 3 hours I woke up listening to Mark snore. It took a long time to relax enough to let go of his noise and go to sleep. At 7:30 he woke me up for the day. I was not ready, but got up anyway.
View from the top of the Castle Hill
The heavy baroque altar with the wax Baby Jesus in Virgin Mary Victorious Church.
Our guide, Kamila, was waiting for us at 10am and off we went with her and our driver, George, for a 2-hour drive about the city. She was very well informed and talked about the history of local architecture, the political history of the country and specific places we visited. We stopped at the Lennon Wall covered in graffiti from the time he was killed, the Church of Our Lady Victorious with the wax statue of the Child Jesus,
Memorial to the Victims of Communism – both dead and living.
the Memorial to the Victims of the Communism, the office building called the Dancing House, and a huge shopping center located within a cluster of regular looking renaissance buildings that are connected internally by large halls. Not a place tourists would seek out or find. Inside was a statue of St Wenceslas sitting on top of an upside down dead horse, representing Nationalism in Czechoslovakia following WWI. Interesting subject.
The Dancing House in Prague’s new town
Then George drove us to the top of Castle Hill and departed. We slowly walked downhill taking in several sights starting with the view of the Vitava River, its bridges and the city. Our first major stop was the Strahov Monastery and the large, ancient libraries inside.
St Wenceslas riding an upside down dead horse – a political expression about Nationalism
We were given a VIP tour inside the 2 libraries and took our time walking through them, learning about the books covered in goat skin bindings dating back to 860 as well as contemporary works, the ceilings painted similarly to the Sistine Chapel, and the concept of binding a book in leather so that elongated pieces of leather held the book as if in a sack. It kept the book safe and clean. There was an interesting statue of a man holding one. We visited both the Philosophical and the Theological libraries. It took effort to resist our desire to touch the books and specially the old globes in the Theological library.
The Philosophy Library in Strahov Monastery houses 280K titles dating from 860AD.
Studying the globes in the Theology Library without touching them.
A statue in the Theology Library holds a leather bound book in its own bag.
As we walked, we passed a wedding couple posing in front of a very convincing, etched 3 dimensional wall (another one of many seen on our travels). Eventually we arrived at the Prague Castle.
Prague Castle entrance
Inside the Castle compound, however, are a few interesting sights. First is St Vitus’s Cathedral, which was started in 1344 and took 600 years to complete.
St Vitus’s Cathedral inside the Castle grounds.
It is Gothic in style and includes the tomb of Good King Wenceslas, several beautiful stained glass windows in Art Nouveau style and a rose window created in the 1920’s. The cathedral, like everything else we visited, was crowded with tourists, but I still liked the space. As cathedrals go, it was fairly unadorned and pleasing to the eye.
The nave inside the Cathedral. Less busy and ornate than many cathedrals we have seen.
Also inside the castle walls was an area called Golden Lane. It is a narrow lane filled with tiny houses that were lived in by castle guards during the 16th century. In the 17th century goldsmiths moved in and modified the buildings. By the 19th century the buildings had become slum dwellings, but by 1950 artists began to move in and the houses were converted into shops selling books and souvenirs.
The colors were light and happy in this window in St Vitus’s Cathedral.
For a time, Franz Kafka live in one of them. The lane is very charming and attracts many tourists.
We continued to the bottom of the hill and were rewarded with a lovely view back up to the castle from the Wallenstein Palace Garden. Taken together, everything we have seen of old Prague is lovely and appealing. No wonder so many people rave about the beauty and charm of Prague. Thank goodness Hitler wanted to preserve the city for his future capital.
The rich rose window in St Vitus’s Cathedral
Kamila walked us to a shoe Exhibition we had heard about and departed with the agreement to meet at 9am Tuesday, the 12th.
The Art of Shoes created by Manolo Blahnik, was a delightful exhibit, even if I could never even stand in a pair of his creations. They were all fun to admire…..beautiful torture.
The charming Golden Lane built into the Castle wall.
Then home we went to rest up for dinner at a nearby restaurant called Kampo Park. It was right on the river looking out at Charles Bridge. We both had tasty fish dinners. Being so close to the river, I could not help thinking about Hurricane Irma and the damage she was causing even as we ate. In 2002 there was a major flood here in Prague and we could still see where the high water mark had been and what the citizens have done to protect themselves in the future.
The Wallenstein Palace and Gardens with Prague Castle in the background.
The head waiter described and showed use part of the system the city would use to keep the river within bounds. After dinner we took a short walk on the Charles Bridge and then headed home to bed.
Manolo Blahnik Shoes in The Art of Shoes Exhibit. Almost wearable.
A Manolo Blahnik shoe. Can’t even imagine wearing it.
The only wearable shoe I found in the Exhibit. I even liked it and would try it on if I could. Probably couldn’t afford it however. His shoes got for more than $1000 a pair.
Adventures with Julia 