Welcome to Prague Part III and IV

October 20

We visited several local architectural attractions in including the Fred and Ginger Dancing building which I am sure goes by another name but since it is reminiscent of two graceful figures dancing this name suits it perfectly.

We walked all through the shopping modern shopping areas and bought nothing but enjoyed the walk as the day was gorgeous with bright sun and warm breezes.

We stopped off at several churches and simply discovered the beauty that was hiding around every corner. The city is holds so many architectural as well as natural wonders and the vary design periods represented in one city is staggering. I love the Art Nouveau and Rocco and especially all the buildings adorned with Renaissance graffiti which are etchings on buildings walls usually with two varying colors. You see it a lot in the city both inside and outside of buildings.

We stopped in at Starbucks on our way through one of our favorite parts of the city, Old Town Square. In the square we had a quick glimpse inside the Tyn Church which we spent some time admiring from a distance with the unique fairy tale like castle spires.

We also stopped off at the Old Town Hall Astronomical clock built in 1410 and which every half hour has the figures of the 12 Apostles march around and peek out on of two windows at the top of the clock. Its fun to watch and we ended up seeing it twice during our visit.

In the square is one of our favorite sweet treats in Prague and it is a cylindrical hollow pastry.

One of the highlights of the day was our visit to the Jewish Museums which include The Maisel Synagogue built in 1590 – 1592 and now is a Jewish museum and a depository, the Pinkas Synagogue build in 1535 which is the home of the Holocaust memorial and lists the name of the 80,000 Bohemian and Moravian victims. That was an emotional sight as you walk from room to room and see name after name after name printed in black or red ink. We also visited the Ceremonial Hall where funerals were held and the Old Jewish Cemetery with the thousands of headstones just haphazardly, and without any regard, scattered over a small area. This is a must see when you are visiting this city not only for the exquisite architecture that is present in all the buildings including the Spanish Synagogue built in 1968 in a Moorish style which we saw last but also for the social importance of this area and the amazing survival through years of hatred, violence and genocide.

Outside the Spanish Synagogue is a modern sculptor of Czech writer Franz Kafka sitting on the shoulders of a headless man.

We spent the rest of the day simply walking around the old streets, watching people and absorbing the atmosphere. We found our way amazingly through the winding streets to a little shop that had scarves Melody liked. While she perused the shelves I had a wonderful conversation with the owner Zafer, originally from Pakistan. He seems to like Prague very much and he and his family own a larger shop across the street and according to him business sounds good which I was happy to hear. It’s nice to know in this uncertain world that such a beautiful city has gained some strong financial footing despite it’s difficult past. It is an expensive city to shop in but if you go out of your way to find the little unique shops you will do just fine finding some great items at a good price. I love to window shop past the really colorful ones like the many puppet shops.

Zafer also told us that the weather as it was about 70 degrees farenhiet was refered to by the Czechs as Babi Lato (forgive my spelling) which basically means old summer and comes from the idea that the weather has become like a grandmother.

We had dinner in an adorable country called Gitanes which is part Czech part Bosnian. The food was incredible and I had a bean and onion dish flavored with sweet paprika that was out of this world and my grilled chicken wings were extremely tasty. Melody had a stuffed pepper dish that was also tremendous. The food is great but the portions were very large and best for sharing. I must comment on the eclectic country décor. The owner must just like to have fun with colors, textures and mediums. He or she even cut the legs of a small table and chairs and glued them along with a full table setting to the ceiling. There was even a working lamp stuck to the table and hanging above us upside down giving off plenty of warm light.

October 21

We stared the morning off early with a trip up to the summer Palace. It is under renovation right now but it is said to be the best example of Renaissance Architecture outside of Italy. The sprawling park in front of the palace was the perfect place to stroll and enjoy the foliage. It was such an enjoyable way to spend the morning and we got some great pictures of the Castle and Saint Vitus’ Cathedral.

We passed the Saint Nepomucka which had been closed each time we passed before so it was great that we got to go in and as we entered we saw the military band rehearsing on the alter. The beautiful church is now the home for religious matters relating to the military.

We came out near the Monastery we visited the other day and I had wanted to see the Josef Sudek gallery but turned out to be closed so we hiked back up the steep hill and walked along the hillside trails that lead us up to the look out tower which Melody climbed up and took some great pictures. I sat in the lovely park beneath and watched people and enjoyed the sunshine. The church at the top of the is, Saint Vavrineckas, was still under construction like it was when we visited last year so there was no visiting the inside.

We took a stunning walk down the curved lanes leading from the top of the hill directly to the front of our hotel. The walk was spectacular with views of the whole city and as we walked past vineyards and various parks the vibrate colors of the fall foliage captivated us. It was great exercise but it was also a terrific way to enjoy such a glories sunny day in Prague.

After a quick stop off in the hotel we went a few doors down to where Josef Sudak’s workshop and home was. The actual home was destroyed by fire some time ago but they have built a replica and it stands in the same place as the original which is through the front doors of an apartment building and across a small paved courtyard. There were none of his photographs so I was very disappointed but I did quickly peruse the artist’s work being exhibited and then we were off to a little gift shop down the street where we had purchased a few mementos last year.

Now it was time for a snack so we stopped off at a café and had the wonderful little finger sandwiches that are easily found in hundreds of cafes around Prague. I also had a little strudel and Melody has a small ice cream. It wasn’t gelato but you can’t have everything.

We then took a leisurely walk through the Kampa area of Prague which was so conveniently located behind our hotel. It’s a charming neighborhood with a large park on the river front. There are small islands in the river in front of you when you walk along and they even have paddle and row boats available for rent. We didn’t do it but that will have to be a must for my next visit.

We ventured into the courtyard of the Kampa Museum where several modern sculptures were presented. We took some pictures with the trick mirror and enjoyed the portion of it that made you look at least 10 sizes smaller.

There was still so much to be seen so we once again enjoyed a walk across the Charles Bridge and off we went along the river to see up close the National Theater which shines brightly at night from many places around the city. We even saw an unusual Gothic fountain.

A walk through the Nove Mesto area, which is much more commercial with lots of shops and an enormous Tesco which we took some time to investigate was our next stop. I was hoping to find a pair of sneakers as my shoes were getting to be very painful with all the walking. Last year I wore three inch Clarks heals and was comfortable every moment of every day. These Clarks, more suitable for walking by many people standards had stretched out a bit too much and had become almost unbearable. We did eventually find a pair that were reasonable and my feet were pretty much happy from that point on. I would not normally wear sneakers and both Melody and I commented on how thankful we are that we were not in Paris because it would be an enormous fashion faux pas there.

We also went on a hunt to find the Church of Our Lady of the Snows which has a spectacularly high ceiling and a row of many enormous windows spanning its entire length on both sides. Now you would think this would be easy to do considering its height and also that it was on the map but that was anything but the case. It is blocked by several tall modern buildings and even when we surprisingly came across the botanical gardens hidden behind a whole bunch of office and retail buildings and could see the church from the gardens it still took us a while to find an entrance in. It was worth the wait and struggle as it is a magnificent sight and mass was going on so we had the pleasure of hearing singing in this wonderful space.

It was also fun to come across the many Art Nuevo buildings snuggled between modern ones and we also, right out side the church, found the Cubist lamp posted I had read about before coming.
Having spent so much time in the more modern area we could not leave Prague the next day without having spent some more time in the Old Town area. I really do love it there and where it is cooler, like now, the population of tourists is much more manageable and you can usually enjoy the architecture in peace. Now this evening, however, there was a rock concert going on and lots of activity so although it was fun to see the center so alive it was not how I had expected to find it.

A lovely walk over the Charles Bridge took us back to the Mala Strana area and close to our hotel. The evening before at dinner a couple from the States who were sitting near us told us the food was good here but go to their other restaurant called Luka Lu and you will be even happier. Well, they were right and the décor, though less eclectic than Gitanes it was still unique and this time the shortened table was coming off the side of a wall rather than the ceiling like in the other. The food was superb and we sat next to a couple from Germany who were so lovely and we just spent the evening chatting about everything from travel to world affairs. Henry was from the Black Forest region of Germany and Zenka (pronounced Jenka) was originally from Bosnia and went to Germany during the war. It was so interesting talking to them both and Zenka is six months pregnant and you could just feel how happy they both were even when they didn’t say a word. They also gave me some tips on other spa towns like, Karlovy Vary, the Czech spa town we are headed to tomorrow. So for anyone who enjoys hot mineral spas apparently the Hotel Adler in Northern Italy is a must visit. He said the web site is http://www.hotel-adler.com/

It was a tremendous visit to Prague and I am certainly as much in love with it as I was when I left last year. We met some lovely people along the way and yes, I can say most of the people who we encountered who work in the stores and the hotel were less than hospitable and in some case just so miserable that it can make you question coming back but the lady who wanted so much to help us with directions to find the laundry mat actually and who locked up her shoe store and went around asking all the other merchants if they new of a place as well as the nice older man who walked with us to the bus station to get our tickets to Karlovy Vary stand out in my mind as demonstrating what true hospitality is. There were more of course but those two certainly went out of their way to help us appreciate their city as much as I am sure they do.