I love spending time in different parts of the world (or even different parts of the U.S.) but I am not very good at being a tourist. I am content to find a good grocery store, coffee shop, and bookstore – and just hang out. All that said, it does not make sense to be in one of the most remarkable cities in Europe and not visit a few landmarks.
Our arrival from Stockholm was uneventful except for the pea-soup fog. I am sure the pilot landed strictly by instruments because we could not see the ground until seconds before we landed. The Prague airport is a very manageable airport and we quickly got our luggage, moved into the main exit area and located our pre-arranged taxi driver. As we sped along to our hotel the fog slowly lifted and was replaced by a steady drizzle. We are staying in a simple but lovely hotel owned by family friends of my friend, Dominika. The hotel (Hotel Sanssouci) is located a short distance out of the central part of the city in a residential area.
Today’s task was to figure out the public transportation system and visit one landmark. Prague has one of the most amazing and efficient public transportation systems I have ever seen. Still it is a little intimidating. Armed with our 5-day passes (good on buses, trams and the metro) we ventured out to see Prague Castle.
The actual city of Prague is such a complex mix. While it is true that Prague is one of the few central European capitols to have escaped the bombs of the 20th Century wars, the last part of that century (Soviet rule) was devastating. Riding the tram through the city you see both sides of that equation. Examples of incredible architecture, some dating back to the 10th Century, and an abundance of graffiti covered walls of crumbling buildings. Yet there seems to be an invincible optimism in the abundance repair going on all over the city.
Our visit to the Prague Castle made me, once again, refine my definition of “old.” Prince Bořivoj founded the castle in the 9th Century because of its commanding position high above the Vltava River. The buildings enclosed by the castle walls include a palace, three churches and a monastery. We spent the majority of our time in St. Vitus’s Cathedral. Walking through this cathedral takes you through a thousand years of history. There are a whole series of side chapels that contain everything from religious artifacts, saintly relics, Renaissance paintings and royal tombs. We were on a self-guided tour with handy audio-devices that looked like over-sized cell phones. I took a number of photographs but unfortunately cannot remember which chapel or saintly relic is featured in the photo without the help of my audio-guide. The only one I completely remember is the magnificent silver tomb of St. John Nepomuk (1736) who was drowned in the Vltava river on the orders of Wenceslaus, King of the Romans and King of Bohemia.
 |
| Stained Glass by Alfons Mucha (1860-1939) Art Nouveau artist |
 |
| Tomb of St. John Nepomuk (1736) |
 |
| St. Vitus Cathedral (I could not move far enough back (because of castle walls) to take a photograph that fit the whole Cathedral in the picture! |
 |
| Changing of the guards in front of Castle |
After catching the changing of the guards, we tucked into a small café and each had a lunch of “beef goulash in bread boat.” From there we went in search of a grocery store, picked up a few provisions for dinner and masterfully negotiated the tram system back to our hotel. Tomorrow we are heading for Town Hall and the Astronomical Clock. Perhaps we will also find just the right coffee shop or maybe a book store. . .
No comments:
Post a Comment