Dan, Grace, and Hugh's trip to Prague - April 8-15, 2002

----------Tuesday----------

After a six hour flight from Newark to Paris and an approximately one-hour flight from Paris, we arrived in Prague. Our host Mr. Foretek picked us up at the airport and drove us to his house, which is in a quiet neighborhood nestled in the hills west of town. For us it was 4:00 in the morning, but it was 11:00 there and we didn't want to waste the day so we got cleaned up and headed out. Our first adventure was the diner just down the street. I had spent months studying the language, but when we walked in I realized I should have spent more time on my menu-reading skills. We huddled together at the table and furtively deciphered the menu enough for some timid pointing/ordering, which resulted in probably our least spectacular meal of the trip: some OK soup and goulash, and some good Staropramen beer. We managed to get some cash exchanged at the bank nearby, and then exercised our "pointing while saying a number" skills at the local bakery and got some fantastic pastries. We then worked our way eastward.

Where the main road curves northeast toward Prague Castle we continued eastward onto a side street which led up into the courtyard of Strahov Monastery. After a few minutes of admiring the statuary and metalwork on the exterior, as well as what little of the lavish interior we could see through the gates, we continued through the eastern gate of the courtyard. That was when we got our first breathtaking view of Prague. Before us the monastery orchard sloped gently downward and then gave way to the city's mass of towers, spires and red tile rooftops clustered around a curve in the Vltava River, with Prague Castle brooding over everything from the northwest.

After enjoying the view we continued east, the monastery path soon joining with a narrow cobblestone street running along the edge of the orchard. Where the road began to level out we discovered a wonderful little Turkish tea house where we had tea and coffee according to our tastes, and I got the best Jordan almonds I've ever had. The cheerful woman running the store was the first of many people we spoke to in Prague who must have known three languages at the very least, and it never stopped impressing me. We made our way down to the Mala Strana (or Little Town) Square. From here we got a closer view of Prague Castle, looking up at it from the south.

Continuing east, we passed under the tower straddling the western end of the Charles Bridge. The bridge is one of the most famous attractions of Prague, mostly because of its location and its statues. The ancient look of the blackened stonework contrasts vividly with the gold highlights, such as the sword held by the figure in one statue. As we passed by the lower buildings clustered around the shore I marveled at how unexpected the architecture was: muted yellow stucco buildings with red tile roofs forming a sea out of which thrust countless black and grey towers.

This first walk over the bridge was not the most enjoyable; the souvenir vendors transformed what can otherwise be a fascinating and enthralling location into just another crowded tourist zone. During that walk, however, I caught my first glimpse of what was to me one of the most fascinating landmarks in Prague: a gigantic metronome swaying slowly back and forth on a prominent hill north of town. It occupies a site where, during the Communist occupation, a 21,000 ton statue of Stalin on horseback stood. It's difficult to put into words how it felt to watch that long steel needle marking off pieces of a happier time for the Czech people, but I know I can't imagine a better replacement for what was once a symbol of Stalin's grip on the city.

Continuing on under the west tower, we left the Charles Bridge and entered the crowded center of Prague. After walking along narrow cobblestone streets through crowds of other tourists and past an array of shops and restaurants, we entered the Stare Mesto Namesti, or Old Town Square. Here on the side of one of the prominent towers is the famous astronomical clock which appears on most of the postcards I sent. People gather each hour to hear it chime and see the moving figures around the clock and in the windows behind it. For instance, the twelve apostles move past the windows which open as the clock begins to chime, and the skeleton figure next to the clock face rings its bell! But in order to look at the clock you must first peel your eyes away from the huge Cinderella-style castle which dominates the square from its eastern side.

As I became more and more overwhelmed by all the unique pieces of Prague's history around me, I wished that I had had time to research that history before the trip. I don't regret spending all my spare time learning what I could of the language, because the challenge of trying to communicate there was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. However, it pained me to be ignorant of the history behind what I was seeing. Thankfully Dan and Grace filled in some of those gaps for me, such as the story about the Stalin statue and some of the history behind the astronomical clock.*1

Jet lag was weighing heavily on us, so we had a seat in a quiet little second floor restaurant directly across the street from the astronomical clock. That was when Dan introduced me to Becherovka, a clove liqueur made in the Czech Republic.*2 While Grace and Dan continued to relax I went back down to the street and saw and heard the chiming of the clock for the first time. Then, after fervently preparing what I wanted to say using my dictionaries and notes, I managed to successfully buy some postcard stamps at the post office.

For dinner we sought out Radegast, a pub which had been highly recommended to Dan. Tucked into an alleyway near the square, this place was everything we had hoped for and more. The beef, dumplings, and cabbage we had for dinner were fantastic, but the real treat was the beer. We started out with a lighter variety - I think it was their own Radegast brew - which was quite excellent. Then I asked for a dark beer, and received my first of what was to be many pints of Velkopopovicky Kozel. It was far and away the best and most drinkable dark beer I've had in my life, with none of the bitter and yeasty characteristics I associate with dark beers. After my fourth beer I wondered why I was still so sober; on our way out we looked at one of the bottles and got the answer. The Velkopopovicky Kozel had only 3.5% alcohol. It's obviously not designed to get a person drunk, but rather to be savored over the course of an evening. And we did.

Despite our exhaustion we managed to walk home, passing over the Charles Bridge and near the orchard once again. One excellent reward for this was the view of Prague by night from just below the monastery. The castle was a glowing crystal presiding over a sea of jewels in the night below.

----------Wednesday----------

By late morning we managed to rouse ourselves and head out into to a grey day which, because we had gotten a reasonable amount of sleep, still seemed much more cheerful than the previous one. After making our morning visit to the pastry shop, we were lucky enough to pass through the monastery courtyard as the deep, resonant, well-tuned bells above the chapel were ringing. Then, turning onto the road below the monastery, we made our way south along the upper edge of the orchard and then up the path through the woods. We saw a few of the monks out and about, and periodically we passed small painted stone shrines which depicted the stations of the cross. We eventually made our way to the miniature of the Eiffel Tower at the top of the hill and paid to go up to the observation deck. From there the whole of Prague was laid out before us, from the numerous bridges over the Vltava River to Prague Castle and the monastery below.

Satisfied with the rewards of our climb, we descended through the orchard and entered a sleepier section of town south of the Charles Bridge. We passed through several isolated and picturesque courtyards with statues and flowering bushes, and then crossed over the Legii Bridge. Looking for lunch, we discovered Godmother's Pizza which, believe it or not, made thin-crust pizza that was far better than anything I've ever managed to find in New York.

Most of the rest of that day was spent wandering through town, shopping, and gawking at the wondrous architecture which presented itself at every turn. I picked up some childrens' books which I will read when my Czech is good enough, and many Mucha postcards. After another delicious round of fatty food and exquisite beer at the Radegast, we walked back past the university and over the Manesuv Bridge, which lies north of the Charles Bridge just south of a bend in the Vltava. As we took a trolley the rest of the way back to our apartment, it was becoming apparent to me that the three of us complemented each other very well. Dan and Grace are both good navigators, and although I can't navigate my way out of a barn I did have enough of the language under my belt to communicate at certain crucial times.

----------Thursday----------

After the now-inevitable hoarding of the pastries (apple! sour cherry and cheese! poppyseed! poppyseed and cheese!), we once again made our way through the monastery courtyard and along the orchard wall. This time we took a tiny detour into the courtyard of a tower with a rather interesting legend I'll tell about later. We went there to deliver a letter to Karla, a friend of Dan's ex-girlfriend who supposedly ran a bookshop just off our path. The proprietor there told us that Karla no longer worked at that location but at another gallery near the main square across the bridge. She called Karla so that Dan could speak to her, and we continued on to her art gallery: Krasna Pani, or "Beautiful Woman". Karla was very warm and friendly to us, and was extremely happy to find that I was learning Czech. This improved my spirits greatly, since until then I hadn't met anyone who seemed to care.

Our next stop was the bookstore of the Charles University Philosophy Department. I was very proud that I was able to converse well enough with the saleswoman to get the kind of dictionary I was looking for, and to get directions to another bookstore nearby with more materials. By the time I got done at that second store, I had a ponderous stack of dictionaries and instructional books which will easily take me a year to work through.

The next stop was one of the "must see" sites on our agenda: the Prague Municipal House. Built early in the 1900s when Czechoslovakia gained its independence, it was designed as the seat of Slovak nationalism, and no expense was spared to meet that goal. The most renowned artists in the country were enlisted to design the interior, and the results are astounding; even the parts of the building open to the general public which we saw that day were quite impressive. Because of where, when, and by whom it was designed, it's probably the world's finest example of the Art Nouveau artistic style. I don't think the building contained a single element which was not lavishly ornate; even the grates over the ventilation ducts were elegant examples of the metalwork characteristic of that style. The basement floor contained some wonderful tile work with a ladybug motif, and a stunning piece of tile work depicting Slavic farmer peasants covered an entire wall within the restaurant in the next room. As we sat drinking at the bar we looked up and marveled at a mosaic of what appeared to be a phoenix around which hung an elaborately constructed stained-glass chandelier.

By this time we had settled quite firmly into a Radegast groove, so we went there again for lunch. According to Dan our meal, a delicious beef dish with a lemony cream sauce and dumplings, was the Czech national dish. We naturally washed it down with more beer and continued on to Florence Station, a major connection for buses and subways. We wanted to plan an excursion for the following day, and this proved to be one of the most challenging parts of the whole trip. The bus schedules were very complicated, and when I went to the information desk I realized that finding out the time of tomorrow's last bus from Turnov to Prague is a heck of a lot more complicated than buying a dictionary. After struggling at this for quite a while, though, we had a handle on the schedule and planned to catch the next morning's bus.

After buying tickets to a show that night, shopping, and failing to get a table at Godmother's Pizza, Dan and I actually stooped to buying a pizza at Little Caesar's. Then we went to see Odysseus, a retelling of portions of The Odyssey using modern dance and video projection. It was in parts quite enjoyable and interesting, but for the most part I found it just silly. Afterwards we got our much-sought-after table at Godmother's, and spent the rest of the evening immersed in great pizza, excellent beer, and good conversation.

----------Friday----------

Three days proved to be inadequate for completely recovering from jet lag, and we missed our bus to Turnov. So we decided to go on Saturday instead, and do our Prague sightseeing that day. We crossed the river and climbed the stairs to Letna, the plaza containing the giant metronome mentioned earlier. From beneath the huge, oscillating steel needle we took in another commanding view of Prague.

After descending the steps and taking a quick tram ride, we visited the big tourist attraction: Prague Castle. We ascended the long stone path, walked through the castle gates, and made our way to the looming centerpiece of the castle: Saint Vitus Cathedral. Words can't describe how ominous the structure is, with its blackened waterspouts in the shapes of people and animals jutting out at all angles from the numerous flying buttresses surrounding the towers. On the front wall huge and gleaming mosaics of religious iconography loom over dark iron gates wrought with scenes of gloriously toiling peasants.

I took a quick detour to the small post office in the courtyard*3 and then joined Dan and Grace inside. The interior of the cathedral was truly awesome. Most of the stained glass was done in a style which marked it as 20th-Century work, but it was still the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be difficult to choose between the huge and exquisite rosette window, and the window on the left side near the entrance to the front of the chapel which was designed by Mucha. In the alcoves all along the sides of the chapel were pieces of religious artwork from various periods. One of the pieces which stuck with me the most was a wooden carving of the crucifixion of Christ. This was no westernized, whitewashed version of the crucifixion; this was the real deal. Christ’s body was gruesomely riddled with gashes.

Once we’d had our fill of the cathedral, we went next door to the “Europe Around the Year 1000” exhibit. It contained a fascinating display of artifacts, mostly related to the formation and growth of Slavic cultures. Many ancient coins, spears, helmets, swords and axes from that period were on display, plus some unique pieces such as the sword which was a symbol to Christian crusaders at the time. The sword had a gap in the middle into which was bound, with gleaming copper wire, an iron nail which was supposedly from the crucifixion. Other highlights included the helm of St. Wenceslas and many books of the early Christian canon which clearly showed how the rulers of the time kept their subjects in line by depicting themselves as part of Christ’s family tree. Another fascinating find was the ornate curves adorning one of the illuminations within another book; the germinating seeds for the curves characteristic of Mucha’s paintings could be clearly seen.

Completely overwhelmed by all that we'd seen that day, we had a relaxing dinner at The Little Buddha, an unlikely restaurant between the castle and the monastery. They had every different kind of tea imaginable, and a huge array of vegetarian dishes which, although delicious, would have pleased us more had they contained more vegetables and less cabbage. Dan then went to a guitar performance, while Grace and I wandered back over the Charles Bridge, which had much more ambience at night. The vendors were thankfully gone, and there was a man captivating us passersby with beautiful and haunting music on an "organ" which consisted of a series of wine glasses filled with water to varying heights. After listening to a few songs, we made our way back to Karla's gallery and left her an invitation to dinner over the weekend.

After meeting up with Dan again, we came to the rather surprising decision that we should have beer at the Radegast. I was also intent on getting a few of their beer glasses as souvenirs, and I did my best to communicate that intent to the bartender. He said "No", but since he didn't speak much English I thought he might not have understood me. After we'd had a few beers I asked the man who'd waited on us several times, and who seemed to know more English. Eventually I got the point across and bought two glasses, but throughout the process he had a look on his face which plainly said, "WHY do these crazy Americans want to buy our GLASSES???" At one point he even turned to the bartender so that the two of them could figure out what to charge us for them. As we wandering through the streets afterward and savored Prague's lack of open container laws, Dan and I laughed about how we were leaving behind us a few very bemused Czechs.

----------Saturday----------

This time we managed to get our pastries AND get to the bus station on time. The destination of our hour and a half bus ride was Turnov, a town to the north of Prague in an area called Cesky Raj.*4 The name means "Czech Eden", and it's known for its numerous castles and limestone formations. Dan and I eventually managed to figure out how to get to the trail, and we were on our way. Just before we reached the trail we encountered one of the most bizarre things we saw all week: a cluster of nude, blindfolded, rust-stained female statues underneath a rusty old structure behind a warehouse. Presumably unintentional, it seemed a perfect summary of the Czech experience under the Russians.

We followed the Golden Trail as it wound its way into the woods southeast of Turnov, and after about an hour we came to one of the more modest limestone formations jutting up from the ground. After a few more minutes of hiking through woods which reminded me quite a bit of the Adirondacks, Hrad (Castle) Valdstein appeared abruptly through the trees. We stopped long enough to briefly view the castle, buy postcards, and strike up a conversation with the proprietor of the souvenir shop. One section of his wall was covered with postcards from all over the world, and Grace got his address so that we could send him one from Brooklyn.

Our time was limited and we wanted to see as many of the famous limestone formations as we could, so we continued on. We were far from disappointed. Soon we came to a spot where we were able to climb up onto a rock and get a 180-degree view of a huge gorge full of limestone columns. Further down the path was an even more impressive spot where we were able to walk out onto a platform in the midst of a huge assembly of the massive pillars. Every few minutes we came to another breathtaking view; it was like a scene from Utah, but with limestone instead of sandstone.

We were running short on time, so we hurried to make it to the small town of Hruba Skala before we had to turn around. Many inviting trails descended into the valleys between the rocks, but we had to leave them behind. We hiked back to Hrad Valdstein and realized that we had plenty of time left, so we took a short break and I admired the statues on the bridge leading to the castle gate. After reading the signposts Grace and Dan saw that there was a more direct trail back to Turnov, so we took that. On the way back to town we climbed a small observation tower with an excellent view of Turnov and its surrounding countryside, and I marveled at the second huge snail I had seen that day. Most people would disagree, but I always thought they were quite beautiful creatures.

By the time we reached the station again I was very happy to take off my boots and stretch my aching feet. We slept during the bus ride back, and had another relaxing meal at The Little Buddha. Then Grace and Dan returned to the apartment while I struck out alone for the Radegast. As I stood at the side bar drinking my beer, eating my fried cheese, and studying my notes from the day, I looked up the word for "dark" and asked the bartender if "temny pivo" was the right way to say "dark beer". He said that was right, but that instead of "temny" you could say "cerny", the Czech word for black. He took my pen and notebook and smiled genuinely as he wrote it down for me, and I knew that I had won him over. It was very satisfying to see him go from cold indifference to warm acceptance; connecting with people like that was the whole reason I spent so much time learning the language.

----------Sunday----------

Despite having gotten back very late the previous night, I managed to get myself out of bed at around 6:00. My goal was to see the sunrise from the Charles Bridge and see the morning sun striking the towers in the main square, but the greyness of the day made that impossible. I decided that I should instead get one last glimpse of St. Vitus Cathedral, so I took the tram back to Prague Castle. I was surprised to find the cathedral open and almost deserted. I wandered through the silence and basked in the radiance of the rosette window and the Mucha window. By the time I had had my fill it was apparent that the cathedral was open because the Sunday service was soon to take place. I left, thankful to have had the opportunity to see such a marvelous place while it was free of the usual crowds.

On the way back to the apartment that morning I had one of my most memorable adventures of the trip. The tram I was riding had emptied out, and then a recorded message which I didn't understand came from the speakers. I assumed that it was simply information about the route, but I was wrong; the tram started up and promptly turned off the main road, drove up a side street, and stopped in an unoccupied tram lot. The power shut down and I realized that the tram was out of service. I expected the driver to come out of the front and share a laugh with me as I left, but the driver's compartment turned out to be empty. The tram was automated, and I was locked inside. Thankfully one of the windows opened widely enough so that I could climb out.

After returning to our apartment I roused Grace and Dan and we made - you guessed it - another visit to the pastry shop. After a nice breakfast at the Café Louvre, we did some more shopping and then took the tour of the Municipal House. For anyone interested in Czech art, I couldn't recommend this tour enough. For a modest price, visitors get to stroll through rooms containing some of the world's most stunning pieces of Art Nouveau design. The highlight is the Mayor Hall, which was completely designed by Mucha.*5 I could have gawked at the paintings covering its walls and ceiling for hours, but unfortunately I could only stay there for a few minutes during the tour.

Before the tour I had managed to contact Karla, who had left a message for us on the previous day. We met her at her gallery just before she was to close up for the day, and then she took us under her wing and back over the Charles Bridge. Our destination was the same courtyard we had visited during our first attempt to find Karla. Since her gallery is associated with the bookshop in that courtyard she has access to that building's tower, which has a peculiar and unique history. Edward Kelly, an alchemist and seer to the king, was imprisoned in that tower during the 1500s. And here we were, walking up the rough wooden stairs to the top of that same tower.

For our final stop of the evening Karla brought us to Magistra Kellyho, the pub at the base of the tower. We had a delicious meal of sausages and dumplings, and as I proceeded to get piss drunk I asked Karla and the proprietor of the neighboring bookstore questions about Czech, and told them about some things I had tried to communicate to people. At one point I told Karla the sentence I'd spoken to the woman at the information desk at the bus station in an attempt to find out about the bus to Turnov, and she laughed until she cried. Then she called the other woman over and asked me to repeat it for her, and SHE laughed until she cried. It probably doesn't sound like much, but the companionship and laughter of that evening alone was more than worth the studying and the trip. These people appreciated my attempts to learn their language, were willing to help me along with it, and got lots of good-natured laughter out of it as they did. I don't remember how many beers I had or indeed much of the walk back to the apartment, but I did manage to put on that souvenir-laden backpack and stagger up the hill without ever quite falling down.

----------Monday----------

On Monday morning I added one item to the very short list of things that awful hangovers are good for. Under normal circumstances I would have been terribly depressed to be leaving after such a wonderful trip. But the way I felt then, that was not a problem. All I cared about was getting on that plane and going to sleep. We hauled our bags from the apartment to the pastry shop to the tram to the subway to the bus to the airport in the rain, and then we were above the clouds heading for another brief stop in Paris. On the flight from Paris to Newark I wrote postcards and watched movies instead of sleeping like I should have, and then we emerged into a preposterously hot spring evening in New York. But I had already hatched plenty of plans for my next trip.

*1 http://www.towerclocks.org/misc/0022-en-hist.htm

http://glasssteelandstone.home.att.net/CZ-Prague.html

*2 If you're interested, ask me for a taste; I brought home a large bottle.

*3 I successfully got stamps AND asked the postal worker if I required 12- or 14-Koruna stamps for the long postcards I was mailing!

*4 http://www.ceskyraj.cz/

*5 http://www.obecni-dum.cz/e_pruvodce/interier.htm contains information and pictures from the Municipal House. The following information about the Mayor Hall is from that page.

The portal with the City of Prague emblem above the doorway connects the foyer with the MAYOR HALL containing A. Mucha's paintings. The ceiling fresco "Slavic Concorde" with an eagle in the centre is "carried" by eight pendentives on which human virtues are shown, personified by Czech historical characters : Faithfulness - J. A. Komensky, Strength - Vojtech of Pernstejn, Vigilance - the Chods, Intractibility - Jan Rohac of Duba, Independence - Jirí of Podebrady, Justice - Jan Hus, Maternal Wisdom - Eliska of Premyslides, Militancy - Jan Zizka. The three wall frescos were inspired by the texts : "Saint Mother of Nation, accept the love and enthusiasm of your sons !" "Humiliated and tortured you are but you shall be revived, my country !" "With strength towards freedom, with love towards concorde". According to Mucha's design doorway curtains were sewn by the students of the City Industrial Continuing School. The curtains have been preserved and renovated. Windowpanes were designed by A. Mucha and installed by V. Stanek and J. Sebek. Original furniture provided with an interesting silver finish was made by J. Krejcik. Indirect lighting of the hall space was arranged to meet the proposal of A. Mucha. Two decorative panels, set in the heater guards above the sofas are replicas of the original colored drawings by A. Mucha. The original drawings can be seen at the Museum of the City of Prague.