I am wiped with jet lag. My alarm goes off at 8, but my body
wakes up at 10:30, that is perfectly fine. I feel in good shape after 10 hours
of sleep. Quick breakfast with fruit, off I go to the riverside.
Walking along the east side of the river at least once a day will become my most favorite pastime in Prague... Charles River and Prague Castle in the backdrop
After walking along the east side of the river all the way to the magnificent National Theater, I cross the bridge and discover that the islands on the river are in fact very small protrusions out of the water allowing one or two hefty buildings on them. In the middle of the Legii bridge south of the infamous Charles Bridge, I take the steps down to the Strelecky Ostrov (Shooters island). The only building in the middle of it happens to be a restaurant with beautiful view of the river in both directions as well as of the National Theater, the grandiosity of which is much more on display from afar.
Charles Bridge with its entire length from the Legii Bridge
There are no customers, the waiters are very graceful and they show me the entire terrace basically to choose a table from some 40-50 tables. I pick the first small table along the railing. The server spells the name of the river for me on my scrap paper, Vltava River. Czech language is indeed notorious for using multiple consonants with no vowels. The river is calm, peaceful, opening her bosom only to an occasional paddle boat or two. The restaurant is on an elevated large deck, almost a terrace with full command of the river.
National Theater from across the Vltava River
I learn that they are open from 10 to 10 every day, but Czechs usually have their lunch after 1 pm, so it is no surprise that they don’t have any customers before noon. I am still in breakfast mood and order a Czech potato soup with dried oyster mushrooms. Although, it is a vegan dish, it surprises me with the layers of flavors, must be the herbs and spices. After I have enough of the river for now, I head north toward Charles Bridge from the west side of the river. Czechs’ very progressive and beloved young king Charles IV, who combined the old town and new town, started building this bridge and its statues in 1357.
I will have several drinks and soup at the café across the river watching Charles Bridge and the elegant swans of the Vltava
Most of the time, the bridge is like a street mall or festival site, full of people with all ethnic backgrounds, except for Africans, it is surprising that I have seen in the 36 hours I have been in Prague, 2 or 3 black people. Various languages are passing by me as I walk toward the east end. The bridge is adorned with numerous statues with religious themes. The one of St John in the center of the bridge has become specifically special for good luck for Czechs:
St. John and his pilgrims trying to touch the panels below both of his feet
This is beggars' routine posture on Charles Bridge, no eye contact with passers-by
Closest look at the Charles Bridge before entering it from the west end
Prague Castle in the distance from the Old Town Tower upper balcony
St. Nicholas Church on the town square, where chamber recitals are held every day
One of the windows in the Gothic Cellar
Street Band playing one of the most lovely music I heard in Prague
Stone Bell House, which is the City Art Gallery nowadays, where famous architect Santiago Clatrava's productions were on exhibition
Santiago Calatrava is a through and through artist, not only an architect
Town square toward the castle from the Tower
In 36 hours in town, I have figured out that music is part
of Czech blood and flesh: All major churches, public buildings and private
entities integrate music into their daily function. I was thrilled that I
was able to join Prague’s music culture from my first evening here on. As soon
as I visit St. Nicholas Church and learn that they have a concert with three
musicians playing, organ, piano, and trumpet, who will be accompanied by a
soprano, I sign up for the 5 pm show.
The Castle from the Town Square Tower
The trio at St. Nicholas Church at the end of their concert
Golden Ring House displaying artifacts related to King Charles' life
Powder Tower: Border between old town and new town
Divadlo Hybernia, where I watch Swan's Lake
Musician playing beautiful classic music with wine glasses full of various amounts of a blus liquid!
After walking along the east side of the river all the way to the magnificent National Theater, I cross the bridge and discover that the islands on the river are in fact very small protrusions out of the water allowing one or two hefty buildings on them. In the middle of the Legii bridge south of the infamous Charles Bridge, I take the steps down to the Strelecky Ostrov (Shooters island). The only building in the middle of it happens to be a restaurant with beautiful view of the river in both directions as well as of the National Theater, the grandiosity of which is much more on display from afar.
There are no customers, the waiters are very graceful and they show me the entire terrace basically to choose a table from some 40-50 tables. I pick the first small table along the railing. The server spells the name of the river for me on my scrap paper, Vltava River. Czech language is indeed notorious for using multiple consonants with no vowels. The river is calm, peaceful, opening her bosom only to an occasional paddle boat or two. The restaurant is on an elevated large deck, almost a terrace with full command of the river.
I learn that they are open from 10 to 10 every day, but Czechs usually have their lunch after 1 pm, so it is no surprise that they don’t have any customers before noon. I am still in breakfast mood and order a Czech potato soup with dried oyster mushrooms. Although, it is a vegan dish, it surprises me with the layers of flavors, must be the herbs and spices. After I have enough of the river for now, I head north toward Charles Bridge from the west side of the river. Czechs’ very progressive and beloved young king Charles IV, who combined the old town and new town, started building this bridge and its statues in 1357.
I will have several drinks and soup at the café across the river watching Charles Bridge and the elegant swans of the Vltava
Most of the time, the bridge is like a street mall or festival site, full of people with all ethnic backgrounds, except for Africans, it is surprising that I have seen in the 36 hours I have been in Prague, 2 or 3 black people. Various languages are passing by me as I walk toward the east end. The bridge is adorned with numerous statues with religious themes. The one of St John in the center of the bridge has become specifically special for good luck for Czechs:
Whenever I pass by it, I will see anywhere from a few to
lines of people touching both sides of the base on which St. John is standing
for good luck. It is interesting that the adults make sure they touch both
sides of the base at the same time. As a result, human skin oils have been
polishing the base who knows for how many centuries. The rest of the statue is
black, the natural color of bronze, but the particular sections of the base are
sparkling in gold color, no chance for oxidation. A bit ahead, I see a man, folded almost into two in a
seating posture, with a dog in his lap, his hood over his face, his hand on the
dog’s neck, both caressing the dog and murmuring something to him. On the
bridge in front of him is a hat with coins in it. I can’t help but feeling
something warm to the guy more than what I usually feel for begging people, my
coin joins his other coins. Through the
week I will observe that all beggars on the bridge are folded onto their laps
and sometimes in knee-chest posture on the floor of the bridge. One saleswoman
tells me this is how Prague beggars beg… Interesting, there may be more to
this, but won’t be able to get to the bottom of it…
When I cross the bridge back to Old Town side of the city, I
visit Smetana museum, who is Czechs’ famous musician, contemporary with Wagner.
It was established in 1936 in a beautiful neo-Renaissance building, which has
full command of playful Vltava River. It is wonderful to see that in the last
several decades the Smetana Foundation has been working across the country with
local communities to discover Smetana’s lost statues and they have been quite
successful in that, too.
Gradually, I find my way to the Staromestske Namesti (Old
Town Square) to do justice to it after my brief pass-through last night. This
square was the market square of the old. Bohemian resistance to Habsburg rule, city’s
embrace of Renaissance, and development of Czech national identity all have
markers in and around the square. My first stop is the Old Town Hall, which
competes with the Prague Castle and Charles Bridge for #1 must-see places in
Prague. First I visit the 228 feet high tower built in 1338 and take
spectacular pictures of Old Prague all the way from Old Town to Hradcany, where
the infamous castle is.
East end Tower on Charles Bridge leads to Old Town
The tower has been designated as a world heritage site
by UNESCO in 1993. The clock in this tower was built in 1410 by imperial clock
master. Then, in 1490 another clock master perfected it into its current
astronomical clock features, which is capable of showing Central European,
Bohemian, and Babylonian times simultaneously. I take a guided tour of the complex, which turns out to be a
great idea: Town Hall now consists of five houses with the hopes that the
sixth, which is now in private hands may soon join its original peers to be
opened to public. However, multiple sections of even the current five homes are
not open to public and only groups led by a guide that the museum provides can
visit the Romanesque and gothic cellars for instance.
Although the some parts of the Hall was established in 13th
century, its full function did not materialize until the 14th
century due to disagreements among various rulers of the city. Once its
function was well established, over the centuries, more buildings were added to
the original complex. Although, fires destroyed most of the complex multiple
times, renovations followed one after the other in the 15th, 17th,
and 19th centuries with continued expansion of the Town Hall. In the
last days of WWII, allies bombed the southeast section of the hall, which was
not redeemable. As a result, now we have a green space adjacent to the current Hall,
last renovated following the WWII.
I was being amazed with how well Prague was able to preserve
its historical architectural tissue, which in turns preserves their long long
history and national identity. I didn’t know, in order to do that, they had to
persevere and work really hard by building what was destroyed time and time
again. The Chapel of Virgin Mary is the first section of the Hall we
visit. I am not surprised to learn that due to political rulers of the old being
so enmeshed with religious leaders, they would come here and pray before any
government related meeting.
The Tyn Church is more impressive from the Tower...
After the Municipal Hall, which was renovated after
WWII, comes the Old Council Hall, which is one section of the complex that was
not affected by WWII attacks. Its ceiling is covered with sections of gilded paintings
made by peasants and transported from local shops to the Hall; very impressive
art form. It has a huge stove from floor to ceiling on one of the walls, which
I will continue seeing at the Castle as well. This room is one of the places where “defenestration” took
place.
Impressive ceiling frescos of St. Nicholas Church
New rulers that took over threw the mayor out of the window of this Hall
and dragged him with broken legs to the Town Square where he was executed. There
is quite a bit of blood in Czech history, just like many other countries’. I
hope mankind is getting more humane… The Assembly Hall is a large space
furnished with huge paintings of the medieval era, each of which weighs 600 kg,
2/3 of a ton! This hall is apparently still being used for receptions to host
and impress foreign envoys visiting the city. The George Hall has a beautiful painting of Prague from the
old days, which was one of my most favorite art pieces in the Hall. Then come
the locked cellars to which our guide allows us with her key that looks like a
dungeon key of the old! Apparently, the cellars 8 meters below the current
street level was the actual street level in the medieval era. A major flood
took place, after which partly due to flood itself, but partly, to prevent such
flooding again, the street level was raised, and people of Prague continued
building on top of the old buildings. Thus, old buildings became a foundation
for the new buildings. Impressive innovation, almost what we have been doing in
Iowa after the 2008 flood.
The Gothic cellar has a very sad, shaming history: It is
also home to a dungeon, which is basically a relatively wide well! However,
when I hear 20-30 people would be locked up in it with no food, no water, no toiletry,
all of a sudden it becomes a suffocating tiny hole in my mind. Under these
circumstances, it doesn’t require rocket science to understand that whoever
entered that hole could never come out alive and our guide verifies, either by
starvation and dehydration, or by execution, they all died. There are torture
instruments that were used at the time in the space above the dungeon. This
practice apparently ended in 14th century. Pheeew, humanity is
moving toward a softer path, I guess and hope. When we are released from both
the dungeon area and the Old Town Hall into fresh air of the square, I feel
something of a relief. I am free, so do the people around me seem to be…
A very interesting group of men playing jazz music, engulfs
my senses and I am centuries away from the dungeon now. One of them is playing
a metal instrument, almost like a flat accordion with no bellow. He is wearing
metal rings at all ten finger tips, with which he touches different parts of
the metal plate that he is wearing on his chest. He produces such variety of
sounds, he is almost an orchestra by himself.
I visit the City Gallery next by chance. I learn later on
that this gallery is housed in a 14th century house, called Stone
Bell House, in which King Charles IV, who is considered to be the father of the
Czech nation might have lived some time. The architect Santiago Calatrava, who
apparently built Milwaukee Art Center, also built multiple contemporary structures
in Prague. I am very impressed with what a through and through artist he is
from painting, to sculpting, to pottery, to architecture, to installation art, you
name it. His sketches and draft statues or installations in and of themselves
intricate art pieces that clearly involve a lot of engineering.
Santiago Calatrava is a through and through artist, not only an architect
There are two major churches around Town Square: St.
Nicholas and Our Lady Before Tyn, the latter located on Tynska street. I will
soon learn that all old buildings are surrounded with restaurants, shops and
similar businesses on the main floor. As a result, the entrance to them may not
be in plain sight, but hidden within one of the businesses, which happens to be
the case with Tyn Church. It is, expectedly, much more impressive than St.
Nicholas.
The church is full to the brim before the concert starts. We
are all surprised that the musicians are up by the organ on the upper balcony.
Initially, we all try to look back and see them playing and singing. I come to
understand that what they mean to do cannot be to give a crooked neck to all of
us at the end of the concert. I start meditating to the beautiful sounds in
great joy. For the last three pieces, they come down to the altar and piano replaces
the organ and our visual satisfaction is also fulfilled. At the end of the concert one of the older female tourists is upset that she had to look back to see the musicians. I am grateful that I didn't make it a big deal, instead enjoyed myself meditating to the beautiful sounds...
Finally, before I leave the Town Square, I visit the Golden
Ring House, in which another museum is housed telling the story of King Charles
IV’s life, how he started as a 17 year old young leader and built a nation during
his reign. Certainly around religious themes and goals of the time, but he must
have done a lot of good, since even contemporary Czechs seem to be identifying
with him, so much of what they have is named after him…
Powder Tower, which was supposed to be the last spot in Old
Town, not only gives me another opportunity to view the town from up above, but
also drops me off right in front of Narodni Divadlo, where Swan Lake Ballet will
be showing tonight. When I first heard about it, at the gift shop of the Tyn’s
church, I had thought, one concert is enough for the day. But now that I am
right in front of the theater, to which I probably will not return, I change my
mind and get a ticket.
I have 45 minutes to have dinner. As I am strolling around
the quarter, I come across a “Buddha Hotel and Bar”, go figure. That is quite
fitting with my mindset; I enter, the lobby is quite peaceful, I head to the
bar to see if they would serve any food. There is nobody except for the barman,
who is very young, 18-20… I ask him if he serves any food. Not, here, but
downstairs in the restaurant… I see lovely baked goods in a big bowl, which
would be more than enough for me for the time being. I ask him whether he can
just serve me some of those.
He points to the platters on the counter and tells me “Help
yourself, it is self-service.” I take one piece of each of the three kinds of
baked goods onto my plate as I ask him if I could have a mojito. He then tells
me, in fact the bar is closed and he is working on inventory. Just as I hear
this, I have already taken the first bite of my delicious apple turnover. I
apologize and want to leave after paying for the cookies. However, he is so
sweet, he tells me “Don’t worry, these are for our guests and free”. But I am not a hotel guest I tell him. Finally he
understands, I just walked in as a customer to pay for what I eat and drink. He
tells me it is perfectly fine and even genuinely attempts to refuse the tip, I
assume would be the cost of the food I am now devouring… It is clear that he is
open to conversation and we start chatting. He is from Slovakia, his country is
still in turmoil with the assassination of a journalist, who was killed by
Mafia because he was working on exposing them for the last year or so. For the
last 6 months, since his death, the killers are still at large and the society
is in discontent with this lack of justice prevailing.
He is in Prague, because “I am young, I don’t have kids, and
I want to see another country.” Fair, we both chuckle in good spirit. He is
getting ready to deliver a room-service order and I need to leave for my show. We
part with best wishes for each other and he promises, he wants to visit
Istanbul as soon as he can. As I walk toward the Narodni Divadlo, I notice a man, who has gathered a sizeable
crowd around his table, on which he had placed some 20-30 wine glasses. Each
glass has a different amount of blue colored liquid in it. It soon occurs to me
that the beautiful music I hear comes from these glasses that he creates by
rubbing his palm along the rim of the glasses! Apparently, the amount of liquid
changes the tone of the sound. In one hand he has a large syringe full fo the
same liquid that is in the glasses. Throughout his music-making with one hand,
the hand with the syringe is adding liquid to certain glasses, it looks like
that is how he “tunes” his instrument to specific tones. Amazing…
Swan’s Lake is very well staged with beautiful choreography
and world-class dancers. The only down side is that the music is recorded not
played by a live orchestra. I am still content with all the audiovisual beauty.
On the way back to my apartment, now more confident that this is a safe city to
walk in the city center at night, I am thinking of all the musical encounters
of the day, understanding this city better with its musical juices splashed onto magical architecture... I am grateful for my job, which takes me to these unforgettable places on earth, while I teach and help...
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| The castle, I will find out is much more magical from afar as the backdrop of the beautiful Vlatava than from nearby... |
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