Thursday June 11th 2009

Orginally we did not have much plans for yesterday, until Hera received an email early in the morning from her photographer friend Ginette. Ginette wrote in her email that there was a great castle on the north side of town, easily accessed with the metro.

I took a look at my bus and metro map, and found where Chateau Troja was located.

With an unexpected destination in hand, we were off to visit Chateau Troja. Feeling comfortable now with the transit system in Prague, we fed our coins and got our transit tickets from the Metro station just steps away from our apartment.

The transit map indicated that we needed to take bus 112, and a bus was waiting for us as we stepped out of the Metro. The bus itself said "Praja Zoo," and I did know that there was a nearby zoo as well as the Praja Botanical Gardens. When I thought we were close, I asked the driver about Chateau Troja, and I guess he misunderstood, as he told us it was the stop we had just passed.

So we got off, and walked back on a street lined with fragrant linden trees in a fairly well to do neighborhood, to the previous stop, but there was no Chateau in sight. So I asked a passerby, and she pointed us in our original direction. We walked passed the station we got off, and low and behold, at the next stop, we were at the Chateau. Perhaps I should not have asked the driver in the first place.

For three weeks we walked on cobblestones of various sorts. I never thought I would miss walking on flat even paving, but I did. It felt great.



The Troja Chateau is an excellent example of Baroque architecture, built by Jean Baptiste Mathey for Wenzel Count of Sternberg between 1680 and 1688. The area was a Royal hunting ground, but there was no nearby lodge, and it was built to attract the Emperor to stay there.



Inspired by Italian villas, it brought High Baroque to Prague. The wall and ceiling paintings are amazing, and Hera found that this small Chateau was much more impressive than Prague Castle. I must agree, just as Vaux le Vicomte is much more impressive than Chataux Versailles in France.



The main hall is stunning, with wall paintings depicting scenes of the victory over the Turks, as well as other important events for the Hapsburgs. What I found interesting, was that the Turks depicted, looked very Oriental, and bore no resemblance at all to any Turks I have encountered at home or in Turkey.



The Chateau changed hands freguently, and the last owner, Jan Svoboda gave the now decayed buildings to the state. Today, it is open to the public displaying its artwork, as well as it pleasant gardens. Photos were allowed outside, but unfortunately photos were not allowed in the sumptious interiour.







After strolling the gardens, we decided to walk over to the Botanical gardens. Their botanical garden was a joy to explore. The soft paths, pretty flowers and ponds, song birds, what a change from the Medieval city of Prague.

Taking the bus, then metro, we were back in familiar territory, Hera wanted to go back to the restaurant we went to yesterday, while I had another restaurant in mind called U Zlateho Tygra. She agreed, however when we got there, it was packed, with a crowd of men standing by the bar. I wondered if we should go elsewhere, but we decided to look for a seat.





The place was boisterous, with locals enjoying their beer. We must have looked quite obvious, as two men got up to leave, they motioned for us to take their seats. Thanking them we sat down, and immediately two other men in front of us started to speak to us in Czech.



We communicated the best we could. One spoke very broken English, but despite that, we got along quite well. Hera took their photo, and one of them pulled out his camera and took our photograph too.



No one seemed to be eating, and when we indicated to the men that we wanted to eat, one cheerfully got up, and asked the waiter that served us our beer. Our helpful companion returned with a slight quizical expression, and said that this waiter serves beer, and another that serves food. I guess they usually drink and not eat here. A menu was brought, and we ordered our food, as we continued to converse the best we could.

Hera ordered a pepper salad and steak tartar, while I ordered their plate of spicey meat. The flavours were exquisite, slightly hot and spicey, but not overpowering, and well balanced.



We were sad when the two men who were so friendly go up to leave, but soon another person took one of the seats, and he too immediately started to converse. He spoke English, and we had a great chat regarding some of the history of Prague, as well as the workings of the clock tower.

We had spotted a hanging picture of Bill Clinton eating here in the early 90's. He told us that the locals had to suffer that day, as there was so much security, and only 5 patrons were allowed to be in the pub with Clinton that day. Of all places to dine, Clinton chose this very pub, and for good reason.

This was a great Czech pub with a very amicable and sociable clientele. We had read in our tour book that this pub was also frequented by the writer Bohumil Hrabal who would take the tales of the patrons here, and weave them into his stories, and this place was full of characters.

Later that evening, Hera really wanted to try the chocolate ice cream sundae that our friend Andre had ordered a few nights before, so we made our way to the Cafe Louevre. She had loved the place, and since this was our second to last night here, I did not want to miss the chance to go back too.

She had her Chocolate dessert, while I had their Apple Struddle. The place's ambiance cannot be beat, and it was a great way to cap off a glorious day. A day that had such a varied mix of activities, each wonderful in their own way.

Cheers,

Hera & Anthony