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

Wednesday June 10th 2009

Yesterday we walked away from our usual direction, which led us to the New Town Tower. But that is all relative, as New Town is also fairly old, as is its tower.



Next to it was a pleasant park, that we casually walked through. Away from the throng of toursits, we watched locals going about their day.



The main reason we headed this way was to see a building that we had only seen from afar, called the dancing building by Frank Gehry. One side of the building seems to have a waist and skirt, while the next to it, it is straight and capped with a metal hat. Some call it the Fred and Ginger building.


We crossed over the Jiraskuv bridge, and walked on the west side of the Vltave river in the Little Quarter. I watched some boats enter the locks while Hera took some photographs.

As we walked along the base of Petrin Hill, we came across the "Monument to Victims of Communism Who Survived." It is a series of life size people climbing the stairs, each one loosing another piece of themselves. A powerful statement.

We wondered if we should take the funicular up Petrin Hill to get to Prague's very own Eiffel tower called the Petrin Tower, but with our tummies getting hungry, we decided to keep our eyes open for a place to eat.

We decided upon a Mexican restaurant called Cantina. I joked that we will eat New World (American) food, in the Old World. They had two lunch specials, so we ordered one of each. One dish was a lightly grilled mix of vegetables, beans and chicken, while the other was a beef burrito. Both were well seasoned, light, and delicious. The restaurant delivered one of the best Mexican meals I ever had.




After our meal, we continued our way and passed again in front of the Church of St. Mary the Victorious, that holds the statue of the Infant of Jesus. A statue that is revered by the people of Prague as well as Spanish speaking nations. Perhaps that explains the excellent Mexican restaurant we ate at.




We made our way down towards the Charles bridge, and as we crossed, we looked at the wares of the vendors, and listened to two bands that played their music.




No matter the time of day, or how often one walks the touristy path of Charles bridge followed by the winding Karlova Street to the Old Town Square, the walk is always a pleasure. Watching others, and listening to their squeels of delight, reminded us of our first days here.




In the Old Town Square, the same quartet of boys we playing, but I felt sorry for them, as the nearby construction was distracting, despite their best efforts.

We went back home to take a break, and relax a bit before heading back out. We had a beer, Hera charged her batteries and we made a few calls back home with Skype.




Walking back towards the Old Town Square, with the throng of toursits getting ever more dense, we took a very small side street so close to the square itself. A tiny winding alley that we had passed, but never yet ventured in. To our surprise, this narrow side street was lined with quaint restaurants. After almost three weeks, and so close to the Old Town Square, we discovered yet another place we had not seen.

We walked into a restaurant called Mlejnice. Its dark wood tables and old wooded floor boards looked like many of the places we had entered, but looking up, hung from the ceiling, was a large variety of farm implements.




Ordering our beer, we perused the menu. Pork knee was something that we had seen so often during the past three weeks here, and with only a few days left, I decided to order it. The whole 1 kg plate. A quick side note. Here in Prague, all dishes by law must state the weight of the meat. Knowing it was a large plate, I only ordered some fries to go with it.




Hera ordered a cabbage salad as a starter, which was superb. Mildly pickled, and sweet, to go with her brochettes and croquettes. She had thought it would be a single brochette, but there were six fair sized portions.




My plate was huge. I am not sure what I expected, but it was so much better than I ever imagined. The best way to describe it, is that it tasted like one of the best roast pork dishes ever. I have heard before, that bones add flavour. Be it fish bones or bones in a roast, and the bones in my pork knee definitely imparted their flavour.




We were stuffed to say the least. But we wanted to spend the evening walking about on another very pleasant night.




As we crossed Charles bridge, a little girl was enraptured by the music of a violinist. As we walked past, I turned around to look at her again, and she was still hypnotized by his music.




The sun sets late, and as we waited for the sky to darken and the building lights to turn on, we simply rested on the side of the bridge, enjoying the wonderful views, and the people walking by.






As Hera took her pictures, we slowly made our way towards the Little Quarter, before turning around, and slowly making our way home.

Cheers,

Hera & Anthony

Monday June 8th 2009

Today with did something that is not typically Czech. We did a mini pub crawl, or more accurately cafe crawl.

Back home, most places will have a variety of beer on tap. Here, most places are sponsored by a particularly brewery, and will only have a single light and dark beer. The beer variety is usually prominently displayed, and if one wants a particular beer, you go some place that is advertising that brew.



After a leisurely walk that again took us through the Old Town Square, we walked over to a cubist building that houses the Cubist Museum. Being Monday, most sights are closed, but the cafe upstairs is faithful to the cubist style.




The Grand Cafe Orient, with sleek straight tall chairs, and bevelled arrays of mirrors, made us feel as if we stepped back in time. It felt pleasantly dated and old fashioned. At first we sat inside, but then decided to take a seat on the balcony and enjoy the lovely weather.




I had seen a plate of olives on the menu, but they had Bohemian fries on the menu, and Hera thought it might be worth a try. When we asked, we were told that they were basically regular french fries, so we decied on the olives. We ordered our beer, light beer called Staropramen as we watched the people below us.



We then walked a short distance, and as we crossed the powder tower, I looked up at one of the sculptures. A small monk squatting as he eats a chickenleg.



Around the corner was the Municipal House that we had visited earlier. We had noticed its cafe, and promised ourselves to return. The Kavárna Obecní dům is a lavish and very distinctive art nouveau cafe, with its high ceilings, chandeliers, and mirrors. Here one feels one has stepped back to the epoch of the grand cafes of the turn of the century, and I felt as if I was in Paris or Vienna, rather than Prague.




Hera was delighted to see that their beer was Masters. A dark beer we tasted at the food festival, but had not found it served since then. They had a French cheese plate with grapes, as well as a Bohemian cheese plate served with jam. We ordered the Bavarian cheese plate hoping to try some cheese we had not tasted before, but were slightly disappointed in that it felt similar to cheeses we knew well. I even took a look at the menu to be sure we ordered the correct plate.




In the end, the cheese was delicious and went well with the beer. The ambiance cannot be beat. Our waiter served us exceptionally well, and we had a grand time.



We decided to walk a bit and take a break. We walked back to the Old Town square, and listened to a quartet entertain us and the crowd. As we headed up Wenceslas Square, Hera commented how it really did feel like home, but also reminded me that we only have a few short days left.

We came home and relaxed, had our supper, then headed back out on the town.

We walked along streets that we knew very well now, and made our way to the American Bar, the oldest bar in Prague. Czechoslovakia was enamored with America in general, and Woodrow Wilson in particular, who helped created the nation of Czechoslovakia during the Paris 1919 peace talks.



When communism was in force, the American Bar was closed, but was re-opened after the Velvet revolution.




We sat in a booth, and enjoyed the ambiance of a turn of the century bar. Glass and mirrors was prominent and surrounded us. We looked over the bar menu, and Hera ordered a Pina Colada, while I decided on a Mohito. The bar tender was indeed and professional, as both our drinks were exceptionally good.




We savoured our drinks, listening to the voice of a jazz singer as she sang in the adjoining room, and enjoyed each others company.




The evening weather was beautiful. We strolled down the street and crossed the Old Town Square. Not wishing the night to end, we decided to continue walking and made our way to the Charles bridge. As we crossed the bridge, Hera mentioned that she found Prague to be much more romantic than Paris. While I love Paris, Prague is magical and its beauty is much more dense. A city that grows on you. With each passing day, its beauty gets even deeper.




We crossed over the Vltava river, to the Little Quarter, and looked back on the Old Town. Evenings in Prague are so lovely.




But it was time to head home. We took our time walking home. Such a wonderful day and night was coming to an end.

Cheers,

Hera & Anthony