PRAGUE FALL (Not to be confused with Prague Spring)
We have left Prague, but Prague will stay with us for a long time. We really did not have particular expectations of what we would see and feel, and maybe that’s a “good thing.” The tour books warn you of an excessive tourist feel. I suspect we were not as bothered by this because we were there in late October (officially “winter” in the tour guide hours).
And we really lucked out on the weather. We had overcast skies but the temps were in the upper 60s and only a few raindrops one evening. Maybe the weather did not lend itself to great photos, but it sure made for the perfect opportunity to be out for 12 hours a day without needing to haul a lot with us. So what was Prague like?
Well, I think we’ll try doing this in a couple of installments with themes. The first theme has to do with the spectacular skyline. You can see all of Prague by climbing any of a number of towers, churches, or hills. We did as many as we could. Probably the best views of the entire city came by climbing the Petrinska rozhledna (Petrin Observation Tower). Prague is sometimes called the “Paris of the East.” I would like to think it means that there is a similar beauty in architectures and neighborhoods. However, during the Prague Industrial Exhibition in 1891 an imitation of the Eiffel Tower was built here. Although it is as ugly as the Eiffel Tower, the views are spectacular. I won’t put a picture of the tower here (I’m sure they are available on the web). Rather, I’ll add a picture of the castle from the tower.
The 299-step climb is a breeze as there are both UP and DOWN winding stairways making the way clear without having to squeeze to the side. As many of you know, Brent’s size 14 shoes struggle to balance on narrow steps anyway, but when you have to be on the inside of a winding staircase, it’s a challenge (more so down than up). Again I think the weather results in hazy pictures but we didn’t break a sweat on our climbs.
Other local climbs give views of the squares filled with tourists and up-close views of nice architecture. One of the more popular tourist events is the hourly display of the Astronomical Clock (15th C).
Well, as luck would have it, the clock was being restored during our visit. This didn’t keep us from going inside the building where it is housed (Old Town Hall) and walking up for a view. This gave us an excellent shot of the Church of Our Lady of Tyn. This church originates in the 14th century. It was completed in the 16th century. At night these towers are lit up in a way that is disarmingly similar to Disneyland. While enchanting, it did feel a bit eerie.
Another impressive building seen from the Old Town Hall tower is Kinsky Palace. Obviously built in Baroque style; it contrasts well next to the Church of Our Lady of Tyn. In front of this building is a statue of Jan Hus—quite a controversial figure. Here they see him as an important part of their history as he challenged several tenets of Catholicism (and was burned at the stake in 1415 for it). Subsequently the Hussites grew as a group and, as some of you know, the Hussite Wars followed. This statue was made at the turn of the last century, which is often referred to as a period of patriotism. Because of this, statues of men make them appear taller than they really were. Historical descriptions of Jan Hus were of a short, fat man. Here is his quite tall and strong, with many of his followers gathered around at his feet.
We are really sorry to not be able to show the insides of these churches and buildings—however, you are not allowed to use a flash and our camera did not take very clear pictures without flash. [Potentially bad news flash: our camera broke here on day two in Budapest and we have potentially lost 87 pictures from a 70 degree and clear day. We hope that someone we know has a comparable camera to put the memory card in. If not, well, we'll just have to climb up to the castle in Buda again tomorrow.]
Another theme of our experience is that buildings can be experienced in many ways. From the outside we have significant examples of architecture across the ages. For example, St. Vitus’s Cathedral in the Prague Castle was begun in 926 by the Patron Saint of the Czech people (St. Wenceslas) and finished in 1929. Various architects patterned this complex in the styles of French and German Gothic styles as well as Baroque. There is no way to have a picture of the entire church. I include this one to show the variation in styles, and the beautiful mosaics on the front (above the “golden doors”). I only wish the gargoyles were more visible.
Walking up the bell tower (yes, we always went up when given the chance) we saw what is reported to be the largest bell in Bohemia. At this point I must add the story of the term “Bohemian.” According to our expert guide, the term Bohemian originally meant “of good people” in some ancient language and referred to people living in this area. As it turns out, gypsies migrating to France were asked where they were from. They replied “Bohemia.” So all the cultural references to a Bohemian lifestyle (always traveling) is a misrepresentation of actual meaning of the term.
Back to churches. We enjoyed the beauty of the exteriors and interiors, but we also had the opportunity to enjoy them via a couple of concerts. You can spend almost your entire trip here in churches listening to music. We went to two concerts. The first was in the Church of St. Nicholas in Mala Strana. The church previously belonged to Jesuits who made it the focal point of the Counter-Reformation in Bohemia. The Baroque interior was a pretty cool backdrop for “Vespers by Rachmaninov.” The “Prague Singers” performed unaccompanied for about an hour.
Our second concert was quite different. In the “other” St. Nicholas Church in Old Town, we listened to the music of Mozart (“The Little Night Music”) and Beethoven (selections from Symphony No. 5 C Minor). This was advertised as quite unique as the men performing (from the Czech Philharmonic) played on period authentic instruments. While we are not good judges of “classical” music, we did enjoy the experience.
So this is enough for Part I. We are now in Budapest and my mind is moving on. There are three other themes I’d like to explore with photos: interesting exteriors/facades, the Jews of the region, and revolutions. I fear that our families will have to wait for a slide show upon our return to get the real deal. For now, I leave you with a parting shot: for those of you who know Portland, these trolleys may look familiar.
We have left Prague, but Prague will stay with us for a long time. We really did not have particular expectations of what we would see and feel, and maybe that’s a “good thing.” The tour books warn you of an excessive tourist feel. I suspect we were not as bothered by this because we were there in late October (officially “winter” in the tour guide hours).
And we really lucked out on the weather. We had overcast skies but the temps were in the upper 60s and only a few raindrops one evening. Maybe the weather did not lend itself to great photos, but it sure made for the perfect opportunity to be out for 12 hours a day without needing to haul a lot with us. So what was Prague like?
Well, I think we’ll try doing this in a couple of installments with themes. The first theme has to do with the spectacular skyline. You can see all of Prague by climbing any of a number of towers, churches, or hills. We did as many as we could. Probably the best views of the entire city came by climbing the Petrinska rozhledna (Petrin Observation Tower). Prague is sometimes called the “Paris of the East.” I would like to think it means that there is a similar beauty in architectures and neighborhoods. However, during the Prague Industrial Exhibition in 1891 an imitation of the Eiffel Tower was built here. Although it is as ugly as the Eiffel Tower, the views are spectacular. I won’t put a picture of the tower here (I’m sure they are available on the web). Rather, I’ll add a picture of the castle from the tower.
The 299-step climb is a breeze as there are both UP and DOWN winding stairways making the way clear without having to squeeze to the side. As many of you know, Brent’s size 14 shoes struggle to balance on narrow steps anyway, but when you have to be on the inside of a winding staircase, it’s a challenge (more so down than up). Again I think the weather results in hazy pictures but we didn’t break a sweat on our climbs.
Other local climbs give views of the squares filled with tourists and up-close views of nice architecture. One of the more popular tourist events is the hourly display of the Astronomical Clock (15th C).
Well, as luck would have it, the clock was being restored during our visit. This didn’t keep us from going inside the building where it is housed (Old Town Hall) and walking up for a view. This gave us an excellent shot of the Church of Our Lady of Tyn. This church originates in the 14th century. It was completed in the 16th century. At night these towers are lit up in a way that is disarmingly similar to Disneyland. While enchanting, it did feel a bit eerie.
Another impressive building seen from the Old Town Hall tower is Kinsky Palace. Obviously built in Baroque style; it contrasts well next to the Church of Our Lady of Tyn. In front of this building is a statue of Jan Hus—quite a controversial figure. Here they see him as an important part of their history as he challenged several tenets of Catholicism (and was burned at the stake in 1415 for it). Subsequently the Hussites grew as a group and, as some of you know, the Hussite Wars followed. This statue was made at the turn of the last century, which is often referred to as a period of patriotism. Because of this, statues of men make them appear taller than they really were. Historical descriptions of Jan Hus were of a short, fat man. Here is his quite tall and strong, with many of his followers gathered around at his feet.
We are really sorry to not be able to show the insides of these churches and buildings—however, you are not allowed to use a flash and our camera did not take very clear pictures without flash. [Potentially bad news flash: our camera broke here on day two in Budapest and we have potentially lost 87 pictures from a 70 degree and clear day. We hope that someone we know has a comparable camera to put the memory card in. If not, well, we'll just have to climb up to the castle in Buda again tomorrow.]
Another theme of our experience is that buildings can be experienced in many ways. From the outside we have significant examples of architecture across the ages. For example, St. Vitus’s Cathedral in the Prague Castle was begun in 926 by the Patron Saint of the Czech people (St. Wenceslas) and finished in 1929. Various architects patterned this complex in the styles of French and German Gothic styles as well as Baroque. There is no way to have a picture of the entire church. I include this one to show the variation in styles, and the beautiful mosaics on the front (above the “golden doors”). I only wish the gargoyles were more visible.
Walking up the bell tower (yes, we always went up when given the chance) we saw what is reported to be the largest bell in Bohemia. At this point I must add the story of the term “Bohemian.” According to our expert guide, the term Bohemian originally meant “of good people” in some ancient language and referred to people living in this area. As it turns out, gypsies migrating to France were asked where they were from. They replied “Bohemia.” So all the cultural references to a Bohemian lifestyle (always traveling) is a misrepresentation of actual meaning of the term.
Back to churches. We enjoyed the beauty of the exteriors and interiors, but we also had the opportunity to enjoy them via a couple of concerts. You can spend almost your entire trip here in churches listening to music. We went to two concerts. The first was in the Church of St. Nicholas in Mala Strana. The church previously belonged to Jesuits who made it the focal point of the Counter-Reformation in Bohemia. The Baroque interior was a pretty cool backdrop for “Vespers by Rachmaninov.” The “Prague Singers” performed unaccompanied for about an hour.
Our second concert was quite different. In the “other” St. Nicholas Church in Old Town, we listened to the music of Mozart (“The Little Night Music”) and Beethoven (selections from Symphony No. 5 C Minor). This was advertised as quite unique as the men performing (from the Czech Philharmonic) played on period authentic instruments. While we are not good judges of “classical” music, we did enjoy the experience.
So this is enough for Part I. We are now in Budapest and my mind is moving on. There are three other themes I’d like to explore with photos: interesting exteriors/facades, the Jews of the region, and revolutions. I fear that our families will have to wait for a slide show upon our return to get the real deal. For now, I leave you with a parting shot: for those of you who know Portland, these trolleys may look familiar.
posted by WarnerSteel at 12:51 PM
