Two weeks gone in the favorite of favorites (aka Slovenia) and homeland of all Biseks (aka Czech Republic)! It was, as usual, a whirlwind. Since you've all already heard copious (perhaps excessive, you might say) accounts of Slovenia, and in particular Ljubljana, I will forego description of said portion of the trip and concentrate on the capital city of my ancestral land: Prague!
Going back to Prague again was incredible. Despite the not so fabulous weather, it was so great to be there again! M & I were lucky to stay with a friend of ours there - she has a beautiful flat in Praha 6 (there are 10 districts of Prague) and warmly welcomed us - we were quite at home and felt free to make a dent in the couch and break crockery as we saw fit (long story involving blood but no trips to the hospital). We arrived late one Wednesday night - Thursday morning found us spending a few hours up at the Prague castle (Pražský hrad), which is, in my opinion, really one of the most incredible spots in Europe and, I understand, the largest medieval castle in Europe. Wandering about the extensive grounds is free, as is the visits to the garden, but entrance to the other sights within the castle grounds is very reasonable. There are two kinds of tickets - we took the limited one because we were more interested in the sights than the museums and galleries, and it was well worth it. (Adult limited tickets: 250 CZK = approx 13 USD, 9 EUR, 14 CHF. Students (under 26): 125 CZK = approx 6 USD, 5 EUR, 7 CHF). The castle is well-maintained and a great place to spend hours. In addition, the tickets are valid for two days, so this is really a great deal. Kudos to the Czechs.
Me on the Charles Bridge, castle in background
Easily seen from within the castle walls are the spires of St Vitus Cathedral (Katedrála svatého Víta). St Vitus was founded by Wenceslas I, Duke of Bohemia, and is the resting place of many Bohemian kings. This is of great interest to me because my family is descended from Bohemia, so who knows? You may be friends with a princess!
Fun fact: It is possible that the cathedral's saint was chosen because it sounds similar to the name of the Slavic pagan sun diety, Svantevit - another interesting example of those clever Catholics aligning themselves with pagan feasts to ease conversion to Christianity.
Among the sites seen were St George's Basilica, the Wenceslas vineyard and quarters in the old Prague castle. We also took a short walk down the Golden Lane (Zlatá ulička - picture below), a famous lane formerly housing castle craftsmen.
Kafka, a Czech Jewish writer, briefly lived here in a cottage rented by
his sister before his death. At the end of the lane is the Dalibor tower, which we could also call home of medieval torture instruments used in the Prague Castle (no medieval castle being complete without them). The tower is so named after a knight call
ed Dalibor, imprisoned there after supporting a peasant rebellion in 1498. According to an old tale, he learned to play a violin there during his imprisonment. His accomplished playing could be heard throughout the castle, and people came from miles to listen. Perhaps more likely, this legend came from a dry comment made at the time that it was merely "necessity that taught Dalibor to fiddle" - meaning of course that it was merely torture in the end that made him "sing." (Medeival torture rack to the left)
his sister before his death. At the end of the lane is the Dalibor tower, which we could also call home of medieval torture instruments used in the Prague Castle (no medieval castle being complete without them). The tower is so named after a knight call
ed Dalibor, imprisoned there after supporting a peasant rebellion in 1498. According to an old tale, he learned to play a violin there during his imprisonment. His accomplished playing could be heard throughout the castle, and people came from miles to listen. Perhaps more likely, this legend came from a dry comment made at the time that it was merely "necessity that taught Dalibor to fiddle" - meaning of course that it was merely torture in the end that made him "sing." (Medeival torture rack to the left)Prague has an impressive Jewish history. The Jewish Quarter, or Josefov, was founded in the 13th century and was in its heyday home to a thriving community of around 100,000. Today about 6,000 Jews live in Prague, but the quarter is still home to an array of synagogues and an impressive and melancholy cemetery as well as the legend of the Golem - a kind of superhuman made by Rabbi Judah Loew from the mud of the Vltava River.
Duke Wenceslas is also Saint Wenceslas (Svatý Václav) and is the patron saint of the Czechs. You probably know him from the English Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslaus." He wasn't a king, but saint status is eternal and he's probably laughing at all the kings from his seat at the Pearly Gates Party.
After a few hours at the castle, we headed down into the city and crossed the famous Charles Bridge (Karlův most). Commissioned in 1357 by King Charles IV, it is an impressive and popular Prague destination. All along the bridge are approximately 30 statues (mostly erected around 1700) depicting various Christian saints and images. The official "lean" picture of our trip was taken here, with the castle in the background.
Tower view from Charles Bridge
We made it across the bridge to the Old Town Square (staroměstské náměstí), home of the famous Astrological Clock. Unfortunately, folks, this is actually sort of one of those tourist destinations that's more like a "Seriously?" incident. It's cool, but not so cool that it's worth getting drowned like a mouse as you stand outside waiting for the hour to chime so you can see some little saint statues come to the window and nod at you. Nonetheless, if it's your first time in Prague, you should see it. Legend has it that the inventor was blinded after finishing in order to ensure that he could never re-create it anywhere else. (See clock tower at left)Our friend's birthday party was Friday night at a little cafe/bar in town. With an eclectic mix of people and Private Party status, it was a very swank evening.
With M, and our host D, we spent Sunday brunching and cruising along the Vltava River, which cuts through Prague and offers great views of the city's banks and many historical sites.
Fun fact: The name "Vltava" is said to come from the old Germanic words "wilt ahwa", meaning "wild water."
After our whirlwind few days in Prague, it was time to head home to Ljubljana. Being big girls, we had decided to have an adventure and had trained our entire trip. This was actually not so bad, seeing as we had special provisions (1 liter of Jaegermeister) as well as a compartment mostly to ourselves (with two rare exceptions, one being a hyperventilating and sleep-mask-wearing Korean back-packer who, succumbing to the waves of hostility radiating off of me after he forced is way past me into our train and deciding to contribute unasked to our conversation, finally left). So aside from my mild snoring we made it back with relatively few scratches.
In a quick Slovenia recap, I once again visited my friends the zmajski (or dragons) and sadly still no wings flapping...hmmm. M and I also went hiking, though we quickly discovered we had considerably different interpretations of the concept of "hiking", mine being a steady, hearty walk up a gently inclining hill, hers being scaling a mountain. Evidently a "lost in translation moment." I'm happy to say that we and our friendship both nonetheless survived. We also enjoyed the full attention of a live Serbian band at a local restaurant's party and I was happy to spend some quality time with our friend R, finally seeing her new digs and drinking copious amounts of strong coffee.
And now I'm back in Zurich. Life is good, but travel is great, and this incredible continent calls me again (at least, until all the leaning is done).
