Prague

In 2020, I celebrated my 50th birthday, and for my present I asked Mister Handmade in Israel if we could visit Prague. So many people had told me that I would love it there. Well, when there's a worldwide pandemic going on, birthday trips don't exactly go according to plan!
Then Gadi died, and then there was a war, and Prague was very far from my mind until a few months ago, when we spontaneously booked flights without really stopping to consider whether we were ready for the trip.
As I started planning, I did wonder if it was still too much for me. And, of course, there was the added worry that something might happen here in Israel and we wouldn't be able to travel anyway. So I booked everything with free cancellation wherever possible, just in case.
But in the end, everything worked out. And you know what? We had a fabulous holiday!

I've got so much to write about and so many photos to share that I plan to spread our Czech Republic adventures over a few posts. This first one covers many of the things we did in Prague itself.
We discovered a beautiful city, full of history and wonderfully preserved architecture. It is often called the "City of a Hundred Spires" because of its many church towers. Having survived many wars, the historic centre is a fascinating mix of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque buildings.
There was so much to see, from the magnificent Prague Castle overlooking the city and the famous 14th-century Charles Bridge, to the colourful Old Town Square with its medieval Astronomical Clock. And one of the things I loved most about Prague was how walkable it was. Much of the historic centre is pedestrianised, making it a wonderful city to explore on foot - which is exactly how we started our trip, with a free walking tour.

We met our guide, Kamil, at the Powder Tower, before continuing on to the House of the Black Madonna, the Estates Theatre and Charles University, where Kamil had studied.

He showed us many of the highlights of the Old Town and gave us a really interesting introduction to Prague and its history. We visited Old Town Square, where we saw the medieval Astronomical Clock, the Jan Hus Monument and Týn Church. We also made a brief visit to the Jewish Quarter. This was, of course, of particular interest to us, so we planned to return later to explore each of the synagogues and the Old Jewish Cemetery in more depth.
We crossed Charles Bridge and ended our tour at the John Lennon Wall. Kamil was a great guide - informative, friendly and clearly very knowledgeable about Prague and its history. After our introduction to the city, we were ready to start exploring it on our own.

We took the tram up to Prague Castle and then walked back down through Malá Strana. Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle complex in the world, sitting on a hilltop overlooking the city and the Vltava River. Founded in the 9th century, it has been the historic seat of Bohemian kings, Holy Roman Emperors and, today, the presidents of the Czech Republic.

St. Vitus Cathedral dominates the castle skyline with its towering spires, beautiful stained glass and royal tombs. One of the stained-glass windows was designed by Alphonse Mucha, the renowned Czech painter and graphic artist who became one of the leading figures of the Art Nouveau movement. We also visited St. George's Basilica, and enjoyed some stunning views over Prague from the South Gardens before heading back towards Hradčanské Square to watch the Changing of the Guard.
From there, we wandered down into the picturesque district of Malá Strana, where the beautiful Renaissance and Baroque palaces delighted me. I couldn't resist popping in and out of the little shops along the way. We finished the day at the Wallenstein Garden, a beautiful early Baroque garden beside Wallenstein Palace.

The Mucha Museum was one of the highlights of the trip for me. It features iconic pieces from Mucha's Paris period, including theatrical and artistic posters and commercial advertisements. The Mucha Foundation has an even larger collection, with approximately 3,000 works of art and 4,000 photographs. I hope to return to Prague again one day, and when I do, I would love to explore the Foundation's collection.

The Municipal House is a magnificent Art Nouveau civic building, famous as the site where Czechoslovak independence was proclaimed on 28th October 1918, and where negotiations took place during the Velvet Revolution in November 1989. We saw Smetana Hall, the largest and most celebrated concert hall in Prague, as well as the magnificent Lord Mayor's Hall, decorated by Mucha.
We finished the afternoon at Grand Café Orient with coffee and their trademark Kubistický věneček (Cubist Cream Puff), before I climbed the iconic spiral "light bulb" staircase of the House of the Black Madonna to see the Czech Cubism exhibition. The winding metal staircase forms an abstract light-bulb silhouette when viewed from the upper floors looking down.

It was fun to spot so many of David Černý's quirky works around the city. "Man Hanging Out" is a well-known 1996 sculpture depicting the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud dangling precariously by one hand from a roof beam.
Inside Palác Lucerna (Lucerna Passage), a historic covered arcade, we saw the striking upside-down horse sculpture of St. Wenceslas. I also loved the wonderfully geometric Cubist lamp post in Jungmann Square. Mister Handmade in Israel was rather less impressed!
We spotted the towering kinetic sculpture "Head of Franz Kafka" while on a WWII & Communism walking tour. Made up of 42 independently rotating horizontal metal layers, the constantly shifting sculpture is said to reflect the self-doubt and mental turmoil associated with Kafka.

On the WWII & Communism tour, we discovered why Prague was spared much of the destruction suffered by other European cities during WWII, and learned about the significance of the Prague Uprising.
We saw Stolpersteine, or "stumbling stones", marking the former homes of victims of Nazi persecution and extermination. We also saw the plaque displaying the date 17.11.1989 - the day a student march was met with police violence. This event helped spark the peaceful protests of the Velvet Revolution, which brought an end to communist rule in Czechoslovakia.
The Srdce pro Václava Havla (Heart for Václav Havel) memorial is situated in the courtyard between the historic National Theatre and the New Stage, a contemporary performance venue. Václav Havel was the last president of Czechoslovakia, serving from 1989 until 1992, before the country was dissolved.
The heart is a symbol of Havel's most famous guiding principle, which he championed during the Velvet Revolution: "Truth and love must prevail over lies and hatred".

Towards the end of the fascinating three-hour tour, our incredible guide, Nico, pointed out the church where Czech paratroopers made a valiant stand against Nazi soldiers during Operation Anthropoid.
From there, it was a short walk to the Dancing House, the nickname given to the Nationale-Nederlanden building on Rašín Embankment. The building was originally nicknamed "Ginger and Fred", after dancers Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, because its unusual shape resembles a pair of dancers.
We took the lift to the top of the building, where we enjoyed coffee and cake - with a view!

Our final stop in Prague was the Astronomical Clock, one of the oldest working astronomical clocks in the world. It is mounted on the southern wall of the Old Town Hall in Old Town Square.
We bought tickets to climb the tower and join a guided tour of the Old Town Hall interiors. The views from the top were magnificent and, despite the fact that I don't love heights, I was very glad we made the climb.
The guided tour wasn't quite so good - it was difficult to understand the guide's English - although it was particularly fascinating to see the ancient underground levels beneath the building. The city raised its streets and ground level by several feet in the 13th and 14th centuries to protect Prague from severe and repeated flooding by the Vltava River. As a result, the original ground floors of many buildings effectively became basements.
These underground spaces have also witnessed some of the darker periods of Prague's history. During the Nazi occupation, Jewish people and others persecuted by the Nazis were forced to find ways to hide and survive, and basements and other concealed spaces could provide a place of refuge. Today, many of these ancient basements have been incorporated into shops, restaurants and other businesses.

And that brought this part of our Prague adventure to an end. We packed an incredible amount into our days there, but somehow it never felt rushed. I loved the art, architecture and history, and especially just wandering through the beautiful streets and discovering what was around the next corner. After everything that had happened, I was so glad we had finally made it to Prague - and, as it turned out, it was every bit as wonderful as I had hoped it would be.

* This post has been shared on Mosaic Monday