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| Changing of the guard at the Prague Castle |
The core of Prague is delightfully free of modern architecture and modern art.
Well, not completely. I'm not sure what that is. A crown? A pineapple? The historic castle is visible just to the left of the crown of pineapple.
Stare Mesto, the Old Town, lies on eastern bank of the Vltava River, with the castle up the hill on the western bank.
I'm a little early before the scheduled start of the tour. And I'm not exactly sure how to get to Križovnické Square, on the Old Town side of the Charles Bridge where the tour is set to begin.
But soon I am in shadow of the tower of the Charles Bridge. It is aptly named "Old Town Bridge Tower," or "Staroměstská mostecká věž" -- got that? -- in Czech.
The square is filled with tour groups meeting up to start their tours.
This is a statue of King Charles IV, for whom the bridge was built, and for whom the bridge was named.
Let's tour!
The group has been assembled and we set off across the bridge toward our destination, the castle.
The walk will be about a mile, but it will take us two hours to get there. Free walking tours rarely are the most efficient way to travel from Point A (Križovnické Square) to Point B (Hradčany, the castle, a word that looks to me like "Hard Candy," because as kids we all love to have lived in a castle made out of hard candy).
We give a close look at a few of the statues.
We have now crossed the Vltava.
It's an accomplishment because, for 500 years, the Charles Bridge was the only means to cross the river (except, of course, by ferry).
And we arrive at Malostranské náměstí, or Mala Strana Square. It's all uphill from here:
Occasionally we can stop for a quick photo.
There are a few embassies on this road:
This is the Embassy of Romania.
The Czech government is based out of the castle, which is a good reason for embassies to be nearby,
Finally, we reach the summit.
It's the sprawling castle complex.
We go inside the castle. As an aside, I learned on the walking tour that the lighting for illuminating the castle at night was 100 percent completely paid for by ...
This is strange. The Rolling Stones. The rock band. Apparently the band was good friends was the first post-communist president of Czechoslovakia (and the Czech Republic), Vaclav Havel. Havel had a lot on his plate transitioning the country from communism to freedom and a market economy, so the Rolling Stones gifted the lighting to their friend Havel and the people of Czechoslovakia.
This first courtyard of the castle (which is called the third, because the numbering goes in the opposite direction from us) is spartan, but the second courtyard (second regardless of which direction you go) has St. Vitus Cathedral.
It's not spartan.
In fact, it's rather lavish.
So when was the church built?
If you said the 1400's you would be right. If you said the early 20th Century, you would be right. Huh?
Most of the church was built in the 1400's. But the entrance was added in the early 20th Century. It's the part to the left in the above picture. The architect and those doing the construction did an excellent job and the 600 year transition is seamless.
See that little bridge going from the castle to the cathedral?
That was so the king could sneak into church without having to walk through a plaza filled with commoners.
The side entrance actually was the original entrance. (Unfortunately, the new 100-year old section is so close to the end of the courtyard, you can't take a decent picture to get in the entire facade.) At the side entrance are 12 little figures, representing what you are supposed to be doing in the season of each zodiac sign.
For example, in the time of Capricorn (late December to late January), bottom right, you should be slaughtering the pig. Prepare and preserve the meats then, when the pig was at maximum fatness, before the pig slims down with food being scarce in the winter.
August, bottom left, the time of Leo, is for the harvest. Lucky Gemini, top left, late May to late June, is the only season you get to play.
And yet more drudgery for the times of Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, and Taurus. I thought the Age of Aquarius was for love, Harmony and understanding. Mystic crystal revelation. It looks here like it's the most work of all. Fixing and building what you need to get through the year. It makes the planting season of Taurus feel like a lark.
This is the back of St. Vitus's cathedral, which abuts the first courtyard.
Anyway, the first courtyard is the third courtyard we reach. So we get to appreciate the view from high atop the castle's hill.
The tour ended here. I decided to search for the Infant of Prague, who I knew was in the Mala Strana, Instead, I found the Infantile of Prague.
Actually, I love this work of art. It's from the noted Czech artist David Cerny, whose work pokes fun at everything and everybody. This is his famous peeing statue appropriately sited in front of the Kafka Museum.
Another work of art: the chimney cake.
These grilled cylinders of bread dough are not Czech, however. They are Hungarian art.
I finally found a tram to take me to the Infant of Prague:
The Infant of Prague can be found at the Church of Our Lady Victorious, Kostel Panny Marie Vítězné, a simple church in the Mala Strana neighborhood where one of the great Catholic icons of the world can be found.
The Infant of Prague!
And the wondrous thing is that the Infant of Prague is just out there in the middle of the church, not (like the arm of St. Vitus at the Castle's Cathedral) hidden in some reliquary and brought out for a show for a few minutes every year.
The Infant of Prague is a wonderful sight to see.
And speaking of wonderful sights, U Sani:
This is the restaurant where I ate my Czech supper.
I started with dark beer, a Kozel. (The Czechs do drink beers other than Pilsner Urquell. Although it may not seem that way.)
For my dinner, I had Svíčková na smetaně:
A traditional Czech dish. Beef in a sauce with cream and cranberries, with bread dumplings. Yes, those are bread dumplings and not slices of bread. The beef tasted like pot roast. So basically this is Czech pot roast, served with cranberry sauce. Or, more specifically, an open faced pot roast sandwich with cranberry sauce on the side. It was (a) delicious and (b) extremely heavy.
So, next time you are in Prague, I would heartily recommend U Sani for all of your beer drinking and heavy Czech food needs.
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