Train to Dresden

The train was 30 mins late. When it did arrive I realised most people had a reserved seat & I didn’t. A walk through the crowded first train car & no seats were available, with many people scrambling to find a free seat themselves.
Finally at the end of the next car, I found a single seat. I turned on my ipod, & watched the gorgeous Czech countryside go by to the tunes of Missy Higgins & Norah Jones. Beautiful & relaxing!
I don’t know how it managed to do it, but the train gained the 30 mins to make it to Dresden just about on time - amazing.

Final Hours in Prague

After catching up on some of the internet stuff I had to do that was piling up, I finished packing & managed to check out of the hotel by midday. I then wandered down to Mustek &, in a very weird serendipitous way, bumped into Zuzana on one of the crowded streets. So we got to say a final “goodbye” - nice.
Now, I’m very fussy with my souvenirs, esp as my bag space is severely restricted. But shopping I went & finally (after visiting about 10 shops) managed to buy some stuff - even a shirt for myself (one of my other shirts will have to be left behind somewhere).

I ran around taking some last minute pics but still a few hours left before my train, so I stopped for a late lunch at a place called ‘Republika’ & had a nice lunch with an accompanying martini to finish off my trip to Prague.

Some Things About Prague

Some things I caught on about Prague:
* Beer is cheap here, really cheap. Which is probably why the Czechs drink more beer than any other country in the world, per capita! And no wonder - the beers here are also delicious!
* Nearly everywhere you go, you have to pay to go to the toilet - even at McDonalds (I’d never eat there, but it’s usually a free toilet opportunity).
* There are tourists everywhere in Prague. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I am one too.
* The Czechs aren’t really that proficient in English - except Z who speaks it very well indeed. The general rule - ask a young person, they will be able to speak some English - doesn’t really apply here.
* While beer is cheap, souvenirs are bloody expensive.
* The people are generally friendly.
* The Metro is fast & efficient.
* Overall, Prague is not an inexpensive city.

Food For the Soul

My last night in Prague & no Zuzana to keep me company, so I decided to trot off to a Classical music performance. I looked at a couple of adverts, but the one that caught my eye was at 7pm at the National Museum & featured the Prague String Soloists Chamber Ensemble. In the one-hour performance, they played Vivaldi (Four Seasons, Sinfonia in G), Bach (Air for Strings), Mozart, Beethoven (4 German Dances), Tchaikovsky (1st string quartet) & Dvorak.
Set up on the giant staircase of the museum, it felt like quite an intimate setting with people sitting around on pillows & chairs watching the concert. The acoustics were pretty good too. Overall, a wonderful way to spend an evening hour.

Jewish Town & Museum

The afternoon of my third day in Prague, after lunch with Z, I wandered down to the Jewish Quarter where there was a fabulous collection of Synagogues that, together with the Jewish Cemetery, made up the Jewish Museum in Prague. Set up in the early 20th century to preserve valuable Jewish artefacts, it managed to survive Nazi occupation in 1939 after extensive negotiations to create a central repository for confiscated Jewish items were successful (albeit with varying motives).
It was a rather reflective wander through the Old Jewish Cemetery, where over 12,000 tombstones remember the passing of the Jewish deceased since the 15th century stood, & many thousands more were buried in layers due to restrictions on space here.
It was in the Maisel Synagogue that many of the questions streaming through my mind about the discrimination suffered by Jewish peoples over the centuries were finally answered. Seemingly, when the early Christian Church realised their attempts to convert Jews to Christianity were failing, the discrimination began. Many myths were created over the years & Jews were blamed for all types of crimes from murder to the bleeding of children for the purpose of religious ceremony. My gut tells me that there was also a significant degree of fear (of the presumed occultist powers of the Jews) & envy (of the Jewish learnedness & business acuity) involved in the repression & inferiorising of the Jewish people.
The Pinkas Synagogue remembers all the Jewish people from Bohemia & Moravia killed in the Holocaust - the names of all murdered by the Nazis are printed over the walls of the Synagogue. There is also a small gallery of children’s paintings/drawings depicted life during the Nazi occupation - very moving.
The Klausen Synagogue presented a wonderful outline of Jewish ceremonies & religious definitions together with a display of various Jewish artefacts. And finally the Ceremonial Hall completed the Jewish Museum trip for me - an incredibly insightful afternoon.

Last Catch Up

On my third day, Zuzana & I caught up for lunch near to Mustek. This was our final catch up &, knowing that she was probably growing well-&-truly tired of her tour guide activities (esp with me as the tourist), I expressed my deep appreciation for the in-depth knowledge & time she had gone out of her way to provide. I was all the wiser for it & had a fondness for Prague that I may never have nurtured without it.

A Couple of Other Prague Museums

On my second day I visited the Narodni (National) Museum at the top of Wenceslas Square. Not what I expected. I thought it would take me through the history of Prague, but no. It did have an amazing collection of minerals, fossils & stuffed animals. I’ve never seen better.
On my third day, I wandered over the Legions Bridge to the western side of Prague to find the Ethnography Museum which a woman at the tourist centre said I’d find interesting. It took me quite a while to get there & when I did, I was the only person visiting the museum. Let’s say, it wasn’t that exciting - mostly all in Czech, quite a few mannequins in old style dress, & quite a few old trinkets & stuff relating to Czech history. So I did get some idea of how the Czech dressed & lived in old times - their dress is really quite elaborate with lots of lace & frills.

The National Gallery, A Bite to Eat & a Lovely Walk

I met Zuzana outside the Cathedral at the Prague Castle at 6pm & we walked around the courtyard to the National Gallery. She had planned to attend a talk on women painters there & had invited me to join her. The talk was in Czech, & there wasn’t much of an opportunity to chat with her during the session to find out what was being said (would annoy the hell out of her I imagine), so instead I wandered about the gallery. There were some fine works of art, including this beautifully vibrant one called ’The Red Parasol’.
After the talk, we walked through the palace grounds & came upon a homely restaurant where we both ordered a fine serving of goulash - YUM! It was here, over dinner, that I discovered that it was possible Zuzana may be a princess (well maybe not an actual one) & I was thankful then that I’d always treated her with the utmost reverence.
After dinner, we wandered over the beautiful Charles Bridge with all its statues & even a place or two to make a wish, which I did. We sauntered back past the National Theatre built twice (onec it burned down) with money contributed by the people many years ago.

Prague Castle

On my second day, I headed to the Prague Castle in the afternoon. It‘s a UNESCO World Heritage site & seemingly the largest castle complex in the world. The entry fee was really quite expensive (from memory about 250 CZK for the Short Tour that goes for 2 hours) plus an audio guide fee of another 200 CZK (about AUD$30).
The first stop in the castle grounds was the St Vitus Cathedral - a stunning example of Gothic architecture & the biggest church in the Czech Rep. It’s like sacred turf here as lots of kings, princes & even saints are buried in the cathedral. Unfortunately, the most precious chapel in the cathedral, the St Wenceslas Chapel, was being renovated, but there were many others available for viewing. And the stained glass windows are exquisite here.
2nd stop in the grounds was the Old Royal Palace which had lots of history attached to it, but no furniture or any decorations inside. There was a great view from one of the balconies here across a large part of Prague.
St George’s Basilica was the 3rd stop on my castle tour. Built in the early 10th century, it is the oldest church building in the castle grounds & holds the tomb of a famous saint. Its architecture is Romanesque. Sitting inside the old church, it feels like you’ve been transported back in time - interesting experience.
Last stop on my mini tour was the Golden Lane, a collection of adorable little shops specialising in all kinds of touristy brick & brack.
At just before 6pm, I completed my mini tour in time to meet with Zuzana for the eve.

My Prague Tour Guide

I had met Zuzana when travelling in China on the Yangtze River in May - we shared an on-board cabin for 3 days back then.

It’s always nice when you know someone in a city/town you plan to visit. I didn’t expect to catch up for more than just a coffee, so when an invitation to dinner came for my first night in Prague, I was surprised but delighted.
We went to the Café Louvre for dinner. On the way there we were just in time for the church clock parade where all the miniature apostles march past the two little openings - cute! At the café, I had an authentic Czech dish - some (bread) dumplings with roast beef & a yummy thick carroty sauce. We had a nice chat mostly around my travel adventures.
Over the next couple of days, Zuzana showed me around her hometown outside her working hours. Even though I feel she may have felt obligated to take me around, I was incredibly appreciative for her gracious hospitality during my stay.
Unfortunately, there are no photos of Z to display for you here - I was strictly forbidden to take any.