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Travel : Pampered in Prague

Niks and I left for Prague on Friday evening, 25 May 2001 for the May Bank holiday. We timed it perfectly to coincide with the Prague Spring Music Festival. This extremely popular musical extravaganza includes orchestral concerts in the Old Town Square, musical shows and operas. We stayed at a 3 star hotel called hotel Ariston, which we booked through www.travelscene.co.uk

On Saturday we enjoyed a delicious breakfast and then caught a tram to Wenceslas Square. This is Prague's most famous square in the hub of the New Town, and is in fact more a long, tree-lined boulevard. In the middle of the southern end of the square, in front of the National Museum, is the statue of St Wenceslas. Cast in bronze, the huge figure of Wenceslas astride his steed is surrounded by the statues of various other Czech saints. If anyone feels like making an impromptu speech, this is the place to do it. The monument is one of the city's focal points for protest and oratory. It was here where 750,000 Czechs gathered to demand their liberation from 42 years of Soviet tyranny, in the climax of the Velvet Revolution in the winter of 1989. An unofficial Memorial to the Victims of Communism sits in front of the monument. These wreaths, photographs and crosses are simple and eloquent.

We then strolled along the cobbled streets towards the Lesser Quarter which lies across the river Vltava from the Old Town and is best reached by means of the Charles Bridge. Charles Bridge is lined with Baroque statues and is the city's most familiar landmark, affording spectacular views of Prague Castle and the river. Along the length of the bridge were street vendors and their stalls. Most of them specialize in paintings and photographs of the Prague landscape, as well as jewelry and other momento?s. We also came across the occasional busker and entertainer.

We continued our stroll to Hradcany, the Prague Castle district. Just outside the main gates to the castle is Castle Square. Its grand palaces were built for the Catholic nobility in the early 17th century. To the left of the castle gates as you face the palace is the Archbishop's Palace. This palace has been the seat of the Catholic archbishops of Prague since 1621.

We enjoyed a delicious lunch at this time and sampled some Pilsner lager which is the best known Czech beer, brewed in the town of Pilsen southwest of Prague. We then made our way back to the hotel passing traditional folk puppets displayed on market stalls. That evening we went to The State Opera and watched George Bizet's opera Carmen. Our first opera which we thoroughly enjoyed as well as the champagne served during intervals.

The following day we had an early start. We decided to take a bus tour through the picturesque West Bohemian countryside to Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad) which is situated in a beautiful wooded valley 140km west of Prague. Since the early 1500s the town depended for its income on the healing properties of its 12 hot mineral springs. The water is used to treat digestive disorders so Nicky had an opportunity to sample the curative waters to see if it really worked. The best known is the Vridlo - Sprudel which springs its curative water to a height of 12 metres. In its heyday at one time or another Beethoven, Karl Marx and Edward VII all stayed here. In the afternoon Niks and I climbed Mount "Diana" which means goddess of hunting to the lookout tower. At the top we were greeted with panoramic views of Karlovy Vary. The wooded scenery was also stunningly breathtaking. For the rest of the afternoon we enjoyed our well earned beers and were entertained by Czech folklore singers at the restaurant situated on top of Mount Diana. On the way down, being both lazy and tipsy we opted for the funicular.

In Karlovy Vary you can also find historical and modern colonnades and locally manufactured glass and porcelain. The famous Moser glass can also be purchased in this town. We purchased some delicious local wafers and the traditional Becher liqueur produced from herbs before heading back to Prague.

That evening we visited the Old Town Square which is Prague's most finest square and definitely among Europe's most beautiful. It is the perfect place to soak up the atmosphere of Prague, sitting at one of the many popular cafes which surround the square. Here we enjoyed a delicious dinner facing the Old Town Hall with its famous astronomical clock. After dinner we joined the crowds that formed in front of the clock on the hour to watch the ingenious mechanism at work. Firstly the skeletal figure of death pulls a rope and inverts an hourglass. On the right, the Turk (a euphemistic symbol of Lust yet to be renamed) shakes his head, while on the left a figure representing Vanity raises his mirror and a figure representing Greed raises his moneybags. Windows at the top of the clock open and 11 apostles - accompanied by St Paul - process round, led by St Peter. A cock crows and the hour is chimed. The dials show the orbit of the planets around the earth and the sun and moon through the zodiac, plus Old Bohemian, Babylonian and modern time.

Facing the north side of the Old Town Hall is the Church of St Nicholas. Concerts are often held here so you can contemplate its beauty while listening to the music of that great fan of Prague, Mozart. Dominating Old Town Square is the imposing Gothic Tyn Church. It is an inspiring 14th-century Gothic edifice whose twin towers and 18 spires dominate Old Town Square and are a Prague landmark. Along one of the oldest streets in Prague (Celetna) the Powder Gate can be found which guards the entrance to the Old Town.

On our last day in Prague we meandered back to the Castle district. The castle has been the seat of power in Bohemia since the 9th century. Prague castle is less a castle and more a series of apartments, houses, palaces and churches. It occupies a commanding position above the river, and has three courtyards like village squares. The castle entrance is guarded by huge copies of the dramatically posied fighting giants. The human guards of the castle nowadays are the presidential sentries, in their smart blue uniforms.

As we entered the castle gates we came upon the enormous Gothic pile of the St Vitus' Cathedral (the largest in the Czech Republic) which takes up most of the third courtyard of the castle. The building owes its existence to Charles IV, who commissioned its firsts architect in the 1340's. The energy and vision of this new ruler ushered in Prague's golden age. Many of Prague's institutional and architectural landmarks were built during Charles's reign. The sheer scale of the interior of the cathedral is breathtaking, and much of the decoration and ornamentation is unashamedly exuberant, especially the vivid stained glass. St Vitus crops up everywhere in Prague, but little is known about him other than that he is venerated as a martyr. His legend - entirely lacking in evidence - asserts that he was put to death during the persecution of Diocletian. He was invoked against a number of illnesses, especially for epilepsy and chorea - which became known as St Vitus' dance. He was very popular in Germany, where his legend spread to Bohemia. His emblems are the cock (as in chicken) and the dog, both of which can be seen in his statue on Charles Bridge.

The Royal Palace is situated in the third courtyard on the south side of the cathedral. The Royal Palace was home to the monarchs of Bohemia for 600 years until the 16th century, when it became an administrative headquarters and site of the Bohemian parliament. Beneath the castle wall is Golden Lane with its picturesque row of little houses - now souvenir shops. The houses were built in the 1500s for the castle guards and were later occupied by goldsmiths, from whom it is likely that the street gets its name.

After a wonderful cultural long weekend it can be said that Prague is an outstandingly beautiful city whose architectural splendor embodies a rich history at the heart of Europe.