I know what you're thinking: "Wait just a damn minute Mike, you've already been to Prague on this trip! There can't possibly be enough stuff to see in Prague to warrant two Wanderlust posts!" And you're absolutely right. So the rest of this entry will just be a review of a rice cooker I tested out in college. No, I'm only kidding- I didn't own a rice cooker in college. But also... there's tons of stuff to see in Prague. Why I could fill up even... two... full posts.
But rambling on more about this city I love wasn't my sole purpose for visiting; the reason I returned to Prague is twofold: (1) I freaking LOVE Prague; and (2) I have long meant to visit Kutna Hora, a small city around an hour away that is home to the infamous "bone church." And also, it was on my way back to Germany so it just made sense. I got up and out of Brno at the relatively early hour of 11am and made quick work of the train ride to Prague.
This time in Prague I decided to stay in the up and coming neighborhood of Holesovice which is north of the river and the Old Town- an area I had yet to explore. Since I had a few daylight hours available I decided to take a walk. But I didn't want to go to Old Town or the Castle or any of that- I'd seen it as recently as two months prior. So, I set my sights on the Zizkov neighborhood and the conjointly named Zizkov tower and set off on foot.
Before heading to the bridge I swung by the St. Anthony church which I had previously discovered by accident when I took the wrong tram trying to get to the hostel. Frankly, I find this just as impressive as Our Lady of Tyn but it was frightfully difficult to find the name of this church online. Seems odd considering this:
Along the way I came across a curious sight- a small hole in the wall place selling "stuffed potatoe pies." That's no typo. For you, my adoring fan(s) I just had to try it.
Honestly it tasted a bit like cornbread stuffed with ham and cheese but without the grainy texture. As I walked through the streets of Prague I was reminded of why I love the city so much. It's equally gritty and gorgeous at the same time. A perfect blend of beauty and edge. For example, within just a few minutes you have this obscure concrete bunker looking graffitied structure.
And the next thing you know, you're looking at this fantastic building.
Prague has just the right amount of the old, smashed together with the communist era workings, and then brought back to life with modern design. It's classic, yet cold, yet modern. All in one place. Frankly I just love it. The city speaks to me. It resonates with me. And it seems like no matter how many times I come here (a record three visits for a city outside of the United States), I'm always seeing new stuff. For example, I was observing the architecture of an old hotel not too far from the main train station in Nove Mesto when all of a sudden a hot air balloon floated overhead.
One of the other things I really love about Prague (and the Czech Republic as a whole), they don't appear to get down about the drab appearance of the communist-era buildings. Why let such buildings depress you when you can simply paint them in exorbitant colors??
I did finally make it to my objective, the Zizkov Tower. The TV tower was completed in 1992 and was decorated in 2000 by David Černý with a series of crawling babies. Yes, you read correctly, crawling babies. Still don't believe me, well here you go:
On the way back down the hill I got a nice shot of the sun setting over the National Museum.
I made my way back to Holesovice where I decided to dine at Rumika, a traditional Czech restaurant recommended to me by the hostel. Since I hadn't eaten much all day I was famished and this was the perfect opportunity to indulge in two of my favorite Czech delicacies (no, not fried cheese although that's up there), beer cheese and a grilled meat prepared with a side of AWESOME.
Beer cheese is a bit of an oddity. Depending on where you go, you will get more or less items to accompany the cheese but it almost always comes with cheese, onions, and beer. This particular version arrived with shredded cheese, a variety of spices, diced onions, garlic, mustard, and the obligatory fried bread for which you top with said cheese.
The basic principles are: add as much onion, garlic, mustard, spices as you want to the pile of cheese, pour on a little beer, and then mash it all up with a fork. Be careful not to go too heavy with any one particular spice (or in my case accidentally salt) or it makes it a bit harder to tailor to your liking (or threshold of edibility).
The main course was outstanding. I won't post the picture but the meal was a grilled pork steak topped with caramelized onions, bacon, and blue cheese. What's up with the Czechs and blue cheese? I love it. It was certainly a power meal if I've ever had one, which was perfect considering I was planning a full scale assault of Kutna Hora the following morning.
Kutna Hora is a relatively small town about an hour from Prague that was founded in the 13th century and built upon the wealth of the nearby silver mines. There are three primary things to see in Kutna Hora: (1) the Sedlec Ossuary; (2) Cathedral of Our Lady; and (3) St. Barbara's Church. It just so happened I saw them in this exact order. On the way from the train station the Ossuary is about 10 minutes walk and just off the main road. From the somewhat spooky graves in the back of the church yard it looks like this.
Still not that menacing but wait. The site started as a graveyard for the Cistercian monastery at Sedlec (a small town and now suburb of Kutna Hora). Between victims of the Black Plague in the 14th century and the Hussite wars of the 15th century, the cemetery had to be greatly enlarged, and in the early 15th century a church was built in the middle of the cemetery with the purpose of the lower level being that of an ossuary (final resting place of bones or remains often in mass).
The Ossuary and grounds were acquired by the Schwarzenberg family and František Rint was employed to organize the piles of bones stored there. The centerpiece of the design is a chandelier comprised of every bone in the human body surrounded by four bone and skull pillars.
On the way back down the hill I got a nice shot of the sun setting over the National Museum.
I made my way back to Holesovice where I decided to dine at Rumika, a traditional Czech restaurant recommended to me by the hostel. Since I hadn't eaten much all day I was famished and this was the perfect opportunity to indulge in two of my favorite Czech delicacies (no, not fried cheese although that's up there), beer cheese and a grilled meat prepared with a side of AWESOME.
Beer cheese is a bit of an oddity. Depending on where you go, you will get more or less items to accompany the cheese but it almost always comes with cheese, onions, and beer. This particular version arrived with shredded cheese, a variety of spices, diced onions, garlic, mustard, and the obligatory fried bread for which you top with said cheese.
The basic principles are: add as much onion, garlic, mustard, spices as you want to the pile of cheese, pour on a little beer, and then mash it all up with a fork. Be careful not to go too heavy with any one particular spice (or in my case accidentally salt) or it makes it a bit harder to tailor to your liking (or threshold of edibility).
The main course was outstanding. I won't post the picture but the meal was a grilled pork steak topped with caramelized onions, bacon, and blue cheese. What's up with the Czechs and blue cheese? I love it. It was certainly a power meal if I've ever had one, which was perfect considering I was planning a full scale assault of Kutna Hora the following morning.
Kutna Hora is a relatively small town about an hour from Prague that was founded in the 13th century and built upon the wealth of the nearby silver mines. There are three primary things to see in Kutna Hora: (1) the Sedlec Ossuary; (2) Cathedral of Our Lady; and (3) St. Barbara's Church. It just so happened I saw them in this exact order. On the way from the train station the Ossuary is about 10 minutes walk and just off the main road. From the somewhat spooky graves in the back of the church yard it looks like this.
Still not that menacing but wait. The site started as a graveyard for the Cistercian monastery at Sedlec (a small town and now suburb of Kutna Hora). Between victims of the Black Plague in the 14th century and the Hussite wars of the 15th century, the cemetery had to be greatly enlarged, and in the early 15th century a church was built in the middle of the cemetery with the purpose of the lower level being that of an ossuary (final resting place of bones or remains often in mass).
The Ossuary and grounds were acquired by the Schwarzenberg family and František Rint was employed to organize the piles of bones stored there. The centerpiece of the design is a chandelier comprised of every bone in the human body surrounded by four bone and skull pillars.
I rarely get a chance to use the word macabre in my posts, for good reason, but alas while it seems appropriate here it just doesn't quite do the ossuary justice. If it was just the chandelier, and towers, and coat of arms, and crosses, and chalices, and signatures, and altar piece, then yes, macabre would suit nicely. And I do highly recommend you check out the full set on flickr. But what will really get you are the "pyramids."
All real human bones, all stacked neatly with almost no ancillary support. There are four of these and they are about 15-20 feet wide and 12-14 feet tall. In all they estimate somewhere between 40,000 and 70,000 people's worth of bones are housed in this ossuary. Chilling. Somehow macabre, gruesome, ghastly, grim, spectral... none of these quite suit the magnitude that is witnessing the remains of around 50,000 people stacked neatly before you.
The next stop of the day was at the Cathedral of Our Lady, a world heritage site, and one since the mid 1990's at that. Frankly I wasn't that impressed with the exterior but not to exhibit favotitism to the bone church, here it is:
The interior, however, I really liked simply because of it's minimalist approach. Also it's really cool that you can walk up the stairs to the second floor and then enter the roof crawl space all the way to the very back balcony of the church where you can get an exceptional view of the main seating area and altar.
Also, am I the only one that thinks this is weird?
No, not a gift shop in a church- I deplore that idea but these days it's fairly common. Look at what they are selling... wine! Alcohol, in a church. Brazenly. For profit! What?! Maybe it's the upbringing but even the idea of communion wine seems odd. For the low low price of 6 euros you can literally be drunk off the blood of Christ. In his own house. Just like Thanksgiving.
The last thing I really wanted to see (and coincidentally had a ticket for- and you know I abhor paying to enter churches as a matter of principle- yet I also can't turn down a deal...) is the St. Barbara's church. According to local lore, or just the weird guy I asked in the Lidl parking lot, if you follow the main road into town it will lead you directly to St. Barbara's. Well, let me be the first to say, that local legend is malarkey.
The main road led me directly to a dead end. But via a clever, dare I say ingenious, series of turns I found myself in the main square and only about 75 stone throws, a series of exceptionally windy streets, two groups of parading school kids, and a freak cloud burst away from St. Barbara's. For something so landmarky which should have been a cinch to find, it turned out to be a massive pain in the ass. But, when I finally did find the road that lead's to St. B's, I was rewarded with a great view back on the city of Kutna Hora.
You may note the vineyard along the side of the mountain. And you may think, man I'd love to try some of their wine. And you may further think, I imagine such wine would be exceptionally satisfying after a long and potentially monotonous sermon within Ol' St. B. Well my friend(s), you're in luck because just outside the church doors:
Boom! But enough of this. You want to see the church right? Well here you go:
It's one of the most fascinating churches I've ever laid eyes on. The roof looks like a carnival tent but the flying buttresses distinctly recollect elegance of Notre Dame. And beyond you have numerous Gothic elements as well as medieval fantasy elements such as outdoor spiraling staircases. From the outside and especially the sides and rear it's frankly spectacular. The front isn't quite as impressive but at least it's nicely landscaped.
The inside, tragically, has much to be desired. It's not that it's particularly terrible, it's just that with all the hype on the outside you are expecting something really tremendous. But frankly the inside it quite drab and hollow. The inside of Our Lady had character- it's simplicity is its quality. But with this one the focus seems so much on the outside that comparatively little thought was made for the interior- and accordingly it's disjointed and haphazard. It's not that it's particularly bad, it's just that I expected more and was letdown. Perhaps this is due to the fact that development of St. B's was stunted many times over the years so there was never the continuity for the interior to really come together, leaving the hollow unfinished feel that I experienced.
Anyway, by this point I was nearly all churched out and had a pressing need for nourishment. Considering how difficult it was to find St. B's, I was thrilled to discover this embedded in the stone paving slightly off the path I had followed to the church.
How great is that? A map of the city on the ground showing your exact location, orientation, and the remainder of the city. I love it- where was one of these earlier? Using the map, I made my way toward the main square and stopped into a cafe/restaurant called Harmonia. They have a fantastic garden but I elected to venture inside due to the cold and bitter winds. The meal of choice was the special potato pancakes and the fried cheese (no worries, it would be my last of my Europe trip) and I managed to get a shot of the lovely outdoor patio for any of you now convinced to visit Kutna Hora in the future.
Sufficiently sated and having accomplished all I came to do, I made my way back to the train station and caught a life back to Prague. For dinner that night I elected something different. For the past two days I had been walking past/through the River Town market in Holesovice (a sort of outdoor market largely comprised of Asian immigrants hawking goods) and had noticed a number of little noodle joints. What could be better to warm body and spirit than a beer and a nice bowl of pho? The options were a bit limited so I went with chicken and much to my delight I was rewarded with an outstanding soup, beer, and of course siracha chili sauce. Heaven in a bowl.
After renewing myself via soupy goodness I returned to the hostel where I met some Australian guys and German girls and we eight decided to make a night of it. But instead of heading into Old Town, which has previously been my M.O. (can you believe I never once ventured to Old Town on this trip), we elected to stay in the neighborhood and check out this bar/club called the Cross Club which I can best describe as mechanically innovative. It looks and feels like something out of a Jules Verne novel, or one of the mechanized terrors in The Mysterious Explorations of Jasper Morello.
In any event the club was outstanding, numerous floors and the one we were occupying had a live band going. They weren't entirely my style but I particularly loved their cover of Dancing With Myself. As you might imagine the night was pretty crazy culminating, as all crazy nights out in Prague do, with shots of absinthe. This time it was me and a fellow American who was teaching English in Spain.
Games of dare or dare ensued and eventually all hell broke loose until we were finally turned out into the streets. It was a late late night and a fun morning as I gathered my belongings and headed out of the hostel. The thought "it's high time to repair to Germany," was paramount on my mind that frosty morning in Prague. My darling Prague, I do love you oh so much, but it was time for me to take my leave. I've now explored your alluring regions on three separate occasions and I count the days until I can do so again. Until then, stay gritty and beautiful. With love, your dearest Mike.
All real human bones, all stacked neatly with almost no ancillary support. There are four of these and they are about 15-20 feet wide and 12-14 feet tall. In all they estimate somewhere between 40,000 and 70,000 people's worth of bones are housed in this ossuary. Chilling. Somehow macabre, gruesome, ghastly, grim, spectral... none of these quite suit the magnitude that is witnessing the remains of around 50,000 people stacked neatly before you.
The next stop of the day was at the Cathedral of Our Lady, a world heritage site, and one since the mid 1990's at that. Frankly I wasn't that impressed with the exterior but not to exhibit favotitism to the bone church, here it is:
The interior, however, I really liked simply because of it's minimalist approach. Also it's really cool that you can walk up the stairs to the second floor and then enter the roof crawl space all the way to the very back balcony of the church where you can get an exceptional view of the main seating area and altar.
Also, am I the only one that thinks this is weird?
No, not a gift shop in a church- I deplore that idea but these days it's fairly common. Look at what they are selling... wine! Alcohol, in a church. Brazenly. For profit! What?! Maybe it's the upbringing but even the idea of communion wine seems odd. For the low low price of 6 euros you can literally be drunk off the blood of Christ. In his own house. Just like Thanksgiving.
The last thing I really wanted to see (and coincidentally had a ticket for- and you know I abhor paying to enter churches as a matter of principle- yet I also can't turn down a deal...) is the St. Barbara's church. According to local lore, or just the weird guy I asked in the Lidl parking lot, if you follow the main road into town it will lead you directly to St. Barbara's. Well, let me be the first to say, that local legend is malarkey.
The main road led me directly to a dead end. But via a clever, dare I say ingenious, series of turns I found myself in the main square and only about 75 stone throws, a series of exceptionally windy streets, two groups of parading school kids, and a freak cloud burst away from St. Barbara's. For something so landmarky which should have been a cinch to find, it turned out to be a massive pain in the ass. But, when I finally did find the road that lead's to St. B's, I was rewarded with a great view back on the city of Kutna Hora.
You may note the vineyard along the side of the mountain. And you may think, man I'd love to try some of their wine. And you may further think, I imagine such wine would be exceptionally satisfying after a long and potentially monotonous sermon within Ol' St. B. Well my friend(s), you're in luck because just outside the church doors:
Boom! But enough of this. You want to see the church right? Well here you go:
It's one of the most fascinating churches I've ever laid eyes on. The roof looks like a carnival tent but the flying buttresses distinctly recollect elegance of Notre Dame. And beyond you have numerous Gothic elements as well as medieval fantasy elements such as outdoor spiraling staircases. From the outside and especially the sides and rear it's frankly spectacular. The front isn't quite as impressive but at least it's nicely landscaped.
The inside, tragically, has much to be desired. It's not that it's particularly terrible, it's just that with all the hype on the outside you are expecting something really tremendous. But frankly the inside it quite drab and hollow. The inside of Our Lady had character- it's simplicity is its quality. But with this one the focus seems so much on the outside that comparatively little thought was made for the interior- and accordingly it's disjointed and haphazard. It's not that it's particularly bad, it's just that I expected more and was letdown. Perhaps this is due to the fact that development of St. B's was stunted many times over the years so there was never the continuity for the interior to really come together, leaving the hollow unfinished feel that I experienced.
Anyway, by this point I was nearly all churched out and had a pressing need for nourishment. Considering how difficult it was to find St. B's, I was thrilled to discover this embedded in the stone paving slightly off the path I had followed to the church.
How great is that? A map of the city on the ground showing your exact location, orientation, and the remainder of the city. I love it- where was one of these earlier? Using the map, I made my way toward the main square and stopped into a cafe/restaurant called Harmonia. They have a fantastic garden but I elected to venture inside due to the cold and bitter winds. The meal of choice was the special potato pancakes and the fried cheese (no worries, it would be my last of my Europe trip) and I managed to get a shot of the lovely outdoor patio for any of you now convinced to visit Kutna Hora in the future.
Sufficiently sated and having accomplished all I came to do, I made my way back to the train station and caught a life back to Prague. For dinner that night I elected something different. For the past two days I had been walking past/through the River Town market in Holesovice (a sort of outdoor market largely comprised of Asian immigrants hawking goods) and had noticed a number of little noodle joints. What could be better to warm body and spirit than a beer and a nice bowl of pho? The options were a bit limited so I went with chicken and much to my delight I was rewarded with an outstanding soup, beer, and of course siracha chili sauce. Heaven in a bowl.
After renewing myself via soupy goodness I returned to the hostel where I met some Australian guys and German girls and we eight decided to make a night of it. But instead of heading into Old Town, which has previously been my M.O. (can you believe I never once ventured to Old Town on this trip), we elected to stay in the neighborhood and check out this bar/club called the Cross Club which I can best describe as mechanically innovative. It looks and feels like something out of a Jules Verne novel, or one of the mechanized terrors in The Mysterious Explorations of Jasper Morello.
In any event the club was outstanding, numerous floors and the one we were occupying had a live band going. They weren't entirely my style but I particularly loved their cover of Dancing With Myself. As you might imagine the night was pretty crazy culminating, as all crazy nights out in Prague do, with shots of absinthe. This time it was me and a fellow American who was teaching English in Spain.
Games of dare or dare ensued and eventually all hell broke loose until we were finally turned out into the streets. It was a late late night and a fun morning as I gathered my belongings and headed out of the hostel. The thought "it's high time to repair to Germany," was paramount on my mind that frosty morning in Prague. My darling Prague, I do love you oh so much, but it was time for me to take my leave. I've now explored your alluring regions on three separate occasions and I count the days until I can do so again. Until then, stay gritty and beautiful. With love, your dearest Mike.
No comments:
Post a Comment