Today is the 1st of December, our last day in Prague and The Operators birthday! And what a great birthday present and start to the day… it snowed overnight! Poking our noses out of the blankets our breath was frosty in the inside air and we were keen to get out into the white world before the few inches melted and became mucky brown from hundreds of feet.
Bundled and wrapped up, we set forth into the white world. We gingerly walked to the Charles Bridge….we have to see that with snow said Rosie.
Everyone else thought so too….there was already a brown path of well trodden snow down the middle. But hey, there was snow! On the riverbanks, on the tree branches on the statues and on the rooftops…it was glorious to behold, and super treacherous underfoot! Happy Birthday my Love xx
We headed to the other side and went under the Charles Bridge towards the John Lennon graffiti wall. The Lennon wall has been there for a few years and keeps getting added to layer upon layer.
Some of the beautiful original artwork has been covered over with initials and tagging but it was a riot of colour with the white snow as a backdrop…and there was only us…and a busker at 0930. The busker was very good, Rosie could have sworn he was American from his singing voice….only to speak to us with a heavy Czech accent.
Rosie complemented him on his ‘American singing voice’, he was as chuffed as and was glad he sounded ‘authentic’. Can you ‘imagine’ strumming the strings of a guitar with freezing cold fingers on a sub zero -6c snowy morning…ouch.
We walked back over the bridge and sought refuge in the heated Prague City Library for a couple of mins to thaw out….you may raise an eyebrow at that one, but check out the sculpture they have made out of books.
OK, you are still questioning Rosie’s sightseeing options…they also have a Christmas tree made out of books? OK, at the back of the library is the Clementinum, a large building complex which holds the Baroque Library Hall and the Astronomical Tower. Rosie is getting to the good bits. In the meantime, see the Christmas Tree?
But before we get to the good bits ….in between the library and the Clementinum, (seeing we are having an arty day today), is the wee sculpture of a naked girl holding a paper plane sitting high on the wall of the alleyway outside….keep those eyebrows raised. Modern art….The Operator is looking bemused and scratching his head.
Seeing its cold out, Rosie and The Operator visit the Baroque Library which is accessible only on a half hour guided tour. Included in the tour is a climb to the top of the astronomical tower and their outside viewing platform which will have a magnificent view of Prague after the snow. Now you are nodding, a warm, inside tour and a great picture opportunity over the snowy rooftops of Prague all in one.
The Baroque library is the first ever National Library of the Czech Republic. Established by Jesuit Priests in the 17th Century, they encouraged all monasteries to unite and compile their religious and scientific texts in one place so all could share in joint learning. The first library was born from this concept and the first texts started arriving in 1600. There are over 20,000 books kept here, all are original and come from all over the Czech Republic and beyond. The library has not been altered in any way since its inception and Rosie cannot wait to see it.
We are not allowed to enter the long, dim library, we can only stand in the doorway and revel in the sight. We have also been warned by the small whiskery, beret wearing guide that she is watching us, as are cameras and we MUST NOT, do you understand, MUST NOT take photographs!! Rosie was all ready for a sneaky hip shot or two but she meekly puts her phone away, Rosie wasn’t going to tangle with this burly squat guide, she means business. Regretably….this picture of the library is one I took from a postcard I bought.
The doors to the library are reverently opened and Rosie steps across the threshold inhaling deeply. You so know what this room is going to smell like, it was heaven. The dry, light mustiness of old paper coupled with a hint of leather and floor polish just enveloped you.
The ancient volumes sat floor to ceiling in a subtly lit room with deep shadow and dark wood shelving. Spotlights illuminated the room giving it the rich looking private library feel of a wealthy manor house. Frescoes lined the ceiling and a giant ancient globe collection sat on the floor at intervals adding to the richness.
Stern looking paintings of the Jesuit founders and administrators of the library lined the walls. Rosie wanted to walk in, climb a ladder and pick a random ancient text to thumb through. It was brilliant and so amazing to find this ancient gem tucked away here like a time capsule.
But wait, our tour wasn’t over, we started climbing the old saggy, squeaky wooden stairs with the shaking balustrade up to the astronomical tower….the very same steps that Galileo himself climbed nightly…I kid you not…he studied here in the mid 1600s.
Jesuit astronomers established a series of daily measurements from the sun and moon which have been recorded faithfully every day from 1175 and are still ongoing today. They also established the Prague Meridian which runs through this tower and out through the Old Town Square. Their instruments measured when high noon occurred, and this was announced everyday from the tower by the waving of a white flag signalling all bell towers in the city which would then ring their midday signal bells to the residents of Prague. This tradition was ongoing from 1875 – 1920s.
From the top of the astronomy tower, Whiskery Lady threw open the doors and behold, on the heels of the arctic blast, Prague lay before us under its thin blanket of white snow.
After all that walking around on the slippery treacherous icy cobblestones, a detour to Republic Square was in order and……you guessed it, a visit to our honey wine stand. Standing there, looking around in the square, it too was transformed….amazing what a light dusting can do to up the daytime magic quotient.
Close by, surrounded on three sides by a shopping center and office buildings is one of the newest sculptures in Prague. The Franz Kafka revolving head. This is a silver kinetic sculpture that stands 11 meters tall and has 42 revolving sections.
It is amazing watching the silvery sections independently rotate and reflect the sky and surrounds, morphing into his facial features and then melting away as they move like liquid mercury. Then, they will all join, pause and rest into the perfect bust before disintegrating and melting away again. It was lovely to stand and watch….except for the cold, it creeps up on you and steals into your bones when you are not moving, time to jog on, Rosie has had her art fix for the day.
We are off to tour the Jewish Quarter, to visit the beautiful Jewish cemetery and a few synagogues whilst we recap on the history of the Jews in Prague and the horrors that were inflicted on them by way of a visit to the Jewish Museum.
What the heck! They are closed today! The Jewish Sabbath is Saturday! Serious! No one told Rosie that! So around we turned and since we were passing by, this closed building, The New Synagogue….Rose will cast it in the lot of her city art tour as it is an artwork in its own right with its beautiful colour scheme. Gutted.
Rosie guesses it is lunchtime then….inside the restaurant we chose today is….more art…..what a beautiful wall. And, another round of delicious goulash, sitting in its own bowl of bread.
Rosie and The Operator wandered back through the streets of Prague towards The Old Town Square….and looking up….wasnt sure what to make of The Hanging Man. The public art is getting a little dark in this city…
Standing in the -6 temperatures putting on her ‘the best day of my life’ smile in the freezing cold was this brave Asian bride. The Operator bet he had his thermals on under his suit.
Well, the sun is about to set on our last day in Prague, we have had a great time wandering around in the snowy cold and it has been a real highlight of our trip for Rosie and The Operator, but the day is not over yet. The Main Xmas Market in the Old Town Square officially opens today. The covers have been thrown back from the large wooden huts that line the large square, the lights are already blazing in the weak daylight and the giant Xmas tree will officially be lit later on tonight.
Before it gets too dark Rosie and the Operator are heading up the Astronomical Clock tower to photograph the main square in all its busy, Christmas Market glory. No stairs to climb here, a sculptural modern glass lift whisks us up to the top of the tower.
It was a crush on the towers balcony…everyone seemed to have the same idea as Rosie. Rosie held her ground though and could not believe how many people were down below in the square. Every inch of space had black clad ant like people in it.
The square was pumping! The view, well the view was just amazing looking down into the square and over the rooftops. Our Lady of Tyne Church stands tall and looks at us from the opposite side of the square. The giant Jan Huus statue is the oval surrounded by its snowy border on the left of the picture below.
Rosie and The Operator were going to come back to the Market when it was fully dark and the Christmas tree had officially been turned on. We stood on the far side of the square under the Astronomical Clock tower and looked out with dismay over the sea of people, they were fair flooding in! Our destination was right through these people and we were aiming for the tall arch at the end of the square.
We were certainly walking against the tide. The Operator goes first and Rosie clutches on behind and follows in his wake never letting go. We tried to be polite but after a few meters in we deployed elbows to at least get some where.
My word….we were reluctant to come out again…but we did and it was still bedlam…too busy for Rosie, we did a lap of the square, fighting for every step we took – tis the season and Merry Christmas from Prague!
Tomorrow, Rosie and The Operator are driving to Wroclaw in Poland. We cannot wait to explore this city and country we have never been to before
