Prague Day 1

I wake up about 9:00, despite my late arrival. But I want to get started and see this city. Emma & I get ready and go upstairs to the Sky Lounge, the special area for club members (I am one of these with the Holiday Inn chain). It is stunning, two levels at the top floors of the building, with panoramic views of the city. From here, we can see the hills nearby covered with the trees just starting to turn yellow and red. We have a good breakfast before we set out for the day.

A few words about the hotel. It is one of the Crowne Plaza hotels in Prague (not the one near the castle) and was built in the 1950's for the communist elite. So it is quite elegant, decorated with polished marble and tapestries. It is built in what I can only describe as a neo art deco, if such an architectural style exists. The roof of the tower is topped by a star budding from what looks like a lotus flower.

We walk down to the nearest metro station, Dejvica, which is about 10 minutes walk away. The day is sunny and warm. We take the very clean subway down to what ends up being Wenceslas Square, although it takes a couple of days to realize this. In case you are wondering, yes, this is the same Wenceslas referred to in the Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslas".

We head for the Old Town Square, walking through an old open air market filled with typical Czech crafts - wooden toys and marionettes, painted eggs, etc., until we reach the Old Town Square. The square is crowded and a feast for the eyes. I see buildings with exterior painted frescoes, sculptures and the famous Astronomical Clock. We wander around the square, into little side streets and stumble across one that is truly delightful. This street had the most incredible marionette shop in it. Each marionette was hand made by different artists and were stunning. See the photos I took inside the shop. Next was an artists shop, the major attraction of which was a Pinnoco marionette that the owner controlled so Pinnoco painted! It is listed in the Guinness Book of Records. The artist is also an art restorer, and he directed us down the street to the basilica he is involved with restoring. It is closed during this restoration work, but we could peek through the windows and are astounded by how beautiful the Baroque interior is. Next we wander up another street back towards the square and pop into an antiques store, where I buy a piece of jewelry - a copper art nouveau concoction that I know I'll never find a twin of.

I have to explain some of the typical Czech crafts that you are likely to find and Czech is known for: (1) Eggs - you may associate these with the Ukraine or Poland, but they are traditional across Eastern Europe. Truly traditional eggs are made of hollowed out eggs, but now you often find them made of lightweight wood. (2) Marionettes - I've mentioned these before, and if you only ever saw the toy ones made for kids, you wouldn't quite get it. But, as we saw in the artisans shop, when you see how they can be, you will be truly amazed as well. The ones used for collecting - and these can run into thousands of dollars, really are works of art in their self. (3) Crystal - all kinds. Colored, cut, traditional, modern art glass. (4) Glass beads - really lovely, you can find these in most bead stores anywhere now. (5) The nesting dolls - you know, the kind where one is inside of the other and so on and so forth. The average number is 5, but you can get some with as few as 3 or as large as 10 or higher. (6) Beech wood boxes, delicately carved so they almost look like lace. Apparently, these were traditional gifts to lovers.

So now that I've told you about the traditional crafts, you can imagine my delight to find the merging of some of these traditional crafts - eggs and nesting dolls - married with the art styles of Alfons Mucha and Gustav Klimt, both Prague sons (although Vienna likes to claim them both too). I debated and finally bought a wooden egg decorated with one of Klimt's iconic redheaded ladies. I probably spent more then I should have, but it is, after all, a special memory. I feel justified by my purchase as I never saw those particular decorations anywhere else at any other store.

Next, we walked into Joesfov. This is the traditional Jewish Quarter of Prague and is very important to the Jewish faith. It dates back to the 1200's. The oldest synagogue in Europe, the Old-New Synagogue, has been in use since 1275. There are several sites in this quarter, including the Old Jewish Cemetery. It was in use from 1439 to 1787, and has over 12,000 headstones and an estimated 100,000 graves, stacked sometimes 4 or 5 deep. The sad history of this quarter is that in WWII, Hitler planned to keep this quarter as evidence of the extinct Jewish race. The good news is that this has preserved the quarter and today it is still a moving and vibrant place.

After a long day of walking, Emma and I have an early dinner and go back to the hotel. I think we are both asleep by 9:00.