What a difference the time of day makes in the crowds! We got up early (meaning we were out the streets by 10am when everything opened) and virtually had the town to ourselves. We were blessed with another clear beautiful day and amused ourselves by checking out a bit of the New Town section, particularly Wenceslas Square, named after the patron saint of Bohemia. The name is a bit of a misnomer; it is really a large street with substantial green space in between the opposing lanes. At one end is the Czech National Museum with a bronze statute of St. Wenceslas on his horse out in front. It is a significant landmark in that it has been home to tragedy and triumph alike. It was here that the proclamation of independence for Czechoslovakia was read in 1918 and where Nazis staged mass demonstrations. A student set himself on fire to protest the Soviet invasion in 1969 and where hundreds of thousands came to demonstration in 1989 during the Velvet Revolution. It is lined with some beautiful buildings, particularly the Hotel Europa, which boasts of an exquisite Art Nouveau facade.
Finally we made our way over to the Prague Castle. In order to get there, one is required to cross over the Charles Bridge, which is just beautiful. It is often the visual that most people associate with Prague. Construction on it began in 1357 and finished at the beginning of the 15th Century.
The bridge is decorated by a continuous alley of 30 statues and statuaries, most of them baroque-style, erected around 1700. It is currently undergoing a reconstruction that will protect it from damage as a result of flooding, which has been a problem over the centuries, the latest having been in 2002. It is a grand avenue leading you to a grand castle.
The Castle is more of a compound than a castle proper. It consists of a not so small town within the walls of the castle. The buildings include the St Vitus Cathedral, Basilica of St. George, a monastery and several palaces, gardens, defense towers, museums and picture galleries. Knowing that we couldn't possibly see it all (nor did we have the energy to do so) we decided to stroll the streets, visit St. Vitus Cathedral and the Lobowitz Museum.
Overall, we were pleased with our decision. The lines everywhere were long, despite this being an off time, so we decided to take our time looking for a crystal decanter (it seemed only appropriate that we should buy Bohemian Crystal in Bohemia) and enjoying our view. We would come back early the next day and enjoy the museum and church.
In the meantime, we chatted with a vendor on the castle mount and asked him about the changes that he had seen in Prague over the years. What surprised us most was that he commented on how few people there were now that the Czech Zloty had been strengthening against the Euro, Dollar and Pound. He had said that regardless of the time of year, it used to be that it was virtually impossible to cross the Charles Bridge because of the mass of humanity on it. We found it crowded during peak hours but never that bad. I was really quite shocked. I knew that Prague was beautiful and popular, but that gave me a perspective of just how popular it has become as a tourist destination.
We finished the day with a visit to the Alfonso Mucha Museum. For those unfamiliar, he is a artist whose lithographed posters took Paris by storm in the late 1800's and had a great deal to do with the popularity of the Art Nouveau style. He did it all – paintings, ads, jewelry, design work for carpets, wallpaper, theater sets as well as new Czech stamps and currency and a stain glass window for the Vitus Church. His work is beautiful and I am grateful to my sister for really introducing me to him. I had been familiar with Art Nouveau with some of its other names (the German Jugendstil and the Austrian Sezessionstil) but Mucha really has a unique presentation that has a fantasy, and escapism almost that I truly enjoy. The museum had a lovely collection of his work as well as a film detailing his life (around 30 minutes long, it was wonderfully comprehensive). I so wanted to buy something, but all the posters just didn't seem to do justice to the colors that the original had. I really liked his seasons cycle and would have bought that, but they didn't have it. Darn it.
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