Standing on Charles Bridge, surrounded by Baroque statues and the River Vltava flowing beneath me, I was transfixed by the magical view of Prague Castle.
Cocooned by an early morning mist
the castle, perched on top of a hill, appeared serene yet eerie. Images from
Franz Kafka’s classic novel Das Schloss (The Castle) sprang to mind.
Born in Prague in 1883, the
author’s work centres on an impossible conflict with a crushing force. While
Kafka’s writing was motivated by his relationship with his dominating father,
he is also said to have drawn inspiration for his works from the demeaning
bureaucratic machinery of the Austro-Hungarian Empire which dictated his life. I
could not help wonder if scenes liked this contributed to the complexity of his
writing. After all Prague is a city of
legends and ghost stories, a place that fuses elegance with the surreal.
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| Charles Bridge, Prague Courtesy of CzechTourism |
After climbing the steps to the
castle I wandered through courtyards and the interior of the Old Royal Palace.
I stopped to look down on the Czech capital, a compact city where nostalgia and
history rub shoulders with glitzy modernity and a pulsating future.
It is hard to believe that it was
only in 1989 that the Velvet Revolution took place. This amazing demonstration
of people power brought the end of Communism in the country. It was followed by
the Velvet Divorce in 1993 when the federal state split into the Czech Republic
and Slovakia.
After watching the Changing of the
Guard ceremony, it was time to get up close and personal with Prague. From the
Hradcany (castle district) I headed to the stunning Malá Strana district
(Lesser Town) passing beautiful gardens and through quaint streets awash with
cafés, restaurants, a 700-year-old pub and cute shops to the Lesser Town Square
studded with beautiful Baroque buildings.
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North of the Old Town Square, on
the east bank of the river, is Josefov, the well-preserved Jewish Quarter.
Hitler intended to turn it into a museum for a vanished race so it remained
intact.
At the Pinkas synagogue walls were
covered in the names of more than 80,000 Czech Holocaust victims. You could not
help but be moved. Other stand-out features were the 15th-century
multi-layered Old Jewish Cemetery, one of the oldest surviving Jewish burial
grounds in the world, and the exceptionally beautiful Spanish synagogue.
I smiled to myself as I spotted a
crowd of tourists on the corner of Dušní Street and Vězeňská Street, having
their picture taken with the Franz Kafka sculpture. It is a large man without
hands or head with a
small man on his shoulders, said to have been inspired by Kafka’s story
Description of a Struggle. Years ago I studied some of his works it was only
now that I felt, at long last, I understood what he was saying.
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| Prague at night Courtesy of CzechTourism |
At night Prague has a special
fairy-tale charm. You can spend hours exploring and getting lost in its
labyrinth of narrow cobbled streets dotted with Gothic houses and lovely old
squares. At Christmas the markets make the city even more enchanting.
The Astronomical Clock on the Old
Town Square, which dates back to the Middle Ages, still wows the crowds
hundreds of years later with the procession of apostles and moving statues at
the top of every hour.
It is not hard to see why Prague
has influenced some of the great composers. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart left his
mark on the “Golden City”. His opera Don Giovanni was premiered at the Estates
Theatre in 1787. At the Church of St Nicholas, he played the organ so this was
a fitting place to attend a Mozart concert.
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| Quaint street Courtesy of British Airways |
Wenceslas Square, commissioned in
the Middle Ages by the Bohemian King Charles IV, used to be called Horse
Market. In the 19th century it was renamed St Wenceslas Square. Watched over by the equestrian statue of St Wenceslas, patron saint of the Czech lands and
after whom the square is called, it is now Prague’s commercial heart and
shopping hub, It has seen many an event in its time, including the country’s
declaration of independence in 1918 and the fall of communism in 1989.
From the past to the present,
today’s Prague marches ahead at full speed. Old neighbourhoods are transformed
into destinations in their own right. Modern art galleries are springing up,
trendy boutiques line the streets and restaurants featuring dishes from around
the world stand side by side with those
serving Czech traditional food.
From the classic Gothic, Baroque
and Cubist architecture to Frank Gehry’s Dancing House, Prague’s special mix of medieval grandeur woven with edgy modernity and
tinged with an endearing quirkiness gets to you in a way no other city does.
It may have a reputation as a beer
town but in reality it is more like a good wine. It needs to be sipped and
savoured to appreciate its finesse and complexity.
By Daralyn Danns
Getting there
British Airways flies from London City to Prague Monday to Friday
leaving in the morning and Sunday in the afternoon
Basic fares are available from £70 each way (based on a return
journey), for a basic fare (with hand baggage only) and are available to book on ba.com/londoncity
(In addition BA has services from
Heathrow with connections also available from across the UK and Ireland.)
Club Europe fares include a
generous baggage allowance, complimentary refreshments and drinks on board and
no debit card charges
Customers have a quick and easy
journey through the Docklands airport, with hand baggage it takes just 15
minutes to get from kerbside to airside. (It did not take me much longer to get
airside despite having luggage to check in.) On arrival in London City I was
out in approximately the same amount of time
Stay
Grand Hotel Bohemia Prague (grandhotelbohemia.cz),
a 5-star hotel with an old-world charm and a sense of place. Rooms are
pleasantly decorated with dark-wood furniture softened with cream curtains and
accessories. Good service. For best rates check out the website
For more information about Prague
visit czechtourism.com and
Facebook Visit Czech Republic
Prague Card is a sightseeing
pass worth getting. It includes entrance to 50 attraction including Prague
Castle, and the Jewish
Museum, as well as a free 2-hour Bus Tour. It also gives you unlimited
access to the City Public Transport. For more information visit czechtourism.com
