Pretty, Paved Prague

The change in countryside on the train journey from Germany to The Czech Republic feels immediate once we enter the former eastern bloc communist state on our way to its capital Prague. The landscape becomes hilly and wooded with small villages climbing the hillsides and tumbling down quite significant heights to the banks of the river Elbe. We follow its tributary the river Vltava, into Prague arriving at the (given railway stations we have frequented to date) rather unprepossessing main station in the late afternoon.

It is impossible to see a taxi rank which I learn later is deliberate. Apparently with the rise of “stag “and “hen” party tourism to Prague, the station taxi rank had become a free for all with taxi drivers touting aggressively against each other for business. The city fathers therefore banned an obvious rank and now departures and arrivals occur wherever safe. Which means that the task of finding a taxi when already feeling travel stained and weary is almost impossible and it just seems quicker to walk.

Which may not be the case, but we do it anyway and meet for the first time the dazzling cobble stone pavements of Prague. These are truly works of art. Intricately patterned and laid by perfectionists.

I will learn in the days to come that these gorgeous little (and occasionally just to throw out my walking rhythm, larger) pavers cover the entirety of Prague and require sensible footwear at all times. I do notice what seem to be a disproportionate number of shoe shops selling subtly sexy flats in a myriad of styles.

The walk to our accommodation brings the enchantment, the Aha of turning a corner and seeing the reality of all the pictures pursued in the planning. Prague does not disappoint. It is enchanting. It also surprisingly, has a large number of Vietnamese restaurants. Apparently, following the Vietnam war, communist countries which had supported the Vietnamese Red army sought some restitution of that debt and Vietnamese students and workers came to the old Czechoslovakia for that purpose. Following the fall of the iron curtain, many of these people stayed on and it is now their children running hospitality and bakery businesses in Czechia. Banh-Mi is plentiful.

It is not in evidence however at the “Dancing House” or “Fred and Ginger” as the locals call it. During the second world war an errant allied bomber seeking to bomb Dresden, dropped its load on the building where the hotel now stands. To commemorate this event Frank Gehry was commissioned to build a hotel on the site and this crazy structure eventuated. 

From the remarkable Bar on its roof, it is possible to see this ..

and this ....

and this ...

Several Aperol Spritzers (my new, best favourite drink discovered in Amsterdam) are required to fully appreciate the magnificence of the view. This is really a very pretty place and every corner turned is an OMG moment. Really.  It also has its own quirky style with small cafes and bars hidden down laneways and in courtyards, glimpsed through occasionally open doors.

As well as the epically proportioned classical statuary, the city has corners of whimsy and unexpectedness, occasionally unsettling.   

The whimsical is balanced against the century's old architectural elements of the city such as the doors, the pediments, and the tiles.

And the astrological clock, the oldest working timepiece in the world. Waiting with an enormous crowd of other tourists for it to announce its secrets, I decided that it was a lovely thing but was decidedly underwhelmed when on the chiming hour several shadowy figures rotated behind its windows. And that was it! I think the size of the crowd heightened my extremely unrealistic expectations of the clock`s prowess.

The prowess of the resident peacock at the Centre piece of Prague, the castle, was however indisputable. Drawn to a crowd, I saw in the middle of a bed in the castle gardens, this magnificent bird, performing for the assembled. It was almost as if he were manufactured for this Instagram Age. He stood tall, tail down and turned, allowing a shot from all angles. Giving a cry, he then raised his magnificent tail and turned again. He repeated this performance at five-minute intervals, always seeming to choose the perfect time for demonstrating his fabulousness. We were all entranced except perhaps for the young soldier on duty in the grounds who looked exasperated with the flouncing bird, having no doubt witnessed its performance more often than he wanted to remember.

This beautiful castle complex which dominates the Prague skyline is comprised of several important buildings including the skyline standout, St Vitis Cathedral, and the castle itself which has been the seat of the parliament for many years. Against the ornate splendour of the cathedral, the castle is a simpler building and more beautiful I feel for that simplicity. It feels like a place to be inhabited. The entire complex culminating in the peacock`s performance was a visual feast. I know I keep repeating myself, but Prague is jaw dropping.

All this beauty is undeniably enhanced by the river Vltava which flows through its centre. Wandering to the iconic Charles Bridge, along the river bank, the eye is drawn to bars and restaurants lining the shore and on one occasion to a large water rat called a Nutria which is adorable but feral. The bottom is also drawn to one of the many seats conveniently placed to enjoy the river and castle views.  Such seats are however in high demand from the steady waves of (other) tourists who are also enjoying the delights of Prague. It is the price to pay for visiting at this time of the year. I learn that each year in May, the World Ice Hockey Championships are held in Prague which may go some way to explaining the large, rowdy groups of predominately large. rowdy men singing in unison at all times of the night and day. Many are in sports uniforms and there are occasionally cows, chickens and bears who I presume are mascots. They may just be general citizenry having fun or a stag / hen incognito. They do stand out from the stylishly dressed locals with even one taxi driver wearing an old white evening shirt, black vest and knee length over jacket. His black hair also fell fetchingly over his thin white face and the ghosts of Kafka, and Kundera, Mendel and numerous other   intellectuals and artists celebrated in this city, beckoned. His style was not unique and there were moments when seeing these figures dressed slightly out of time, make the experiencing of this place, surreal.  

By night, which is falls late here in the Northern hemisphere, the city from the river, reveals a side of Prague that sees citizens using the riverbanks for sport and swimming and life being lived with the river at its heart. The lights, of course, add their own special magic.

By day the city also uses its many parks which as I am coming to understand, are not tightly cultivated. They seem to be let to naturalise and although plants like roses are planted in abundance, they are not formalised. Dog walkers, of whom there are many, smell the blooms and people sit comfortably in conversation. It is easy to feel comfortable in this achingly architectural, historically multilayered and extraordinarily pretty town. It is also possible to catch glimpses, in the dated style of our hotel, and in the careful, guarded interactions of most retailers and hotel staff, of a city which lived under a communist regime for longer than it has been a democracy. It does not detract. It feels important to remember.