Saturday, my last day in Prague, I flew to the Schwartzenberg Palace museum like a homing pigeon. I saw a number of excellent paintings, but when the guard pointed to the stairs to the top floor and insisted I go up those steps, I was reluctant. Arms and armor? Not really my thing. Despite my shotgun series, I’m more amour than arms – make love not war, right? Like this new bride, posing on the edge of the parapet.
But sure enough, I saw some things that imprinted on my retinas like a flashbang. It’s how artists in every media insist on creating beauty no matter what, no matter when, no matter where. That’s what gives me hope for our species.
Okay, it’s not all sliced ham and great art.
Prague, the dark side:
Smokers exhale outside of every building entrance and exit.
All those picturesque cobblestones are bilateral ankle fractures waiting to happen. They also function as outdoor ashtrays, and the gaps around each stone is packed with smoker debris, filters and butts. Ew.
City of 100 spires, yep, and ten thousand tourists for every freaking spire. We infest the place like lice. It’s it just as true in March as June, apparently.
Where there are tourists there’s a whole of lo identical, cheap crap for sale. It may be touted as made in Prague but bro, it’s made in China.
April weather is a fickle, unpredictable bitch, lurching from sleeting to sweating in a day.
Prague, the bright side:
The Golden Well was exactly suited to my taste and temperament. Small, historical, located out of the crush of nightlife and at the foot of the castle complex. Authentic, tasteful, comfortable, and one of a kind. And the staff? Top quality.
The architecture lives up to its rep. Every street and alley in the historic center is replete with wonderful buildings. A time traveler’s parade that marches on from the Medieval Our Lady Before Týn church to post modern 1996 Dancing House, Fred and Ginger. Bonus; everywhere is close, and pleasantly walkable.
Not one bad meal. Delectable takeaway available on every street. From pink Prague ham to luscious patisserie to tasty banh mi to the Michelin star inventive excellence of Field
The most beautiful library in the world in the Strahovské monastery. My idea of heaven.
Number one best thing about Prague – my daughter joined me. She’s curious and intrepid. We notice the perfect eyelashes on an otherwise too sweet painting of the Virgin and naughty loaves of bread and oysters. We like picking up fun facts via audio tours. We appreciate inventive food. And we both like exploring, at our own pace, our respective agendas, sharing information and experiences afterwards.
LIKE!
Wonderful your lovely daughter joined you!
Prague sounds like it’s still on the hit parade for tourists so I’ll give it a few more years to become unenchanting then I may go. I’m decidedly put off by cigarette smoke but it’s the way of many Euro countries. Thanks for posting your fabulous unique insights!