Tales of an Orchestra Den Mother | Part 11, City of a Hundred Spires

Thursday, April 21: Vltava

The Vltava (Moldau) River in Prague.

On Thursday afternoon, we arrived in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. Visiting Prague was what I most anticipated about this tour and the magnificent city absolutely met my expectations. Our bus parked along the shore of the Vltava, the main river passing through Prague. When I was a college student, I became obsessed with a piece by Czech composer Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884) called Die Moldau, the German name for the Vltava. It is a symphonic poem so evocative of a flowing river passing through different parts of the city that it immediately creates a mental picture for listener. 

Thirty years later, I was standing next to that very river in a place that I never thought I would actually ever see.

Easter Market

Never question the ubiquity of Starbucks.

We crossed the river and walked a few blocks to arrive at the Old Town Square where we found an Easter Market. We had not eaten an actual meal since breakfast and this was a perfect place to find a snack.

We were introduced to the tower bearing the Astronomical Clock, a distinctive landmark built in 1410 that became an HYSO rallying point multiple times over the next three days.

The Astronomical Clock from 1410.

We had our first sighting of Czech chimney cakes (trdelník) in the market. Grilled over coals, these hollow spires of dough were often filled with ice cream, fruit, or yogurt. A day would pass before I sampled one.

These offerings skewed a little sweet for my taste in the moment. Then we discovered the dumpling kiosk.

These fist-sized dumplings contained a wide variety of fillings and immediately intrigued me and The Bear.

The Bear purchased one filled with white chocolate and raspberries and was extremely pleased with it.

I selected something a bit more savory: curried shrimp. It was delicious. Well fed, we were ready to begin exploring Old Town Prague.

Seeking Alignment: A Visual Essay

Consensus achieved!

Don't Underestimate the Impact of Martyrdom

Old Town Square is dominated by the 1915 Jan Hus monument. Hus (1370-1415) was a Czech theologian and prominent figure in the Czech Reformation. He spoke out against the excesses and abuses of the Catholic church and was an inspiration to Martin Luther who lived a century later. (Hus would not have been a fan of Albrecht, either.) He was condemned as a heretic by the Council of Constance (an extension of the Catholic Church) and burned at the stake in 1415. His martyrdom triggered the Hussite Wars (1419-1434), a Protestant revolution against the Roman Catholic Church and another bloody episode on the road toward Reformation.

The sculpture memorializes Hus' martyrdom. Hus himself is quoted in the inscription, "Love each other and wish the truth to everyone."

Scenes from the Old Town Square

Ministerstvo pro místní rozvoj (Ministry of Regional Development).

Národní galerie Praha ― Palác Kinských (National Gallery of Prague - Kinsky Palace).

Now an art gallery, this former palace was originally completed in 1765.

Kostel sv. Mikuláše (St. Nicholas' Church) on the northwest corner of the square.

St Nicholas' Church.

From here, we could see two distinctive landmarks on the Old Town Square, the Astronomical Clock to the left and Chrám Matky Boží před Týnem (Church of Our Lady before Tyn), which has been standing since the 14th century and features some of the spires contributing to the city being known as the "City of a Hundred Spires".

Beyond the Square

We chose one of the many roads departing the Old Town Square and began exploring to the east.

This looked wholesome and uplifting!

Fancy door topper.

We found an entire exhibit of sculpture made from random metal scrap. This was one of the soldiers from the movie Stargate and I thought it was cool. The Bear had no particular interest in this sculpture, but was willing to indulge me by posing with it.

Is That a Dementor?

A cloaked figure that appeared to be a dementor was certainly the sort of thing that would catch the attention of a pair of Hogwarts students! It was a sculpture called Il Commendatore by Anna Chromy. Its placement outside the Prague Opera House is in commemoration of the world premier of Mozart's opera Don Giovanni there on October 29, 1787.

The inscription is in Latin and means, "Prague, the head of the kingdom". The coat of arms depicting three towers is ubiquitous throughout the city; variations of this symbol have represented the city of Prague for centuries.

While souvenir shopping, we found a wooden bowtie engraved with music notes. "You should get that for Luke since his keeps falling off," I suggested offhandedly. To my surprise, the girls took me seriously, pooled their money, and bought a nice present for their friend.

Nová radnice (New City Hall).

The New City Hall in Prague is actually kind of new for a European timeframe. The Art Nouveau structure was built in the early 1900s and became the seat of city government in 1945.

The New City Hall boasts a striking statue of Judah Loew ben Bezalel, also known as Rabbi Loew and the Maharal of Prague, a Jewish scholar, mystic, and philosopher who lived in Prague until his death in 1609.

We had lunch at the Capriccio Pizza Café the next day. Pizza is a guaranteed win when Izzy is involved.

The Reader

For some reason, Izzy and The Bear strongly identified with this statue by sculptor Jaroslav Róna.

Photographed by The Bear. Photobombed by MEEEEEEE!

Time was running out and we made our way back through the labyrinthine streets of the old city to rendezvous with the rest of HYSO for the trek to our hotel for the evening.

As we crossed the Čechův most (Czech Bridge) spanning the Vltava to return to our bus, the clouds finally started to break up. Our lodging was on the outskirts of the city at the Don Giovanni Hotel.

Trivial Skirmish

Dinner that night was buffet style in the Don Giovanni Hotel. It seemed that there were conspiracies afoot.

Luke, the road weary traveler, bore silent witness to the world's tiniest sword fight.

Friday, April 22: Hradčany, The Castle District

Luke and The Bear at breakfast.

The next day began much as the previous ended, back in the dining room of the Don Giovanni. The Bear and I continued to struggle with each new yogurt variation when it came to dosing her immunotherapy medication, but I hovered over her each morning until she choked it down. As at the Pentahotel in Leipzig, the front desk maintained her medication in a refrigerator there. The long transit from Leipzig to Prague via Terezin had us using a new cold pack that the Pentahotel offered up after losing the ones engineered to fit our insulated case. It was functional, but not elegant.

Atop a high hill in Prague stands Prague Castle. Here, we can see how the land drops away from the castle wall. Visible within is the mammoth St. Vitus Cathedral.

Prague Castle traces its beginnings to the 9th century. It has served as the palace for Bohemian kings, Holy Roman Emperors, presidents of Czechoslovakia, and currently serves as the office of the President of the Czech Republic.

Before we entered the castle, our tour guide Otto described how Russian troops were welcomed as liberators of the city at the end of World War II and how they became oppressors soon thereafter. Otto explained that he had both Jewish and Catholic ancestry and that his family went from the Jewish side being persecuted by the Nazis only to have the Catholics persecuted by the communists. 

"Putin is another Hitler," our otherwise affable tour guide added with seemingly uncharacteristic venom. It was not the first time we heard that in the Czech Republic. It was not the last.

We entered Prague Castle through the northern gate. "The guys in the fancy uniforms are ceremonial," Otto observed somewhat needlessly. "It's the guy with the gun who's really guarding the entrance."

The Second Courtyard within Prague Castle.

Kohlova kašna or Kohl's Fountain was created in 1686 and is one of the oldest fountains in Prague. Given the name, I can only assume that it was available at a deeply discounted price.

This gate looks westward from the castle.

Just beyond the gate stands a statue of Tomas Garrigue Masaryk who cofounded Czechoslovakia after World War I and served as its first president.

The Matthias Gate into Prague Castle was commissioned by Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor in 1614.

Gothic Wonder, St. Vitus Cathedral

The St. Vitus Cathedral is the dominant feature of the castle. Construction of the impressive house of worship, the third church to stand in this spot, began in 1344. Although he was assassinated by a power hungry sibling prior to construction of the current building, it is the final resting place of Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia. Posthumously sainted, Wenceslaus I is the subject of the Christmas carol, Good King Wenceslaus.

Even on a gloomy morning, the gothic structure is simultaneously beautiful and imposing.

When we arrived, a newlywed couple were taking pictures in front of the beautiful main entrance. I was impressed by how the crowd gave them a respectful space to complete their photographs.

Inside, the architecture soars.

The pipe organ.

Prague coat of arms.

This massive monument in silver is the tomb of St. John of Nepomuk, murdered by King Wenceslas IV (evidently not the good one) in 1393.

In the Third Courtyard of Prague Castle, immediately outside of St. Vitus, is a granite obelisk memorializing World War I. It was donated to the castle by the first Czechoslovakian president, Tomas Garrigue Masaryk. If it seems short, that is because the original longer obelisk broke in transit and could not be repaired. How does one say “it is what it is” in Czech?

South face of St. Vitus.

South face of St. Vitus.

South face of St. Vitus.

The striking east façade of St. Vitus.

Streets of Gold

Houses built into the castle wall circa the 16th century line the narrow Zlatá ulička (Golden Lane). They are a prime example of construction with concern for keeping things level, with uneven floors and wonky stairs tipped at odd angles. We explored a few of these houses that contained various artifacts representative of the castle's medieval history.

"Right this way, folks!"

This rotating arrowslit in the outer castle wall struck me as pretty innovative.

All things sharp and pointy.

A hall dedicated to the finest evening wear that the Middle Ages had to offer.

Izzy and The Bear on the Golden Lane.

The day was damper and chillier than expected. Ruth generously loaned The Bear an extra layer. Thanks, Ruth!

Lobkowiczký Palác

Still within Prague Castle, our next stop was a tour of the Lobkowicz Palace, which chronicled the history of the family. More interestingly (to me), it contained a number of rare weapons, musical instruments, and even original handwritten copies of famous musical works.

Prague at Our Feet (Part 1)

When looking out across Prague from high places, one gets the sense that it is an absolutely vast city, a sea of red tile roofs. It is a shame that light rain falling at the time spoiled the view from the castle.

We left the castle and followed a steep cobblestone walk downhill toward the river. Along the way, we encountered a fellow holding an owl and, to our delight, he was willing to share. My new friend Tim, another HYSO parent pictured above, got an opportunity to hold the owl.

So did The Bear, though I think she looks a bit more tentative about it.

Rudolfinum

Opened in 1885, the Rudolfinum is home to the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.

Famed Czech composer Antonin Dvorak presides over the square in front of the Rudolfinum. I used to listen to a lot of orchestral music while doing homework in college and Dvorak's New World Symphony was in heavy rotation.

An elegant special event space within the Rudolfinum.

Me, The Bear, Luke, and Izzy. Photo by Yana.

Prague at our Feet (Part 2)

Somehow we wound up on the roof of the Rudolfinum. It was not an obvious outcome of a tour, yet there we were. Izzy and The Bear had just watched Spiderman: Far from Home earlier in the trip and only belatedly realized that a key scene was shot on that very roof.

Despite the rain, Luke looks pretty pleased about being on the roof of the Rudolfinum.

From below, it is very apparent how significantly St. Vitus towers over the rest of Prague Castle.

And then at some point, Luke just completely lost his head. Don't worry. We found it again.

Beethoven glowers down upon the city from his perch on the Rudolfinum roof.

The Rudolfinum's Dvorak Hall is reputedly one of the oldest concert halls in Europe and noted for excellent acoustics. It is home to the Czech Philharmonic and the first concert there in January 1896 was conducted by Dvorak himself.

Ceiling of Dvorak Hall.

Hallway within the Rudolfinum.

I have no idea why The Bear is making this face, but it cracks me up. Every. Single. Time. At this point, we were all just damp and hungry.

For lunch, we navigated back to the Capriccio Pizza Café that we noticed the day before. 

Pizza for Izzy, pasta for The Bear. Both musicians went back to their go-to foods for this meal.

No fingers were lost in the capturing of this photograph, but I worried that we probably confirmed some of the locals' opinions about Americans.

We discovered an entire store dedicated to rubber duckies. The girls were absolutely enthralled.

Adult Time

Prague's Lesser Quarter viewed through the archway of the tower terminating that end of the Charles Bridge.

After lunch, Yana, Zhenya, and I crossed the famous Charles Bridge toward Lesser Town in search of a nice café for refreshment and conversation. More about the Charles Bridge in the next installment.

Lesser Town Bridge Tower.

I finally gave in to the allure of chimney cakes. They seem a fitting treat in a city known for its spires.

Mine was filled with fruit and yogurt and I took a lot of grief over this. "You know ice cream exists, right?" Yeah, yeah. Coincidentally, at that very moment, the Hogwarts kids were also sampling chimney cakes while sitting on the base of the Jan Hus statue.

Yana, me, and Zhenya loose in Prague. Photo by Yana.

We found a nice café and enjoyed some refreshments. While we were sitting there, my phone buzzed with an evacuation drill notification from work. I messaged our head of security to tell him that I received it in Prague.

"Great!" he said. "We had people here in the building that didn't get it at all." So the test was a mixed success. It was one of the few actual work interruptions that I experienced all week.

The HYSO would be playing their third and final European gig at Prague's Smetana Hall, a grand and beautiful concert venue named for the great Czech composer of Die Moldau. Before heading to dinner, we got a sneak peek of the venue. We had one more full day in Europe ahead of us that would culminate with that concert.

Pandemic...Remember?

Dinner that night was at Kolkovna Celnice and featured a traditional type of Czech stew that did not go over well with The Bear and Izzy. I thought it was fine.

Back at the hotel, we learned that one of the HYSO kids had developed symptoms and tested positive for Covid. She would be unable to travel until her quarantine ended, causing her mother to make an emergency trip to Prague. On the bright side, of the 120 people on the trip, this was the only person left behind. Her experience was absolutely the worst case scenario that we all feared. For my part, I had a collection of rapid tests in my bag, but only planned to use them with cause.

I hoped that it would not come to that.