Gunternation

Bill and I were looking forward to visiting Prague, a land awash in dumplings and goulash. And happily, we had two excellent Czech meals. The first was our delightful riverside lunch where we had suckling pig with a leek dumpling and red currant sauce. I had some mint tea and we had our first taste of Pilsner Urquell, a highly refreshing beverage.

Sunday evening we had a splendid dinner in a cozy restaurant called U Modré Kachnicky (At the Blue Duckling). We started with some Czech Michlovský sparkling wine. I was overtaken by a spirit of “When in Bohemia…” and chose two items I’ve never eaten before: Beef Tongue and Pheasant. The tongue was tasty, served with horseradish sauce and pickled onions. I’m a sucker for horseradish, and now know it goes great with thinly sliced cow-part-you’d-rather-not-think-about. The pheasant was wonderful, very mild but not flavorless.

Bill started with duck rillettes and chose roast wild boar for his entree. Bill is a sucker for wild boar. Really, he is. Bill had a baked apple for dessert, and I had lemon sorbet, and although that’s not what I ordered, it was a perfect end to the meal.

Although the late night takeaway is hard to find, food carts are plentiful during the day. We particularly enjoyed the sausage wagon (with real kraut!– a scarcity in Dublin), and the rolled cinnamon sugar bread.

Sunday morning in Prague we ventured to Nové mÄ›sto (New Town) to visit the Antonin Dvorák Museum. The museum is housed in an 18th century home, and chronicles Dvorák’s life and development as a musician and composer. Bill really enjoyed seeing the scores of some of his favorite pieces written in Dvorák’s own hand.

After the museum, we wandered to Wenceslas Square. The square features a statue of its namesake, the patron saint of Bohemia. Wenceslas was Duke of Bohemia from 921 until he was murdered by his brother in 935. Canonized due to his martyr’s death, Wenceslas is considered the eternal ruler of Bohemia. Legend says that when the Motherland faces great threat, the statue in Wenceslas Square will come to life and–by raising a sleeping army and finding a legendary sword–will slay all enemies of the Czechs. Let’s hope the correct statue is awakened, as there are two statues of Wenceslas within a few blocks, one being an installation by ÄŒerný (the creator of the gentlemen of The Piss) that features Wenceslas upon a dead horse, hanging by the hooves.

Monday we explored the narrow streets of Nový Svět and walked on the grounds of Prague Castle, and then took the tram to the funicular for a ride up Petrin Hill. We exited at the top of the funicular track and walked through the woods. We saw the Hunger Wall, a fortification built in 1360 under the reign of Czech King Charles IV that provided wages to workers during a time of famine. We stopped for coffee at a scenic cafe halfway up Petrin Hill. After a late lunch, a bit more shopping (chocolates!), and another walk on the Charles Bridge, we headed for the airport around 6:00.

When we learned the meaning of the Czech word for September, září, we knew we had chosen the perfect time to visit Prague. We had four days of gorgeous weather and indeed the sun shone, but wasn’t hot. Although it did feel quite warm and we both got a little pink. (We’ve decided the sun just bleaches you in Ireland.)

Our flight out of Dublin on Thursday (25 Sept) was delayed by three hours because of traffic control problems in the UK, so we arrived in Prague around midnight. As we left the highway and drove through the dark streets our taxi began to shake a bit. Cobblestones, Bill said. Our mustachioed innkeeper was waiting for us, the only lighted window within several streets. Our room was lovely, simply furnished and bright. The wireless access was free. Continental breakfast was served in the adjoining hotel restaurant. The first morning I pointed to a diet coke in a refrigerated case. “Oh, not for breakfast,” the server said, meaning the sodas were not included with breakfast. I held up my fingers and rubbed them together, “I can pay?” I said. I felt a bit ridiculous, but I got my diet coke.

Our hotel was in Loretta Square, a 10 minute walk to Prague Castle. We spent Friday afternoon touring the castle. (More on the castle later.) We ate an early dinner in the hotel restaurant (schnitzel for me, goulash for Bill) and rested in the room for a bit. Around 8:00 we walked back down to the Castle and enjoyed the evening views. We stopped back by for a snack at an Asian restaurant called Malý Buddha.

Saturday dawned bright and we headed down the hill into Malá Strana, one of Prague’s oldest boroughs. The steep street is lined with shops and restaurants, even a Mystic Pizzerie. At the base of the hill we were intrigued by a “Tower Open” sign on the corner of the Baroque marketplace, Malostranské námÄ›stí. The Tower of St. Nicholas was built by Jesuits in the 18th century. We climbed 215 stairs of diminishing size, taking a short rest in the former apartment rooms of the fire watchman, passing the bell, to a balcony circling the tower. The view is gorgeous, surveying the red tile roofs (not just for haciendas!), the Vltava River, and Petrin Hill.

After the tower we wandered through the cobblestone streets, and saw a well known statue installed in 2004, The Piss–two animatronic guys peeing into a pool shaped like the Czech Republic. Whimsical or Political? You decide.

We lunched by the river, enjoying suckling pig with a leek dumpling and red currant sauce. After lunch we crossed the early 15th century Charles Bridge into Old Town Square in Staré Město. We saw the Astronomical Clock and the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn. We wanted to visit The Old Jewish Cemetery, but it was closed, Saturday being the Sabbath. This area is also Kafka territory with several of his residences dotting the map.

Saturday evening we attended a concert at Prague’s Art Nouveau Municipal Hall. Classical concerts are heavily promoted to tourists in Prague (which is not a bad thing to peddle). We were quite amused at the flyer for the concert we attended proclaiming “50 musicians on the stage!” Indeed, the North Czech Philharmony Teplice contains at least 50 musicians. The program included Dvořák, Beethoven and Glazunov. The performance ended around 10:30; we looked around for a place to eat, but were concerned about making the last train at midnight. So, we thought a takeaway would be perfect, however none could be found. Note to Prague: Few less statues, few more takeaways. We headed back to our hotel, but found all cafes and stores locked up tight, so our large, late lunch served us well, and a granola bar snack staved off starvation.

We were already loving Prague and still had two days left.