Se c’era una cosa che sognavo da anni, era di andare a cercare il naso di Tycho de Brahe.

Lo perse in duello a Rostock, ma non era quello il naso che cercavo.

Io volevo quello d’oro, che portava a mo’ di protesi, ed ero convinto di trovarlo in riva alla Vltava, nera e minacciosa.

A dire il vero trovai tutto nero, non solo il fiume, e il bianco di uno Smažený sýr già mi abbagliava.

Al U dvou koček trovai le prime tracce, ma un Svíčková na smetaně con Bramboráčky rallentò la ricerca.

Cinque Velkopopovický Kozel poi, invece di portarmi più vicino al naso, mi ricordarono la brutta fine di Tycho, morto ad una festa con la vescica scoppiata perchè tardò ad andare a svuotarla…

La missione fu dunque infruttuosa, ma io lo so, un giorno troverò il suo naso d’oro, anche se la Vltava non fa più paura, e Hasek non si ubriacherà più con me al Cafè Slavia.

Lundi 28 septembre etait donc un jour ferie en Republique tcheque (pour la Saint-Venceslas, le patron de la nation tcheque). Je n’ai pas vu le pape (voir aticle precedent) mais je pense que sa papamobile devait se trouver a la verticale de l’helicoptere visible en fin d’apres midi au dessus de Prague, puis plus tard en direction de l’aeroport. En fait, comme la plupart des Tcheques, j’ai plutot voulu profiter de ce dernier weekend quasi-estival avant l’arrivee de l’automne.

Comme souvent les dimanches apres-midis (dans ce cas un lundi apres-midi donc, jour ferie oblige), M. avait prevu une promenade dans Prague meme, pleine de surprises et le sentiment d’etre a la campagne plutot qu’en ville: decouverte du quartier de Baba avec ses maisons modernes/fonctionnalistes des annees 30, petit pique-nique au pied des ruines avec vue sur la vallee (et en buvant une cannette de Happy Wine – je n’invente rien, photo pour preuve), descente a travers bois vers Dolní Šárka, traversee de la Vltava en bateau pour rejoindre Troja, degustation de vin dans le jardin botanique (bien meilleur que le Happy Wine) avec vue sur le chateau, puis retour vers Holešovice au soleil couchant en traversant le parc de Stromovka. Une bien belle balade aux couleurs (et odeurs) d’automne, je recommande.

Un exemple fort sympathique des mysteres des langues (et de leurs traductions) avec ces consignes de securite indiquees sur un pedalo en location a Prague. Surement traduites du Tcheque vers le Francais en utilisant Google ou autre traducteur en ligne, avec a l’arrivee des instructions presque en contradiction avec ce qu’elles devraient etre… apres tout, ce ne sont que des consignes de securite

Quoi qu’il en soit, je recommande vivement lors des chaudes journees d’ete d’aller louer un pedalo (ou une barque) et profiter de la fraicheur de la Vltava, et de la tranquilite loin des touristes. Panorama et vue sur la ville de Prague superbes, autour de l’ile Strelecky ostrov. La location se fait directement sur l’ile Slovansky ostrov, a cote du Palac Zofin (acces par un pont qui donne sur Masarykovo Nabrezi, au niveau de l’Institut Goethe, juste au sud du Theatre National). Pour la location, j’ai une preference pour celui qui se trouve tout droit, a l’oppose du pont (moins de monde, car moins visible depuis la rive; prix autour de 150 Kc/heure ~ 5 euros/heure). Et puis ne pas oublier d’acheter sur place une biere ou une petite bouteille de vin, la promenade n’en sera que plus agreable.

Här kommer lite bilder för förra helgens försommar-resa för alla intresserade:

So here I am, back in Prague.  The first time I was here, I had just packed up my life in Los Angeles.  I arrived in this magical city armed with just two suitcases, an instinct that I would fall in love with Europe, a wing and a prayer, and a whopping desire to follow my bliss.  It was love at first sight.  Below are some of the photos taken on that first visit; the first seven days of my love affair with the magical city of Prague.

the castle and charles bridge

mala strana

naprstkova

river vltava

Mi primer contacto con este gran artista data de hace un año más o menos en una exposición organizada por Caixa Forum en Madrid. Hasta hace bien poco, solía quedarme en casa de mi amigo Carlos cada vez que viajaba allí, y como él vive a escasos metros de Caixa Forum y en consecuencia del Paseo del Prado y Atocha,  las visitas en esas mañanas resacosas a éste y al Reina Sofía eran inevitables, siendo la exposición de Alphonse Mucha la primera que pude disfrutar y sin duda un grandísimo descubrimiento.

A la edad de 27 años, en 1887,  Mucha se mudó a París a continuar sus estudios de Bellas Artes desarrollando gran parte de su carrera allí, siendo famosos sus carteles litográficos de la actriz Sara Bernhardt,  sus creaciones para el joyero parisino Georges Fouquet y su participación en la Exposición Universal de París en el año 1900. Todo esto se recogía amipliamente en la exposición de Caixa Forum: Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939). Seducción, modernidad y utopía, que se pudo ver desde abril hasta agosto del año pasado. Y precisamente, su intensa relación con París y su nombre, fueron los que me hicieron abandonar la exposición con la idea equivocada de que este artista creador y divulgador del estilo Art Nouveau, pionero en la aplicación del arte a la publicidad y uno de los padres del diseño gráfico moderno, era Francés.

Pero nunca más lejos de la  realidad, pues Alphonse Mucha es Checo, originario de Ivancice, Moravia.

Ayer me encontraba visitando las ruinas de un viejo castillo Praguense, Vysehrad, donde dice la leyenda que la princesa Libuše, llegada a la roca originaria del castillo, vio la increíble panorámica de la que yo disfruté, y aseguró que estaba viendo una ciudad que sería en el futuro conocida mundialmente, la colina donde se constuiría el Castillo de Praga, y que en definitiva albergaría una nueva nación. Las ruinas amuralladas con unas vistas impresionantes de la ciudad, el rio Vltava, con una iglesia originariamente románica pero reformada a un estilo claramente gótico por el Gran Carlos IV, quien monopliza la mayoría de los grandes proyectos arquitectónicos de Praga, un tiempo espectacular, una terracita donde tomarte una buena pinta de cerveza checa y los amplios jardines interiores a la muralla, nos brindaron una visita de lo más relajada y amena. En los aledaños de la iglesia gótica se encuentra un cementerio con una gran cantidad de compositores, artistas y en definitiva personajes famosos checos enterrados en él, y fue justamente ahí, dando un distendido paseo, cuando me reencontré un año después con la tumba de Alphonse Mucha, y cuando tuve que cambiar mi preconcepción de que era Francés para redescubrirlo como Checo.

Gracias a sus carteles teatrales, publicitarios y decorativos, protagonizados por fascinantes mujeres, que permitían un desarrollo gráfico original y virtuoso, y a su relación con la célebre actriz Sarah Bernhardt, Mucha alcanzó la fama. La exposicion de Caixa Forum  invitaba al espectador a reflexionar sobre las complejas relaciones entre el arte moderno y el kitsch, entre utopía y comercio, entre individualidad creadora y proyecto colectivo; en definitiva, sobre las funciones, los objetivos y las estrategias del arte moderno.

Es por ello que al igual que fue un gran descubrimiento en su momento para mí, os invito a todos los que estéis interasados a que indaguéis un poquito, y redescubráis, tal y como yo he hecho estos días en mi retiro Praguense, a un artista bohemio en innovador. Imprescindible para los amantes del disenio gráfico.

Comme ce couple de garçons qui s’embrasseront dans toutes les gares de Berlin pour livrer un message de paix, je finis de vous présenter en vrac une de mes premières peintures du mois de janvier….

Prague vu du hublot d'un bateau sur la Vltava (oil on panel 60x60 cm) repaint in process in may

<!–[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 21 <![endif]–> Mon amie Bijou (la rate qui se gratte). Une des premières gouaches il y a 3 ans quelques semaines après ma rencontre avec A. à Budapest. Ma dernière statuette du mois de mars en céramique blanche Stretching (déjà présentée plus bas) avec la photo qui l’a inspirée.

I left for Praha Saturday afternoon.. managed to snag tickets for the Gatwick Express for £9 return! Woo hoo At the airport they cost somewhere around £30. As I was checking in, I noticed they made the guy in front of me fit his duffel bag into the cabin baggage crate “Your bag MUST fit comfortably in here” .. that thing.. and I got a little uneasy. Although I had layered a sweater and thermal top, two vests and my coat on me to save space, my backpack was quite big with the Christmas gifts and etc. When my turn came, the lady instantly sent me to the crate… shit. It fit all but the straps which are really thick with padding. “Miss, it has to fit in the box. You have to check it in.” AGH. I went through all the effort of layering everything and it failed. Oh well. I took my purse and camera out of my backpack and exchanged them for some layers off of me (I felt MUCH better) and marched over to the EasyJet service counter to pay their lousy £12 fee.

After that ordeal, I went through security and straight to a gift shop to get some more stuff for my family. No backpack = more gifts! I know they love souvenirs, and I hadn’t been able to find any elsewhere. I also bought some trail mix and dark chocolate to munch on and took pictures of the Christmas trees while I waited for the gate to come on the screen. When I finally went to the gate, they had the crate there again!! The closest seats were on a wall which faced the ticket checkers, and I watched them send almost everyone to try their bag in the crate. About 90% of the people had their bag taken because it was too big. Many of them were Czech, too, so I started hearing all these swears flying around.. It was probably the funniest thing I have ever seen. I didn’t feel so bad anymore

Once in Prague, going through customs was a breeze. I always greet them in Czech, and my “dobrý večer” confused the customs agent as he looked up at me for a few seconds, back at my passport, at me again and goes “Aha! Česká Američanka!” That was cute. I picked up my backpack and went to find the minibuses.

The minibuses hold 8 passengers so it ended up being me and a group of seven Brits who had been on the same flight. They were a rowdy bunch of guys, but the minibus driver was telling me that they were actually very nice compared to some of the groups he usually gets. I ended up running into the guys again the next day.. Funny story Read on!

I got to Prague earlier than expected, and as I walked into the hostel, my dad called so I stepped back out to talk to him and only seconds later I hear people screaming “PUB CRAWL!!” at me. In a split-second decision, I decided to go. I checked in real quick at reception, threw my bags down while simultaneously inviting my whole room out since they were ALL in and staring at the crazy girl who was running around throwing her bags down and trying to find the lockers. At least they actually ended up going out that night unlike the six or seven people on FACEBOOK downstairs. Yeah, happy Saturday night to you too!

While walking to the first bar, I was talking to a couple of the guys who were “leading,” although not, the second group. They came off as nice but marginally creepy, and the third was creepy already at the sober stage. The first pub was alright. We grabbed a couple beers which were included in the exorbitant price and then it was off to #2, a half-club-half-bar place. This is where it got really uncomfortable. One of the guys who I had been chatting to earlier turned into a complete creeper and started grinding up on me at which point I went outside to call my friend who I couldn’t even get a hold of (thanks!) so I hopped into the nearest taxi, thankful for speaking Czech, and got home safe and sound for only 115CZK.

That made me think twice about traveling alone next year. Although I doubt I would ever go to a bar/club alone (unless other countries do arranged pub crawls like this — even then, lesson learned, I’d stick with girls!) it made me a little uneasy thinking what I might do if this had happened in Bulgaria or Romania for example, where I wouldn’t know the area/language..

Lucky for me, the next day was absolutely perfect. I woke up around 9.30 I think and kept trying to sleep more since I saw that the rest of my room was still out cold and I wanted to go explore the city with someone. At 11 or so, I finally got up because I couldn’t take it anymore. I felt like I would waste the whole day in bed. I got ready and made breakfast which consisted of multiple pieces of toast with jelly and then cheese and salami, a huge bowl of Cocoa Puffs, more bread.. etc I had to take advantage of it since it wasn’t free. It was a success; I felt full for hours. While eating, I met a guy named Conor. It turned out that he was actually staying in my room too, I just didn’t recognize him since it was such a whirlwind when I had checked in. He asked what my plans for the day were so I said I was just looking to hit the Christmas markets then wander around town the rest of the day, and then he asked if he could join so I said of course!

We started out with the markets at Staroměstské náměstí. I took lots of pictures and lost Conor a hundred times, then we watched the astronomical clock since it was almost the hour, and then we went toward Charles Bridge. There was a really sweet jazz band playing which provided lovely background music while I took photos. We spent quite a while walking around the bridge. Once we got to the other end, we both felt like stopping for coffee somewhere. We found a cute cafe opposite a whopping Starbucks (I was really surprised by how many have popped up there recently) and I got a cappuccino. Yum

We headed up toward the castle and took tons of pictures in the main courtyard and along the path down. It was so beautiful! The sun was starting to go down a little so the light was just lovely.

As we were walking back to Staroměstské náměstí, I spotted this one area that I’ve had a photograph of for years but never been able to go to. It’s down by the Vltava river where all the swans are and Karlův most is in the background. Some people were feeding the swans and I just ran around taking pictures and tried to replicate the photograph I have.

One of them decided to investigate this weird creature and camera :]

And the money shot:

We finally got back to Old Town Square and Conor bought us some svařák (mulled wine) as a thank you for my Prague tour, and then we ended up going to the astronomical clock tower. I’ve always wanted to go up there now that I have my camera, and we were perfectly timed for sunset! It was absolutely gorgeous. The views were fantastic in every direction.

This shot is of the Christmas markets at Staroměstské náměstí.

In the opposite direction, Conor spotted a rooftop bar.
We watched the rest of the sunset and set off to find the bar. It ended up a lot being a lot closer to the astronomical clock than we remembered, and we found it after walking all the way to the bridge and back. It was at the Hotel U Prince. We had a couple beers and then I got an amazing hot chocolate, and the view was to die for. Even though that was the coldest night of my trip, the heaters up there kept us nice and toasty and we never felt cold. I’d love to go back there in the summer :]

Here’s a shot from our table just before we left:

On the walk home, we stopped into a convenience store so I could buy a little breakfast for the next day — my cousin’s husband would be picking me up at 7.30 to take me down to see my family so I would miss the breakfast at the hostel which started at 9.00. As I was digging around the different Bebe packs, in walk the British guys from my minibus. They spotted me first and started yelling, “Holy shit! It’s the girl from the minibus!!” haha. We talked for a little while, they thought Conor was my boyfriend, then they said they thought I was with the minibus guy because I was speaking Czech to him — Lord! Then they all introduced themselves, kissed my hand and said they were leaving tomorrow morning. We said our goodbyes, then I went to pay. The guy working the counter was Vietnamese, and somehow we started talking about being Czech. I think he had asked where Conor and I were from.. I said I was Czech and, in Czech, he said “I am Czech now too.” Aww.

Conor pointed to a huge bottle of Absinthe that was sitting next to the register, and the guy immediately said, “Oh! You want?” and reached back for some plastic cups. He poured each of us a massive shot and we drank. Earlier that day, Conor told me how his one rule when traveling is to never say no to an offer, so that’s how we ended up chugging Absinthe with the tabak owner. It was a good time

Ziua a VI-a, 25 octombrie 2008

Dupa ce am servit micul dejun am plecat spre Old Town Square pentru o mica plimbare. Azi vrem sa mergem la Vysehrad, vechea fortareata a dinastiei Premysl din secolul al X-lea. Dar pana a ajunge acolo am nevoie sa fac o mica vizita la magazinul Tesco sa ma realimentez cu niste carduri de memorie. Cand am plecat de acasa am considerat ca 11GB imi vor ajunge pentru cele 11 zile de vacanta la Praga. Mi-am dat seama ca acest calcul a fost gresit in momentul in care am facut 7GB de poze si filme in 5 zile So, a trebuit sa mai imi cumpar cateva pretul fiind relativ ok (200 CZK pentru un SD Kingston de 2GB).

Drumul spre Vysehrad este relativ lung, a durat ~1.5 ore, dar tinand cont cate lucruri interesante poti vedea pe drum eu unul zic ca se merita. Exista bineinteles si varianta tramvai sau metro, dar sa ai atatea lucruri de vazut si sa te duci tzac-pac la destinatie … Ma rog.

In drum am vizitat Biserica Sfintilor Chiril si Metodiu (Kostel Sv. Cyrila a Metodeje), doi sfinti de origine greaca care au crestinat Boemia (tarif 60 CZK de persoana pentru vizitarea criptei si a muzeului dedicat Operatiunii Antropid). Aceasta biserica are o istorie sumbra in perioada in care Boemia si moravia a fost protectorat al Germaniei fasciste fiind punctul final al Operatiunii Antropid. La data de 27 mai 1942 un grup de sapte parasutisti cehi refugiati in Anglia (condusi de Jan Kubis si Jozef Gabcik) au incercat sa il asasineze pe Reinhard Heydrich, reychprotectorul Boemiei si Moraviei. Acesta, numit si Macelarul din Boemia pentru modul in care a luptat pentru a face din Boemia si moravia un teritoriu sigur pentru fortele fasciste, a fost principalul artizan al lagarelor de exterminare ale Holocaustului. Atentatul a fost o nereusita, in sensul ca luptatorii nu au reusit sa il omoare pe Heydrich, acesta decedand pe 4 iunie 1942 din cauza septicemiei. Schije din tabla masinii in care se afla la momentul atentatului au patruns in organismul sau, iar medicii nu le-au dat importanta. Luptatorii cehi s-au refugiat in cripta Bisericii Chiril si Metodiu, dar au fost tradati, iar biserica a fost inconjurata de 750 de soldati din trupele SS.  Tentativa lor de a sapa un sant care sa ii scoata pe sub strada in sitemul de canalizare aflat la 10 metri de biserica a fost un esec. Dupa un asediu care a durat cateva ore, timp in care fortele fasciste au incercat sa ii scoata pe cehi din biserica folosind apa si fumul (au incercat sa inunde biserica folosind un mic geam de pe fatada bisericii), germanii au reusit sa intre in biserica si sa atace cripta. Luptatorii cehi au preferat sa se sinucida decat sa cada in mainile fortelor SS. Acest atentat a insemnat si sfarsitul miscarii clandestine antigermane din Cehia. Germanii pentru a razbuna au ras de pe suprafata pamantului doua sate din imprejurimile Pragai: Lidice si Lezaky. Pste 2500 de cehi au fost inchisi in lagarul de la Mauthausen.

Pe drum am mai putut admira de la distanta Manastirea Emaus cu o forma  foarte ciudata. Se zice ca diavolul incercand sa ii ia in stapanire pe calugarii de la Emaus s-a angajat ca bucatar adaugand in mancare multe condimente, iar de atunci bucataria ceha are putine arome picante.

Am continuat plembarea spre  cetate Vysehrad dominata de Biserica Sfintilor Petru si Pavel. Conform legendelor cetatea de la Vysehrad a fost prima asezare aflata pe locul actual al Pragai, de aici orasul incepandu-se drumul in istorie. Dupa ce dinastia Premysl a pus bazele Castelului Praga, cele doua castele au continuat sa coexiste timp de aproximativ 2 secole pana la Carol al IV-lea care a extins Castelul Praga la actualele dimensiuni si a decis ca Vysehradul sa nu mai fie casa regala. Castelul a fost cucerit de armatele husite in timpul razboaielor husite. Mai tarziu la finalul razboiului de 30 de ani a fost restaurat si a devenit centru de antrenament al armatei austriece. Astazi aici se gaseste cimitirul Vysehrad unde sunt inmormantate multe personalitati ale Cehie cum ar fi Karel Capek, Bedrich Smetana sau Antonin Dvorak. Am vizitat si Biserica Sfintilor Petru si Pavel in schimbul a 30 CZK de persoana, o minunata biserica gotica.

Dupa ce am terminat de vizitat am luat-o usor de-a lungul Vltavei spre Mala Strana. O dovada ca concetatenii nostrii mai brozati de soarele indiei nu au ajuns prea mult in Praga este data de cardurile de lebede si rate care se bucura de placerea inotului

Cand am ajuns in Mala Strana am facut o mica pauza de refacere la hotel, iar apoi am mers la restaurantul nostru favorit pentru cina. Dupa ce am mancat am mai facut o sesiune de fotografii de noapte la castel, iar pe la ora 22 ne-am retras la hotel. maine avem de gand sa mergem la Gradina Zoologica din Praga si trebuie sa ne lamurim putin cum este cu sistemul de transport.

a) Old Town Square:

b) Nove Mesto si Karlovo Namesti:

c) Biserica Sfintii Chiril si Metodiu (Kostel Sv. Cyrila a Metodeje):

d) Manastirea Emaus:

e) Vysehrad:

f) Catedrala Sfintii Petru si Pavel (Kostel Sv. Petra a Pavla):

g) Diverse:

Dupa cum am promis voi scrie un scurt serial despre excursia mea la Praga in luna de miere. So, vorba lunga saracia omului, sa incepem.

Ziua I-a, 20 octombrie 2008

Am plecat pe 20 octombrie pe la douasprezece noaptea spre Bucuresti. Drumul a fost relativ ok, cu un mic episod la Slatina unde tata socru’ a gresit drumul si o luase spre Dunare. Am ajuns in Otopeni pe la 4am si ne-am dus sa ne interesam la ce ora incepe predarea bagajelor. Greutatea bagajelor era restrictionata la 23kg de persoana, iar noi indesasem cam multe. Cum predarea incepe pe la 5am, ne-am indreptat spre barul din aeroport pentru un ultim cico romanesc Un soc a fost pretul: 10 lei o sticla de 0.25!!!! Scump, doamna, scump! Dar cum era singurul loc din interior unde se putea fuma … Pe la 5 ne-am dus si am predat bagajele. Ufff! Am scapat. Nu am depasit greutatea maxima admisa. Ne-au trecut apoi prin vama unde ne-au puricat baietii (nu a fost ceva excesiv, pe unii i-a descaltat, eu am scapat). Pana la ora 6.15am cand incepea imbarcarea am zacut in sala de asteptare. Cu o pauza de suc si tigara. Pana la Praga nu mai apuc sa fumez, deci este momentul sa trag tare sa nu raman in urma . Intr-un final am ajuns in avion. Bineinteles ca personalul de la bord nu cunostea o boaba romaneste, iar in afara de pilot nici engleza prea multa. Cam ciudat. Daca tot faci pe stewardesa pe linii internationale mi se pare firesc sa cunosti macar doua vorbe intr-o limba de circulatie internationala. Mai ales ca erau fete tinere.

Aici este momentul unei mici paranteze. Toata lumea a vazut macar un film in care apar la un moment dat niste stewardese tinere si frumoase, adevarate manechine. Este un mit fratilor! Nu exista asa ceva! Erau niste tipe comune, amabile, dar si la mine la bloc sunt tipe care arata mai bine.

Sa ne intoarcem la oile noastre. Zborul a durat efectiv 1h35′. Avionul ok. Ne-au servit o mica gustare. Avantajul unei companii de linie fata de un low-cost. Pentru prestatie Czech Airlines merita nota 8,5. Am ajuns la Praga fara probleme. Pasapoartele au fost verificate din ochi de o tipa foarte amabila. La noi ni le pusesera la ultraviolete sa vada daca sunt ok si nu sunt masluite, aici le-a ajuns ca sunt valabile. Dupa ce ne-am recuperat gentile ne-am dus in holul aeroportului unde ne astepta ca in filme “soferul” de la agentia de turism (Interacta Travel pentru cine a uitat) cu placuta cu numele meu si un Passat nou-nout. Tipul in jur de 30 de ani era de origine slovac, era inginer, era de 6 ani in Praga unde venise pentru posibilitatile mai mari de castig din Cehia (pentru cine nu stie, din fosta Cehoslovacie, Cehia era cea dezvoltata, iar Slovacia cea saraca; idem fostele RFG si RDG). Lucra la Interacta unde in afara de munca de birou, mai facea si astfel de comisioane. Drumul pana la hotel a durat in jur de 30 minute, timp in care ni s-a tinut un mic curs de istorie a orasului. Vorbea engleza perfect, stia multe despre oras si istoria lui, un intelectual ce sa o mai intindem.

Momentul altei paranteze: cum mergeam prin Praga spre hotel, prin zona de periferie, cu blocuri multe, l-am intrebat pe tip daca acele blocuri sunt facute acum de curand sau sunt mai vechi. Aratau exact ca blocurile alea comuniste de zece etaje pe care le gasesti peste tot in Romania. Dar erau zugravite frumos de jurai ca sunt noi. Nu erau noi. Erau exact blocurile alea comuniste din anii 70-80, dar fusesera izolate termic si fonic, precum si zugravite din nou. De fapt in toata Praga nu am vazut o casa darapanata, cu tencuiala cazuta, cum sunt pe la noi 90% din imobile.

Am ajuns la hotel care era situat exact unde ni se promisese. La 100 metrii de ambasada Romaniei si de cea a Italiei, la 10 minute de mers agale de Podul Carol si de Castel. Am platit cursa aeroport-hotel (a fost 590 coroane, dar i-am dat tipului 700 CZK fiind incantat de modul in care ne tratase; dea altfel bacsisul in Praga este in jur de 10-15%, la unele restaurante fiind inclus din start in nota de plata) si am intrat in hotel.

Iar trebuie sa fac o paranteza ca sa limpezesc putin cum este cu cursul de shimb. 1 CZK = 0,16 RON. Adica 10 CZK = 1,60 RON, 100 CZK = 16 RON, 1.000 CZK = 160 RON. 1 Euro = 24.29 CZK la vanzare si 23.29 la cumparare (in bancile din Praga). Cursul oficial este de aproximativ 25 CZK la 1 euro. Asta ca sa puteti sa va faceti o idee despre nivelul preturilor din Praga.

Cum ziceam am ajuns la hotel. Era cam 08:45am si ni s-a spus ca receptia se deschide la 9am, sa luam un loc si imediat o sa vina persoana care se ocupa de aceasta problema. In scurt timp a venit tipa de la receptie. I-am spus ca am rezervare, a gasit-o imediat. Pretul era cu adevarat cel comunicat de agentie, 70 euro/noapte fata de cel normal de 105 euro. Ni s-au cerut pasapoartele ca sa ne inregistreze (desi poti iesi cu cartea de identitate din tara, la hotel se cere pasaportul, deci este bine sa il ai la tine). Am completat declaratia standar ca sunt de acord sa platesc ce stric in camera si am fost intrebati cand vrem sa platim: la sosire sau la plecare. Am ales sa platesc pe loc ca scap de o grija. Au acceptat fara problema euro. De fapt in majoritatea magazinelor si restaurantelor puteai plati in euro, dar restul ti se dadea in CZK. Pentru ca sosisem la hotel dimineata ni s-a oferit posibilitatea sa servim micul dejun gratuit, desi in mod normal trebuia sa beneficiem de el de a doua zi dimineata. Am acceptat si dupa ce am dus bagajele in camera ne-am intors la masa. Micul dejun era simplu, dar abundent. Sunca, cascaval, branza topita, salam, unt, gem, iaurt, cafea, ceai de vreo doua feluri, suc de portocale, fructe, cereale, paine si cornuri de vreo 4 feluri. Un mic dejun decent, bun, ok.

Dupa ce am mancat ne-am luat cele necesare plimbarii si am purces sa ne acomodam cu Praga. Am dat o tura mica pe Podul Carol pana pe malul celalalt al Vltavei catre Stare Mesto (Cartierul Vechi), am revenit pe malul stang pe Most Legii cu o mica pauza pe insula Stielecky. De aici am decis sa urcam pe Petrin Hill, un deal aflat deasupra Micului Cartier (Mala Strana) unde eram cazati. Urcusul a fost destul de nasol pentru bietele noastre picioare de oraseni care se deplaseaza toata ziua cu fundul in masina. Am reusit sa urcam totusi pana in varf, iar apoi sa urcam pe trepte cei 60 de metrii ai Petrin Tower. Acest turn care este o copie a Tour Eiffel din Paris la scara de 5:1, are torusi 60 de metrii, deci nu este chiar o placere sa il urci pe jos. Dar cand ajungi sus privelistea este de nota 20. Sa vezi toata Praga la picioarele tale … In drum spre turn am intalnit si una din cele doua perechi de romani pe care i-am zarit in Praga timp de 11 zile. Desi avionul a fost plin si la dus, si la intors nu stiu unde au fost toti romanii aia. Pret = 70 CZK/persoana.

Dupa ce am coborat din turn si ne-am tras sufletul pe o banca, am pornit spre oras la vale. In drum a trecut pe langa Manastirea Strahov unde se afla o biblioteca cu carti vechi, dar pe care nu am putut sa o vizitam fiind inchisa in acel moment. Am mers mai departe catre Loreta, o veche biserica baroca, adapostind copia cea mai fidela a Santa Casa (casa in care se spune ca Fecioara Maria a fost vestita ca il va naste pe Mantuitor de catre Arganghelul Gabriel). De aici am coborat catre Castelul din Praga unde am facut cateva poze exterioare si ne-am interesat de tariful de vizitare.

Fiind deja obositi ne-am retras putin in camera unde am bagat o burta de somn de refacere. Pe la ora 20 cand am facut ochi am dat o tura pe Podul Carol (Karluv Most in ceha) sa facem cateva fotografii de noapte. Deoarece ne-a cam prins foamea am inceput sa cautam un restaurant cu preturi acceptabile. De acasa ne stabilisem un buget zilnic de 3.000 CZK pentru mancare si, distractie, dar si sa dau 1.500 CZK pe o cina atata timp cat puteai manca super bine cu 7-8-900 CZK … Am gasit un restaurant dragut pe langa ambasada americana, pe strada Trziste la numarul 23 numit Baracnicka Rychta. Conform International Gastronomic Guide, in Praga ar fi printre cele mai bune din categoria sa. Mancarea a fost oricum excelenta. Cam cu multe calorii, dar foarte buna. Berea … mmmm … marfa! O halba de Pilsner Urquell la 35 CZK (pret de restaurant) te unge pe suflet dupa o zi de alergatura. Dupa ce am mancat ne-am retras la hotel pentru un binemeritat somn. Suntem in picioare de duminica de la ora 10 dimineata si sunt deja 36 de ore de lipsa de somn. Inainte de somn am stabilit impreuna cu sotia mea programul de maine: vom merge in Josefov (cartierul evreiesc). Somn usor!

La o prima vedere am observat curatenia de pe strazi, lipsa totala a cainilor vagabonzi, lipsa cersetorilor (in 11 zile cred ca am vazut vreo trei), lipsa concetatenilor nostrii de culoare (implicit si lipsa efectelor negative ale prezentei lor), putine magazine de cartier cu sucuri si alte prostii, foarte multe magazine cu cristaluri (doar suntem in Boemia) si de suveniruri (doar stam in centrul turistic).

Fotografii:

a) camera Hotel Aureus Clavis:

b) Ambasada Romaniei:

c) Charles Bridge (Karluv Most):

d) Petrin Tower:

e) Praga vazuta din Petrin Hill:

f) Manastirea Strahov:

g) Biserica Loreto:

h) Restaurantul Baracnicka Rychta:

i) Harta Praga cu Hotel Auresu Clavis marcat pe harta

After visiting Ceske Budejovice we stoped in Cesky Krumlov, a superb medieval city about 20 km’s away  from Ceske Budejovice. Cesky Krumlov has almost everything in a very small package: superb mountain scenery, the Vltava river and medieval streets and castles.

Streets of Cesky Krumlov

Cesky Krumlov - St. Vit Church

Cesky Krumlov - Castle Bridge

Cesky Krumlov - Vltava

After leaving Ceske Budejovice & Cesky Krumlov we headed for Nurnberg, but we stoped for an hour or so in Plzen:

Plzen - St. Bartholomew's church

The confusion arisen after coming back from the States after two months is slowly settling down… The last weekend was amazing and it brought me back to realizing how wonderful, relaxed and easy-going place Prague really is!

My friend and I took a ride on a swan paddle-boat around the river Vltava and immediately became the centre of attention for all the curious tourists and other paddle-boats fellows, who started taking pictures of the plastic swan plowing the waters alongside the National Theatre, Charles Bridge and the Prague Castle.

We were enjoying the ride so much! And of course, we couldn’t resist taking pictures as well! As the sun was setting down and it was generally very cloudy that day, the swan’s head on the dramatic sky created really nice images.

Reminiscent of the story that happened in one little town in Germany last year, where one of the local swans fell in love with its significant other plastic paddle boat and got very depressed and even lifeless over the winter when the boat season was over, we were also observing the interaction of the swans with our plastic one and found this observation to be quite funny actually…

If you’re thinking how could also you capture a gigantic swan sticking its noisy beak in the major historical sites of Prague, then rent this one and only paddle-boat at Zofin Island and try it out on the river Vltava yourself! It really is worth it as the atmosphere of this ride is truly unforgettable!

When I spoke about the unique atmosphere of a pure relax that Prague has to offer, I meant not only my “swan experience” from last Sunday but also the Jazz Week festival that is currently going on at the Old Town Square. Where else than Prague – and now honestly – can you sit down right on the cobble stone ground of one of the majorily crowded places in all of this country, drink a wonderful beer from a plastic cup on a public and listen to some high quality jazz by Jiri Stivin Quartet for free in a less than close distance to a bum sitting on his plastic bag from the local supermarket, happily stinking 10 meters around but being obviously passionate about jazz and clapping in the rhythm with the rest of the listeners? I don’t know of any such place that offers both locals and visitors as low-keyed atmosphere as Prague!

We all know that the customer service is not necessarily the #1 in Europe, it still has a LONG way to go, but the mindset of people living here is simply: easy! So PLEASE don’t try to apply such high requirements that you would expect from the city of your origin and try to take Prague for what it is because it undoubtedly has other (and better) things to offer! What can seem as a lapse on one hand is on the other hand enabling us to live the way we do… So simply try to go with the flow and acclimatize to our way of living and feeling things. You won’t regret, I promise! If you are opened enough, you will get into it very quickly.  Just don’t take things so deadly serious and take it easy, after all you’re in Prague, right?