Once Upon a Time in Prague.

Once Upon a Time in Prague.

December 2002 & February 2012.

In late 2002 I was living in Bratislava, where I worked as an English teacher. Any free time us teachers had (and there was plenty of it) went to the seemingly endless travel options in and around Slovakia. My first trip to Prague was a particularly memorable one, thanks in large part to the fantastic bunch of people I hung out with. The kind of characters fate throws together just once in a lifetime.

My favourite group shot of that trip is a good opportunity to introduce the cast. That’s me bottom left, knee raised. Behind me is Rich, a Californian with an aptly sunny disposition. In fact, his catchphrase “good times!” will be familiar to anyone who has read my short story collection The Slovak Files.

Next to Rich is Ben, a costar of my recent article Snippets of Vienna. On his left, wearing the white beanie, is Jesse from Washington state. His lovely wife Caroline is taking the photo. Last but not least sits Jon, aka Goldblum, aka Jeff from Nashville. Long term readers will recognise him from many LT posts over the years.

The nostalgia of that long ago trip was all about the camaraderie between us. Perhaps unsurprisingly, much of where we went and what we did has become hazy over the last twenty one years. This, along with a limited selection of photos, makes it a difficult trip to write up. What I do remember is that we spent long, happy days wandering the frosty streets together. 

Once Upon a Time in Prague.

Naturally there were regular pitstops across the city for bites and beers. These were some of my first tastes of decent Czech staples such as Pilsner Urquell, Radegast and Staropramen.

One such stop that I actually made a note of was Tlusta Koala (now permanently closed), a sizeable pub with wooden decor, stuffed koala toys on the wall and TV screens showing sports. A quick look online reveals the old joint shut down permanently in 2019.

Most of my memories, and indeed photos, centre around the magnificent Charles Bridge. At the tender age of 24 I had never seen anything like it and was mesmerised. Spanning the Vltava river, work began in 1357 and didn’t finish until 45 years later in 1402. It takes its name from King Charles V, the first king of Bohemia to become Holy Roman emperor. 

With a length of 516 metres and no less than 16 pretty arches, Charles Bridge is a feast for the eyes. Even on that grey, misty wintry afternoon when visibility was not at its best. These are not the best photos of the bridge you’re ever likely to see, but happily I would make amends a decade later.

Charles Bridge.

The construction of Charles Bridge turned out to be more than mere eye candy though. Rather, it was the only means of crossing the Vltava (which stayed so until 1841) and therefore an essential connection between Prague Castle and the city’s Old Town.

As we crossed the bridge that afternoon, in 2002, we paused to admire the views across the moody river. And to drop a few coins into the case of this local saxophonist.

Of the many churches we stepped into, I have just one photo. This is Rich and I outside the mighty St. Vitus Cathedral, a gothic beast that dates back to 1344 and is the largest church in The Czech Republic. It’s also the most culturally important church in the country as it contains the tombs of dozens of Roman emperors and Bohemian kings. 

Weirdly, one of the most memorable events of that trip came at the train station on the way home. This was when, in all the excitement of boarding the train, we somehow lost Rich and Jon.

As the train slowly pulled away, none of us had a clue what’d happened to them. Craning our necks out of the window, none of us could figure out what might have taken place as we strode from the main hall to our platform and onto the train. 

Once Upon a Time in Prague.

To compound matters, neither Rich nor Jon were answering their phones. These were the days before WIFI and WhatsApp, hence it was a full twenty four hours before we learned that Rich had been pickpocketed en route to the platform. He and Jon had unsuccessfully chased the scoundrel, before ending up in a police station filing a futile report. They eventually made it back to Bratislava a few days later. 

Fast forward ten years and I am living in Amsterdam. It is February 2012 and, quite spontaneously, S and I decide on a short winter break. Out of all the potential destinations we could’ve chosen I’m not sure how we settled on a weekend in Prague. But hey, suddenly I was back in the city that had once captured my heart.

This time, armed with more wits and a better camera, I felt determined to make amends for the photographic injustices I had done to the Czech capital. One of the first things I wanted to do was to return to Charles Bridge. So off we set, entering its wintry majesty through the Old Town Bridge Tower.

With a soft crunch from the frosty stone underfoot, I savoured my return, which was mercifully quiet thanks to the unforgiving bite of the afternoon air. On this occasion there was no Mr. Saxophone, but I did spend more time checking out the many elegant statues that line the balustrade. 

Return to Charles Bridge.

There are thirty in total, spread out across two rows, one on each side. Most of them are saints, including Barbara, Margaret the Virgin and Francis Xavier. Moreover, there is a representation of Christ on the cross and The Lamentation of Christ, which depicts Mary Magdalene and the Virgin Mary mourning Jesus’ passing.

Next I wanted to make photographic amends at the Castle District (Hradčany). This magical neighbourhood is packed with historic delights, from little churches and the previously mentioned St Vitus Cathedral, to leafy, snow-clad garden squares and 16th century townhouses.

And then there’s Prague Castle itself, one of the largest castle complexes in the world. Arriving outside the First Courtyard somewhat out of breath after climbing the two hundred stone steps of Nerudova Street, I realised we had fortuitously caught the start of The Ceremonial Changing of the Guard.

The entire procession is a world away from the grandeur of London’s Buckingham Palace. Nevertheless, this is a quintessential Prague experience comprised of all the usual elements.

Yes, you’ll get marching. Yup, there’s some rifle brandishing and oh yeah there’s a bit of trumpeting from the windows of the first courtyard. While a change of guard takes place every hour, to see it in its full pomp you’ll want to come at 12:00. In the winter the crowds are quite manageable, so you don’t have to plan your day around it. 

Once Upon a Time in Prague.

Later, it was cool to revisit the iconic Astronomical Clock. Here, there is always a large crowd to contend with, no matter the time of year. You just have to suck it up. It sits attached to the facade of the elegant Old Town Hall, built in 1364. The clock arrived a little later in 1410, a creation of the legendary imperial clockmaker Mikuláš of Kadaň. 

Its mechanism features three vital components: The Astronomical Dial, The Walk of the Apostles and The Calendar Dial.

The Walk of the Apostles is the name for the 45-second cutesy musical performance that takes place on the hour. The four mechanical figures that come shuffling out of the little windows represent vanity, greed, death and pagan invasion. Apparently city authorities decided to tactfully change the look of the Jewish figure, which represented greed, following the end of World War II. 

Having enjoyed the show, I managed to go one better than my 2002 trip by scaling The Old Town Hall for views across the city. The tower’s seventy metres translates into 221 steep stone steps, but boy was it worth the effort. 

Old Town Hall Views.

At the top we took our time doing a 360 of the viewing gallery, the biting cold unable to rush us along in any way. Down below, The Old Town Square looked pleasingly sleepy with just a few huddled groups of tourists. 

The real majesty of the views though came with the skyline and its gorgeous array of towers, domes, spires and tiled roofs. And of picking out out the spectral, shadowy forms of Prague Castle and Petrin Tower on the horizon.

I could wax lyrical a bit more about those deliciously wintry Prague views from atop The Old Town Hall. Sometimes though, it’s just better to let the pictures do the talking.

Having taken care of old business, I felt free to roam some new, undiscovered streets and see what cropped up. Happily, this threw up numerous architectural gems. First came The National Monument, the world’s largest bronze equestrian statue.

Once Upon a Time in Prague.

Unveiled in 1938, the piece honours the Czech and Slovak heroes of World War I. Confusingly, the rider on horseback represents a 14th century Czech general by the name of Jan Žižka. A fearless and fearsome leader, he became a national hero after leading Hussite forces to several victories against The Romans despite being completely blind! I guess that horse had a decent pair of eyeballs.

Of the many wonderfully preserved 15th century towers throughout the city, one that’s worth a special mention is the gothic Jindrisska Tower. Built in the 1470s, it was plonked onto the side of the Church of St. Henry and used as an army guard tower.

Amusingly, the tower has a reputation locally for being pretty much indestructible. Indeed it has survived a Swedish gunnery attack (1648), a full-on Prussian offensive (1701) and a mental storm (1801) where the roof blew clean off. It even survived COVID without a mask. Today the fancy and opinion-splitting Zvonice Restaurant occupies the tower’s 7th, 8th and 9th floors.

Elsewhere, we stopped to admire the incredibly handsome Municipal Building, The Czech Republic’s most celebrated concert venue. Built in 1905 on the site of the former Royal Court Palace, it is an art nouveau wonder that features sculpted stucco, a glass dome and a dramatic mosaic called Homage to Prague by the Czech painter Karel Špillar. 

Municipal Building.

The building hosts classical concerts, ballet, opera and even rock shows from time to time. In fact, the Australian band INXS shot the music video to their hit single New Sensation on the roof in 1987. For those who don’t have the time nor inclination to catch a performance, there is a cafe and French restaurant on the ground floor.

On our final evening we set off for drinks with an old college friend of mine Dave and his American wife. On the way, we were surprised and bewildered to get caught up in a massive street protest.

Around 1500 people hit the streets that afternoon to show their displeasure with the recently signed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The protests, which swept a number of European countries that year, claimed the agreement encouraged online censorship and was the first step to establishing loss-of-privacy laws for individual internet users. 

Thankfully we managed to forge a path through the chaos and reach our destination, the very cool U Malého Glena Bar and Jazz Club.

Located at Karmelitská 23, just a short walk from Charles Bridge, this was/is a fantastic restaurant bar decked out with wooden furniture and intimate spotlights. The actual jazz club is in the basement, accessed via a set of narrow stone steps.

Once Upon a Time in Prague.

I hadn’t seen Dave in fifteen years. Thus we had a lovely night reminiscing about our A-level days in Chesham, England. And of course putting the world to rights on the subjects of football, music and cinema.

For more on my adventures in the region, check out travel reports on Bratislava, Vienna, Budapest and Krakow. 

You can also read through my short story series The Slovak Files.

I’ve been living, working and traveling all over the world since 2001. So why not check out my huge library of travel reports from over 40 countries.