Prague, Revisited

The Vlatava River meandering its way through the city.

Let’s face it, Prague is a beautiful city and there is little wonder countless tourists flock to it. After five years absence (see our April 3, 2014 post), it seemed busier than ever (although tourist season may not have started at the time of our earlier visit). It’s the incredible architecture, the very generous amount of green space, and the excellent public transportation that really set it apart. We preferred to ignore the large crowds in the oldest part of the city and wandered the city just to soak it in and enjoy some of the interesting shops.

  • Jewish Town Hall
  • Old New Synagogue

Last time, we missed what’s left of the walled Jewish quarter (or “Josefov”) in Prague where Jews first settled in the 10th century. The Old New Synagogue (1270) is the oldest remaining medieval synagogue of twin nave design and the oldest active synagogue in Europe. The survival of the Josefov through WWII has been attributed to Hitler’s desire to create a museum of an extinct race.

Old Town Square (as compared to Wenceslas Square, an enormous space and the focal point of the Velvet Revolution) is the world stage for the city, filled with tourists rightly admiring the rich heritage, including the Astronomical Clock, street performers and groups making their bid for recognition. Vendors are along the sides selling Czech food specialties, along with two Starbucks.
Just at the periphery of the old city, by the Film Museum, you can enter a quiet lane and suddenly hear birds singing. A few steps further and you emerge into a large green square lined with park benches and a few cafes where we had a coffee, moving our table to get under the shade of some trees in the cafe’s courtyard, someone singing and playing the guitar out in the square.

Up a funicular (included with your transit pass) to the top of a ridge overlooking the city and the castle, there is another large park (one of many), this one including the remnants of a world’s fair. There’s an observatory, the Eiffel-inspired Petrin tower one can climb for an even better view and the “Mirror Maze,” i.e. a very old fashioned funhouse.

The Gulliver Airship, DOX Centre, a space for reading and public discussions of contemporary art and literature.
Gulliver Airship, 42 meters long, on the roof of the DOX Centre. “The access is not barrier free.”
  • Stairs by Eva Jiricna, part of exhibit celebrating her work (at one point partner of Richard Rogers, see Bordeaux).
  • Portrait by Liu Xia of her late husband, 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner and human rights activist Liu Xiaobo.
  • Part of the #DATAMAZE exhibit reflecting on the implications of our digital environment and our roles not as mere witnesses, but as passive or active co-creators.

Taking some time off from their push to complete end-of-term projects, Kyle and Hui followed up on an instructor’s recommendation and we headed off to the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art in Prague 7. Although much of the museum was a bit heavy on the ironic and of questionable esthetics, we did enjoy what we’ve posted here, especially the work of Eva Jiricna for whose 80th birthday the exhibit had been arranged to celebrate a stellar career as one of the few women in the upper ranks of architecture.