Prague- The City of Spires

     Prague has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe, more so than any of the other traditional Western European capitals, with the possible exception of London or Paris.  Which is one reason why, in the summer, the crowds can literally be packed wall to wall in the streets.  Although its probably impossible to avoid them entirely, they are not nearly so obnoxious in the winter, which is when we decided to go.

     It was quite frosty when we touched down at Ruzyne International, the main airport for Prague.  No one really remembers why it isn’t called Prague International (Ruzyne is the name of the neighborhood where the airport is located), so this year, the government decided to rename it “Prague- Vaclav Havel”, after the famous dissident during the Soviet era, and later the first president after independence in 1989.  He already has numerous buildings, streets, and squares named after him, so one more landmark couldn’t hurt.  

Anna tells us a story about the square.

     During the hight of the Hapsburg Empire, Prague was the largest city in Europe and the undisputed capital.  It still retains much of its baroque charm and architecture from that era.  There was no way we could hope to see it all ourselves, so we went down to the Old Town Square and signed up for one of the “Free Walking Tours” (tips afterwards, please) that go through the town daily.  Our guide, Anna, was a proper older women, with an overcoat and umbrella, who had grown up in the city and knew all of its stories.

     Prague is known as the city of spires, and with good reason.  The Old Town Square (“Staroměstské náměstí”), is on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and is surrounded by the towering double-spired Church or Our Lady before Tyn, the imposing Church of St. Nicholas, the elaborate 18th century Rococo Kinský Palace, and of course, the Old Town Hall (dating back to 1364) with the elaborate Astronomical Clock and Calendar.  It truly  looks like a movie set or something out of Disneyland.  In fact, the square is one of many locations around town used in the first “Mission Impossible” movie, Anna told us.  We re-watched the movie as soon as we got home, and, sure enough, there was Tom Cruise running across the square, right where we had been, escaping a crowd of diabolic evil doers.  We didn’t see any international intrigue while we were there, but the Astronomical Clock still attracts a crowd every hour to see the intricate mechanical figures perform and parade across the front.  The square is also still the political heartbeat of the city.  We saw a huge crowd of protesters march through one night, protesting the austerity measures imposed by the government.   

Staroměstské náměstí (Old Town Square)

     The Square still retains some of its prior character as a market place as well, albeit mostly for tourists, with numerous stands selling fresh hot bread pretzels, ham roasting on a spit, and hot cups of glűhwein (spiced wine), perfect for warming your hands on one of those cold days when you can see your breath.

Entrance to the Karlův Most
(St. Charles Bridge)

Anna spent the day with us and took us around all through the Old Town (Staré Město), the backstreets of the Malá Strana (Little Quarter), the sprawling and expansive grounds of the Pražský Hrad (Prague Castle, the biggest ancient castle in the world) and Hradčany (Castle grounds), the Karlův Most (Charles Bridge), and Wenceslas Square.  Everywhere, we were struck with the overwhelming sense of history: we walked in the steps of Emperors (Charles IV), musicians (this was Mozart’s adopted city), and demonstrators (from the brutal “Prague Spring” of 1968 to the “Velvet Revolution” that eventually lead to the downfall of communism).  

Strolling on the Karlův Most 

     




      On the Charles bridge, lined with its iconic statutes, artists, and performers, we walked in the footsteps of about a thousand tourists a day, it seemed.  This struck me as Prague’s medieval equivalent of Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. The bridge, which goes back to 1357, is now the most recognized trademarks of Prague.  Over the centuries, the statues that now line the bridge were gradually added, one by one.  The bridge offers a wonderful view of the gold-tipped towers and church domes that line the Vltava River.

Nothing beats a big bowl of goulash soup and
a cold glass of Pilsner Urquell on a cold day!

One of the many statutes lining the Charles Bridge

St. Vitus's Cathedral at the Prague Castle

Charles Bridge leading into the Malá Strana

A beggar prostrates himself for the tourist crowd.

Protesters march through the square

A crowd gathers to watch the clock figures
perform

In front of the "Obecni dum" (Municipal
House) Concert Hall

Changing of the guards at Prague Castle

"Graffiti Wall" started with the "Velvet Revolution." 

View of the Square from the Clock Tower

View of the Tyn Church from the Clock Tower

Brussels and Ghent: Castles, Chocolate, and the Pissing Boy

  Belgium isn’t as neat, orderly, and prosperous as Holland, but what it lacks in that regard, it makes up for in elegant (if somewhat fading) scenic grandeur.  And it has two big draws that attract plenty of visitors: good beer and Belgian chocolate.  Its the perfect combination; something for him and something for her.  There are over 450 artsy varieties of specialty beers with reputations that go back to the middle ages.  The chocolate is no less tempting.  Belgian chocolate has been known to wilt the will power of the most committed dieters.  Picturesque shops dot the city- just when you think you are out of the clutches of one, you turn the corner and there is another that is even cuter.  There are over 2,000 in Belgium.

        Brussels is a mix of cosmopolitan and historic.  As the administrative capital of Europe, it is home to numerous European institutions as well as NATO.  Meanwhile the historic side has preserved the palaces and squares from the 18th and 19th century when Belgium was a world power.  The central square in the old town, le Grand'Place, is considered one of the most ornate in Europe, and one of the most theatrical in the summer, with free concerts and light shows.  

"Bonjour, Monsieur et Madame. A table?"

If you can’t find a good inexpensive restaurant in Brussels, you just aren’t trying.  They are lined up one after the other in the romantic cobble-stoned alleys that make up a good part of the old town.  The restaurants have an elegant French feel to them, but without the expensive French price.  The Garçons line the alley, standing outside their restaurants, engaging the passers-by like some kind of high class barker.  “Bonjour, Monsieur et Madame.  We have a wonderful menu, and a glass of champaign on the house!  Can I show you a seat by the fireplace?”

Brussels has lots of charms to offer, but someone is going to have to explain to me what is going on with the trademark statute, le Manneken Pis?  What can you say about a town which boasts as its main attraction a statute of a pissing boy squirting water. Whose idea was this anyway?  Who thought this would be a good idea?  If this thing was in America, it would be on Jaime Foxx or candid camera.  

Its actually been a Brussles landmark at least since 1377.  At that time, it was supposedly expressing the general opinion about the occupying forces.  In 1747, some French soldiers thought it would be a good idea to steal him and take him back to France.  There was such a huge outcry that King Louis ordered it returned wearing a gold embroidered suit. It now has a ceremonial costume for every occasion, 517 in all. 

A row of the famous boy line up in a candy store
window for christmas.

You see him everywhere.  Key rings, T shirts, bobble-head dolls, doorbell frames, toilet paper holders, you name it.  Its been called the statue that launched a thousand tchotchkes.  There’s the pissing boy over there holding waffles; over here, the pissing boy holding vlaamse friets (flemish french fries).  I looked around for one holding a Budweiser can (since Bud was sold to a Belgian company a couple years ago), but couldn’t find one anywhere.  I think they’re missing a good Super Bowl commercial here.  Who knew?  And you probably thought that Americans invented it for mudflaps and rear windows.

In order to show how sensitive Americans are to gender equality, we asked the tourist information clerk where the pissing girl statute was.  Turns out there actually is one at a restaurant over on the rue des Bouchers.  Veronica wouldn’t let me go.  Guess we’ll have to visit that on the next trip. 

The Castle Gravensteen

If Brussels has made its mark by preserving the feel and architecture of the the 19th century, Ghent has made its mark by preserving the feel and architecture of the 17th century. Well preserved medieval facades surround a city square full of merchants’ booths.  Standing on the Sint Michielsbrug (Saint Michael’s bridge) looking out toward the old town and the Gravensteen castle, you’d swear you had been transported back to the 1600’s.  In fact the centerpiece of the city, the castle Gravensteen (seen on The Amazing Race not too long ago), goes back even further than that, to the 1100’s.  It has been rebuilt on the same spot several times, however, most recently in the 1800’s, but still authentically portrays the medieval castle.  Through it all, though, it has been continuously in use in one fashion or another since that time, whether as a chamber for the High Court of Flanders, a prison, or a cotton mill.  It is now a museum with a spectacular view of Ghent from its battements.

Brussels- le Grand'Place (main square)

Hôtel de Ville (City Hall)

Guild houses of the Graslei

Along the river Leie 

In front of Sint Michielskirk (St. Michael's Church)

Sint Michielsbrug (St. Michael's bridge) looking down
 the Lieve Canal

St. Niklaaskerk (St. Nicholas Church)

Ornate buildings in the Koren Markt

Battlement of the Gravensteen

View from the battlements

Evening falls on the central square

Bon Voyage!