Czech Republic: June 19
This morning broke with sunshine and a light breeze. Alexandra and I had slept like the dead, hardly moving at all until about 8:00 a.m. Alexandra put on coffee, and then she, Dempsey and I had oatmeal with dried fruits on the balcony. Dempsey had errands to run, so she did not accompany us on today's foray. Alexandra and I walked all the way to the Obecni Dum, or Municipal House, a chef d'oeuvre of Art Nouveau and including quite a bit of our hero Alfons Mucha's work. It is by far the most exciting Art Nouveau building in Prague, and one of the few places that manages to conjure up the atmosphere of Prague's turn-of-the-century cafe society. Conceived as a cultural center for the Czech community, it is probably the finest architectural achievement of the Czech national revival. It is extravagantly decorated inside and out with the help of almost every artist connected with the Czech Secession. From the lifts to the cloakroom, just about all the furnishings remain as they were when the building was completed in 1911, and every inch of the interior and exterior has been lovingly restored. It was here that Czech independence was declared in 1918.
Our first room to tour at the Obecni Dum was the Smetana Hall, Prague's largest concert hall (we took a one-hour guided tour). Highlights included among others a room featuring a built-in aquarium decorated with gilded snails; Moorish-inspired silk walls of the Oriental salon; and a room designed by Mucha, with jewel-encrusted curtains, stained glass windows and paintings depicting civic virtues as personified by leading figures of Czech history. It was from a balcony off this room that Czech independence had been declared in 1918. After viewing the Mucha Museum next, we returned to the Obecni Dum to have lunch at the sumptuous Francouzska restaurace. I had the soup of the day, and Alexandra had schnitzel and potato salad. Then back to the Mucha Museum, dedicated to Alfonso Mucha (1860-1939), probably the most famous and popular of all Czech artists. He made his name in fin de siècle Paris, where he became famous after designing the Art Nouveau poster "Gismonda" for the actress Sarah Bernhardt. "Le style Mucha" became all the rage, but the artist himself came to despise this commercial period of his work. In 1910, Mucha moved back to his homeland and threw himself into the national cUse, designing patriotic stamps, banknote and posters for the new republic. The whole of Mucha's career is covered in the permanent exhibition, and there is a good selection of informal photos taken by the artist himself of his models, and of Paul Gauguin, with whom he shared a studio, playing the harmonium with his pants down. The only work not represented here is his massive "Slav Epic," which we are going to see in the National Museum later in our stay.
After lunch at the Obecni Dum, we headed to the main post office, sumptuous and decorated with beautiful wall murals, as Alexandra had bought postcards at both the Obecni Dum and the Mucha Museum and needed stamps to mail off her cards. Once that was accomplished, we were off to the Museum of Communism, recommended highly by Dempsey. It took an American expat to open Prague's first museum dedicated to the country's Communist past. Situated above a branch of McDonald's, and in the same building as a casino, its exhibitions give a brief rundown of Czech 20th c. History, accompanied by a good collection of Communist statues, uniforms and propaganda posters. There is a mockup of a Communist classroom, a secret police room, and plenty of film footage or protests throughout the period.
At the end of our tour of that museum, we walked to the Estates Theatre, built in the early 1780s by a Count Nostitz. It was here that Mozart first premiered his operas "Don Giovanni" and "La Clemenza di Tito." From there we walked to Wenceslaus Square, a grand boulevard featuring a high concentration of Art Nouveau cafes and stores. However, the Hotel Europa, where we wanted to have afternoon tea, was boarded up, and we could only see the outside facade featuring its glorious windows and balconies, as well as the front facade of its neighbor, the beautiful Hotel Meran.
From Wenceslaus Square we proceeded to a small cafe in the Nove Mesto area and close to the New Town Hall Tower, where we both had a cappucino, while Alexandra wrote postcards and I watched the eternally interesting parade of humanity passing by. We called Dempsey to meet us at our projected next stop, the grocery at Tesco Dept. Store, but she was having trouble with her sinuses and decided to stay in. We dropped by the grocery store and bought the making of sandwiches, yogurt, and drinks, then came home and ate ravenously after a long but fruitful first day. Dempsey wanted to have a full tale of the day, and we obliged. Then, after supper, we watched "To Catch a Thief," and after that everyone went to bed. I am the last one to call it a night on this, a successful first full day in lovely Praha!
Our first room to tour at the Obecni Dum was the Smetana Hall, Prague's largest concert hall (we took a one-hour guided tour). Highlights included among others a room featuring a built-in aquarium decorated with gilded snails; Moorish-inspired silk walls of the Oriental salon; and a room designed by Mucha, with jewel-encrusted curtains, stained glass windows and paintings depicting civic virtues as personified by leading figures of Czech history. It was from a balcony off this room that Czech independence had been declared in 1918. After viewing the Mucha Museum next, we returned to the Obecni Dum to have lunch at the sumptuous Francouzska restaurace. I had the soup of the day, and Alexandra had schnitzel and potato salad. Then back to the Mucha Museum, dedicated to Alfonso Mucha (1860-1939), probably the most famous and popular of all Czech artists. He made his name in fin de siècle Paris, where he became famous after designing the Art Nouveau poster "Gismonda" for the actress Sarah Bernhardt. "Le style Mucha" became all the rage, but the artist himself came to despise this commercial period of his work. In 1910, Mucha moved back to his homeland and threw himself into the national cUse, designing patriotic stamps, banknote and posters for the new republic. The whole of Mucha's career is covered in the permanent exhibition, and there is a good selection of informal photos taken by the artist himself of his models, and of Paul Gauguin, with whom he shared a studio, playing the harmonium with his pants down. The only work not represented here is his massive "Slav Epic," which we are going to see in the National Museum later in our stay.
After lunch at the Obecni Dum, we headed to the main post office, sumptuous and decorated with beautiful wall murals, as Alexandra had bought postcards at both the Obecni Dum and the Mucha Museum and needed stamps to mail off her cards. Once that was accomplished, we were off to the Museum of Communism, recommended highly by Dempsey. It took an American expat to open Prague's first museum dedicated to the country's Communist past. Situated above a branch of McDonald's, and in the same building as a casino, its exhibitions give a brief rundown of Czech 20th c. History, accompanied by a good collection of Communist statues, uniforms and propaganda posters. There is a mockup of a Communist classroom, a secret police room, and plenty of film footage or protests throughout the period.
At the end of our tour of that museum, we walked to the Estates Theatre, built in the early 1780s by a Count Nostitz. It was here that Mozart first premiered his operas "Don Giovanni" and "La Clemenza di Tito." From there we walked to Wenceslaus Square, a grand boulevard featuring a high concentration of Art Nouveau cafes and stores. However, the Hotel Europa, where we wanted to have afternoon tea, was boarded up, and we could only see the outside facade featuring its glorious windows and balconies, as well as the front facade of its neighbor, the beautiful Hotel Meran.
From Wenceslaus Square we proceeded to a small cafe in the Nove Mesto area and close to the New Town Hall Tower, where we both had a cappucino, while Alexandra wrote postcards and I watched the eternally interesting parade of humanity passing by. We called Dempsey to meet us at our projected next stop, the grocery at Tesco Dept. Store, but she was having trouble with her sinuses and decided to stay in. We dropped by the grocery store and bought the making of sandwiches, yogurt, and drinks, then came home and ate ravenously after a long but fruitful first day. Dempsey wanted to have a full tale of the day, and we obliged. Then, after supper, we watched "To Catch a Thief," and after that everyone went to bed. I am the last one to call it a night on this, a successful first full day in lovely Praha!
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