Prague, July 1

July is here, and so are the tourists!  This morning we awoke to a sunny sky and the promise of a good day.  We had lunch at home before taking off by streetcar to the Strahov monastery.  It was founded in 1140 by the Premonstratensian order of monks.  Strahov was one of the lucky few to escape Joseph II's 1783 dissolution of the monasteries, a feat it managed by declaring itself a scholarly institution.  The monks had, in fact, amassed one of the finest libraries in Bohemia.  It continued to function until shortly after the Communists took over, when, along with all other religious establishments, it was closed down and most of its inmates thrown into prison.  Following the events of 1989, the monks returned.  The Baroque entrance to the monastery is topped by a statue of St. Norbert, 12th c. founder of the Premonstratensian order, whose relics were brought here in 1627.  Just inside the outer courtyard is a tiny deconsecrated church built by Rudolf II and dedicated to St. Roch, protector against plagues.  Now it is an art gallery.  The other church in this courtyard is the still functioning 12th c. monastery church of Panny Marie, with its frescoes representing St. Norbert's life.  It is also at this church that Mozart played the organ.  After seeing the church and touring the Miniature Museum, which Alexandra loved and which featured 40 or so works of Anatoly Konyenko, a Russian who holds the record for constructing the smallest book in the world, as well as a dead flea bearing golden horseshoes, scissors and a key and lock, the Lord's Prayer written on a human hair, and a caravan of camels passing through the eye of a needle, we went to the monastery's Art Gallery, housing religious art, church plate, and reliquaries.  Then we had lunch next to the Miniature Museum, and Alexandra had roasted pig in a monastery beer sauce with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut, and I had goulash.  Afterwards, we decided to splurge and got a magnificent pear strudel with whipped cream, shaved almonds, and a dark chocolate drizzle.  One of the best desserts I have ever eaten!  Following lunch, which kept being interrupted by wind and rain (we were sitting outside on the terrace), we went to the two great libraries of the monastery, the Philosophical Hall and the Theological Hall.  The Philosophical Hall is the larger of the two and was built in the 1780s in order to accommodate the books and bookcases from the Louka Monastery in Moravia that failed to escape the decree of Joseph II.  The walnut bookcases are so tall that they reach to the ceiling, which is decorated with frescoes illustrating the search for truth.  Last time I had seen the library, it was under renovation.  Now the room is  magnificent!  Outside the library are cases full of all kinds of  curiosities.  The other main room is the Theological Hall, which is studded with ancient globes, its wedding-cake stucco framing frescoes on a similar theme, executed by one of the monks.  Outside the hall is the library's oldest book, the 9th c. gem-studded Strahov Gospel.  There was also a cabinet of books documenting Czech trees, each of which has the bark of the tree on its spine.  After the second library, we started wandering down the wooded slopes of the monastery grounds, towards the Petrin Tower.  The views of Prague were uniformly magnificent, and at Petrin we stopped and inspected several beautiful rose gardens in the vicinity.  From there we took the funicular to Ujezd, at the bottom of the hill and close to Waldstein Gardens, where we met Dempsey for a stroll to another set of gardens called Vojanovy Gardens, a truly restful oasis in the city and a place where we spotted about 11 peacocks.  From there we meandered back to Namesti, via Shakespeare and Son, where we bought a few books.  Dempsey left us at the National Theater, and Alexandra and I went on to Tesco to buy salmon, broccoli and carrots.  Alexandra and Dempsey are cooking right now, while I write this blog. We are going to eat soon, and then watch a Pink Panther movie with Peter Sellers.  Great day!