I love just wondering around a city like this and getting lost in the amazing architecture of even the most mundane little street of apartment buildings or past a series of hospitals that are nestled among old churches and new developments. It was really nice to just enjoy a relaxing day of not heading anywhere too particular and just discovering something like a wonderful botanical garden and the first in the Czech Republic as you can read in the following. "Close to Karlovo Namesti is the oldest botanical garden in
the Czech Republic, the Botanic Garden of the Faculty of Science at Charles
University. The garden used to be in the Smíchov district, but due to flooding
from the Vltava River, the garden was relocated in 1898 to its current
location. Located a bit out of the main tourist way, this intimate garden is
relaxing and romantic, with benches and couples in love everywhere you look.
Its winding paths lead around nooks and ponds, while the old alluring glasshouse
is full of orchids, coffee bushes, a cactus room, primeval plants, and even a
Methuselah tree (the oldest living organism in the world). The outdoor
exhibition features about 3,000 plant species that have been accumulated here
since 1904 from various locations in central Europe. Visitors can see plants
here that occur commonly all over central Europe, as well as critically
endangered species and plants that are unique to a defined geographic location.
The subtropical and tropical parts of glasshouses that underwent reconstruction
between 1997 and 2000 offer altogether 1,600 square meters of exhibition space.
At the tropical glasshouses e.g. 130 year-old Cycads, palms and ferns can be
found, while subtropical glasshouses offer succulent plants and many other
interesting species. Besides permanent exhibitions also various temporary
exhibitions with topics like cacti and succulent plants, carnivorous plants and
exotic birds take place at the botanic garden. Two times a week guided tours
through the outdoor exhibition take place and occasionally visitors can listen
to classical music in the garden thanks to the concerts that are held there. If
you wish to know in advance what beauty awaits you during your visit to the
botanic garden, have a look at the website where you will find pictures of
plants that are seasonally in bloom."
I actually didn't take many pictures today either it was just time to watch people, gaze at nature, take in the beauty of 18th century architecture and visit a few Baroque style churches.
I also passed one of my favorite churches in the city the Gothic, "Our Lady of the Snow (Kostel Panny Marie Sněžné in Czech) in the New Town, at Jungmannovo náměstí. The church of Our Lady of the Snow has the highest nave of all churches in Prague and in the Czech Republic. Its height is 39 metres from the floor to the vault. In fact the current church is only a presbytery of the originally intended church, which would be over 100 metres long with even higher vault (40 metres). It was intended as the Coronation church and if it had been completed, it would compete in greatness and splendour with Saint Vitus Cathedral." I got a beautiful picture of it through a tressel in the garden next door. I remember how long it took me and Melody to find this church 4 years ago because you can clearly see it because of it's height but it was like a maze to get there. This time it wasn't so hard at all but I didn't go in today, I'll do that later this week. And as an add on to the above I did visit the church again on Thursday (day 4 Prague) and added the above picture from the beautiful interior.
I went into The Jesuit Church of St. Ignatius in Charles
Square (Kostel SV. Ignace.) The church was founded in the second half of the
17th century in place of 23 demolished
medieval houses. It was devoted to St. Ignatius of Loyola, the patron saint and
founder of the Jesuit order. Jesuits were noted for being conformed to hard
discipline, absolute obedience and ascetic way of life according to their founder´s model.
Now I didn't notice this myself because it was daylight and I was busy watching everything else going on around me but apparently there is this controversy about the statue of St. Ignatius on the top of the church. If I happen to walk by again I'll have to take a look but I also found a picture online of him. "On the top of the church face you can notice the statue of St. Ignatius and one of the local attractions, namely the performance of the aureole surrounding the saint´s body. At that time, the aureole was perceived as considerably seditious. Based on the clerical rules, only Jesus Christ was allowed to have an aureole around his whole body, however the position of the Jesuit order was so strong that this extravagance was tolerated."
I had lunch at a Chinese restaurant not far from St. Ignatius Church and then off for some more walking. By the end of the day (or rather only 6:00pm) I can truly say I was pooped. Lots of fresh air and at that point about 5 hours of walking most of it without stopping much. So I stopped off at small restaurant near the Old Town square and had a yummy Margarita pizza and a bitter lemon soda. And after a half hour rest I actually regained a great deal of energy and started walking again and this time made it, with only one stop for a sweet lemony snack at a bakery, all the way to 7:30pm before needing another little break and this time I found myself at the main branch of the Prague Public Library. I do love libraries as you all know and this one wasn't closing until 8:00pm so I took the opportunity to sit in the small, but well appointed reading area which is just down on the other side of the room from the kids area. You can see this in my picture. And I sat in a comfy red chair and put my feet up on the wicker ottoman's they provide for just this relaxing purpose. I was so content and for a half hour happy as a pig in poo to be reading a book and doing so in a fabulous public library.
After that little break I was refreshed enough to walk about another half hour but first stopping in St. Dominka's (or Dominic's) church although I'm not really sure since I can't find it online. The church was open and a few other tourists stopped in as well but they had most of the lights dimmed so much that you could see shadows of the beautiful alter art and in the distance on the right side was a large Nativity scene with a spot light on it. Very beautiful.
I went from there for a little walk around the surrounding area and in about 10 minutes came to where my hotel was and nearby the Estates Theatre which is part of the National Theatres of Prague. This particular theatre has an illustrious history which I read a tiny bit about from the plague on a most dark and somewhat disturbing sculpture of a clocked person without a visible face outside the theatre entrance. The sculpture is titled "Il Commendatore" and I found the following very interesting information online about it and it completely explains the appearance of the dark figure. "was sculpted in 1993 by Anna Chromy, an Austrian artist of Czech origin, in memory of Mozart's famous opera “Don Giovanni” that had its grand opening in the Estates theater on October 29th, 1787. It is one of several similar ‘empty coat’ statues that she has created, some of them called ‘The Cloak of Conscience’ which are installed in several locations in Europe. Anna Chromy is the only artist and sculptor who has cast the famous and complete Don Giovanni opera in bronze. This strange statue represents the character of Donna Anna’s father in Mozart’s Don Giovanni opera. When Giovanni tries to rape her, her father intervenes, the Don kills him, & at the end of the opera, the Commendatore’s stone monument comes to dinner at the Don’s house and takes the Don away to Hell."
About the Estates Theatre - "The Estates Theatre is one of the most beautiful historical theatre buildings in Europe and one of the oldest European theatres, operating continuously since 1783. You can see there Opera, Drama and Ballet performances. It has been part of the National Theatre since 1920. The Opera, Drama and Ballet ensembles give repertory performances. Its construction was initiated by the enlightened aristocrat František Antonín Count Nostitz Rieneck, led by the desire to aggrandise his native city as well as the souls of its inhabitants. The construction lasted less than two years and the Theatre was opened in 1783. This project, extremely important for the Prague of the time, was in keeping with the zeitgeist of the late 18th century, a time when national theatres were being built at European courts, royal seats and cultural centres in the spirit of the Enlightenment idea that a generally accessible theatre is a moral institution demonstrating the cultural level of the nation. The first, sporadic Czech-language performances took place in 1785. From 1812 onwards there were regular Sunday and holiday matinees. At that time, these performances became to a certain degree a political matter too. Thus arising in the difficult years following the failed revolution in 1848 was the idea of a Czech National Theatre."
And what actually caught my eye first was not the building but the large, colorful sign for one of their upcoming productions of a play by one of my favorite classic comedy playwrights. It's not playing while I'm here but what fun it would have been to see it although I'm not sure I would have been able to understand much because I don't know this particular play and it would have been in Czech. Monsieur de Pourceaugnac by 16th Century French playwright, Molière. Avarice, scheming, stupidity, pride and desire for social advancement are all themes that were topical at the time Moliere was writing his play, and they are still topical today. Monsieur de Pourceaugnac was created in 1669 as a comédie-ballet in prose and was first performed by Moliere’s troupe of actors before the court of Louis XIV at the Château de Chambord."
On the side of the theatre is a beautiful building with a large, old, Midevil looking bay window and I think it may be part of a museum below. And at the end of that building is an interesting set of lion sculptures. You see the lion represented all over the city and with this strange tail thing going on so I looked it up and this particular image of the lion is from the Czech coat of arms. "The smaller arms are formed by a shield displaying only the
silver double-tailed lion rampant, crowned and armed; here the lion is
considered a symbol of the entire territory of the Czech Republic. This coat of
arms was used already by the Přemyslides in 13th century; since 1918 it has
been AVa state symbol. Nowadays it is used where the state authority rules e.g.
on stamps and seals in state administration offices."So that was the day and what a wonderful Czech day in that!!!
