Prague Summer

I had every intention of rereading Kafka, The Metamorphosis in particular, before we left for his birthplace in the Czech Republic a fortnight ago. It was not to be. I still have the volume by my bedside and will get straight to it after I finish my current favorite Coetzee’s Scenes from a Provincial Life. In fact, I brought this book with me to Prague and spent an enjoyable lunchtime by the Vltava River reading and eating a mozzarella and fresh tomato-basil sandwich and sipping ice tea. Prague it turns out is a real jewel – colorful, vibrant, multi-faceted and exciting. When Yana, who did the flowers for my daughter’s recent wedding, told me that Prague was lovelier than Paris, I thought that surely it must be a biased opinion, because she is from that area. But, I now see what she meant. Beautiful old buildings in a riot of colors and architectural styles, scenic hill top views, castles, cathedrals, winding lanes and alleys, beautiful graveyards (yes, even the gravestones are a work of art in themselves), historic squares and bridges, color, and music everywhere! The city is full of musicians- you see them hurrying by with their instruments on the way to perform in a church, concert hall or perhaps on the street. We heard a woodwind concert in St. Nicholas Church in the Old Town – the most beautiful square in the city. There’s also lots of jazz. A chatty sales clerk in a shop told me that Czechs seem to have an identity problem. In the past they had rulers, then the Russians, and now they don’t really know who they are, she said. They want to copy the Americans she thought. My favorite tourist sites in Prague were the exquisite St. Vitus Cathedral in Hradcany and the Spanish Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter. The name of this synagogue is derived from its Moorish style – every surface is covered by richly ornamented Islamic-style polychrome and gilded patterns. Strictly no photography allowed here, so no photos! But I made up for it in the rest of the city. Here are some images.

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