Prague - lost and found

Sunday 4 Feb

Sitting on the train, half-listening to something that eases a sleep-deprived hangover and sorta absorbing the flitting landscapes of winding rivers and intermittent buildings, I wonder if I'm awake. Shower and sleep, shower and sleep!! Arriving in Prague at 6pm I´ve a pretty definite idea of what I want to do, so I head for the hostel straight away.

A lucky break...

The Nardoni (National) Museum in Prague is free on the first Monday of every month, another unplanned bonus, I'm obvious a natural at this flexible travellin malarky! I go with Maria, a medical student from Argentina who I met in Berlin. The exhibitions are pretty interesting, in particular the anthropological section where Maria explains about the bones and skeletal remains able to show which ones survived blows to the head based on the skulls had healed. Pretty handy really as the display guides are mostly in Czech!

Stepping out - A tale of two concerts

The museum closes at 5pm and by chance as we're leaving a friendly guy at a desk, looks in his 40s and is dressed as though he's preparing for an ice-age (fair enough with the main doors open it is chilly), asks us if we want tickets for the concert. It's a small orchestral performance in the Museum at 6pm. The tickets are 350kr each but when we return at 5.57pm we manage to haggle the price to 250 (about 8-9 Euros).

The concert takes place on the steps in the main hall of the Museum. It was once a palace and the atmosphere is something majestical. Two large stairways ascend to a middle level where the orchestra will perform (between the lights) and we sit on cushions on one of the four red-carpeted stairways that ascend either side.

The Praga Collegio Kormorni Smyccovy (chamber strings) orchestra, dressed in refined evening attire, includes piano, cello, double bass, and a trio of violins. From the first note it's obvious this was an inspired choice. They are excellent and the acoustics make the songs lift all around the hall so you can even hear the individual plucking of strings. They play Vivaldi, Mozart, and Gounod's Ave Maria which is probably the highlight of an unforgettable experience.

On Wednesday, nursing a hangover from Tuesday night, I'm determined to do something more than drinking in the hostel with friends (although it is tempting, see below). I decide to go and check out the Ungelt Jazz and Blues Club as I remember there's meant to be a blues band on that evening. The place is a small underground cavern, maybe no more than 7x7 metres including the stage which is situated on the left as you enter. immediately to the right is a wooden stairway up to what seems to be a makeshift scaffolding upper tier and as it is the only place with any room I sit on the steps halfway up with a great view of the stage.

Roman Pokorny and the Blues Box Heroes - fantastic name!! The first song is a straightforward slide guitar tune a little rough around the edges, it half reminds me of a supporting act I once saw for Alvin Lee - Tony McPhee, but I don't let that put me off. What follows is a brilliant performance of consummate musical talent from all four guys. Roman is a about 40 with short hair and a decent paunch constantly smiling, the keyboardist looks like Swampy, the drummer is clearly a student, and the Bassist I'm betting was once a Physics Professor for the Open University in the 1970s. Their version of 'Little Wing' by Hendrix is like nothing I'd ever expect, you would've had to be there!

George's Birthday!

More South Americans and Australians! I reckon, based on my limited experience, along with UK folk we must make up about 90% of all travellers in Europe. Tuesday night, having spent a good day exploring the streets of Prague and reading Kafka in the tea-shops, I find a big group of people in the dorm and join them for a few drinks. Turns out it's George's 22nd birthday, (that's him on the left catching some drunk bloke!) and a group of about 20 people are having a good time. He's from Mexico with his mate


(also a George), a rock fan (that's a Slipknot t-shirt he's wearing) , with a really excellent knowledge of world affairs and a fantastic beard of which I'm quite jealous!

Kim, a Korean guy (left), drinks like no-one I've ever known, literally everything is consumed! His party-piece involves mixing any drinks he can get in a bowl together with tomato sauce and wasabi (insane!!), then balancing a shot glass of some spirit on two crossed knives above the bowl, nutting the table so the shot glass falls into the bowl then downing the entire contents. This he did about 5 times before turning green! That's the other George at the back, next to Meg (Melbournean) and Alex (Argentina) who is a massive Smiths fan.

Churches inside and out

On Tuesday, I set out just to wander around for a while, maybe find a bookshop to buy a Kafka novel and get an authentic Prague experience in a teashop! Only 5 minutes from the hostel I find a shop and browse for a while without really finding anything and on my way out notice a church opposite so decide to take a look. It is breathtaking (quite literally as it is freezing inside!). The inside is faintly lit and there is a strong musk of incense. It is like nothing I've ever seen, a brooding medieval awe-inspiring place. Either side of the hall vast oil paintings of the stages of the cross are guarded by towering sculptures of saints, both magnificent and faintly terrifying! The sanctuary is adorned with candles and looming wooden choir seats, the altar set at the back, and rising maybe 60-70 feet behind is a relief of Jesus on the cross surrounded by carvings of angels and demons. It's not hard to imagine how people would believe in fire and brimstone if this was their local parish church! Maybe out of respect for the 'no cameras' signs or a vague sense of dread I decide not to take any pictures. This is St James Roman Catholic basilica, pretty famous, fits with my experience so far that I'd find it accidentally!


On Wednesday I visit Prague Castle. It's a good walk across the Vlatva and up through Letenske Sady (the municipal park) where I have fun jumping in large remnants of snowfall, unfortunately nobody's about to chuck a snowball at so I aim at a tree, and miss. The castle exterior is pretty impressive and as I've forgotten to bring my wallet and only have about 80krona on me I make do with looking at that, besides after St James I'm not sure I could be more impressed by a church. The gargoyles are pretty though! On my way back I decide to go and look at the Fred and Ginger dancing building and feeling bold attempt to navigate my way back to the hostel via a shorter more direct route and get lost for 50 minutes in the new town in an area that's not on my map in the rain - i suppose to find things by accident it's only fair you get lost a few times too!