Friday, 19 SEPTEMBER 2014
[Morning in Praha and then off to the South Bohemian town Český Krumlov]
Only two and a half days remained of my tour in Praha/Bohemia. However, the final and one of the most anticipated of trips outside of Praha remained and would be made on this day. The destination - to the south Bohemian town of Český Krumlov, one of the most visited in the Czech Republic after Praha. This was an overnight trip and since there was no need to return to Praha on the same day, departure to Český Krumlov was only after midday.
Alright, scenes such as below are a dime a few dozen on the internet, but it was essentially what I did for an hour or two in the morning, hanging about Charles Bridge enjoying the views and people watching.
 |
| It was about a quarter to eight with the crowds just starting to trickle in |
 |
| The nun must have been irked that two pfools would now have her photo |
Below is probably one of the most interesting groups of statues on Charles Bridge. It depicts three Saints - Saints John of Matha (holding broken chain), Felix of Valois (removing shackles from a prisoner) and Ivan (holding a cross). The former two were French and are considered the founder (Saint John) and co-founder of the Trinitarian Order (Order of the Most Holy Trinity for the Redemption of the Captives). The original intention of the founding of the Order was to raise funds to pay ransom to secure the release of European Christians captured by Moorish/Arab armies and pirates along the Mediterranean coasts and southernmost parts of Europe. These prisoners were effectively slaves. This was a problem that started in the 8th century lasting until the Renaissance period!
Within the caged structure at the base are depicted several Christian slaves with a (parody of?) Turk and a canine standing watch. The deer with a cross between its antlers probably represents a vision Saint John had. The statues were created by Ferdinand Maxmilián Brokof, one of the most important Baroque era sculptors in the country. 8 of the 30 statues now on Charles Bridge are by Brokof.
 |
| Saints John of Matha, Felix of Valois and Ivan (the latter 2 were hermits) |
After Charles Bridge, made another trip to the Church of Saint Nicholas, where I had enjoyed a violin-organ performance the evening before. The intention, to climb the stairs of the church tower for aerial views of Little Quarter and beyond. Admission fee was 90 Czk (the same entrance fee for all towers) and there were many stairs to climb (200+) but the 360 degree view was absolutely worth the effort.
 |
| Karmelitská street |
 |
| View of third terrace and viewpoint of Vrtba Garden. A couple were taking wedding photos at the time |
 |
| View of Strahov Monastery, buildings on Úvoz street (at right) |
 |
| Church of Saint Thomas, Letná Park in the distance |
 |
| Looking towards Prague Castle |
 |
| A section of Prague Castle gardens |
 |
| Mostecká street, Little Quarter towers, Charles Bridge |
 |
| 'Spying' on pedestrians on the bridge |
As there was not much time for lunch before leaving for Český Krumlov, decided to try out a nearby restaurant, at Hotel Pod Věží (literally 'Under the Tower' hotel), which is right next to Charles Bridge and the Little Quarter Tower.
 |
| Restaurant interior - elegant and cosy. ALL the other patrons were seated outside enjoying the warm and sunny early autumn day .. too sunny for my liking |
Food was good with quite a wide selection available, service reasonably fast and courteous wait staff. Due to the location, prices were a little higher than compared to those situated away from tourist routes.
 |
| Goulash soup in a bun |
 |
| Leg of rabbit with I believe spinach dumplings |
At 2 pm sharp, the journey to Český Krumlov commenced. The initial part of the route was via the main highway E65 and 30 minutes later turning into the E55 highway towards Linz, Austria. Along the way we passed through the main South Bohemia city, České Budějovice (Budweis in German), a city founded in the 13th century and which has been brewing beer since that time - the famous beer from here being the Budweiser Budvar.
Total travelling time from Prague to Český Krumlov was about 2 hours 30 minutes. I arrived just in time to check into the hotel, get into the proper attire and head to the baroque theatre at Krumlov castle for the baroque opera scheduled to start at 6pm. A bit more on that later.
Český Krumlov, is a town in South Bohemia with a population of just below 100,000. The name Krumlov reflects that the town was built around a meandering (crescent shaped) section of the Vltava river. The town was first mentioned in documents from the mid 13th century but was inhabited long before that. The historic town centre was made a UNESCO world heritage site in 1992. The
UNESCO website has a good summary of the history of the town while it's official
website has even more detailed information.
I had just enough time to check into the hotel (Edward Kelly), change into formal wear for the baroque opera, and catch the cab which would take me via the street Na Dlouhé zdi to the West entrance of the castle. The reason for taking the cab was that I did not want to risk aggravating my feet walking the rather steep uphill route through the various courtyards of the Krumlov castle, which would have been a much more scenic way to get to the theatre. Before the opera, managed to take a few snapshots from the viewpoint at the fifth courtyard of the castle, near the baroque theatre.
 |
| View of the Vltava and the Krumlov castle tower |
 |
| View of one section of the town. Very pretty |
 |
| Na plášti (at the Cloak) or Cloak Bridge - a four-storey covered bridge supported by 3 levels of massive stone pillars |
 |
| One of the musicians waiting for the opera to commence |
 |
| Entrance to the castle (baroque) theatre - picture was taken the next morning when I returned to the castle |
The theatre at Krumlov castle was built at the current location under the Eggenbergs in the early 1680s but it was reconstructed and fitted with updated theatre equipment and decoration by the Schwarzenbergs in the 1760s. The theatre has not been changed since then - the layout, stage and props, equipment and machinery and even audience seating have been retained from the 1760s. It is supposedly one of the two remaining baroque theatres, the other being in Sweden.
I am not at all a fan of opera but was interested to have a look at the interior of such a theatre and not averse to viewing the live stage performances, just not terribly keen on the style of singing. Tickets for the regular seats were 1,990 Czk and I was told the balcony seats were 5,000 Czk. As far as I'm aware, the baroque operas are held on only 3 days each year, during the baroque arts festival in September. As such, it was full house on this day. No idea about the subsequent two days - expect they were fully sold as well.
It would have been good if they had added cushioning to the seating
which were hard wooden benches. At least some thick towels were provided
for buffer... The theatre was dimly lit and thus not conducive for clear shots of the interior. So we'll have to make do with a photo from 1999 provided in the castle's website:
The opera showcased was L'ipermestra by Johann Adolf Hasse, apparently a very popular composer in his time, but a relatively unknown name today. He was prolific in writing operas and religious music. This opera was written for a wedding of Maria Anna, the younger sister of the Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa and supposedly performed only twice on its 1744 debut and a reprise, hence, is very obscure. This performance was its modern day premier. It was sung in Italian and divided into 3 acts of about an hour each with an interval between acts. I won't make any comments on the opera performances or authenticity of the costumes, make-up and props, as I have zero knowledge on this - just to add that it was a unique experience viewing the period costumes and change in props (background scenery during acts).
The opera would have ended at 10pm, but I left before the final act mainly hoping to be in time to grab some dinner (it was already 9pm). Besides, the bottom was aching from 2.5 hours seated still on the hard bench and to be honest, I had already seen a sufficient length of the opera.
Recording of performances was not allowed, but someone in a previous year had sneaked 30 minutes of another opera (by Vivaldi) performance in this theatre. It's on youtube for anyone who is interested.
 |
| Krumlov castle just after sunset, taken during the opera's first interval |
Was lucky enough to find a restaurant that was still open at 9:30pm and willing to serve food, goulash of course. Regret not trying the Eggenberg beer, which is unique to this town.
Many folks make a day trip to this town arriving at noon (and packed with visitors) and leave before sunset. Well, they miss the tranquillity of the night in this town with its brightly lit castle and romantic narrow cobbled streets. I wandered about for almost 2 hours soaking in the night scenes. Absolutely gorgeous! And I doubt if one has to worry about muggers or the like here.
 |
| A big group of people out night time boating on the Vltava |
No comments:
Post a Comment