Jaro v Praha (Springtime in Prague)

May 14 was a holiday (Ascension Day) in France and in several other European countries, and I had a short window in the subsequent days where I wasn't hosting any guests in Paris, so I took a three day trip to Prague. Vienna had such great spring weather that I figured I'd try Prague soon after for the same effect. It turns out the temperature was the same (~22°C) with a very warm sun, but there was a cool wind blowing intermittently, which led to a lot of layering and delayering throughout each day.

Day 1

Since my other two days had scheduling commitments, I used the first day for an excursion to Dresden. The train ride from Prague takes 2 hours and 15 minutes, but most of the trip is along the Elbe river so you get a great view of a few rustic Czech towns along the way. This was my first train trip in Europe that actually provided scenery beyond the usual farmland and forests that you'd find on train trips through Belgium, France and Germany.

Dresden is also known as the "Florence of the Elbe", which I can't judge as I haven't been to Florence (yet), although the city contains a lot of Medieval buildings that have been restored since World War II and that still show the charring from the 1945 bombings. I started the day walking through the Altmarkt (Old Market) square, and then went southeast to see the Kreuzkirche and the Rathaus, before heading north to the Brühlshe Terrasse along the Elbe. It wasn't until after I left Dresden that I realized that this route caused me to miss the Frauenkirche, which I ended up writing down as a postscript on my to-do list because most travel websites tend to overlook one of the city's more notable landmarks, so I never thought to loop back to it. I guess I didn't miss much, or maybe I did, depending on which travel website to believe.

The Brühlshe Terrasse is lined with a number of beautiful stone buildings and ends at the Schlossplatz, where the large Kathedrale Hofkirche is located. By fluke, I turned down a narrow street from the Schlossplatz and came across the Fürstenzug (Procession of Princes), a landmark at the top of my list. This is a large porcelain mural that depicts the 35 dukes and kings of Saxony from the 12th to the 19th centuries.

I captured most of the Fürstenzug (Procession of Princes) in one shot, although it extends a bit further to the left.

 

From there, I walked over to the Zwinger, a former palace that now houses three museums with a large courtyard in the middle. A single ticket gave me access to all three museums. The first museum was the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, which contained artwork from the Renaissance as well as from 17th century Dutch/Flemish artists like Rembrandt, Vermeer and Rubens. By far the most famous work was the Sistine Madonna by Raphael (photos were not allowed and there were too many guards patrolling the painting for me to even think about sneaking a photo).

The courtyard in the center of the Zwinger.

The second museum was the Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon (Royal Cabinet of Mathematical and Physical Instruments). This was a small museum with only three halls and one other room, but one of the halls was dedicated to timekeeping and contained several complex and beautifully designed astronomical clocks. The exhibit even had a few A.Lange & Söhne pocketwatches and wristwatches, which makes up for not having seen any at BaselWorld.

A geographical table clock at the Royal Cabinet of Mathematical and Physical Instruments.

The third museum was the Porzellansammlung (Dresden Porcelain Collection), which contained various porcelain vases, plates and sculptures. Porcelain does not particularly appeal to me as a medium for art, especially considering how easily it breaks, but the city seems to have a special connection with it and the museum offered something different from the canvas paintings and bronze/marble sculptures of most art galleries.

 

After the Zwinger, I left the Altstadt and crossed the Elbe into the Neustadt. I was there just long enough to check out the Goldener Reiter statue and the Dreikönigskirche. The Goldener Reiter statue was in a square that also contained two fountains, both of which flowed with fluorescent green water, although I'm not sure if the water was coloured for the holidays, as a prank by teenagers, or as a regular novelty for the tourists.

The Goldener Reiter (Golden Rider). This is one of my favourite statues that I've seen so far in Europe (along with the Glory figure at the top of the Triumphal Arch in Lisbon).

The front of the Dreikönigskirche, an example of how some buildings were reconstructed after WWII using both original and new materials. From the pictures that I've seen, the Frauenkirche is another example of such a contrast, although in that case the new and old materials are more intertwined.

After the Neustadt of Dresden, I still had enough time to visit the interior of the Dresden Residenzschloss (Dresden Castle). While I did not see the Green Vault, I managed to see every other museum in the castle (tickets were for either the Green Vault or for everything else, so I went for variety), which included the Dresden Armory (which contained some impressive broadswords over 8 feet long), the Turkish Chamber, and the Kupferstichkabinett art collection (which included works by Rembrandt, Rubens and other artists with the same dark solemn style).

The Residenzschloss also includes a tower that provides a great view of the Altstadt (Old City). On the left is the tower of the Kathedrale Hofkirche, in the center is the tower of the Ständehaus, and below is the Schlossplatz and the Elbe.

Dresden turned out to be an ideal destination for a one day excursion. There was enough to see to fill one day but not too much that I was pressed for time. I was surprised by the number of youth that were loitering along the river drinking beer, and I'm not sure if this was a daily occurrence or part of the holiday celebration, but the city certainly had a Bohemian feel to it so I wouldn't be surprised if this was daily.


Day 2

My plan for Prague was to focus my visits around the Staré Mesto (Old City) and Hradcany (Castle District), where the majority of the city's best known sites are located. I started at Vaclavske Namesti (Wenceslas Square), which was simply a wide street containing a statue of Saint Wenceslas, before heading north to the Staromestske Namesti (Old Town Square). This square is bordered by several landmarks, including the Our Lady of Tyn Church, Kinsky Palace, the Old Town Hall, and Saint Nicolas Church. Unfortunately, Saint Nicolas was under renovation so the interior was filled with scaffolding, and the art exhibit at the Kinsky Palace was closed for an extended period of time so I couldn't see the Slav Epic. However, I managed to see the interior of Our Lady of Tyn Church (elegant but not overly fancy) and climbed the tower of the Old Town Hall to get a great view of the city.

The Old Town Hall has its famous astronomical clock at the front. The clock rings every hour, with the ringing including the mechanical dancing of two figurines.

Moving west from the Old Town, I crossed the Elbe using the Karluv Most (Charles Bridge), which contained large medieval watchtowers at both ends and a wide variety of statues of religious and political figures along both sides. While the Old Town Square was moderately crowded with tourists, the Charles Bridge was intermittently jammed with pedestrian traffic, so getting across to the Castle District took longer than expected.

On the Karluv Most (Charles Bridge) facing east. The watchtower on the east side had an asymmetrical design, making it appear as though the edge of the left side had been sliced off the tower.

The Prague Castle in the Hradcany felt less like a castle and more like a complex of palaces and churches that melded with one another to form an enclosed district. The more interesting sites included St. Vitus Cathedral, the Picture Gallery of Prague Castle, Old Royal Palace, and Schwarzenberg Palace.  

The interior of St. Vitus Cathedral contained some beautiful stained glass windows.

This is a shot of the front of Schwarzenberg Palace. The designs on the walls are engraved, and can also be found on the interior side of the walls in the courtyard accessible through the front gate.

A painting in the Obrazárna Pražského hradu (Picture Gallery of Prague Castle), this is Lot and His Daughters, by Martino Altomonte.

After Prague Castle, I crossed the Elbe using the Manesuv Most bridge, visited the Spanish Synagogue in the northern section of the old town, and then went further north to the Generali Arena to watch a football match between Sparta Praha and Slovacko.

Prague is the first European city that I have visited where association football is not the number one spectator sport (hockey is more popular) and it showed in the stadium. Even though Sparta Praha is the most successful football team in the country, the stadium fitting 19,400 was at only about 40% capacity. The fans were loud for their number, but there was still a vacant feel to the game. However, the match itself had decent quality football. Slovacko were slacking a bit at first and allowed Sparta to score four easy goals in the first half. The match ended 5-2 for Sparta Praha.

Generali Arena during a match between Sparta Praha and Slovacko.

Day 3

The plan for the third day was to visit the Vyse Hrad (Vyse Castle) and try to experience hockey in the Czech Republic in one way or another. It turns out that the Czech Republic was hosting the 2015 IIHF World Hockey Championships throughout May and the semifinal games were taking place during my third day in Prague. However, my flight was scheduled to leave shortly after the first game (Canada versus Czech) and the game was sold out (with resale tickets going for over $200), so I figured I would check out the hockey festivities in the Old Town Square for as long as possible.

It turns out the Vysehrad is one of the hidden gems of Prague (relatively speaking). While the Old Town and Prague Castle districts were overcrowded with tourists, Vysehrad was lightly attended, so it was a calm quiet change from the rest of the city. It feels like a large park with a high wall around it, but the complex also includes a church and cemetery, along with a few Medieval buildings and towers. However, the real benefit to visiting the castle was the great views that it provided in every direction. Also, while I usually don't bother to visit cemeteries, I walked through the Vysehrad cementary and took a quick look at Antonin Dvorak's tomb.

A view of the Elbe from Vysehrad, facing northwest. The Prague Castle is in the distance to the right of the hill.

One of the entrances to Vysehrad. The two towers are from the Bazilika svatého Petra a Pavla (Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral).

After Vysehrad, I had enough time before the hockey game to see the Wallenstein Palace, which I had missed during my first trip through the Castle District. The palace interior only has five rooms on display, but they were all elegantly decorated, and the palace exterior contains a well-trimmed garden peppered with fountains and statues. There was even a peacock wandering around amongst the tourists.

A shot of Wallenstein Garden, facing the Wallenstein Palace.

I ended the trip by watching the World Hockey Championship semi-final game between Canada and the Czech Republic in the Old Town Square. There were two large screens and a stage setup in the square, which was packed solid by the time the game started. Canada was winning 1-0 by the end of the first period, at which point I had to rush to the airport. I ended up seeing the end of the game in the airport terminal. It was a 2-0 win for Canada, who then went on to win the final 6-1 against Russia. Like most hockey fans in North America, I write off the World Hockey Championships as an exhibition tournament filled with players who couldn't go further in the NHL playoffs, but in the hockey-oriented European countries, the tournament is taken much more seriously (I even saw a Czech fan desperately praying in a side street when it was only 1-0).

The Old Town Square, filled with hockey fans watching the semi-finals of the World Hockey Championships. The Our Lady of Tym Church is the large building in the background.

So that was Prague (and Dresden) in three days. I think the combination of having visiting during the start of peak tourist season, plus the great weather, plus the city hosting the World Hockey Championships, led to a very touristy feel to Prague. The Old Town and the Castle District were both overcrowded with tourists and there were more souvenir shops per square meter in those areas than in comparable spots in Paris or London. I also noticed that most of the tourists were either part of a group tour or were casual sightseers, as the exterior walkways of buildings were crowded but the interiors were lightly attended.

Now I just have to figure out whether Dresden really is the Florence of the Elbe...

Frühling in Wien (Springtime in Vienna)

Spring is the most compelling time to visit Vienna, and while the song "Springtime in Vienna" by the Tragically Hip provided a useful reference, I did not find anyone screaming from their rooftop that they "live to survive our paradoxes". The weather was terrific, 22°C and somewhat humid, making it feel like 27°C. However, due to the sunny weather leading to glare in most shots I took and the fact that many of the places that I visited did not allow photography (requiring me to "accidentally" take a quick photo instead), the quality of my shots really suffered on this trip. I think you'll get the gist anyhow.

Day 1

I was scheduled to see a chamber music concert at the Vienna State Opera House in the morning, so I scouted out the surrounding area beforehand. Down the street from the opera house is the Burggarten, a small but beautiful park containing some statues of famous Austrians including Mozart and Franz Joseph I. Next to the park is the Neue Burg, a large building with a Greco-Roman flavor in its architecture, but I did not have time to visit the interior. However, I did have time to visit the Nationalbibliothek (Austrian National Library), as the touristy part is one large room (the Prunksaal) containing various antique books and other literary treasures, as well as artwork that looked far too ornate for a library.

At the center of the Prunksaal in the Austrian National Library is a statue of Emperor Charles VI. The ceiling above contained a mural depicting Apollo and Hercules.

Just around the corner from the library is the Spanische Hofreitschule (Spanish Riding School), where the Lipizzaner Stallions perform and conduct daily exercises. Just as I was about to head back to the opera house, I noticed that a show was about to start, and I was already booked for another concert later in the day, so I blew off the chamber music and went to the Lipizzaner Stallion performance instead. The horses are able to do some amazing moves, although I found that the live show did not contain as many formations as what I had previously seen on YouTube (which was likely a compilation of the best of several shows). I did get to see the capriole performed though.

A Lipizzaner stallion performing a levade while under saddle.

There are a lot of landmarks packed into the west-central area of Vienna, so I quickly viewed Michalerplatz and Hofburg Palace, then walked through the Burgtor to Maria-Theresien-Platz, and then to the Volksgarten and the Rathaus.

The front of the Austrian Parliament Building.

The concert that I really came to see was the Vienna Philharmonic, the world's best symphony orchestra. Sure, the classical music magazines might say the Berlin Philharmonic or the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam is better, but the neophytes writing for these magazines need a conductor who is more obvious in his movements! They don't appreciate the subtlety! Anyways, the concert for that day was conducted by Riccardo Muti and the program was comprised of Franz Schubert's Ouvertüre in C-Dur, op post. 170, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Symphony No. 35 in D major, and Johannes Brahms' Symphony No. 2 in D major. The orchestra was able to capture the essence of each composition and I even saw a few people moved to tears by the beauty of the performance.

The Vienna Philharmonic in the Musikverein. I was in the standing room section so the view was not great, but the acoustics in that section were still terrific.

After the concert, I had enough time to quickly visit the Belvedere, which consists of two palaces with a spacious garden in between them. The palaces had a more Baroque architecture and the garden contained a lot of trimmed hedges spaced far apart, so the entire complex had a simpler, more minimalist style compared to other sites around Vienna.

A mirror in the Belvedere gardens allows you to take a picture of yourself in front of the Upper Belvedere palace. I did not bother to submit the photo to the Perfect Tourist website.

At the end of the day, I watched a football match between SK Rapid Wien and FC Admira Wacker. For those who follow football closely, Rapid Wien is considered to have one of the best ultras in Europe and they did not disappoint. While the Ernst Happel Stadium was at only half capacity during the match, the supporters section was packed with fans who chanted loudly and non-stop for the entire match (even while Admira scored an equalizing goal). Rapid Wien is often the top team in Austria and they held possession for most of the match, but they are in second place this season and I could sense a lot of disappointment from the fans when a game that should have been three points for Rapid ended in a 1-1 tie.

Ernst Happel Stadium during a match between SK Rapid Wien and FC Admira Wacker. The yellow section is reserved for visiting team fans and the glare from the stadium light hides the small contingent of Admira fans that came to the match.

Day 2

I have gradually switched the format of my weekend excursions to three days, with the hope of spreading out my itinerary over a longer period and using the trips to relax rather than rush from one place to another. However, I'm finding that the extra day has given me the opportunity to take side trips to places that are close to the primary destination (e.g. going to Stonehenge during my London trip). The same concept applied to Vienna and I ended up using the second day to visit Bratislava, the largest city and capital of Slovakia. It's only a one hour train ride from Vienna.

Bratislava has two train stations to which you can arrive, and I ended up in the southern station, so I ended up visiting the UFO Observation Deck first. It's basically a tower on the main bridge crossing the Danube. While the tower provided a great view of the river and the south side of the city, it was too far from the old city to provide a view of the historical landmarks (except for the Bratislava castle which you can see from anywhere). Across the river, the old town offered some interesting sites, including the old town hall, a city museum and a few statues that had a comedic twist to them.

In the main square of the Bratislava Old Town is Napoleon's Army Soldier Statue.

The Stara radnica (Old Town Hall) of Bratislava has a tower with a great view of the city. In the far left is the UFO Observation Deck. In the far center right is the tower of the Cathedral of St. Martin. In the far right is the Hrad Bratislavsky (Bratislava Castle). At the bottom of the photo is the Hlavné námestie (Main Square).

The Galeria Mesta Bratislavy is a small art museum containing classical and contemporary works by Slovakian artists. Pictured is Bratislava Marketplace (1934) by Gustáv Mallý.

I had plenty of time to walk up to the Bratislava Castle, which contained some beautiful rooms, although the exterior was still undergoing some renovation work (a new garden was still being landscaped on one side).

The front entrance to Hrad Bratislavsky (Bratislava Castle).

East of the old town was St. Elisabeth's Blue Church. The building is small but has a unique light blue exterior that makes it stand out from its surroundings. The interior was simple but elegantly designed with the same white and light blue colour scheme of the exterior. I'd say the church is rated a little bit higher than it should be by some travel sites, but the colour scheme alone made it a unique site to visit.

The exterior of St. Elisabeth's Church (aka the Blue Church).

Day 3

There were far too many items left on my to do list to finish in one day, so I spent the morning focusing on one of Vienna's most famous landmarks, the Palace and Gardens of Schönbrunn. It turns out you could spend the whole day there and still not see everything. The palace is huge, containing the fancy offices, ballrooms and salons of the Austrian Emperors from the Habsburg dynasty, although only about 40 rooms are open to the public. The Schönbrunner Schlosspark also contained countless parks and gardens, plus its own zoo (the Tiergarten Schönbrunn, which I did not have time to visit). I managed to see the Neptune Fountain at the center of the gardens, and then climbed the hill up to the Gloriette.

The hallway in the Schönbrunn Palace. My camera struggled with the sunlight and interior lighting, so I recommend trying a Google search for images of the palace interior to get a better glimpse of the spectacular rooms in this palace.

The Gloriette had the top of the hill in Schönbrunn Gardens. I'm not sure why the pool water in front was brownish red.

I spent the early afternoon in the Stephansplatz area, which contained some high end shopping for tourists as well as several churches. The square was named for the Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral), which is the largest church in the city, but which has a relatively plain interior compared to other nearby churches (the Peterskirche, Jesuitenkirche and Griechenkirche all had better interiors).

At Stephansplatz, the exterior of St. Stephen's Cathedral.

The interior of the Jesuitenkirche. The ceiling contained a mural that looked like a three dimensional painting of a dome, which made the flat ceiling look like it was much higher than it really was.

Before heading to the airport, I had enough time to stop by the Vienna International Centre, where the United Nations offices are located. One of my former colleagues from Health Canada happens to be on a secondment with the UN on the exact same schedule as my secondment with the OECD. It's funny how paths can cross again even half a world away. He was nice enough to give me a tour of the conference centre and facilities.

When I exited the western building of the UN complex (facing the similarly designed eastern building), I noticed the Canadian flag centered right in front of me. I did not check the order of the flags closely but they appeared to be arranged by country name alphabetically.

Despite missing more items on my to do list than most trips (since I always make the lists too long to ever be completed), Vienna was still the most interesting and fun trip I've had so far. The variety of cultural and historic sites, coupled with the great weather, plus the chance to see Bratislava, made for a great trip.

As an aside, I'm looking into uploading a few videos from past trips to YouTube and will post details shortly (or post them on the right side of this webpage).