Prague - Good Kings and Opera - Part 2

Good King Wenceslas looked out

On the feast of Stephen

When the snow lay round about

Deep and crisp and even

Brightly shone the moon that night

Though the frost was cruel

When a poor man came in sight

Gath'ring winter fuel

So Prague is home to Good King Wenceslas, which made the trip to Prague at Christmas time even more apropos.  I love that song, but cannot for the life of me remember the words.  Nor do I think I've ever heard anyone sing all 5 verses.  Except maybe this episode of the BBT.....love me some Sheldon Christmas tunes.

 



 

On Saturday morning, having recovered (me, not L) from the Czech wine from the night before, we got an early start to the day and wandered to the old town square.  The square was set up for Christmas markets:

Todays adventure consisted of Christmas markets to start, which is always amazing, no matter what they are selling.  Prague's markets were a bit more touristy - i.e. in Vienna, they sold mostly Christmas stuff - ornaments, decorations for the home, scarves, hats, gloves, cookies, etc.  These markets had some of that stuff, but was a lot more souvenir focused.  The stalls that were unique though were UNIQUE.  I'm excited about my Christmas presents.  And they had a lot of food stands.

Just idyllic.

This is the famous astronomical clock, which it was later pointed out to us is the third most overrated tourist attraction in Europe.  I agree completely.  It's cool to look at, but when it goes off with it's glockenspiel like rendition, it is not something to get excited about.  However, 1000s of people stand to watch on every hour.  We only got this shot above because it was early.  The top overrated attraction is the Mona Lisa and the second is the Glockenspiel in Munich.  I've seen the Mona Lisa - completely agree.  The Glockenspiel is still on the list.

Can you feel the Christmas spirit?

Christmas Crepe!  Cinnamon and sugar.

Thankful for camera shots like that.  Holiday postcard.

After we wandered the old town market, we caught a "free" walking tour with Sandemans.  Sandemans does these tours in almost all major Euro cities.  They are a good introduction to the city and you decide what to pay.  I was new to the "free" walking tour experience...I really enjoyed it and will definitely do it again.  We had Collin from Scotland showing us around.  Great tour - saw the old town, Wenceslas square and the Jewish quarter.  The tour was very good, but the best part was the recommendations he provided to us after the tour.  L was up for doing an event that evening and Collin recommended opera, ballet or symphony.  Neither of us had seen an opera and decided that we would give it a shot, buying tickets just after the tour was up for that night.  And we got them at the TI, which means we weren't ripped off!  Thanks Collin!

Famous statue in the Jewish quarter of Franz Kafka

Jewish quarter (obviously not decorated for Christmas).  The guide talked a lot about the plight of the Jewish population in Prague - it's not pretty.  The Nazis were bad, but that wasn't the beginning of the persecution.  Now the area is one of the poshest places in Prague to have an apartment.

After the free walking tour (with a stop for Goulash, beer, mulled wine, etc), we headed down Wenceslas square, which was set up with its own Christmas tree and markets. Shopping ensued and was successful!

After getting all of our goodies, it was time to head back to the hotel to drop them off and freshen up for the opera (read:  brush hair and add make up).  Neither of brought a fancy ball gown for the opera, but thankfully seats were last row of balcony, so no one seemed to care.

L and the old town.  After we dropped off our stuff, we went for dinner.  I found some more Goulash and some more good beer.  Great food in Prague.  It was spicy and hit the spot after a long cold day!

State opera house, where we saw "Carmen" (in French).  I had never seen an opera at all and the TI guy recommended this one because of English subtitles on screen.  That was perfect - I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it as much without that.  Opera casts are huge!  I think at some points there were 50+ people on the state.  The first act was tough to follow.  I struggled to figure out how much I should read and how much I should just watch on the stage.  After the first act, I started to get the hang of it and the action picked up quite a bit.

I forgot to mention that I sort of accidently ruined it for both L and I by using Wikipedia just before the show.  I didn't realize that Wiki would provide the ending in the first paragraph of describing the opera.  Lesson learned.  Do not use Wikipedia before show if you don't want to know what happens.

Looking posh in my jumper and jeans.

Opera orchestra

Getting cute in front of the Christmas tree in the old town - actually lit up!

Seriously, heaven.

This is my life.

After the wandering around, we did more mulled wine and hot chocolate pretty much anywhere we could find it. And then it was back to our amazing hotel room to revel in the fact that yes, we are living the dream.

"Hither, page, and stand by me

If thou know'st it, telling

Yonder peasant, who is he?

Where and what his dwelling?"

"Sire, he lives a good league hence

Underneath the mountain

Right against the forest fence

By Saint Agnes' fountain."