Ulandt: Went to the museum today. Grant Podelco described it as "a bunch of old dusty rocks" or something like that. Basically he's right, but it was actually sort of quaint. The rocks, all of which were chipped down to the same size, were on little pedestals with gold-tooled-letter labels. It was like an antique shop of rock samples. There were dusty old animals and birds too. Not fair. There were modern exhibits of the latest scientific stuff as well, and it was free.(first Monday of each month) I figured Pauline would be bored out of her head, but she liked it fine until she got hungry. The building was probably the highlight for her. It's got a dome, lots of carved stonework, and an atrium with a grand staircase. Invading Germans mistook it for a government building and shot it full of holes, which I'm told you can still see on the outside.
Pauline: These photos of the museum's interior are from pcbarnett.com/
a blog about an Englishwoman's trip to Prague.Ulandt: The purpose of a museum visit is to use up a rainy day, but when we left the sun was out. Figures. We walked a bit to the north to the old Jewish quarter.
Pauline: Hitler had many Jewish treasures from Europe sent to Prague in preparation for a museum of an "extinct" race. That freaked me out and chilled me as much as the sudden downpour that sent us into the Hotel Intercontinental.
Ulandt: Oh boy! Pauline finally finds exactly what she's been looking for: a cozy fancy cafe with red velvet curtains, chandeliers and linen napkins.
I guess this is why we come back with an even firmer belief in coffee every time we go to Europe.
Pauline: It's called the Cremeria Milano on Parizska Street (Paris Street-- it really does look like a street out of Paris).
We finally got our act together to get tickets to a concert at the Estates Theater, where Mozart himself premiered "Don Giovanni", conducted the orchestra and played the piano. This theater was used in the film "Amadeus". The picture here is copied from their homepage.
The performer was tenor Stefan Margita, hosting a soprano, baritone, violinist, and harpist, all accompanied by the theater orchestra. They did all the big opera hits, as well as some famous Czech pieces. My favorite was "Song to the Moon" from Dvorak's "Rusalka". It brought tears to my eyes. Overall, I knew that all the music was aimed at tourists (the many chamber concerts taking place each night at the various magnificent churches all had the same repertoire, and it was all music that you hear at your local Au Bon Pain chain); however, I was impressed by the sheer number of concerts and opera performances, and the enthusiastic crowds. I wish Boston had a year-round opera season! The quality of the performance we saw was outstanding. I wonder if the local musicians get bored out of their minds by playing the same things over and over.
If you attend the theater concerts, make sure you dress up (men all wore jackets, some women wore full-length evening gowns). I have bike clothes that can double as dress clothes, but Ulandt felt awkward as the only man without a jacket. You can get cheap standing-room tickets, I believe, judging from the fact that some people were simply leaning on a rail for that purpose. The wine at Intermission was very cheap-- $1.90 per glass, whereas coffee was usually >$3.00.
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