Picture-perfect Prague
Prague is definitely one of my favorite cities. I thought I had seen everything that had to be seen in this relatively small city since I had been there a couple of times but I was so wrong! There are so many spots I’ve actually missed and these are spots tourists actually go to!
First thing I did was check into a beautiful one I’ve never been to. Augustine Hotel Prague is a monastery hotel in the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage Site City of Prague in the Czech Republic. It is run by Marriott hotels under The Luxury Collection. They have a great restaurant recommended by the Gault Millau guide. It is a highly recommended fine restaurant with food by Chef Jan Horak. Guests in the hotel can have breakfast there and order an unlimited number of a la carte dishes in the morning! Don’t miss their Refectory Bar where they serve beer by the Augustinian monks made with a recipe from the 14th century and check out their “Wall of Fame” signed by previous guests such as Carlos Santana, Bill Nighy, Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, Helen Hunt, Alan Rickman, and Cilian Murphy.
Then I went to another wall — The Lennon Wall or John Lennon Wall — a historic graffiti wall. After Lennon’s 1980 murder, a mural of Lennon was painted by an unknown artist onto a wall across from the French Embassy in Prague and as more people painted on it, the wall slowly became a place for free expression of the former communist Czechoslovakia. Another familiar haunt I went to was the Church of Our Lady of Victories or the Shrine of the Infant Jesus of Prague where the 16th-century wax-coated wooden statue of the infant Jesus of Spanish origin (very much like our Santo Nino) is located. It’s one of the top sights to go to for us Catholic Filipinos. Of course the Charles Bridge is a must, even if one has been there. There are lots of vendors on the bridge selling Czech arts and crafts. The sheer beauty of the medieval stone arch bridge with 30 Baroque statues is always worth a visit, especially when the colors of the sun changes throughout the day. Pork’s (www.porks.cz/en) is a must visit for me also, where everything porcine is available. Highly recommended in this popular restaurant (go early or make sure to reserve) are the pork knuckle, pork schnitzel, and pulled pork.
Another place that I returned to was Hotel Aria — a beautiful hotel filled with Salvador Dali art in the center of Prague with another fine restaurant- Coda Restaurant. Acclaimed to be one of the best in Prague, they serve their signature duck dish and by far the best kulajda I’ve had in the Czech Republic. Kulajda is a mushroom soup with dill, sour cream, and a poached egg and I’ve had many but this is one of the best! Guests here have access to the Vrtba Gardens — a fine high Baroque French style garden I have never been to before. It has three terraced levels where spectacular views of Prague can be seen on the highest level. The garden is a Class 1 cultural monument registered in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Another garden that I have never been to is the Waldstein Garden. It covers an area of more than 14,000 square meters and is the second largest garden in the centre of Prague (Prague Castle gardens are the largest). The Waldstein Garden is divided into two geometrically distinct parts. In the larger part you can see the largest Sala Terrena (or Garden Hall in Baroque gardens) in Prague and in front of it a fountain with a sculpture of Venus and Cupid. In the smaller part of the Garden is a large pond with an artificial island with a sculpture of Hercules and a dragon. This is a wonderful place to stroll around in, look for the resident peacocks, and admire several sculptures mostly by Dutch sculptor Adrian de Vries. The garden has been a part of the Czech Senate complex since 1996.
And don’t forget to eat my favorite klobasa when in the Czech Republic! This Carniolan sausage of Slovenian origin is typically made with pork, bacon, garlic and pepper, and is smoked and cured and is available in most restaurants and sausage stands around the city. This one thing I have to eat every time I visit!
Check out https://prague.eu/en and www.visitczechia.com.
(To be concluded next Tuesday)
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