I visited Europe in October for my intern Samuel’s Ph.D. defense in Vienna, but expanded the visit into a tourist trip of Prague, Vienna, and Venice. I started with a few jet lagged days in Prague, the city of Wenceslas and Kafka, walking around the Old Town Square and Prague Castle.
The most striking building on the Old Town Square is the Church of Our Lady before Tyn, with its Disneyesque spires. The present building goes back to the 14th century, and I was surprised to find Tycho Brahe's grave inside.
The Old Town Hall across the square is famous for its Astronomical Clock, which keeps time in like 4 different medieval time systems. A big crowd gathers to watch the clock’s animatronic figures, including Death and the Apostle, mark each hour.
The Hussite movement resisting the Catholic church predated the Reformation and was based in Prague. The square includes a monument to Hussite leader Jan Hus.
Crossing the Charles Bridge from the Old Town takes you to Prague Castle, which contains the St. Vitus cathedral, St. Vitus treasury, and the palace. St. Vitus cathedral includes the tomb of St. Wenceslas, the patron saint of the Czech republic, while the St. Vitus treasury includes reliquaries of St. Nicholas and other saints. The cathedral was busy, but I had the treasury to myself when I visited. My picture shows the tomb of St. Wenceslas in St. Vitus.
Prague has works by the Art Nouveau master Alphonse Mucha, including a stained glass window in St. Vitus, which stands out in the medieval building. I also saw Mucha’s masterwork, the Slav Epic, at the National Gallery’s Trade Fair Palace.
