Do You Feel Like - Waterstones

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CONTENTS    Do You Feel Like ...

Do You Feel Like ... ... Prague just the way you like it? Then these tips will certainly help you discover the most different sides of the city on the Vltava.

VIEWS AND DISTANCES • Rooftop hotels … … float like colourful islands shaded by sun umbrellas above the city panorama. page 84 • The bell tower of St Nicholas Church “ … was used during the communist era as a listening post by the secret police. The bell tower is now open and offers, along with historic shudders, a charming view over the roofs of the Lesser Quarter. page 231 • Prague TV Tower There is a restaurant with a view on the highest tower in the city. page 331

Do You Feel Like ...    CONTENTS ART & ProvoCation • Černý Sculpture Walk “ Strong feelings, great art: The sculptor is a native of Prague and a master of productive disruption as anyone who takes this Sculpture Walk with eight stops can see for himself. page 58

• U Fleků The »Prague Hofbräuhaus« is a monument to local beer history: The dark, malty »13er« (Flekovské pivo) has been brewed here since 1499 without a break and without a change in the recipe. page 133

BEAUTIFUL ILLUSION(S) • Marionette theatres “ Marionette theatres have a long tradition in Prague. Puppet shows have enthusiastic fans among adults as well as children. page 92, 107 ◀◀ Laterna Magika With the pantomime effects of classical black light theatre, with music and drama as well as later with dance the Laterna Magika developed into a completely unique, fantasy multimedia ­spectacle. page 102, 107, 254 • Lucerna Cinema Moving pictures in a beautiful Art nouveau palace on Wenceslas Square. Nostalgic flair guaranteed! page 107

Nightclubbing • RadostFX “ The dance floors in Prague rock. One of the most popular clubs – meeting point of the »beautiful people« of Prague with a lounge and restaurant – is RadostFX in the New Town. page 99 • SaSaZu Experimental venues are outside of the centre. The new scene set itself up in the former industrial zone. In the 7th district in the former slaughter house the disco compley SaSaZu rumbles. page 99

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Bridges in Prague INSIGHT

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TOURS    Tour 3

Tour 3    TOURS surprise awaits behind the Summer Palace or oBelvedere (Letohrádek královny Anny): an enchanted tableau of sprawling ferns and weeds, gigantic stone blocks which appear to »wander aimlessly« around. Swans glide across a small pond. Statues stand in a cave beside the water – figures from the novels of Julius Zeyer, to whom this fairytale park was dedicated in 1913.

Vyšehrad. Many myths have been spun around oVyšehrad (Prague upper castle). It offers a wonderful view of the city and the Vltava valley; it also has the Romanesque round chapel of St Martin, the collegiate church of SS Peter und Paul, and the memorial cemetery, all worth seeing.

Tour 3

Prague by Tram Duration: 2 hours Start: Mala Straná Square 9am Destination: Mala Straná Square 11am

A classic: tram number 22 travels through all the ages of the city’s history. To enjoy the ride to the full, climb aboard in the morning. The later in the day, the busier it gets. On the right track

It sounds English: tramvaj – Czech for tram. Number 22 rolls up every five minutes. Stand at the eMala Straná Square stop (Malostranské náměstí), facing the mighty dome of the Church of St Nicholas, and board the tram heading to the right. The vehicle passes a blank wall protecting the rWallenstein Garden (Valdštejnská zahrada). Beyond tKlárov station (Klárov/Malostranská), the route has a certain alpine flair. The tram crawls around a hairpin bend towards a dense backdrop of trees, recalling those times when kings would hunt on the wooded hill with a deer moat. Get off the tram at uChotek Park (Chotkovy sady) and admire the Singing Fountain in the iRoyal Garden (Královská zahrada). A fairytale

Jump off tram number 22 before it reaches the end of the line: time to see the pStar Summer Palace (Obora Hvězda), appropriately shaped like a star. The castle stands on the aWhite Mountain (Bilá Hora) and it was here that the Czechs’ defining battle took place in the year 1620. Defeat here saw the country lose its independence and, as a consequence, its national identity. The sprawling park is immensely popu- Visitation: Mary on a tram lar with the citizens of Prague. For the return leg of the journey, find a seat on the right hand side of the carriage. Over the next 40 minutes, Prague’s most significant architectural works will roll by as if on a movie screen: sSt Vitus Cathedral (Svatovítská katedrala), the churches of the Lesser Quarter – then across the Legion Bridge to be greeted immediately by the dNational Theatre (Národní divadlo) on the corner. The streets of the New Town are predominantly lined with restored Art Nouveau houses. In the Vinohrady (literally, »vineyards«) district, the vista broadens out. Next stop: fPeace Square (Náměstí Míru). Thanks to Prague’s economic upsurge in the latter part of the 19th century, there are numerous showpieces of architecture to appreciate here. The tram rattles along gFrench Street (Francouzská) and there really is a resemblance to Paris. By way of contrast, Soviet-style socialist prefabricated buildings now come into view.

:Cuban Square (Kubánské náměstí)

may not yet have changed its name, but, unlike Havana, western company names are in evidence. Prague has come through the process of change. The satellite settlements have even been given a more colourful lick of paint. Prague residents love their »prefabs«, so they say.

Care for a castle?

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