“Prague does not have its name for no reason — in truth, Prague is a threshold between the life on Earth. and Heaven, a threshold much thinner and narrower then in any other places…” — Gustav Meyrink
In a previous story I talked about our first jam packed day in Prague including a trip to Old Town Square, the magical Astronomical Clock, Powder Tower, Charles Bridge, and of course delicious bites. You can find the story here: Prague Trip - Part 1 with Mari-Alina Timoshchuk.
Day 2 :
For our second day in Prague we scheduled a bike tour which I highly recommend. Biking is a beautiful way to see any city, and Prague is no exception with unique architecture of all different periods.
The bike tour took us to see one of my favorite buildings: the dancing house. This pillar of modern architecture in Prague “danced” onto the Rašínovo Embankment in 1996. The project comes from the drawing board of world-renowned architects Vlado Milunić and Frank O. Gehry. Its concept was inspired by the dance skills of the famous film couple — the stone tower symbolizes Fred Astaire and the glass tower, his partner Ginger Rogers. At the top of the building is a gallery and a restaurant with a terrace offering a 360° view of Prague.
Babies is a series of 10 bronze sculptures located around Prague designed by artist David Cerny. The babies are 350 cm long and 260 cm high and their faces are replaced with bar code stamps. My favorite place the babies are located is on the Zizkov Television Tower which is the tallest building in Prague. Cerny’s work often explores themes of dehumanization, technology, and the grotesque. Th babies with thir code-like faces have been interpreted as representing the allure and potential dangers of technological advancements.
In addition to the architecture we were able to enjoy the outskirts of the more bustling inner city. It was fall and so peaceful with little creeks between the houses.
In addition to the formal architecture I loved seeing the different street art in Prague with graffiti. It felt like the whole city.
Czech Cubism Museum:
After our bike tour we went to the Cubism museum. Generally referred to as Cubo-Expressionism, this was an avant-garde art movement of the Czech proponents of Cubism active mostly in Prague from 1912 to 1914. Inspiured by Pablo Picassio and Georges Braque the museum is filled with sculptures, paintings, and furniture.
Czech Cubists distinguish their work through the construction of sharp points, slicing planes, and crystalline shapes in their art works. These angles allowed the Czech Cubists to incorperate their own trademark in the avant-garde art group of Modernism. They believed that objects carried their own inner energy which could only be released by splitting the horizontal and vertical surffaces that restrain the conservative design and “ignore the needs of the human soul.” It was a way to revolt from the typical art scene in the early 1900s in Europe.
Clementinum Astronomical Tower and Baroque Library:
One stop that every book lover absolutely must visit in Prague is the Clementinum Astronomical Tower and Baroque Library.
Albert Einstein taught here, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart played here numerous times. The Clementinum is Prague’s second-largest building complex after Prague Castle and houses the most beautiful library in the world. Among the 27,000 old printed works, there are, for example, Kepler’s writings with his handwritten dedication to his friends, the dean, and other professors at the Prague university.
The Jesuits founded the Clementinum in 1556 and named it after the former Dominican monastery of St. Clement from 1227, where they settled. In 1775, meteorological data began to be collected here regularly; thus Prague has the longest continuous series of meteorological observations in Europe.
Outdoor Markets:
After a full day of art and culture we got th epleasure of enjoying one of the many outdoor markets in Prague.
We enjoyed some coffee, treats, and picked up some great souveneirs for our loved ones back home.
Prague was such a gorgeous and magical city. We can’t wait to be able to have the opportunity to come back soon. We visited in October and for our next trip we would love to come during Christmas time when the city is covered in snow.
I hope this helped with planning your own Prague trip! Happy Travels!
