Wednesday was our last day of touring and I think we made the most of it.
After breakfast at our hotel we boarded our bus for a grand tour of Prague. A highlight was our trip to the castle. The history was interesting, the guide was especially engaging, the views of the city were spectacular and it was different from other stops as the castle is still used for government offices, hence a significant police and military presence.
The castle itself is huge and is adjacent to St. Vitus Cathedral. The main gate (in my opinion) was not very welcoming (see photo below). I also found it extremely interesting that there was a huge Ukrainian flag flying at the entrance. The guide explained that they too had been occupied by Russians so the Czech people are more empathetic than perhaps the US. Most of the country’s energy had come from Russia which they have now stopped importing with significant impact to individual citizens.
We finished the tour at the astronomical clock in the old town square. From there we were on our own so we headed to the Charles bridge . It’s a pedestrian bridge highly decorated with elaborate Catholic statuary.
Using trip advisor, Curt found a great place for lunch. It was small, very good food and very inexpensive.
After lunch we made the decision to hike to Strahov Monastary, the main Abbey of the Norbertine Order. It may have been only a mile or so to get there but the elevation was significant. You can see the from the photo I took from the Priests’ private garden how high it is as it looks over the city.
We went to the ticket booth and told them we wished to see the tomb of St. Norbert only to find that the side chapel where his remains rest, was not open for tours. Expressing my disappointment and explaining our connection with the Norbertine Order (Premontre, Curt and SNC, friends of the Norbertines etc) she called Fr. Max who told me he or someone else would meet us at the gate to bring us to the chapel.
When Sister Aquinas showed up she was dressed in Norbertine White from Veil to shoes. She explained that the DePere Abbey was very dear to her heart as she had lived there for four months, learning English. We had many common friends, Conrad, Tim, John Bostwick, John Kastenholtz, Abbot Dane etc. She not only showed us the church, the side chapel where St. Norbert’s remains are kept and the art gallery but she was unlocking and relocking doors for us all through the monastery. Pictured below is a photo of the city, taken from the priest’s private prayer garden. Next to the garden is the statue of Mary, titled “Mary in exile” which was brought to the Monastery from Chicago.
For some reason I was surprised to learn that the communists took over the Abbey during the Russian occupation. Prague is a beautiful city that for the most part was physically saved from destruction of the war.
That night we attended an authentic traditional Czech dinner with folk singers and folk dancers and it was a hoot. It was an optional tour which we had reluctantly signed up and paid for. However, we ate, we drank beer, we drank wine which was poured in an unusual way, we danced, we laughed and we re-boarded our bus and headed to the hotel.
Zbohom (Good bye) Prague
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