When a Mistake Is Not a Mistake

---

Friday May 12, 2006

Even a Mistake Is Not a Mistake in Prague

Today was a bright, sun-filled beautiful spring day with a nice warm temperature, a good day or evening for a long walk. So, Nancy and I decided to head out this evening for a nice walk through the Royal Gardens. We figured the flowers should be beautiful and we always enjoy the view up the Vltava River from the lower end of the gardens.

Our plan was to catch our favorite Tram, No. 20, get off at Kralovsky Letohradek, the stop that is a short walk away from the lower end of the Royal Gardens. That was our plan. However, as the tram neared the stop the driver slowed, but did not stop. I had not realized this is one stop where a passenger must press the red “I want to get off” button. This notifies the driver that he should stop and open the doors.

“That’s all right,” I said, “we can get off at Malostranska, the next stop and walk up the narrow incline walk where all the vendors are.”

“Why don’t we walk up the ‘hanging’ walkway?” Nancy asked.

“Good idea,” I replied. “I had not thought about that way.”

Castles are always built on hills and the castle/palace complex in Prague is no different. The complex of buildings, that includes the St. Vitus Cathedral, sits high above the Vltava River. On the opposite side, away from the River, there is a deep ravine that separates the palace complex from the Royal Gardens. What Nancy and I call the “hanging” trail runs along the steep ravine hillside, on the palace side, to the mouth of the ravine that is called, Jeleni Prikop or the “Deer Moat”. Some call this the “Deer Moat” while others call it the “Stag Moat.” A very nice walking trail runs the length of the ravine, beside a small stream, and occasionally a side trail heads up the side of the ravine to the Royal Gardens.

“Let’s walk up the valley,” Nancy suggested.

“Good idea,” I replied. “We have never done that. I have no idea how far it goes. Maybe just to were the earthen fill is that joins the castle with the area at the far end of the Royal Gardens.”

As we walked and looking up to our left we could see portions of the castle, the prisoner tower, the power tower and the wall were, on the inside, the Golden Lane runs. To our right we could look up toward the Royal Gardens, but could see nothing of the gardens.
The growth on the hillside was simply too thick with vegetation, trees and blooming wildflowers for us to see the gardens.

“Look” I said, “there is a tunnel through the fill. I wonder how long it is and if the trail goes through it.”

As it turned out, the trail did go through the tunnel on a raised walkway above the waters of the stream. Half way through the tunnel there was a short, large side tunnel running perhaps ten feet into the hill. Two floodlights, not lit, could flood the area with light. We walked in and looked around. The item of interest is that part of an old stone pillar that supported a wooden bridge can be seen here. The wooden bridge was burned in the siege of Prague in 1757. A clay dyke was built that dammed the deer moat and covered the stone pillars. President Vaclav Havel proposed the tunnel in 2002 and is now open allowing walkers to hike the length of the deer moat.

The ravine widens out beyond the tunnel and the walkway continues on. At the end there was a nice clay tennis court. Two men were batting the ball back and forth, but not seriously playing. Interestingly, there was a young armed soldier walking back and forth. We have no idea why he was there, nor what or whom he was guarding. We didn’t bother him and he did not bother us.

At the end of the ravine a trail climbs up to street level. For those of you who are familiar with Prague the trail joins the street near The Loreta where a replica of the supposed house that the Virgin Mary lived in when she was a child. When I saw it last year my thought was, “It sure looks like a small house that would have been owned by a rich European.” There was nothing that appeared Mid-Eastern about the building. So, yes, I am a skeptic.

During the walk I noticed two gated openings in the hillside. We walked over but could see nothing inside. Only deep darkness could be seen, but there was a very small stream of water coming from the left opening.

I thought, “Maybe if I take a picture with a flash we will be able to see if anything is inside.”

I snapped a picture and, low and behold, in the picture we could see the beginning of a small tunnel. I wondered how far it runs into the hill, but there was no way for me to discover the answer to my question. Another mystery to remain unsolved.

The walk was a really neat walk. So, the mistake of not pushing the button on the tram resulted in a most interesting excursion for us.

---