The subtle beauty of Prague & Olomouc

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Geo: 50.0878, 14.4205

I think I have adjusted to the difference between Greece & Czech Republic. Greece is brash in its beauty. The scenery can be awe inspiring and a large majority of the young women have a unique beauty which they wear so well. And some of the men just make you weak at the knees!

In the Czech Republic the beauty is more subtle and sometimes partly hidden. The women can be handsome and chic. The men occasionally the same but not so much. The scenery is pretty and the villages quaint. As you drive the motorway the landscape is mostly flat with rolling hills in the distance. You see nothing but vivid green broken by the occasional yellow of the canola fields and the terracotta of the village rooftops. A tall spired church or town hall stands proudly in the middle of each village. The roads are lined with beautiful trees of all kinds, some blossoming dramatically in white announcing that it is spring. The drivers are courteous and sensible, they keep to the right and stop at intersections, and the motorways are well signed. So travelling through the country is relatively easy.

Perhaps the city of Prague is not so subtle on the surface being invaded daily by tourists from all corners of the world. But if you look a little deeper there is elegance there. You can walk across the King Charles bridge with the hordes, running the gauntlet of beggars, hawkers and pick pockets or you can simply stand at the river's edge and admire the architecture of the bridges and the buildings with the castle in the distance. You can walk the narrow winding cobbled streets dodging the crowds or you can peer in the windows at the beautiful crystal and other wares. You can enter an ordinary looking restaurant or wine bar and discover elaborate decor and fabulous food and wine, finding that parts of the establishment are often hidden and only accessed by descending down flights of spiralling stairs. Or maybe its the unassuming well dressed elderly taxi driver that provides you with 500 years of political history of his country summed up in five minutes and expressed in such a way that you get a real feel for the mood of the people. Well some of them anyway.

Our time in Prague was a particularly memorable as we met up with some friends that we hadn't seen for over 20 years. They had travelled down from Sweden to spend a couple of days. In between seeing the sights we caught up on many years of our respective lives.

Olomouc was a pleasant suprise, being just an overnight stop on the way to Poland. A much smaller city than Prague but still a little difficult to find the apartment we had booked. We finally figured out the intracies of the building numbering system and phoned our landlord to advise of our arrival.

Soon after a stylish young woman appears, smiles, shakes our hands and leads us through a small wooden door into a large foyer. We ascend a very old stone staircase moulded from years and years of footsteps and then enter a spacious, renovated and very classy apartment complete with chandeliers, elaborate french doors and living plants. We feel immediately at home and wonder why we are only staying here one night. In the centre of a city such as Sydney for example this would be a million dollar apartment.

Just opposite the apartment was a small bakery and food store where we went in to buy a few supplies. The store owner was friendly and helpful and very proud of his wares. He answered all our questions in great detail, not all of which we understood as he sometimes reverted from English back to Czech. He threw in a few jokes and also threw in some complimentary pastries as it was our first trip to his shop. I think it is nice experiences like this one that will endear you to a particular place, its not always about the sightseeing.

The best part was that the town square of Olomouc was large and attractive with hardly a tourist in sight, just a few locals strolling through on their way home from work. So the square was a large open space as it should be. There were several monuments and an interesting fountain but what really caught our attention was the large cheese shop set up by a local cheese producer. The shop was stocked with not only a large variety of interesting cheeses but also many wines and other tasty looking deli items. If we were staying longer we certainly would have made a few purchases.

After browsing a few restaurant menus we finally found one with an English menu. It turned out to be quite upmarket with fabulous food, fine local wines, attentive service and a gypsy string three piece. We had a wonderful meal and spent very little so returned to our apartment very pleased with ourselves, refreshed and ready for our trip to Krakow the next day.

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Comments

[Maria]

Ha, ha, there we are. Nice photo!

[Milton & Carole]

Brings back fond memories of our visit to Prague. Best frozen strawberry margarita every at a riverside cafe.