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Published: June 11th 2006
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It’s no secret that smaller groups are more fun and easier to be around. Thus, I consider myself lucky that I went on an ad hoc excursion to Dvorak’s grave today. Banville mentioned that the grave was somewhere in Prague, and my memory said it was at Prague castle on Castle Hill. Yesterday I asked Pavel, our guide, where it is. He set me straight, telling me it wasn’t at Hradcany at all, but across the river and south at another fortress, Vysehrad (hrad means fortress in Czech.) He said he would be more than happy to take a group of us there if we wanted. I was overjoyed.
This morning we met Pavel at the hotel and he took us via subway and tram to Vysehrad, “the fortress on the hill.” At the mouth of the subway station was a large building that under communist rule was only used 5 times a year. It was a hideous old block of concrete and metal without design or style--the building really gives one a sense of what Prague under the communist regime was like. What a stark contrast to that which we were to encounter next. Just around the corner we
A 10th Century Rotunda
Originally a chapel, used as storage during communist occupation, and now once again a place of worship. reached a large sixteenth century gate just on the other side of which sat an eleventh century rotunda. The cylindrical chapel was originally built for masses (and with the door ninety degrees counterclockwise from it’s current position). Interestingly, during communist occupation, the rotunda was nothing more than a storage shed. It has since been used for its more spiritual purpose.
Up another hill and we were on top of the fortress where lies the church of St. Peter and Paul and the legendary Cemetery of Glory. Before entering the cemetery however, we took in the beautiful scenery which stretched before us off of the castle wall. A gorgeous view of Prague was stretched before us…the Vltava in the foreground, Prague Castle at the horizon, and the rest of this beautiful city in between. No wonder Liduce, the mythical prophet of the founding of Prague, chose this spot on which to build the city. The view from the hill was nothing short of inspiring. An array of statues from Czech legend peppered the lawn outside the church, commemorating the fascinating stories surrounding Prague’s origins.
After a brief walk through the lawn, we entered the Cemetery of Glory. The old
cemeteries of Europe are so much more interesting than many of ours here in the states. Looser restrictions that don’t make concessions for maintenance allow much more elaborate and irregular graves and make for a stunning display of varied and whimsical headstones, often more works of art than practical markers. Of course, for us music students, of most interest were the graves of Dvorak and Smetana, although many other important cultural figures have been buried here: the graveyard was built to house the more artistically and intellectually inclined Praguers--in other words, those who have contributed to the Czech Republic’s cultural well being. After the cemetery visit, we jumped back on the subway and headed back to Wenceslas Square for lunch. Another quick subway and tram ride and we were back at the hotel.
This afternoon’s activities consisted of a visit to Brevnov Monastery, just outside of Prague. Our group congregated in the church where we learned the history of the place, founded in 993 by Branislav II, it was the first monastery in Bohemia. Many of the monasteries here were dissolved by Joseph II in the 18th century, but as a result of what our tour guide (clad in
jeans and a hoodie) called “ass kissing,” this particular site was saved. The actual church is in the early Baroque style with much ornamentation, fresco paintings, and gold. We were allowed to walk though the monastery’s crypt, abbey, and convent, and although the tour wasn’t great, the art and architecture were beautiful. After a mediocre dinner at a reconstruction of a luxury cruise liner called the “Admiral Botel” and a view at the Fred and Ginger building, we headed back to the hotel. Unfortunately, this is our last day in Prague--we head to Brno tomorrow.
But wait! The fun didn’t end there! After the concert we naturally stuck around for a few minutes to chat with some of the members of our partner choir. After the basic questions about everyone’s background, we decided maybe it would be fun to get together with them a bit later (after all, it was Friday night!) In any case, Dennis, the owner of the tour company put the number of one of their choir members in his cell phone, and after a buffet dinner at the hotel, let me use his phone to call Viktoria, a girl equally interested in meeting up as
Libuse - mythological founder of Prague
Said to have envisioned Prague's glorious future from this very hill. we were. In fact, she and a friend, Martin, came to our hotel via public transport to take us back to the center of the city. When we arrived, there were about 15 members of the Masaryk choir waiting for us. We found a pub large enough to accommodate all 30 of us, and began to socialize.
This may have been one of the most rewarding experiences of the entire trip. What a neat opportunity to get to socialize with our college counterparts half way across the world. The amazing this was, we were all basically the same. Save for the language difference, college kids in the Czech Republic like and do the same things we do. Throughout the course of the night, we learned a few Czech drinking songs, taught a few American songs and sang “Elijah Rock” together. It was an incredible experience. About two o’clock, we headed back to the hotel, very satisfied with the night’s events.
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