Prague: the Golden City / die goldene Stadt

What splendour! This was where the Emporer of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nations throned in the Middle Ages.
Here I am in the blinding sunlight at the Moldau River with the Hradchin Castle and Cathedral behind me.
The view of the city from the Hradchin castle.
Close to Heaven: I'm enjoying a Czech beer from the keg (Pilsner Urquell) in a famous Prague restaurant.
A session style buidling
Sebastian standing in front of the main town square with the old church behind him
In the Jewish Quarter (do you see me there to the right?)
On the Charles Bridge looking toward the Hradchin Castle and St. Veit's Cathedral.
One end of the famous Charles Bridge
Some say this is the most beautiful city of Europe. I haven’t seen one more beautiful yet. No WWII bombings here, so all the mediaeval structures have survived. Prague was once the seat of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nations – or the most important city of the Occident. So many churches, cloisters, castles; here baroque splendour reigns in ornate sanctuaries. Yet Prague is perhaps the world capital for art nouveau architecture. Here there are many coffee houses, bars, and clubs in this fin de siècle style. I bought a book about Prague cafés listing the 45 most famous cafés, meaning there are many more.

The city is completely overrun with tourists, and I contributed to this. Since I am short, in such crowds I only see shoulders and necks, and I don’t have to go to Prague to see such sights. The poor citizens of Prague; they cannot enjoy their own city, and the prices are certainly too high for many of them to afford. The “old city” is a jewel, but go to the “new city” or the train station Holesovice to see normal every day life. Here the bleakness of Soviet Block architecture is still very evident. The music life of Prague is very active. I was at a jazz club, Agharta, Monday evening, which was the highlight of the trip. I heard a modern jazz group with Czech flutist Jiri Stivin; it was perfection. I ate twice at Café Café, a place where Johnny Depp has been, and supposedly – as I found out after the fact from a tourist guide – also a hang out for the gay scene, though I only found a few indices of this: one BW photo on the wall of a guy wearing only an unbuttoned shirt and obviously read for action, and a preponderance of young good looking waiters. When I returned to Germany Tuesday evening I felt like I was back home, since I could understand everything I was hearing. By the way, every train on the German side of the border was very late on this trip, but the Czech trains were all on time, so how’s that for a reversal of typical stereotypes?
If you stand on the east side of the Moldau and look up to the castle complex with the Charles bridge below, you see one of the most beautiful architectural buffets Europe can offer. Add the soft sunlight of autumn and a chill in the air, and you will never want to leave that spot. As for me, I’ll be back to Prague often, since it only takes about three hours from Leipzig to get there. Who will go with me next time?