To find Prague’s sweet spot, you shouldn’t always look in the most obvious places, writes Robert Labua
Despite repeated visits to the undeniably gorgeous city, the anticipated emotional connection to Prague was yet to blossom as it had in other cities around the world.
After five visits, the quintessence of Prague still seemed elusive and illusory. Maybe I wasn’t looking hard enough. Like a fashion model, the superficial beauty of Prague is obvious but its spirit mysterious behind the facade. It took a sixth visit to connect with this enchanting city by exploring districts beyond the famous Old Town and its fabulous palaces, beyond the ever-changing graffiti of the John Lennon Wall, beyond the Klementinum, Rudolfinum, and Tourists Seen ‘Em.
Aimless meandering in a foreign city, happening upon little discoveries and big memories, is one of travel’s most rewarding activities. Nowhere in Prague is the pursuit of nothing in particular more rewarding than in chic Bubeneč, the up-and-coming Holešovice district, and Letná Park with its superb panorama of the entire city between the two. While the hardware of Prague’s peerless architectural patrimony is alluring throughout the year, it is in European summer that software in the form of trees, parks, and flowers bring a carefree air of joviality and celebration to the city. When spring blossoms are at their peak in May and June, the entire city turns into a fragrant bouquet of scents as intoxicating as the Pilsener found in any number of hip bars and cafés in Bubeneč.
It is by setting foot out of the crowded city centre and exploring its periphery that Prague becomes a city for the living instead of a living museum. Ironically, this is easily done by alighting at Hradčanská (hrad-CHAHN-ska), the Metro and tram stop for that most visited of sights in the city, Prague Castle. Instead of strolling southward for the short walk to the castle, head north across the tram tracks to the lovely Bubeneč (BOO-ben-netch) district with its embassies, boutiques, and restaurants in an uncluttered and uncrowded neighbourhood where few tourists venture. Here in this microcosm is a sampling of everything that is good and great about Prague without the things that are not.
The first stop should be Crème de la Crème for some very necessary ice cream. Immediately to the right of the tram crossing, this is no ordinary gelateria. Flavours rotate constantly but there are always unusual options to complement longstanding favourites. Up the street, a few licks away, is Galerie Villa Pellé, a beautiful mansion turned art gallery where changing exhibits of contemporary art can present a startling contrast to the building’s Neo-Renaissance architecture. Out back is a delightful little garden where the café terrace provides a suitable location for a snack or a drink in recovery from icecream carbohydrates. More substantial sustenance is found two blocks west at U Viléma, a traditional beer garden where hearty Czech cuisine and legendary beers are served in abundance on a covered outdoor patio frequented by Bubeneč locals and diplomats resident in the area.
Just outside the western boundary of nearby Letná Park is Villa Bílek, the former home and studio of sculptor František Bílek who, like so many of his compatriots, created iconoclastic works that countered the status quo of his era. The villa’s ground floor displays pieces in several rooms but it is the upstairs living quarters and furniture designed by Bílek himself that convey a deeper understanding of this visionary artist. The grand villa is totally off the beaten path and visitors are welcomed like guests rather than tourists.
Villa Bílek’s Chotkovy Sady tram stop is only one stop away from Hradčanská but it is an easy and pleasant amble from Bubeneč. Also relatively close by is EPET Arena, an unexpected surprise between Bubeneč and Holešovice where football team Sparta’s home matches are played before enthusiastic fans in this state-of-the-art sports facility.
Holešovice (ho-lay-show-VITS-say) is abuzz with cafés, boutiques, and events at the imposing Výstaviště exhibition centre, a landmark historical building constructed in 1891. The expansive esplanade leading to the building itself is a frequent venue for outdoor markets just down the boulevard from the admirably monstrous Trade Fair Palace, a branch of the National Gallery Of Prague. The Trade Fair Palace houses an extraordinary collection of art in a gargantuan building whose bureaucratic name and austere exterior belie the elegance of its contents. Right across the street is the Cukrárna U Hrdinů bakery where the appetising savoury and sweet treats are still made for locals as they have been for decades.
In contrast, Ezra’s Bagel Café is a new addition to the Holešovice food scene. Named after owners’ (American Chelsea and Italian Giuseppe) toddler who often supervises operations from the vantage point of his blanket, Ezra’s all-vegan menu is symbolic of a new generation of entrepreneurial young people who gravitate to Prague for its open-mindedness and embrace of what is different.
After all, the Czech Republic is the land that produced the likes of writers Franz Kafka, whose surname has become an adjective describing absurd situations; Milan Kundera, whose landmark novel The Unbearable Lightness Of Being has been revered as a literary masterpiece since its publication in 1984; and Rainer Maria Rilke, whose famed Duino Elegies are a mystical balance of beauty and pain. A balance of beauty and pain perhaps sums up Prague’s history rather well; thankfully, today the city revels more in the former than the latter.
GETTING THERE
Emirates fly to Václav Havel Airport Prague from Auckland with one stop in Dubai. Various other airlines also fly to Prague with two stopovers.
DETAILS
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