Farmacia at Piazza Farnese

If you are in Italy and you feel sick or need medication, head to the nearest farmacia, which will be close by, no doubt. It seems as if each block has one! I burned the corners of my mouth on some hot food, and they wouldn’t heal for weeks. Finally I went to the pharmacy in Piazza Farnese. The pharmacist told me I had an infection and prescribed some French medicated cream that cost about $10 US, and the infection vanished in a couple of days. Another time someone visiting us developed a severe backache and the pharmacist sold him Voltaren—over the counter! That’s a prescription drug in the US.

Pharmacies in Italy are not like drugstores in the US. Italian pharmacies are typically quite small, with most medications stored behind the counter. Italian pharmacies don’t sell food, drinks, toys, stationery, or electronics, and they don’t develop photos. They sell medicines and medical-related items, dental items, and skin care products, for the most part. Although most pharmacies have small display areas from which you can select your items, you must ask the pharmacist for medicine—even aspirin, cough syrup, or vitamins. Be prepared for the pharmacist to ask you questions so she or he can give you what you need or refer you to a doctor or a hospital.

Most Italian pharmacies have a green cross outside, although sometimes the cross is red (as is the case in Piazza Farnese) or gold. Most pharmacies have regular business hours, but if they are closed, signs outside will direct you to the nearest overnight pharmacy (farmacia di turno).

Farmacia outside of Piazza Navona

In a pinch some pharmacists may be able to sell you a small quantity of prescription drugs without a prescription if you know the name and the dosage. That’s a big help if your checked luggage doesn’t arrive with you and you’ve packed your prescriptions in your checked luggage (I never take that chance!).

In Italy students can earn a Master’s of Pharmacy degree in five years, which includes six months of professional training in a public pharmacy or hospital. At the end of that time, the student must pass a nationwide exam to practice as a pharmacist. Some pharmacists speak English, but the one who cured my mouth didn’t, so I simply showed her my mouth. If you can’t show the pharmacist the problem and you can’t speak to her or him in English or Italian, pantomime the problem—clutch your stomach or throat or rub your back or your forehead.

In addition to the convenience of visiting a pharmacy instead of a doctor, I have found medicine in Italy to be quite cheap—especially prescription drugs—although the fish oil that I purchased in Rome cost a fortune! I stocked up at Costco the next time I was in the US.

So here’s the question: Italian pharmacists have lots of training, they can prescribe medicine for relatively simple problems, and medicine is downright cheap compared to the US. Why can’t we do that in the US? (I know the answer, but I don’t like it!)

Ciao!

Pollen only – no sirocco

Rome has been extra noisy the past few weeks with people coughing, sneezing, and blowing their noses. Tissues and handkerchiefs flap in the breeze, and people shake their heads and mutter, “I polline!” I guess with all that rain last winter, we should have expected a fecund spring, complete with vast quantities of pollen. I left our apartment at 9 a.m. today and immediately began weeping and sneezing, and I take allergy pills! I’m home now and it’s 4:30 p.m., and my eyes still ache. Abbastanza!

To make matters worse, a couple of weeks ago North Africa suffered a sirocco. Unfortunately for Rome, the wind blew from the south that week and it rained here, so not only did we suffer from pollen, we also had gooey North African sand all over everything! Every car in Rome was filthy that weekend.

Talk about a bad weekend: sirocco grime AND a parking ticket!

Here’s what the web says about siroccos: “A sirocco is a southeasterly to southwesterly wind over the Mediterranean Sea originating over North Africa. Because the wind originates over the desert, a sirocco is extremely dry initially, warm in the winter and hot in the spring and summer. A sirocco can occur during any season but is most frequent in spring and early summer (March through June). Wind speed and terrain determine the amount of dust present. Dense clouds of dust may reduce visibility to a few yards during a gale force sirocco, especially along the coast of North Africa. Even with low wind speeds, dust haze is very common during a sirocco outbreak. Dust causes radar ground clutter and can hamper aircraft operations. Also, dust can blow into the smallest of openings in protective coverings and affect sensitive equipment. When rain is present during a sirocco, it coats everything red – often called the ‘red rain.’”

This Maserati was covered with pollen and sirocco grim the day before I took this photo, but it had been washed just before I got back with my camera.

Thanks, North Africa! So here’s a tip: Spring in Rome offers glorious days with lovely warm temperatures and pleasant, cool nights, but if you venture outside, don’t forget tissues and your allergy meds!

Ciao!

Although I didn’t see them (Michael did), 350 Lamborghinis drove through Rome last Thursday as part of the Grande Giro Lamborghini, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of the sports car. Wow! I would love to have seen that, but I didn’t read about it until the next day!

The Grande Giro Lamborghini left Milan on May 7,
drove through central Italy to Rome, and arrived at the company’s headquarters in Bologna on May 10. Cars came from 29 countries with the majority (71) from Britain. Germany and Switzerland had 30 cars each, followed by the US with 21 and China with 17. The youngest driver in the tour was 22 and from Kuwait, while the oldest driver was 75 and from France. The convoy had a combined total of 190,000 horsepower.

But here’s the best part. You can watch a glorious Lamborghini tour of Rome here—Colosseum, Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Vittorio Emanuele II Monument, Teatro di Marcello, Fontana dell’Acqua Paola, St. Peter’s, Castel St. Angelo, Piazza del Popolo, and Piazza Navona. Enjoy!

Happy birthday, Lamborghini! You’re gorgeous!

Ciao!

P.S., Trevor Smith, this post is for you! Happy birthday!

Marco quickly became our regular waiter, and we would often stop to ask him to hold a table for us while we had a pre-dinner drink up the street. Until we tasted the mussels at Monserrato and shared an enormous platter of them for appetizers ever after, Marco would concoct an antipasto platter of the freshest raw fish they had that night and serve it drizzled with olive oil and parsley. He knew that our favorite white wine at Monserrato was Nozze d’Oro from Sicily, and he always brought it icy cold to our table. He so enjoyed our early and awful attempts to order in Italian and gently corrected our mistakes.

The few tourists who ate at Monserrato took the early shift, stopping for dinner around 8. We claimed our table at 9 or 9:30. The Romans arrived at 10 or 10:30 and filled all of the tables, double-parking on the street and eating and drinking with gusto. Then Monserrato came alive and the waiters had to turn away disappointed passersby.

But something happened last winter and Ristorante Monserrato closed, perhaps forever, in January or February. Now I walk up the street and hope against hope that I will see the orange-covered tables sitting outside. I pass the bicycle shop on the corner on my way to class and wish that Marco would come walking down the street as he often did, hand raised in a cheerful salute.

We miss Monserrato, and we miss Marco. We wish we could eat there again. You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.

Ciao, Monserrato!

Sant’Antonio dei Portoghesi

On a glorious Friday morning (no rain!) near the end of March I set out for my Italian class. I took my usual route through Piazza Farnese, Campo dei Fiori, and Piazza Navona, and as I passed the beautiful, tiny church of Sant’Antonio dei Portoghesi in tiny Campo Marzo, I noticed that the door was open. I’ve never seen that door open, so I couldn’t resist going in. The national church of the Portuguese people, this church is dedicated to St. Anthony of Lisbon. I circled the interior of this little jewel box for 10 minutes or so. I especially liked the neoclassic monument to Alexandre de Sousa Holstein, which was sculpted by Antonio Canova in 1806. I made it to class on time, but this find inspired me to go exploring!

Fontana del Mosè (Fountain of Moses)

The day before this surprising turn of events, I had finished the blog post on the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore and was chomping at the bit to see Bernini’s Ecstasy of St. Therese, so after class I headed toward Quirinale. I walked up Via del Tritone to Piazza Barberini and turned right. I trudged up the hill and ended up at the Quattro Fontane. You may recall that I’d never heard of these four fountains until last month, and there they were again! Life is like that.

I turned left on Via XX Settembre and walked for a couple of blocks. I spotted St. Teresa’s church, Santa Maria della Vittoria, and as I headed that way, I noticed a huge fountain across the street from the church. I’d never heard of this fountain, Fontana del Mosè, which is the terminus of the Acqua Felice aqueduct, the first new aqueduct of early modern Rome. The fountain, designed by Domenica Fontana (fittingly, since fontana means “fountain”!), was completed in 1586.

Wiki makes this harsh observation about the fountain: “Even in the 17th century this fountain was considered as being in very bad style,” Siegfried Giedion reported, “and it is scarcely conceivable that such mediocrity was possible only two decades after the death of Michelangelo.” Okay, so the fountain isn’t great, but I love those lions!

Ecstasy of St. Therese

Santa Maria della Vittoria

Several tourist groups and I arrived at the church at the same time. I made a beeline for the Ecstasy, dropped 50 centissimi into the lightbox (that always makes me feel so powerful!), and stepped back to stare.

The somewhat small statue is placed high on the wall in the church, and it isn’t easy to see. That surprised me. St. Teresa’s ecstasy itself did not surprise me, because I’ve read articles about and seen photos of it. Some believe the ecstasy is spiritual; others believe it is sensual. You can decide for yourself. No matter what, Bernini’s statue is fascinating and feels a bit violent.

I stood right in front of the statue until “my” light went out, much to the dismay of the tour leaders who wanted to crowd me out of there. I then sighed happily and looked around the rest of the beautiful church—my second jewel box of the day.

St. Paul’s within the Walls

As I left the church, I could see the enormous Piazza della Republicca in front of me. I walked to the piazza and turned west to walk home via Via Nazionale. A couple of blocks down the hill from the piazza I saw a familiar-looking building and bell tower and realized that I had stumbled onto the Episcopal church of St. Paul’s within the Walls, which had long been on my list of things to see. Built in 1873 after the unification of Italy, St. Paul’s was the first non-Roman Catholic church in Rome. Before the unification, Rome was governed by the Vatican, which banned non-Catholic churches, but Italian law permitted freedom of religion, and Rome had to comply.

With its alternating brick and travertine exterior, St. Paul’s resembles the green-and-white striped churches of Tuscany. In the interior the incredible mosaics by Edward Burne-Jones in the apse and the choir and George Breck on the rear wall make this jewel box worth a visit if you’re in the neighborhood.

Ciao!

Sant’Antonio dei Portoghesi – exterior on a stormy day

Sant’Antonio dei Portoghesi – detail above the entrance

Sant’Antonio dei Portoghesi – inside the dome

Sant’Antonio dei Portoghesi – side chapel

Sant’Antonio dei Portoghesi – side chapel

Sant’Antonio dei Portoghesi – stained glass window

Santa Maria della Vittoria – exterior

Santa Maria della Vittoria – interior

Santa Maria della Vittoria – main altar

Santa Maria della Vittoria – ceiling

Santa Maria della Vittoria – dome in a side chapel

Santa Maria della Vittoria – side chapel

St. Paul’s within the Walls – exterior

St. Paul’s within the Walls – rear wall with Breck’s mosaics

St. Paul’s within the Walls – Breck’s mosaics in the rear of the church

St. Paul’s within the Walls – Burne-Jones’s mosaics in the apse

St. Paul’s within the Walls – Burne-Jones’s mosaics in the apse

St. Paul’s within the Walls – interior ceiling

Looking east into the Forum from the Vittorio Emanuele II monument (next to Capitoline Hill) – you can see the Arch of Tito at the far end

Rome celebrated her 2,766th birthday Sunday, April 21, 2013. Imagine that: 2,766 years! Wow! She’s looking wonderful for such an old broad.

To celebrate this august occasion, today we’ll visit one of Rome’s most ancient places: the Roman Forum. Founded by Romulus in 753 BC, the Roman Forum was the center of Roman life from then until about 600 AD. Although I will use the term “Forum” for the Roman Forum in this post, four additional fori were built in Rome to accommodate growing crowds: the Forum of Caesar (46 BC), the Forum of Augustus (2 BC); the Forum of  Nerva (97 AD), and the Forum of Trajan (112 AD). The fori were interconnected until the early 20th century, when Mussolini built Via dei Fori Imperiale right through the center.

A beautiful relic lying on the ground

Wiki says the Forum “was for centuries the center of Roman public life: the site of triumphal processions and elections; the venue for public speeches, criminal trials, and gladiatorial matches; and the nucleus of commercial affairs. Here statues and monuments commemorated the city’s great [leaders]. The teeming heart of ancient Rome, [the Forum] has been called the most celebrated meeting place in the world and in all history. Located in the small valley between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills, the Forum today is a sprawling ruin of architectural fragments and intermittent archeological excavations.”

Arch of Titus

The Forum is quite small—820 feet by 558 feet (250 meters by 558 meters)—and is bounded by Capitoline Hill to the west, Palatine Hill to the south, the Colosseum to the east, and Via dei Fori Imperiale to the north. The main street of Ancient Rome, Via Sacra, winds through the Forum from the Arch of Titus at the east end to the Arch of Septimus Severus at the west end.

The best time to see the Forum is in the late fall, winter, or early spring before busloads of tourists arrive. If you can’t visit Rome then, order your tickets online so you don’t have to wait in huge, winding lines to buy them on site (a single ticket covers the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and the Forum). The Forum offers no shade, so load up on bottled water and sunscreen, and be patient!

Buon Natale, Roma! I hope you have 2,766 more good years.

Ciao!

P.S., This post is for Rome and also for my nephew Cade, whose one regret about his trip to Italy in summer 2012 was that we didn’t have time to visit the Forum. Here you are, Uno King!

View of the Forum from Capitoline Hill

Arch of Septimius Severus (203 AD)

Column of Phocas (608 AD) and Tempio di Saturno (497 BC)

Tempio di Castore e Polluce (Castor and Pollux), twin brothers of Helen of Troy – original temple was dedicated in 484 BC, but these columns are from a reconstruction in 12 BC

Tempio di Romolo – not the founder of Rome but the son of Maxentius. It is now the Basilica di Santi Cosma e Damiano.

Tempio di Romolo

Fresco in the Tempio di Romolo

Tempio di Vesta

According to Wiki, the Vestals or Vestal Virgins were priestesses of Vesta, the goddess of the hearth. They cultivated a sacred fire that was not allowed to go out. The Vestals were freed from the usual social obligations to marry and bear children and took a vow of chastity.

A statue in the Casa delle Vestali

A statue in the Casa delle Vestali

Looking toward Palatine Hill from the Casa delle Vestali

Top of the Tempio di Antonino e Faustina (138-161 AD) near the entrance to the Forum

I loved this photo of my friends Ed and Nikki near the Temple of Vesta, and I wanted them to use it for their Christmas card photo – but they didn’t. Don’t you think they should have?

Fava beans always make me think of Hannibal Lecter’s quote in The Silence of the Lambs: “A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.” If that doesn’t turn you off of fava beans, nothing will!

I love fava beans, but I don’t remember tasting fresh beans. Michael enjoyed several meals with fava beans last spring, but I wasn’t in Italy then. By the time I returned, the farmers’ market at Campo dei Fiori no longer offered fava beans for sale. Gloom!

After seeing the beans on Saturday we visited the Campo dei Fiori market on Sunday and found one vendor selling favas. Joy! We bought about three pounds (1.5 kilos) and spent the next hour or so preparing them. We ended up with about one cup of cooked beans. Fresh fava beans are a lot of work, but they were worth the effort!

If you can find fresh favas, here’s what you do:

Remove the beans from the long, gnarly pods.

Remove the beans from the sac surrounding them by pinching the sac’s skin and popping the bean out.

1. Remove the beans from the long, gnarly pods. Each pod has about five or six beans in it. For two people this takes about 45 minutes for three pounds.

2. Blanch the beans for about one to two minutes, depending on their size. Have an ice bath ready.

3. Immediately immerse the beans in ice water until they are cold.

4. Remove the inner bean from the sac
surrounding it by pinching the sac’s skin and popping out the bright green bean. I kept breaking the kernels into two pieces, but it’s betteer to keep them whole because the smaller pieces cook too fast. For two people this takes 20 to 30 minutes.

5. If you’re not going to cook the beans immediately, put them in the refrigerator until just before dinner is served.

6. Add the tons of waste to your compost pile.

You can find many recipes for fava beans, but this one is easy and delicious.

1. Mince one or two garlic cloves, depending upon how many beans you are cooking. Also mince some mint to sprinkle over the beans when you have finished sautéing them.

2. Melt a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil in a sauté pan.

3. Add the garlic and sauté for a minute.

4. Add the beans and sauté for a minute or two, depending on the size.

5. Sprinkle the mint onto the beans.

6. Serve the beans immediately.

7. Sigh with happiness!

We didn’t eat our fava beans with liver (a census taker’s or anyone else’s). We had ours with a juicy roast chicken cooked with thinly sliced lemons under the skin and lemon halves, rosemary, oregano, and whole garlic in the cavity. And we didn’t have our fava beans with Chianti. We had them with Sanct Valentin sauvignon from Alto Adige in Northern Italy. Excellent!

Celebrate spring, and savor fresh fava beans as often as you can! La vita è buona!

Ciao!

Viale delle Palme (Avenue of the Palms)

After three months of nonstop rain (at least that’s my recollection of Rome during the past winter), I returned to Italy last week to brilliant sunshine, bright blue skies, and spring! Tra la! Sunshine makes everything happier, doesn’t it?

This morning I walked through Rome’s Botanical Garden in Trastevere. I wanted to visit the garden last August when I went to Villa Farnesina, which is just a block away, but I missed the entrance and didn’t have a map to help me change course. I later learned that the garden is closed in August. It’s just as well, because gardens are generally more verdant and arguably more beautiful in spring, as was certainly the case today.

Japanese Garden

Rome is a busy, noisy city, but the Botanical Garden is just the opposite. I saw few people in the garden this morning, and except for a large group of young Italian schoolkids led by a man yelling into a bullhorn (I’m serious!), the only noise I heard was birds chirping, trees rustling, and water splashing over rocks and into fountains. No traffic, no voices—just quiet.

Nestled into the east side of Gianicolo (Janiculum Hill), the garden’s pathways meander through about 30 acres. The garden includes a walkway lined with palms, a cathedral formed by a bamboo forest, a small Japanese garden with nice view of Rome at the top of the hill, a conifer garden, a sad water garden, a rose garden (which should be blooming in about a month), and a Mediterranean garden of cactus and succulents. According to Wiki, the garden was established in 1883, “although it is the successor to the Papal Botanical Gardens going back to the Renaissance.”

Are you flirting with ME?

With Rome’s fiscal challenges, I wasn’t surprised to find the garden a bit unkempt in places. Its plantings aren’t extraordinary, and it sports some old structures and fountains that need refurbishing, but it is charming, peaceful, and relaxing.

Near the largest structure, the Scalone Monumentale, I spotted a duck taking his midday bath next to a small pond. I stopped about six feet away and watched him, taking scads of photos. He looked up at me for a moment and then continued with his ritual, clearly not worried that I might do him harm. He was still there when I walked back down the steps of the monument.

Bamboo forest (not in my yard, please!)

I stopped for a rest on one of the benches near the top of the garden around noon. A cannon is fired once from Gianicolo at noon every day and has been since 1847. It was fired right on time today, and I must have been directly below it, because for a moment I thought someone was shooting at me! I hear this cannon every day and should be used to it by now, but I jumped about 20 feet! What a goofball!

Rome has many spectacular sights for visitors, so unless you want a timeout from Rome’s noise and a leisurely walk up the hill from Trastevere, don’t put the garden on your list. That said, it made me happy!

Ciao!

Old arch just outside the garden (at the top of the hill)

Garden entrance

Ice plant for my West Coast friends

One of many artifacts lying around

Enormous redbud

Vittorio Emanuele II monument (from the garden)

The Fontana dell’Acqua Paola (from the garden)

Scalone Monumentale (grandstaircase)

Scalone Monumentale

Looking into the chapel – the altarpiece is the “Birth of Venus,” begun by Sebastiano del Piombo and completed around 1555 by Francesco Salviati

You may remember my disappointment last June when I visited Santa Maria del Popolo and the Chigi (kee gee) Chapel was closed for restoration. I despaired of ever seeing it, because repairs in Rome take so long. After my haircut this morning I braved the rain (will it EVER stop?) and dropped by the church, where I was shocked to find the Chigi Chapel open! Mamma mia!

In 1507 the Sienese banker Agostino Chigi, one of the richest men in the Roman Renaissance, hired Raphael to decorate the Chigi Chapel in Santa Maria del Popolo. Chigi knew Raphael from his work on Chigi’s Villa Farnesina. Raphael designed the chapel to look like St. Peter’s Basilica and copied the entrance arch from an ancient model of the Pantheon. He died (in 1520) before work began, and the chapel was completed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini more than a century later.

Somehow I missed taking a photo of my favorite statue, The Prophet Daniel, by Bernini. I love the lion licking Daniel’s foot!

So here is my Easter present to you—the Chigi Chapel in all its glory. Buona Pasqua!

Ciao!

Dome – designed by Raphael; frescos by Francesco Salviati (1554 and 1557); mosaic by Luigi de Pace (1516

“The Prophet Habbakuk,” by Bernini (around 1655)

“The Prophet Jonah,” by Lorenzetto (around 1522)

Agostino Chigi’s pyramidal wall tomb, by Bernini – on the opposite wall is the matching tomb of Sigismondo Chigi (both tombs done in approximately 1655)

Floor mosaic

“The Prophet Elijah,” by Raffaello da Montelupo (1522)

Typical buildings in Malá Strana

Michael had a three-day weekend at the end of October, so at the last minute we decided to go to Prague. We chose Prague because it was the only large European city that wasn’t expecting rain. We booked our tickets and our hotel, we looked for things to see and do in Prague, and as we packed our bags on Thursday night, we checked the weather forecast and saw that Prague was going to be hit with the first snowstorm of the fall and winter. Yikes! But our airline tickets were nonrefundable, so we soldiered on, and we had a ball, of course.

Fall in a park in Malá Strana

Rome doesn’t have bright fall colors. It’s just too mild here, I guess. So we were thrilled to find Prague full of the bright oranges, yellows, and reds of the falls that I remember. Sigh!

We stayed in a wonderful hotel, the Aria, on the west bank (Malá Strana) of the Vltava River, which bisects the city. In addition to an interesting and comfortable room named for Ella Fitzgerald (each room features a musician in the art on the walls and has that person’s music playing on the sound system when guests first arrive), the hotel had a very good restaurant, Coda, where we had dinner the first night and breakfast each morning, and a wonderful concierge, Ivana Stehlíková, who made sure that we saw the most important sites and ate at her favorite places.

I had goulash soup; Michael had pork hock marinated in beer

Recommendations in hand, we headed out for lunch at the Strahov Monastic Brewery in the Strahov Monastery, a steep walk up the hill west of our hotel. Ivana claimed that this is one of the best breweries in Prague, and we certainly ate and drank well! Pils beer was invented in Prague, and it is delicious—better than the Pilsner beers we know in the United States. As I recall, we drank wine only once, and that was at dinner Friday night. The tables in the brewery seated about eight people, and we were joined by a nice young couple from California. After chatting with them for an hour or so, the man said that he had just graduated from my alma mater, the University of Oregon! Mamma mia! So we whooped it up for a while about that and left them sipping brews. We had a great time with them.

Prague Loreto – Santa Casa

Our next stop was the beautiful Prague Loreto. One website described it as “a religious pilgrimage site that was built in commemoration of the legend of a cottage said to have been the home of the Virgin Mary, which was transported with divine help to Loreto, Italy, centuries before Prague’s 18th century Loreto was built.” In the Prague Loreto is a replica of the cottage, Santa Casa, built between 1626 and 1631. The Loreto also features a beautiful church and many other treasures, including recently discovered crypt art.

All of the buildings on the top of the hill are part of Prague Castle

Ivana told us that we must not miss the Prague Castle, so we headed that way, stopping to watch a military parade and ceremony of some sort just outside the castle. The Prague Castle is enormous and dominates the landscape of Prague. It is a World Heritage Site, and historians believe that it was founded in 880. The largest coherent castle complex in the world, it includes almost every style of architecture of the last millennium, including gothic St. Vitus Cathedral and Romanesque Basilica of St. George. As you can imagine, the museums in the castle are fascinating! One of my favorite places in the Prague Castle was Golden Lane, a street next to the northern castle wall that includes 11 historic houses depicting life in the castle, including a psychic’s house. Franz Kafka lived there in 1916–17.

As we began hiking down the hill to our hotel, snow began to fall, and it fell all night and all through Saturday. Although it was quite cold when we were in Prague, it hadn’t been cold previously, so it took a while for the snow to stick.

Astronomical Clock

On Saturday morning we ventured forth in the falling snow to see the eastern side of the city (Staré Mĕsto). Although we missed many things, we saw a lot: the Charles Bridge (without vendors, alas), the Astronomical Clock on Old Town City Hall (the clock was first installed in 1410 is the third oldest working astronomical clock in the world and the oldest clock that is still working), the Powder Tower (a tower of the old city gates dating from the 15th century), the gothic Church of Our Lady before Týn (14th century), Old Town Square, and the Municipal House (a glorious Art Nouveau concert hall that opened in 1912).

Lokál

Saturday evening we ate at Lokál, which apparently is one of Prague’s most popular restaurants for locals. We had a reservation in the upstairs room (as opposed to the basement) of the restaurant near our hotel. We had more excellent Pils and good Czech food at Lokál, but I felt as if we were eating in a beer hall. I preferred our lunch spot downtown Saturday, but I can’t remember its name (great food and great beer).

The weather was cold and clear Sunday. Ivana recommended an outstanding tour (Wittman Tours) of the Jewish Ghetto that morning, and that’s what we did. I can’t show you the inside of the synagogues because no photographs are allowed, but we saw several, including my favorite, the Pinkas Synagogue. On its walls are 80,000 names of Bohemian and Moravian Jewish Holocaust victims—simply staggering! It took four years to inscribe them all. Although the room was full of people, you could have heard a pin drop. The Pinkas Synagogue also includes a display children’s art from the Terezín (Theresienstadt) concentration camp. The drawings are chilling—you can almost feel the terror. We can see these drawings today because a brave art teacher buried 4,500 of them underground in a suitcase.

Spanish Synagogue

We also saw the Maisel Synagogue, which is a museum today; the Old-New Synagogue, built in 1270 and one of Prague’s first gothic buildings (it was originally called the New or Great Synagogue and when newer synagogues were built in the 16th century, it became known as the Old-New Synagogue); and the spectacularly ornate Spanish Synagogue (every surface is covered by elaborate Islamic-style polychrome and gilded patterns). We didn’t see the Old Jewish Cemetery because we had to leave for the airport.

I wish we’d had more time and better weather. Prague is simply fascinating!

Ciao!

Military parade and ceremony outside Prague Castle

Prague Castle from the Strahov Monastery

Prague Castle – restaurant (closed for snow)

Prague Castle – building

Prague Castle – Golden Lane

Prague Castle – Shop on Golden Lane

Prague Castle – Golden Lane – Sign for the psychic, “Madame de Thebes”

Prague Castle

Prague Castle – St. Vitus Cathedral

Prague Castle – inside St. Vitus Cathedral

Prague Castle – Chapel inside St. Vitus Cathedral

In the Strahov Monastery

In the Strahov Monastery

Brewery – Go, Ducks!

Prague Loreto

Prague Loreto – copy of crypt art recently found there

West end of the Charles Bridge

Waterwheel near the west end of the Charles Bridge

Beautiful building near Old Town Square

Church of Our Lady before Týn

I think this beautiful building is on Old Town Square

Municipal House (concert hall)

A church in the snow

Bronze statue of Franz Kafka near the Spanish Synagogue

On this card the server keeps track of the number of beers customers drink

Tower on the west side of the Charles Bridge

Old-New Synagogue

Building in the Jewish Ghetto

Buildings in the Jewish Ghetto