Bucharest = Transylvania = The legend of Count Dracula. It's been on my bucket list for the longest time!
We did a whirlwind tour of the three historic cities in Eastern Europe, Bucharest, Budapest and Prague. All three cities were ruled by the great Habsburgs and Austro-Hungarian empire which lasted from 1867 - 1918. The Austro-Hungarian empire had its capital city principally in Vienna (Austria), and in Budapest (Hungary).
The Habsburg dynasty was founded in present-day Switzerland in the 11th century, and they occupied the throne of the
Holy Roman Emperor from 1438 to 1740. At its peak, the Austro-Hungarian empire stretched over present-day countries Austria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine. The Austro-Hungarian empire broke up following its defeat in World War I.
The Pope appointed the most powerful of the Roman Catholic kings, as the "Roman Emperor", in a strategy to unify the Roman Catholic world to fight the expansive Ottoman Empire, and to lessor extent, threats from the Mongol hordes. In 800 this king was Charlemagne. The "Dark Ages" lasted till 14th Century, with the start of the European Renaissance.
The Empire finally ended in 1806 when the last Emperor Francis II of Austria, suffered a major defeat in the Battle of Austerlitz, at the hands of Napolean Bonaparte, Emperor of the French. It's ironic that the Holy Roman Empire, lasting a thousand years (from 800-1806), began and ended with the French!
Although our focus was on food and restaurants menus, we did try to do a "crash course" on the history of these cities. But their history was too complicated for me...this write up is result of that limited knowledge!
We started with Bucharest, then Budapest and finally Prague. Just a word of caution, these are old cities with many cobbled stones for roads and paths, and stairs to climb, so be prepared for shoes and knee-braces!
As a sampler of the sights in store for us.....In Prague we saw one of oldest and most memorable stone bridges, the 700-years-old Charles bridge, and from the Old Town....
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| Old Town (Bridge) Tower in Prague (Czech Republic) |
The Charles bridge is seen here lighted up at night (we will check this out in more detail later)..
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| Charles bridge - view from south side. On the right is the Old Town Tower, and on the left is the Prague Castle. |
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| As a sense of history of where we traveled --- this 1648 map of Romania (Transylvannia, Moldova & Wallachia), and Bohemia -- Hungary & present-day Czech Republic is north of Austria. Courtesy of Google. |
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| Present-day map of Bucharest (Romania), Budapest (Hungary) and Prague (Czech Republic). Courtesy of Google. |
Bucharest, Capital of Romania
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| Romania coat of arms - Courtesy of Google |
Bucharest (Bucuresti) is in south east Romania, is the country's capital and commercial center. Its most iconic structure is the massive communist-era Palatial Parliament Building, which has 1,100 rooms. In size its been compared to the Pentagon in Washington, USA. A huge complex which we had to go visit. It was a lot of walking and stairs to climb. The sense is that the palatial complex had seen better days, and is a bit worn by neglect....
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| Front entrance for visitors into the Romanian Palace of the Parliament (Palatul Parlamentului). |
The Parliament Palace is only 7min drive to a truly authentic piece of Romanian history -- at
Strade Franceza 25, the Museum of Old Princely Court (Muzeul Curtea Veche). This was where the name of the city Bucuresti was first recorded in documents. The Court was ordered built in the 15th century by
Prince Vlad Tepes (1428-1476), and it was here that he ordered the disloyal court officials (the
boyars) who betrayed his father, to be impaled, after he lured them to a feast.
The history of Romania is swarmed with many wars and battles with the Ottoman Turks, who invaded and captured many territories, holding on some for many years. The battles fought by the history elites, including Prince Vlad Tepes (1428 - 1477), were not just in power struggles with fellow warloads but also against the Turks invaders!
Romania's three largest principalities are Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania. The eastern half of Moldovia is the independent Republic of Moldova.
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| The beautiful Kretzulescu Church in Bucharest. This is the first Byzantine church we have ever seen. |
The Kretzulescu church was built in 1722, and is an old Eastern Orthodox church showcasing Byzantine Christian icons. The church which was almost demolished during Romania's communist era, had been restored but lots more work needs to be done.
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| The front view of the church |
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| The painted frescos on the outside of the entrance |
The frescos are interesting but would be helpful if more explanations in English were available. Due to extreme weather conditions, varying from 40 deg C in summer to -25 deg C in winter, much of it were faded and some "whiten" over.
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| The sanctuary with its wall panels adorned with the saints. |
Either the walls are very thick or there are hidden rooms, because it feels like a very small sanctuary inside.
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| View of the ceiling in the sanctuary |
Castle Peles in the Carpathian Mountains, near Sinaia
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| Castle Peles |
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| The walk path leading up to the Castle Peles |
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| Souvenir vendors lining the walk path |
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| Souvenirs include many Dracula memorabilia |
Actually following up on Romanian folklore and specifically the story of Prince Vlad Tepes' Bran Castle was the reason we wanted to do the castle tour.
Vlad Tepes (1428-1476) was the Prince of Wallachia, and he had succeeded his father as Prince Vlad III. Because of his legendary cruelty for impaling his captives, he became the inspiration for
Bram Stoker's character of the undead and blood-sucking Count Dracula.  |
| Prince Vlad Tepes a.k.a. Count Dracula, from a woodcut. |
Castle Peles is 130km or 2+ hours north of Bucharest. For tourists, there were many castles reputed to be associated with Prince Vlad a.k.a. Count Dracula, but one, Bran Castle was where it was reliably recorded that he had been imprisoned for a short time. Bran is in Transylvannia, so we were about 30-40km away. Unfortunately we did not make it to Bran Castle which was another 50km or 1+ hour away from Peles. Its a winding road through the mountains.
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| Photo of Bran Castle (courtesy of Google) |
Check this link for
Bran Castle's story in perspective.
Instead we had leisurely late lunch at Sinaia and then hurried back to Bucharest for dinner at Le Bistrot Francais. But we did get "close and personal" with the Count in Budapest, the Lybrinth between Buda Castle and Matthias Church...so read on...!
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| View of the Castle as we walked up. The leafy surroundings is very characteristic of the whole gothic horror theme. |
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| The gardens |
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| Front of castle with statue of King Carol I, who built the castle. |
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| View of higher floors from reception hall. Note the mock confessionals on top left corner. |
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| There are windows at the top of the reception hall which had to be opened in summer to improve the air flow in the building. |
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| The King was a avid collector of weaponry including Japanese and Chinese bows, and I noted a Nepali kukri on the wall.... |
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| This set of armour reportedly weighs 100 pounds |
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| This room was inspired by the moorish Ahlambra in Granada, for which it was named. It was the room for the ladies to retire and chat after dinner. The men's lounge is next to it. |
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| The castle has many large mirrors which makes the place look larger. Photo of self in one such mirror. All visitors must wear blue plastic covers over their shoes to protect the castle's extensive carpet layouts. |
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Last look at the castle as we walked down the hill
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Our hotel in Bucharest, Romania
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| Grand Hotel Continental in Bucharest |
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| Hotel lobby |
Our hotel is a grand old hotel. The deco, lights and ornate furnishings gives a sense of old world charm.
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| The sky reflected off the next door hotel Novotel. |
Next to the Grand Hotel Continental, the Novotel Hotel has an old building fascade fronting that was "accidentally" demolished and it took years of negotiations, before the final solution was found to rebuilt it and blend into the modern glass architecture. The demolished theater front now forms the front of the new glass hotel behind it. A nice blend of new and "old".
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| Street of restaurants in Old Town |
Taking a break at Paul's, Bucharest
We had 3 breakfast days at this Paul's shop near our hotel.
Chef Foa "Home Dining", Bucharest
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| Chef Florin Scripea aka Chef Foa at work |
Chef Foa, Executive Chef of Flavours, is a famous celebrity chef in Romania. He appeared for many seasons in the culinary TV program, MasterChef in Romania. Our hosts managed to convince Chef Foa to cook for us this Tuesday night. It was a real treat for us.
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| Appetizers of goat cheese on scones |
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| Big serving of smoked salmon waiting to be "carved." |
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| Spices on the kitchen top |
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| "Spring rolls" with Greek tikka yoghurt |
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| The smoked salmon served with olive oil and vegetables |
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| Bread baked with beer, with olive oil and salt options |
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| Duck confit served with Zuchini pasta with foie gras. |
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| The Chef's table |
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| Chef Foa with a Fan |
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| Strawberries with Italian biscuit and cream |
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| The Chef's "tools" |
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| Chef Foa explaining the use of each piece of equipment |
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| The Red - cabernet franc with merlot |
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| The dessert wine - late harvest of blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonay |
Le Bistrot Francais, Bucharest
Cristian Preotu is the owner and manager of the Le Bistrot Francais Restaurant, a fine dining French style restaurant @ Street Episcopiel, in Bucharest. The restaurant has a fine collection of wines from the best wine producers, and has been recognised by The Wine Spectator's Excellence Award 2016.
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| Front of Le Bistrot Francais |
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| Cristian, the entrepreneur-owner of Le Bistrot Francais |
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| Iberico with peppers |
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| Davino, rated one of the best reds produced in Romania |
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| Fish carpaccio |
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| Veal carpaccio |
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| Romanian white 2013 |
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| Three cuts of beef - Angus beef from Uruguay, Normandy beef steak and Wagyu Gold Label rib steak from Australia |
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| My three cuts of beef from above selection |
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| Hungarian Tokaji 2007 |
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| A 2007 barolo |
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| Dessert of orange supreme, passion fruit mousse grapefruit. |
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| Le Bistrot is restaurant with best wine offerings Excellence award for 2016. |
After the Tokaji and desserts, our hosts shared his collection of whiskies, armagnac and after dinner appertiffs with us...
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| Whisky discontinued in 1989, and Kavalan whisky |
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| Armagnac 1945 and Calvados 1968 |
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| Poire from Burgundy |
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| Great company, food and wines! |
The restaurant serves the best food in French style we have savoured for a while. Listening to Cristian, who has been in the F&B for 10 years and the fact that he's already the agent for many of the fine food brands into Romania, the man and his restaurants is definitely going to very exciting to watch! Cristian is the agent for top Bordeaux wine, Petrus, in Romania.
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| Richard who hosted us with his wife Laura in Bucharest in 2016, visited us and we had dinner together at a seafood restaurant in East Coast on 26 Jan 2018. With Richard is Cristina from his office. |
Kuib restaurant, Sinaia
On our way back from the tour of the former royal Castle Peles, we caught lunch at nearby restaurant in Sinaia - Strada Garbovei 10C. We were informed by our host that Kuib is one of her favorite lunch places during the winter months, when she comes up to Sinaia to ski, with family and friends.
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| Patio seating...we sat inside the restaurant |
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| Inside the restaurant |
Because it was about 3.30pm and we were expecting a huge gourmet dinner at 8pm, we all wanted a light lunch here. So other than sharing some traditional Romanian fare everyone ordered a soup.....
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| Traditional Kuib specialities |
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| Polanta - baked maize flour with cheese |
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| Condiments of green peppers, garlic water and sour cream |
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| Noodle soup |
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| Beef soup |
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| Tripes soup |
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| Vegetable soup |
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| See the tripes |
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| Chewing on the green chilly or peppers as they call it |
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| Traditional dessert of fried doughnuts with cream and jams |
Lunch at Cucina @ JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel
We were again looking forward to a light lunch as dinner was expected to be another big event.
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| Beef carpaccio |
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| Tomato salad |
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| Minestrone soup |
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| Brushetta |
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| Buratta with parma ham |
La Crimi si Sfinti restaurant, Bucharest
The restaurant was booked by BY's Romanian friend for us. It serves very earthy country food which went very well with our ravishing appetites. We had shared 3 starters and 3 main course. Good value for money restaurant with great service and ambience. English is spoken by the serving staff and ordering what we wanted was not a problem at all.
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| La Crimi si Sfiniti |
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| Flying Pigs |
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| Wall decorations made from Lego |
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| "God Help Us" Meatballs |
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| Transylvania Mushroom soup |
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| Fifi wine from the owner's vineyard |
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| Cabbage roll with minced lamb |
This is a popular Romanian dish. Sarmale or Sarmulate is cabbage rolls, stuffed with spiced pork and rice, and very tasty.
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| The musicians belting out their serenades to the ladies. |
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| The waitress dressed in Romanian country dress |
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| Sausages with sauerkraut and pepper corn. |
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| Byzantine Moussaka |
The moussaka is like lasagna eggplant but lots more bite of minced veal. Very tantalising.
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| Pike Roe Spread |
The spread was very crisp spongy bites into the egg roe. Goes very well with the lightly toasted bread.
Our next destination was Budapest. The Tarom flight took 1.5 hours by propellor plane....
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| View of propellor.... |
Romania had been the top holiday destination on my bucket list for the longest time. It's a bit off the beaten track in my mind. I always wanted to visit this land of gypsies, romantic-gothic castles nestled in heavily secluded & wooded hills, folklore, vampires and, of Count Dracula! It's been a great holiday and though we only scratch the surface of the things to do in Romania, this is one holiday that I will find it hard to forget.
Budapest, Capital of Hungary
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| Hungary coat of arms - Courtesy of Google |
Budapest in the capital city of Hungary, which was known as the Land of the Magyars in ancient times. Budapest is bisected by The Danube, and is connected by the Chain Bridge. The funicular runs up Castle Hill to the old town on Buda side.
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| The funicular tower has emblazoned on it the Coat of arms of the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown (1896-1915) |
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| The funicular station near the Chain Bridge |
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| The Chain Bridge linking the ancient Buda side with the Pest side. |
Buda Castle, built in the mid-1200s, was the residence of the kings of Hungary. When Hungary fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1526, and upon many unsuccessful attempts to recapture by the Habsburg armies, most parts of the original medieval castle was destroyed. Buda Castle (of what's left) was recaptured by the allied Christian forces in 1686, but it was not until the 18th century that the new Baroque-style castle was rebuilt.
Buda Castle was under seige at least 31 times, was destroyed and rebuilt many times. The first castle (location not certain) was built shortly after the Mongols invaders left around 1242.
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| Buda Castle in 1700s |
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| Equestrian statue of Prince Eugene of Savoy |
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| Panaromic view of the Danube river and parliament houses from Buda Castle's terrace where Savoy's statue is situated. |
Hungarian National Gallery (Magyar Nemzeti Galeria)
We visited the National Gallery situated on top of the hill,
in Buda Castle. These are some of the art pieces highlighted here to give a flavour of the extensive collection of quality art pieces...
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| Benczur Gyula, 1896 - "The Recapture of Buda Castle in 1686" |
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| Wagner Sandor, 1859 - "The Self-Sacrifice of Titusz Dugovics in the Battle of Belgrade in 1456" |
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| Peter Krafft 1823 - "Ferenc crowned king of Hungaryin Buda, 1792" |
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| Peter Krafft, 1825 - "Zrinyi sallying forth from Szigetvar" |
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| Csok Istvan, 1961 - "Orphans, 1891". I like this piece because the artist had skillfully used lighting to play off the images. |
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| St. Nicholas from Szlatvin, 1489-1490 |
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| The high altar (ca.1490-1516) formerly in the parish church of St John the Baptist in Kisszeben. Madonna with St John on her right and St Peter on her left. |
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| Pablo Picasso - his wife Olga Hohlovaval, Paris 1923 oil on canvas. There was a special Picasso exhibition at the Museum. |
Matthias Church, Budapest
The Church of Our Lady of Buda (Matthias Church) is a Roman Catholic church located in Budapest, Hungary. It was originally built in 1015 but nothing of it now exist. The current building we see was constructed in the second half of 14th Century, and restored in late 19th Century. Its located in Trinity Square.
The church was named after (the great) King Matthias Corvinus (1443 - 1490) who ordered the restoration, in the 19th Century.
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| The beautifully crafted curved ceiling |
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| Stained glass windows |
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| Visitors leaving the cathedral and walking towards Fisherman's Bastion. |
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| Equestrian statue of St.Stephen, the first Hungarian king. |
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| Brass model of the Matthias Church and Fisherman's Bastion |
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| Manhole cover decorated with the Budapest crest. |
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| Outside fascade of the Mathias Church |
Dracula's Prison
We were looking for Prince Vlad Tepes (1428-1476) castle in Romania but didn't get time to go to its most famous "residence" ie. Bran Castle. Then when walking around old town, we came across The Lybrinth (also referred to as the Buda Castle Lybrinth) which on closer look, was Prince Vlad's "residence" or prison, under King Matthias Corvinus (1443-1490) in Budapest!
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| Street view of the entrance into the Labyrinth |
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| Explanation note how Vlad Tepes aka Dracula was imprisoned in the Labyrinth by King Mathias. |
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| Steep stone stairs down into The Lybrinth |
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| "Look of terror" coming from the dungeon below |
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| Deep dungeons |
Vlad Tepes was imprisoned by King Matthias Corvinus from 1462-1475. During which time, he met and married his second wife Ilona Szilagy (c.1455-1497), King Matthias' cousin. He became the ruler of Wallachia for 3rd time from Nov-Dec 1476 when he was killed by his enemies.
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| St. Stephen's Basilica |
St Stephen's Basilica is a Roman Catholic basilica is named after the first King of Hungary.
Our hotel in Budapest, Hungary |
| Our hotel in Budapest - Carlton Hotel. Its in the Buda side of Budapest, and next to the funicular near the Chain Bridge. |
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| Our taxi leaving the hotel for Prague |
Onyx restaurant, Budapest
Onyx is a one-star Michellin restaurant chef by Tomas Szell and Szabina Szullo.. It is located round the corner from Baraka restaurant, both on the Pest side of the city. We chose the 8-course degustation menu.
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| Welcome bites! |
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| Selection of breads. The squid ink bread was deliciously unique and interesting! |
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| Pogacsa, potatoes and cream - our pre-starter |
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| Pre-starters |
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| The white 2011 |
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| Selection of butters. The one on top right is butter cottage cheese with pumpkin seed oil |
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| Asparagus, chervil, elderflower |
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| Sturgeon caviar, cucumber, dill |
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| The red 2007 |
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| The sommerlier preparing the red |
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| Lamb, kale, paprika |
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| Trout, wild garlic, horseradish |
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| Goulash soup |
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| Beef Goulash entered by Chef Tomas into competition by Bocuse d'Or Lyon in 2013. |
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| Venison, celery, apple, black pudding |
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| another palate changer... |
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| Chamomile, pear, thyme |
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| Violet, pine, blueberry |
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| Selection of chocolates |
Onyx is a great culinary experience, and we are wowed by the chefs' creation - both in tastes and presentation.
Baraka restaurant, Budapest
We read about Baraka restaurant from Trip Advisor, and it proved to be a good choice. The service was impeccable and the food exquisite. The owners Leora and David Seboek were present and chatting at all tables.
David is the baker and Leora's passion for interior design shows out in the whole restaurant furnishing and its wall designs. Compliments to Chef Biro for creating interesting flavours that fuse the both east and west aromas and tastes. The head sommerlier Zsolt Bartalics was on hand to recommend nice inexpensive wines for any tastes. In our case we had a Burgundy like pinot noir from Hungary...and it was only SGD50++.
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| The beautifully painted walls leading to the dining area. The entrance has a bar and a lounge. |
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| Beef tartar |
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| Duck breast |
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| The base for the soup |
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| Add soup for the celeriac soup |
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| Scallop tataki |
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| Sake salmon |
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| Duck breast |
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| Aubergine curry |
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| Shrimp roasted |
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| Petreny Pinot Noir 2009 |
We hired a Mercedes Vito to take us from Budapest into Prague.
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| Passing through Slovakia on way to Prague. |
It was a 4.5 hour ride and had to pass through Slovakia.
Prague, Capital of (Bohemia) the Czech Republic
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| Czech coat of arms - Courtesy of Google |
The last city in our tour of Eastern European cities is Prague. Prague was also the Capital of historical Bohemia. The King of Bohemia ruled as Dukes of Bohemia since 870 and from 1004 to 1806 a part of the
Holy Roman Empire.
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| In old town square. Background is a pretty docorated building common throughout the area. |
The Charles bridge
The Charles bridge (Karluv most) is a historic stone bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague. It connects the Prague Castle and the city's old town. The bridge is 621 meters long and 10 meters wide. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV and finished in the beginning o the 15th century.
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| Charles Bridge - view from the north |
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| The iron name plate of Charles bridge |
There are 30 statues mounted to the balustrade of Charles bridge. We saw 2 statues that have been removed because of damage, that of St.Vincent & St.Procope, and that of St.Francis Borgia, and the notice says that their copies will be installed in place by 2017.
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| The bridge tower on the Prague Castle side. |
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| "St. Vitus" is portrayed standing on base in the shape of cave, from which lions crawl up. St Vitus is depicted as a Roman aristocrat, martyred for his faith. Duke Wenceslas acquired a number of his relics to honor the founding of St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle. Courtesy of Google. |
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| "St. Kosma and St. Damian"- twins had medical skills, which they used when christianising pagans. Both saints died together by martyrdom and they became patrons of doctors and pharmacists. The statue shows them standing by Christ, wearing university gowns and holding a martyr's branch and a drug pot. Courtesy of Google. |
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| "Saints John of Matha, Felix of Valois, and Ivan" - featuring two founders of the Trinitarians, the order that supervised buying back and redeeming of Christians in captivity under Turks. St. Ivan, the saint patron of SLavs was added to the group. The base depicts a cave in which three chained Christians are praying to the Lord for salvation. Courtesy of Google. |
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| "St. Cajetan"-the saint is one of the founders of the Order of Theatines, standing on a pedestal with an obelisk, which is covered with clouds and angel's heads and a pictures of the heart on its top. The obelisk is the symbol of Saint Trinity. Courtesy of Google. |
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| South side of the bridge |
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| "Saints Norbert, Wenceslaus and Sigismund"-the Gothic Revival pedestal carries the standing figures of three saints-the Czech national patrons. St.Norbert, the founder of the Premonstratensian Order and the archbishop of Magdeburg (middle), St.Wenceslas (left), and St.Sigismond (right). Courtesy of Google. |
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| "St. Cyril and St. Method"- the brothers from Thessalonica, the Apostles of the Slavs, who came to Moravia in the 9th century to preach the gospel about the Christ; they baptized the pagan Czechs and Slovaks. Courtesy of Google. |
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| "The Cruxifix and Calvary" |
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| "St.Thomas Aquinas and St.Dominque" - In the centre of the statue is the statue of Madonna with Little Jesus giving the prayer beads to St.Dominque, the founder of the Dominican Order, who kneels on the left part of the pedestal among the emblems of his dignity. St.Thomas stands, the most important of the Order just after its founder, the famous philospher and creator the scholastic philosophy. Courtesy of Google. |
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| "St.John the Baptist"- shown as a preacher with a golden cross and a font from a shell on his side. The spot signify the place where St.John of Nepomuk was reputedly thrown down into the Vltava river. The event happened in March 30, 1393 at King Wenceslas IV's bidding, because the saint, who was a General Vicar of the Prague Archbishopric the confessor of his wife, Queen Sophia, refused to tell him her confessional secrets. Courtesy of Google. |
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| South side of the bridge at back |
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| Wooden ramps in river to prevent vessels from damaging the bridge |
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| The old town bridge tower is considered the be "one of the most astonishing civil gothic style buildings in the world". Courtesy of Google. |
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| Ice cream pastry shop below the bridge on Prague Castle side. |
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| Rolling the krusta over hot stove. |
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| After braving the heat of Charles bridge, we tucked into Ice Cream Krustas! |
Walking tours of Prague - the Old Town Sqaure & vicinity
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| We took the Yellow Umbrella tour for the old town. Our guide was Joshua (yellow T-shirt). It was a 2.5 hour walking tour. |
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| The Astronomical Clock |
The clock tower is in the old town square. It was built by clockmaker and a professor of mathematics and astronomy at Charles University. It was commissioned by the Prague Councillors to attract visitors to the town, and must have worked very well! Believed to be built in 1490 that makes it the oldest working astronomical clock in the world. Same as the story for the clock in St Mark's Square in Venice, the clock maker was blinded and so that he could not repeat his work. For the Prague clock, the maker when threatened to be blinded or killed, disable the clock by throwing his body into its gears. It was only repaired in 1552 by master clockmaker Jan Taborsky. The clock tells when to harvest, plant etc.
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| The Church of our Lady before Tyn |
The right tower of the church (see above) is larger than the left tower. This was because the towers were built many years apart, and the original plans were lost when they came round to build the second tour (left)...
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| Sanctuary of the Tyn church. |
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| The hidden (by rows of cafe) main door of the Tyn church. |
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| The oldest working Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter of Prague. It is the Old New Synagogue. |
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| St James' church is in front of Metamorphis Hotel and has some interesting stories. |
Joshua told us that there is a arm hanging by a chain in the church. The arm was that of a thief "caught" by the statue of the Virgin Mary in the church. When the thief was found the next day, and the church had a choice of cutting off the arm of the statue or of the thief..... Curiously our party went into St James to "look" for the arm relic, and we saw this....
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On the top right side after entering St James.....
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| Zooming in....there it is. The petrified forecarm of the thief??? |
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| Could this be the statue of Mary that "caught" the forecarm of the thief?? |
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| View of sanctuary from the main entrance |
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| Close up look at the main altar. There is a engraving or picture of Mary holding the limp body of Jesus Christ. |
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| The beautifully painted or carved ceiling of St James. |
Walking tour of Prague Castle, including St.Vitus Cathedral & Strahov Monastery
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| Our guide for the Prague Castle tour was Robb. It was 3-hour walking tour. |
Our tour with Robb started from Old Town. We walked from there to the foot of Prague Castle, where we boarded the tram up the hill. First stop was the Strahov Monastery, where we had a short bio-break before walking towards the hill with great view of the city....
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| On top of hill where the Monsatery is located. A great view of the city of Prague. |
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| The most important building at the Strahov Monastery - the Monastery Library containing hundereds of years of manucripts and old bibles. It used to contain the Devil's Bible but it was raided by the invading Swedish army and its now in Stockholm. |
Strahov Monastery was founded in 1140 by Duke Vladislav II and his wife Gertrude of Babenberg in the immediate vicinity of Prague Castle. It burned down during the Hussite Wars and was rebuilt in late 15th century.
Next stop was Prague Castle...
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| The two mythical Titans guarding the gates to Prague Castle. |
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| When passing through gate, looking up will appear that we are being "stabbed and killed". |
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| The main gate of the Prague Castle. It was the changing of the Guard. |
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| The Matthias Gate - just after the main gate of the Castle. |
Robb pointed out that the gold inscription at the top had the word "ANO" for year, when it should have correctly been "ANNO". But "ANO" stands for "ARSE"!! Apparently King Matthias offended the architect and builders by not paying them for cost overruns and threaten them with execution if the gate was not completed on time.....
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| Inside the Prague Castle, and its grandest occupant is the St Vitus Cathedral. |
The construction of the Cathedral started in 1340s (preceded the construction of Charles Bridge which was 1357). Sadly because of wars and many other problems, the Cathedral was not fully finished till 1928! Because the construction took 7 centuries, the original plans were lost and or changed, and when the Cathedral was finally finished in 1928, the modern architects and builders left their mark on it.....
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| Notice the images of the architects and builders in modern-day jacket and ties on both corners.. |
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| The sanctuary of St.Vitus Cathedral. St.Vitus is one of the saints honoured on the Charles bridge. |
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| The painted walls outside the Cathedral - notice anything strange about the fresco? |
The left fresco is shows Christ raising the dead into Heaven and the right fresco shows sinners being dragged into Hell. The middle fresco shows the King and Queen, and a figure of Christ above them. What is strange is that Christ is represented bare-bodied, very muscular, with six-packs...!
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| The port side view of St.Vitus Cathedral - notice the different tones of the sandstone? |
Because the Cathedral took 700 years to complete, and the earlier construction of the back (on the right) is much darker (black) then the side and front. The construction starts from the back to the front. This is because the older stones absorbed impurities from the environment and naturally darkens...so in order not to have too much of a difference in color tones, the lighter sandstone of the front were lightly painted to look darker!
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| The end of the Prague Castle tour. |
Strolling on our own in Old Town Square & vicinity
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| St. Nicholas Church (see later) and Jan Hus Memorial in the background. Jan Hus was clergyman who made the church accessible to speakers of Czech and German instead of just Latin. He was burnt as a heretic by his enemies in the Church. |
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| Baby-a-crying...for tips! |
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| Musicians-a-playing.. |
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| The old town square is always bustling with activities, and crowded with people... |
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| St. Nicholas Church - Czechoslovak Hussite Church |
The church has poster inside which stated: "When the Church of Rome found itself in deep crisis in the 15th century, the priest and rector of Charles University in Prague, Jan Hus, made a radical attempt to implement a reform of the church and of society on the basis of the message of the Bible. His ideas were taken up by a broadly based movement in the Czech lands, known as the Hussite movement."
The posters continued on the Hussite point of ideology, which were "declared as:
1. to be able to preach God's Word freely
2. to enable the communion of bread and calyx from the Lord's Supper to all
3. the priests and monks should not govern worldly fortune
4. the punishment by public authorities should apply for everyone."
Seems simple and straight-forward enough, but perhaps things were very different then....as Jan Hus was matyred and his huge memorial is now in old town square.
The
Hussite Movement was seen as the forerunner of the Reformation Movement which came later. Essentially the Hussites broke the church away from Papal control, and since this was a big thing in those days, many wars were fought by churchmen, princes and kings. Many contemporary Christian churches today should recognize the important role the Hussites played in the theology, form and manner of Christian worship we have today.
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| A choir practice was going on and so we could not move round the inside of the church., so I took notes of the posters explaining the history of the church and the Hussite movement - narrated above. |
Personally this is the first time I have heard of the Hussites.
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| Cool way to move around the old town |
Our hotel in Prague - near the old town square
Hotel Metamorphis is located in Ungelt Court, a UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The hotel is part of "the historically significant area of the original fortification Ungelt - Tyn Court, which was used to protect merchants and their goods. The history of this area dates back to the 9th century." (Courtesy of the Metamorphis website).
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| Metamorphis Hotel |
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| Our room window - double windows! |
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| Beautifully painted ceiling in our room |
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| Our very spacious suite |
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| The wall outside our room - crucifix and statue of a saint. |
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| Breakfast (at basement) in Vebene restaurant. This building is one of the oldest on Ungelt Square. |
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| Stairs down to "dungeons" where they now serve our hotel breakfast. |
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| The "dungeon" goes two floors underground. |
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| Preacher's platform or pulpit in the "dungeon". |
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| Underground passage |
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| The restaurant area |
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| The stairs landing at the "dungeon"-level. |
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| The double-headed eagle inspired from the defunct Holy Roman Empire, on the Austria-Hungary coat of arms. Common till 1915. This emblem was on top wall of shop in Ungelt Square. |
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| View of Ungelt Square from Metamorphis Hotel (on St. James Church side). Heading towards Tyn Church. |
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| View of Ungelt Square toward Metamorphis Hotel and Vebene restaurant. |
Grand Cafe Orient, Prague
We had a quick brunch at this historic cafe, one of the must-do's in Prague, from TripAdvisor. We had a club sandwich and a salad with tomatoes and burrata.
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| The very friendly and "cheeky" service |
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| Cafe is located in the 1st floor of the House of Black Madonna. The buldling is designed in unique Czech Cubism interior |
La Degustation Boheme Bourgeoise, Prague
La Degustation is a one-star Michellin restaurant in Prague. Its a stone's throw from the Old Town Square on the St Nicholas church corner. The food is very interesting with some unique tastes. We chose the 6-course degustation menu.
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| Rabbit ears, cream and crackers |
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| Lettuce smeared with cream |
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| Tuscan red - Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Reserva 2007 |
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| Zucchini, caraway seeds, rhubarb |
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| Trout, almonds, parsley root |
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| Forest mushrooms, vinegar, thyme |
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| Catfish, yeast, kohirabi |
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| Duck, cherries, liquorice |
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| Celery root, summer truffle, mushrooms |
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| Yogurt, butter, sour cherries, with syrup |
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| Assortment of dessert fruits |
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| A Czech dessert treat - Juju, its like mushmallow. |
Pasta Fresca, Prague
This recommended Italian restaurant is located Celestna 11, near the Estates Theatre where we were booked to see Don Giovanni at 8pm.
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| Montipulciano d'Abruzzo 2015 |
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| Beef carpaccio |
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| Calamari |
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| Lobster pasta |
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| Tomatoes and prawns pasta |
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| ...with cheese flakes |
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| Mushrooms with spinach tagliatelle |
Pivnice Stupartska or Restaurace Stupartska, Prague
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| The recommended Beer and Pigs' trotters restaurant. |
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| The slightly "chipped" pork knee.... |
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| ...and the beer. |
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| ..the thirsty folks! |
La Rotonde (in Hotel Radisson Blu), Prague
The La Rotonde is chef by the same team that manages a one-star Michellin restaurent in same hotel, Alcron restaurant. We had dinner before our last night's show at the Black Lights Theatre.
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| La Rotonde entrance panel in Hotel Radisson Blu |
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| The sommerlier |
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| Beef goulash before the soup |
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| Beef goulash |
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| Lobster bisque before the cream soup |
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| Lobster bisque! |
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| Stewed beef before the red wine sauce |
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| Seared scallops |
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| Tomatoes and yogurt - accompanying the veal schnitzel |
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| Veal schnitzel |
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| Spaghetti |
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| Svickova |
Our recommendations
We had the privilege of trying out many good restaurants in the three cities, notably,
Onyx and
Baraka in Bucharest,
Le Degustation, Pasta Fresca and
tea at the
Grand Cafe Orient in Prague,
and treated to interesting cuisines in
Le Bistrot Francais, celebrity Chef Foa, traditional Romanian food at
La Crimi si Sfiniti in Bucharest, and
Kuib restaurant in the mountains of Sanaia.
Two were one-star Michellin restaurants but some of the others were so good that they should earn their stars soon too! Congratulations to all!
All said and done, it was a great holiday and highly recommended for those who want maximum value for their dollars!
Night at the Opera - "Don Giovanni"
Mozart composed "The Opera of Operas" Don Giovanni especially for Prague, where he personally conducted its world premiere in 1787 at the Estates Theater (Stavovske Theater). We were in Prague and the opera was showing....we had to see it.
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| The publicity bill for Don Giovanni |
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| During the interval we changed our box seats to the stalls for more comfort?! |
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| The cast taking their bows as the close of the Opera. |
Being in the same theater where Mozart conducted the opera Don Giovanni >200 years ago, the atmosphere was electric!!
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| Statue of the "Ghost" from the opera Don Giovanni, situated in front The Estates Theatre or Stavovske divadlo.. |
Black Light Theater, Prague
We also caught a black light theater show with "Alice in Wonderland" theme. It was all a creative play of lights with actors and actress (Alice) and no dialogue.
How we got around..?
Frankfurt was our connecting point in and out of Europe. We had taken a Luftansa flight into Bucharest, and when we had to leave, we flew to Budapest. The Tarom flight took 1.5 hours. From Budapest we hired a Mercedes van to Prague.
We hired another Mercedes van to take us, in comfort, from Prague to Frankfurt. It was a 5.5 hour drive. There were much road works along the highways, so time needs to be budgeted for some traffic jams. But the door-to-door road transport beats flying in this case.
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