Something's sweet in the air at Choco Cafe, Prague. Dec 18, 2011

I can’t remember where I read about this little cafe in Prague, but it only took a few second, and I was determined that I *must* pay a visit. Choco Cafe, I doubt there’s any other names that can be more fitting. Located on a street called Liliova (which sounds pretty cute by the way), I arrived on a sunny Sunday morning after strolling around a market nearby. My hands were freezing and I couldn’t wait to get in and have a taste of their finest creation: Hot Chocolate.

Once I walked in, I loved this place right away for its coziness with the charm of a dainty antique store. I immediately noticed a few old kitchen utensils displayed on some shelves. There were comfy couches around the place upholstered in different patterns and chairs in different styles. I don’t know if this makes any sense, but he mix of unmatched style gave off a “personal” vibe: as if they were all collected by someone piece by piece from different points in his life.

Soaked up the coziness, it felt very homey to me. Choco Cafe, Prague. Dec 18, 2011.

Old postcards on the wall. Quite a lot of them had German written on. Choco Cafe, Prague. Dec 18, 2011.

The theme of “collection” and “memory” continued throughout the wall, with lots of framed old postcards. Being a postcard lover myself, I’m in love with such decoration! None of them were photographs taken from a tourist spot, they were all in those old hand painted style. I wonder if they were actually postcards that the cafe owner’s family received decades ago.

They have lots of options on the menu. I ordered a chocolate with pieces of fresh strawberry and bananas at the bottom. It was deviliciously thick with intense flavor of chocolate. With the whipped cream of top, I could die right there! This place was perfect to read a book, catch up with friends, people watching, or brag about it to your friends by twitting it live surf around the internet mindlessly with their free wi-fi.

If you’re not satisfied with just a single shot of those evil hot chocolate. You can order some cake and other light snack they offer. Of course, you can also purchase some chocolate and take it home with you! Although, I must point out that I only found chocolate bars imported from foreign countries such as Italy and Colombia. I wish they only offer more chocolate that were produced within the Czech Republic.

A little heaven inside this little cup. Choco Cafe, Prague. Dec 18, 2011.

Lots of interesting flavor can be purchased here! Choco Cafe, Prague. Dec 18, 2011.

The entrance of my heaven: Choco Cafe, Prague. Dec 18, 2011.

Choco Cafe
Liliová 4/250, Praha 1

Lovely cobblestone street.

I could walk around these narrow streets all day long.

A square at the town of Kutna Hora. Don't buy the city map at the train station, you can get one for free at the tourist office right around this square.

The house has eyes.

The sun was about to set, and it gives a warm glow on the clouds. Great contrast with the dark skyline.

This area was right by the cliff and led me to the St Barbara's Church.

I just thought this corner was adorable!

The train that connect the Kutna Hora mesto to the Kutna Hora hl.n. Right, just one cart.

Related post in Kutna Hora:

Human Bones as Decoration at Sedlec Ossuary

The Czech made coins at an Italian Court

St Barbara’s Church at Kutna Hora

This was the only place I could shot the St Barbara's Church sitting on a high ground. Kutna Hora. Dec 17, 2011.

St Barbara’s Church situated on the south-western edge of the town of Kutna Hora, perching on a little cliff looking down to the world. I had some time left, so I decided to walk up there and see this biggest gothic church in town. It was a nice pleasant walk, navigating the old cobblestone streets on a gentle slope. Loved the fresh air here. So calming and peaceful, it was quite hard to imagine this place was a busy town few hundreds years ago. Besides passing through some restaurants and vintage boutiques, some section of the path offered a wonderful view of the town from far.

Looking back, I could see the Italian Court next to the church. Kutna Hora. Dec 1, 2011.

Approaching the St Barbara's Church. Kutna Hora. Dec 17, 2011.

To get to this church with 3 interesting tent-like spires, one must walk over the above passage with some statues on. I rarely saw such spire roofs on a church, so to me, it was like seeing a castle for the first time in my life! Here’s a bit of story about the patron saint here, St Barbara, who was born somewhere in the Roman Empire to a very rich pagan. Then Barbara decided she wanted to be Christian. Her dad found out, got mad and killed her. Apparently God wasn’t happy with how the story ended, so a lightning struck and killed the father. Since then, for the association with lightning, she became the patron saint of those who worked with explosives. Perfect choice for a silver mining town such as Kutna Hora.

The altarpiece at St Barbara's Church. Kutna Hora. Dec 17, 2011.

In 14th century, during Kutna Hora’s heyday, the mining communities decided to build a grand cathedral in order to get more independence from the the cistercian monastery in Sedlec. The original plan for the cathedral was twice the size of what we saw today. Construction work was interrupted for 60 years in 15th century because of war, and eventually stopped in 16th century as the town ran out of silver. They only put up a provisional wall and sorta leave it like that, and there wasn’t even a roof. As the church didn’t have a roof, prayers and meeting gone underground when the weather was bad. Finally someone took charge , modified the structure’s plan, put up a roof and finished up the work. This was probably why i thought the church looked like as if someone took a bite of it, and the fresco on the vault looked like missing a few spots.

The vault of the St Barbara's Church. Kutna Hora. Dec 17, 2011.

They said that there are some very strange subjects were being painted up the vault, and even a sculpture of a monkey with an orange on a pillar. Unfortunately, without a binocular, I couldn’t spot them. However the fresco on the wall and the stained glass window could be admired without problem. I loved how this church was dedicated to this town, with imagery related to the town and its people. It was so easy to notice the distinctive roof of St Barbara’s Church on one of the stained glass. Seriously, how often can you recognize anything from a stained glass window?

Stained glass window with the Church at the background. Kutna Hora. Dec 17, 2011.

Fresco of the coin makers.St Barbara's Church. Kutna Hora. Dec 17, 2011.

I also was delighted to see a depiction of the town’s silver mining activity as well as the process of coin minting painted on the wall. It did show one person holding the mold while the coin maker was hammering, just like the tour guide told me at the Italian Court.

Details on the outside of St Barbara's Church. Kutna Hora. Dec 17, 2011.

A statue on the passage with the backdrop of the town. Kutna Hora. Dec 17, 2011.

Filed under: Czech Repblic ]]> http://trippykath.wordpress.com/2012/01/29/718/feed/ 3 kath IMG_4291 IMG_4306 IMG_4296 IMG_4312 IMAG2839 IMG_4316 IMG_4316 IMG_4322 IMG_4330 IMG_4302 http://trippykath.wordpress.com/2012/01/28/the-czech-made-coins-at-an-italian-court/ http://trippykath.wordpress.com/2012/01/28/the-czech-made-coins-at-an-italian-court/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:02:24 +0000 Katharine http://trippykath.wordpress.com/?p=688 ]]>

The courtyard of the Italian Court at Kutna Hora. Dec 17, 2011.

In the Central Bohemia Region lies a once very wealthy medieval town called Kutna Hora. Since they discovered silver deposits during the 13th century, this town established its wealth and prosperity through mining silver and minting coins. That was pretty much like getting rich by printing money. So the growing economy made it the second most important town at the time after Prague, both politically and culturally.

After visiting the unique bone church of Sedlec, I thought I could take a bus into the historic old town of Kutna Hora. However, the bus didn’t run as frequent as I thought. With no cabs insight, I followed the main road and walked for a little over half an hour. At first, it was just like some boring modern town, then it turned into some narrow cobblestone streets. Being in a town with such history, how could you not visit the Italian Court? It was the place where they manufactured their silver coins! I joined their English tour, which was the only option to see the inside of it. However it provided a lot of interesting history, and well worth it.

Waiting for the tour to begin at the other side of the courtyard at the Italian Court. Kutna Hora. Dec 17, 2011.

The Italian Court used to be a fortress guarding the trade route, a coin factory, a royal residence, a city hall, a hospital, a girls school and even a prison. If I remember correctly, it was named “italian” as they actually employed coin-making experts from Milan, in order to create the best quality of silver coins that the King desired. Therefore the first edition of coins contained high concentration of silver and they were proud of the great quality. However as the supply of silver decreased, they had to gradually lowered the silver concentration. (Probably from 90% down to 30%, if I remember it right.) At the beginning of the tour, I was in a room with all different edition of coins, comparing their design and quality.

The coin making process was shown with a mock demonstration. It was a very tough job, and the craftsman had to pounder the heavy hammer to make 2000 coins a day. However they were very well paid, as they get to keep a portion of what they made for the day as payment (I think it was 20 coins, when average wage was 5 coins a day). Since the workshop was so noisy, most of the craftsmen had bad hearing. There was a joke saying coin makers made very good husbands, as they were wealthy, physically strong and deaf, so the wives could yell at them all day long

Another interesting fact: When the craftsman do the hammering job, someone had to hold the mold in place underneath. Unsurprisingly, the one holding the mold could get his hands crushed easily. Therefore this job often fell onto prisoners. If they didn’t get injured for 3 years while working in the workshop, they took it as a sign of God’s clemency: the crime and sin of that prisoner would be pardoned. Hmmm would you risk it?

The accountant documenting the production process (I think), and the short King at the door. Italian Court, Kutna Hora. Dec 17, 2011.

The city hall, or at one time, a small parliament. It's lovely for a wedding too! Italian Court, Kutna Hora. Dec 17, 2011.

We have also visited the city hall section, which held weddings nowadays, as well as a small chapel with a lovely antique altarpiece. All in all, it was a very fun and informative tour, especially with such a passionate tour guide. Don’t hesitate to join this tour if you’re in town!

Decoration on the ceiling at the Sedlec Ossuary in Kutna Hora. Dec 17, 2011.

It was about 12 years ago, after dinner during a summer evening. I was watching a girl introducing a very unusual church in Czech Republic on an episode of Lonely Planet in the living room. It was a church with every decoration made out of human bones. I’ve seen a map made out of skulls in Cambodia, but that was for a painful political history. Nothing like this. In a holy house of God, scary human skulls were on display in plain sight? Since then this place has always been on my mind. Now, the dream of visiting this strange church I saw on TV came true. I jumped on a train in Prague and went on a day trip to a town called Kutna Hora.

The train ride was supposed to be an hour, but about 15 minutes before it reached my stop, it stopped. I wasn’t aware of what was happening, until another 15min had gone by, I started to think maybe my train just got broken down. I asked a passenger which confirmed my theory… Perfect, I wouldn’t be able to catch the connecting train and reach the church before it closes on lunch break. The train stopped in the outside of a town, and no English announcement what-so-ever. All I could do for this 45min of delay was to stare at this strange smiley face  painted on a cement block.

At the transfer station, there was an information center where a lady nicely printed out the time and the platform of the train I needed to catch. It was then a short 10 mins ride, but the train was very small, most of the people just stood in the corridor, holding on to the old hand rail by the window.

Arriving at the main station “Kutna Hora hl.n.”, I was greeted by a rusty station name plate. Everyone walked out of the station, and pretty much headed to the same direction. It was like a 15 mins walk to the area called Sedlec, and there was nothing interesting on the way. There were some closed shops, and some dusty looking restaurants. Lots of traffic though, so I think this is probably just an area connecting the other livelier towns. After a few turns, the roads gets more quiet and I finally arrived at this church that I’ve been thinking of for 12 years!

Entrance that lead you to the bones. The Sedlec Ossuary. Dec 17, 2011,

The story of the Sedlec Ossuary was that in 13 century, the head of the Sedlec Monastary brought some soil back from Jerusalem and scattered it around the cemetery, which makes the people to believe it turned this cemetery ground holy. Since then, it became a very desirable burial site. However it wasn’t until 1870, when a woodcarver was commissioned by the House of Schwarzenberg to turn all those human bones into artsy decoration. It said that all the bones on display was from 1870 onward.

It was just really really really strange to stand inside such a place. I’ve seen the catacomb in Paris, but this is in a bigger scale…just look at that bone chandelier! Even this place isn’t huge, but it had a lot more interesting arrangement. I was amazed by how on earth someone could come up with the thought that beautiful art piece could be made out of human bones. I believed you have to be a really creative person, to stare at a piece of human bone and think that it fit perfectly inside a coat of arm; or you must be quiet patient to look for that one piece that could be a candle holder.

Down the stairs, it was a different world in front of me. Sedlec Ossuary. Dec 17, 2011.

They really lit up candles here, and let the wax drips on the skulls. Must be a macabre sight at night. Sedlec Ossuary. Dec 17, 2011.

The coat of arm of the House of Schwarzenberg. Sedlec Ossuary. Dec 17, 2011.

At the center of the room was the impressive bone chandelier, in which you can find at least one of every bone of a human body. Sedlec Ossuary. Dec 17, 2011.

I spent half an hour just being lost in this strange dimension created over a century ago. It was not scary to be in here. The place was light filled, airy, and clean. It actually felt very peaceful here… maybe it’s the magical effect of the holy soil from Jerusalem.

At any other church, it would be a heavily carved marble vase here. Sedlec Ossuary. Dec 17, 2011.

The John Lennon Wall off the main street in Mala Strana in Prague. Dec 16, 2011

I was starving by the time I finished the long tour at the Prague Castle, and it was very late for lunch. However, I still didn’t want to just dine inside one of those places right below the castle, as I felt they were catering to tourists. I walked down the main street until I spotted the name of an Italian restaurant that was recommended by fellow travelers online. After some soup and lovely pasta, I took the city map out to see how to get back to the Old Town Square. Then I saw a place, not far from where I was, marked as the “John Lennon Wall”. So I decided to have a little detour to check this out.

The map wasn’t very detailed, as it was missing some alley ways and not clear around the residential area. So I found myself in the dead ends or private area a few times. However, it was quite nice to stroll around this neighborhood, as there were quite a few cafes and restaurants around that looked very nice. I’d love to try them out if I wasn’t already full. Then I saw a few small churches, and an English American Institution. At the corner window of the institution, they displayed a record of John Lennon. For me, that was the sign that I was on the right track.

Just imagine... and the song kept playing in my head. John Lennon Wall, Prague. Dec 16, 2011.

I was right, once I turned at the corner, I could see a bunch of people taking pictures at a wall. It was full of graffiti. Of course, one would find lots of things written on there were about love and peace. Since the 80s, this wall has been filled with Mr Lennon’s lyrics, idea and related graphics. It was also a place for the young generation to express their resentment against the communist regime of the time. The communist had tried to cover them up, but new graffiti would go back on the next day. Love, peace and freedom always won.

"All you need is love". John Lennon Wall, Prague. Dec 16, 2011.

Love is the theme across the wall. John Lennon Wall, Prague. Dec 16. 2011

I wasn’t sure if I had ever come across a wall of graffiti that such a meaningful message behind, and it was created with the effort of so many generation’s dream, hope and believe. I’m grateful to have seen this, and read some encouraging message from the wall. The sky was getting dark by now. It was calming to see this colourful stretch of wall, standing quietly under the dimmed yellow light from the lamp posts, while guarding everyone’s hopeful messages since decades ago.

There's a little jar of paint on the floor for everyone. I painted my first graffiti in my life, and left a little message on the wall too! I wondered if it has been covered yet. John Lennon Wall, Prague. Dec 16, 2011.

The cutest corner at the Prague Castle. Dec 16, 2011

The Golden Lane was a row of little houses lining up by the wall of the Prague Castle. The king decided to give this strip of land for the fusiliers, who guarded the fortification, to build houses there. Apparently, the king was a bit stingy, as there was clearly not enough space for all of them. Hence, they had to build tiny houses. Later, craftsmen, servants and alchemists have occupied the street as well. When I first read on the map I bought, it said that the Golden Lane was closed due to renovation But when I walked by the alley that led up to the Lane, I found people walking in and out. Turned out it was opened! Lesson learned: One can never trusts the leaflets too much.

Walking down the Golden Lane in Prague, can't help but to think that you may be in a different world. Dec 16, 2011.

It looked like a section of Disney Land built for real. It was quite strange to see that this was really how some people lived in the past (from 1597 up till the end of Second World War). All the houses were opened for visitors. Some were turned into gift shops, some were to illustrate the living situation of the 17th century, and some were preserved to look exactly like the time when famous residents lived here in a more recent history. There was also a long corridor that spread over on top of a few houses, I think it was where some guards do their patrol duty back then. It was so much fun to walk up and down the tiny narrow stairs inside the houses, or watching out to the door frames so to avoid bumping your head into them.

The basement in one of the house. I guess it was their kitchen? Prague. Dec 16, 2011.

Bed chamber, which has the atmosphere of a hunting lodge to me. Prague. Dec 16, 2011.

At house no.14 was the residence of  Madame de Thebes, a renowned fortune teller who was killed by the Nazi’s secret police as she foretold the death of Hitler, and the war would end with the Nazi being defeated. I was surprised that there weren’t any crystal balls in sight. It looked like a regular living room. By the way, this picture was taken at the entrance from the street. You can see how small some of this buildings are.

At the end of the Golden Lane, this small room display a costume of... I dunno guards? Prague. Dec 16, 2011.

By the way, for more historically accurate information, please google or wiki it.

I kept looking back to see the view while walking up the stairs that led me to the Prague Castle. Dec 17, 2011.

In order to reach the Prague castle fast, I took the metro to the station Malostanska. From there it was a short work to the castle area, before I faced with a looooong stairs which was decorated with iron lamps. It must be a romantic sight at night… The view on my way climbing up was lovely. Every step I made, I could see a little further out. By the time I reached the top, I was rewarded with a full panorama view of the Prague 1 area. It was fun to recognize some churches’s towers, glazing at the city while thinking of what’s happening in this piece of land. There were also lots of bridges, it wasn’t hard to understand why some would compare Prague to Paris. 

Most of the buildings at Mala Strana area directly below the castle have red roofs, which was an interesting contrast. Prague, Dec 17, 2011.

Then we walked through the gate with two uniformed guards on the side. There wasn’t much information around to tell me where to purchase tickets, and most of the doors were closed so I was a bit hesitated to walk into all those unknown buildings without a valid ticket. I walked passed buildings which I thought was part of the tour, but there were audio guide numbers on the outside, so I thought they must be the middle of the tour and I should get the ticket only at the starting point. At last, I found the ticket office with a small sign across the main entrance of the St Vitus Cathedral.

Love the golden details at the exterior of St. Vitus Cathedeal. Prague, Dec 17, 2011.

I bought the “Long Tour ticket”, with all the attractions I could entered listed on. Visitor can visit all the places according to their own schedule. Every point of interest would be marked off individually when you enter them. First, we walked into the gothic looking cathedral. Lots of pretty stained glasses, they were like a puzzles made up by millions of colourful pieces of glasses. The Czech style was a bit different that those I saw in other countries, these looked more like some moasic to me. For sure you cannot miss the stained glass window designed by Mucha! I do wish that it was in those fairytale looking illustration style, but this was still very pretty, and the colour distribution was very smart. The blue on the outer edge drew my attention inside to the center, it appears more unified as one single picture to me.

Stained glass window designer by Mucha on the north wall inside St Vitus Cathedral, Prague. Dec 17, 2011.

I just love this chapel with a different style.

The other stained glass window that caught my eyes were located inside a small chapel on the side, to which entrance was not permitted. This room had a very different decor, with golden elements on all sides. Some colourful stones made out interesting pattern as well. I could only snap a picture standing outside. The stained glasses in this chapel looked like some modern art without figures or bible stories. The colour was very muted and calming. I love this type of unusual stained glasses, and it reminded me of the ones at the Senanque Abbey in Provence, France.

It was refreshing to see a different kind of stained glass window. St Vitus Cathedral, Prague. Dec 17, 2011.

Around the corner behind the alter, I found lots of visitors taking pictures. It was the tomb monument of Saint John of Nepomuk in silver designed by Fishcher von Erlach. At first, I really thought it was the tomb of a Bohemian King, as the silver-gilts were so lavish and beautiful. It seems fit for a royalty.The drapes on the female figure looked like liquid silver, and there were lots of details on every objects there. I did a little research, Saint John Nepomuk was the confessor of the Queen of Bohemia and he refused to tell the secrets of the confessional. Therefore, he was drowned in the Vltava river at the behest of Wenceslaus, King of the Romans. On the night he died, it was said that there were 5 stars in the sky. Here on top of the statue of the saint, I saw 5 golden stars.

This silver tomb of St. John of Nepomuk was just so grand to look at. St Vitus Cathedral, Prague. Dec 17, 2011.

Love the drape on these ladies. Almost look like a silk dress blowing in the wind. Dec 17, 2011.

Christmas market at the Old Town Square lit up in Prague. Dec 16, 2011.

After seeing the Mucha Museum, we made our way back to the Old Town Square. This little walk actually became one of the reason for me to fall in love with this city. Prague was a very pretty town, full of old colourful little houses lining up the cobblestone streets; every corner you turn, it’s a different scene. However this city turned magical at night, especially around the time of Christmas when the streets were decorated with a warm glow of light.

Before I saw the tents, I could already hear the music. That night, they have some gypsy-ish music performance. Violin, drums with strong passionate rhythm, that’s exactly my cup of tea. Next to the stage, there was a huge blinking christmas tree. I do prefer christmas tree with candles, but this was actually quite nice and it fit in with the surrounding I think.

It didn’t take long for me to realize that the Christmas markets in Prague was a bit different, especially the food. Besides the usual suspect: sausages and hot wine, there were something else I didn’t see in Vienna. First, it was the Prague Ham which was fully cooked and smoked. It was sold by the weight, but they tended to slice more off than what you asked for. Then the mysterious Trdelnik caught my attention…

Trdnik being heated up at the Old Town Square in Prague. Dec 16, 2011.

There were lots of stand selling Trdelnik, I believe it must be very popular among the local. All the bakers(?) started from scratch by rolling out a dough and turn them into a long strip. Then they wrapped the strip around a wooden scroll, which will be then placed over the heat. When they were done, they would be dipped into cinnamon sugar for a final touch before handing it over to customers. It tasted a bit like donuts, but not as sugary.

For 35czk, a cup of warm honey wine was just perfect. You can find them in every market. Wenceslar Square, Prague. Dec 16, 2011.

Sorry, I had no food for you! Old Town Square, Prague. Dec 16, 2011.

There were also a little barn for the kids with sheep and a horse… Wait, was that a horse? actually I couldn’t really tell. However, it was very cute and very eager to play with the passer-by.

Lots of beautiful original prints of Mucha's posters lining up on the wall of Mucha Museum, Prague. Dec 16, 2011.

I don’t even know how to express the joy of seeing a Mucha lithograph up close. After I got off the train from Vienna, I checked in and grabbed a bite for lunch. Then I ran over to the Mucha Museum which was not far from my stay. This museum wasn’t huge, but it houses a great collection of Alphonse Mucha, a Czech Art Nouveau painter and decorative artist from around the turn of the century.

This place had the most primitive admission I’ve ever encountered: at the entrance of the exhibition, there was the ticket counter. After you paid, they gave you a hand written receipt as admission ticket. Basically a piece of white paper (in very crappy quality) with a stamp on top. I always keep museum’s tickets, as they were always printed with art work on the back. Great…… this is *so* worth collecting.

A poster created for a theatre production. I wish we still make some of the movie posters like this. Mucha Museum, Prague. Dec 16, 2011.

I have always admire Mucha’s imagination and distinctive fairytale-esque drawing style. Every stroke, every gesture, ever drape… all were illustrated with intense grace and elegance. It was a insanely beautiful world he created there. I could look at the curve, the details and the movement in his posters for hours. Everyone in his work all seems to be from out of this world. I was like a shoe lover inside a Christian Louboutin’s boutique.

I believe this set of lithograph depicts 4 different types of flowers. SO BEAUTIFUL. Mucha Museum, Prague. Dec 16, 2011.

Some pencil study from Mucha. Every details was drawn carefully. Mucha Museum, Prague. Dec 16, 2011.

Besides having the posters on display, this museum also play a very informative video about the life and work of Mr. Mucha. It was interesting to learn about this man’s life (very different from most of the poor painters), and to see him in action. If you ever found yourself in Prague, and remotely interested in art deco, please make sure you pay a visit to this special little museum. The heavenly world of art from Mucha, was the highlight of my visit in Prague.