Monday, January 05, 2009
A Very Dobre Trip
Happy New Year! I guess I'm a little late, but we just got back from Prague last night. And what a wonderful, beautiful, delightful ... um, and COLD ... place it is!
A river runs through town, the Elbe, I believe. At the top of the highest hill is the most massive castle complex I have ever seen. It includes several churches, one of them being St. Vitus.
I have pictures that show off the church better, but this one is special to me. We had just attended a concert in a basillica in this same castle complex -- an unheated basillica, I might add -- and when we came outside, St. Vitus seemed to be glowing. It was one of the loveliest things I ever saw, and I'm just sorry my camera can't capture the enchantment. Oh, and the concert? -- Have you ever seen an orchestra dressed in coats and hats and gloves? We were pretty doggone cold, too, but the music was wonderful.
When I first told my mother I was going to Prague, she said I couldn't go because I don't own a fur hat. I replied that if I needed one, I couldn't think of a better place to buy it. Can you say "first purchase?" And the scarf was second.
The thermometer had the temperature hovering right around 0 degrees C, which is 32 degrees F, so it shouldn't have been so bone chilling. But my ears would freeze without the hat, my hands would freeze without gloves, and I noticed there were no bare-headed people to be seen. For some reason, the Czech cold goes right through you.
We succumbed to the charms of a little old lady -- not that much older than I am, now that I think about, but at the time she seemed very old -- and bought tickets to the Czech National Ballet performance of The Nutcracker. Seeing the theater was worth the price of admission. It's one of those old, ornate, gold-leafed and carved theaters with a huge chandelier hanging from a frescoed ceiling. This version of The Nutcracker was certainly not the one I am used to. The first act was set in the village square and Herr Drosselmeyer was a mean stingy landlord who was throwing everyone out in the streets for non-payment of rent. Clara's mother bought the nutcracker, Clara did a dance that looked like amatuer night at the strip joint, and Drosselmeyer tore the nutcracker to pieces for absolutely no reason. Then Drosselmeyer went to bed and the devil appeared with several wraiths to prance and torment him. The costuming was heavy on the S&M and the devil swished off the stage. Then somehow the Nutcracker reappeared and became a prince and Clara transformed into the ... Sugar Plum Fairy? we think ...and the Snow Queen came from somewhere but all she ever did was wave her wand and the Snowflakes danced without snow. And then Clara went off on a sled -- yes, the kind you slide on -- pulled by the Prince and with a BABY on her lap, which got huge applause, but we had no clue how the baby got in there. Act two was full of more S&M costuming and the dances went beyond suggestive. It all ended with Drosselmeyer waking up Christmas morning a changed man and giving all his money away. It was very much Scrooge meets The Nutcracker in drag. It was inventive and creative, especially in the way they changed the music around, but being used to the sweet innocent version, all I could think was that I certainly would not take a child to that one.
New Year's Eve we watched fireworks from the top of the castle hill. They were being shot off all over town and it was simply incredible to see. The ones being shot from the river were like our fireworks finales, just a constant stream, that went on for about 20 minutes. I learned how to say Happy New Year in Czech, but that was a few bottles of wine ago... I managed quite well with yes, no, good, please and thank you, plus a whole lot of pantomime.
I have many more tales to bore you with, but they will have to wait.
A river runs through town, the Elbe, I believe. At the top of the highest hill is the most massive castle complex I have ever seen. It includes several churches, one of them being St. Vitus.
I have pictures that show off the church better, but this one is special to me. We had just attended a concert in a basillica in this same castle complex -- an unheated basillica, I might add -- and when we came outside, St. Vitus seemed to be glowing. It was one of the loveliest things I ever saw, and I'm just sorry my camera can't capture the enchantment. Oh, and the concert? -- Have you ever seen an orchestra dressed in coats and hats and gloves? We were pretty doggone cold, too, but the music was wonderful.
When I first told my mother I was going to Prague, she said I couldn't go because I don't own a fur hat. I replied that if I needed one, I couldn't think of a better place to buy it. Can you say "first purchase?" And the scarf was second.
The thermometer had the temperature hovering right around 0 degrees C, which is 32 degrees F, so it shouldn't have been so bone chilling. But my ears would freeze without the hat, my hands would freeze without gloves, and I noticed there were no bare-headed people to be seen. For some reason, the Czech cold goes right through you.
We succumbed to the charms of a little old lady -- not that much older than I am, now that I think about, but at the time she seemed very old -- and bought tickets to the Czech National Ballet performance of The Nutcracker. Seeing the theater was worth the price of admission. It's one of those old, ornate, gold-leafed and carved theaters with a huge chandelier hanging from a frescoed ceiling. This version of The Nutcracker was certainly not the one I am used to. The first act was set in the village square and Herr Drosselmeyer was a mean stingy landlord who was throwing everyone out in the streets for non-payment of rent. Clara's mother bought the nutcracker, Clara did a dance that looked like amatuer night at the strip joint, and Drosselmeyer tore the nutcracker to pieces for absolutely no reason. Then Drosselmeyer went to bed and the devil appeared with several wraiths to prance and torment him. The costuming was heavy on the S&M and the devil swished off the stage. Then somehow the Nutcracker reappeared and became a prince and Clara transformed into the ... Sugar Plum Fairy? we think ...and the Snow Queen came from somewhere but all she ever did was wave her wand and the Snowflakes danced without snow. And then Clara went off on a sled -- yes, the kind you slide on -- pulled by the Prince and with a BABY on her lap, which got huge applause, but we had no clue how the baby got in there. Act two was full of more S&M costuming and the dances went beyond suggestive. It all ended with Drosselmeyer waking up Christmas morning a changed man and giving all his money away. It was very much Scrooge meets The Nutcracker in drag. It was inventive and creative, especially in the way they changed the music around, but being used to the sweet innocent version, all I could think was that I certainly would not take a child to that one.
New Year's Eve we watched fireworks from the top of the castle hill. They were being shot off all over town and it was simply incredible to see. The ones being shot from the river were like our fireworks finales, just a constant stream, that went on for about 20 minutes. I learned how to say Happy New Year in Czech, but that was a few bottles of wine ago... I managed quite well with yes, no, good, please and thank you, plus a whole lot of pantomime.
I have many more tales to bore you with, but they will have to wait.
2 Comments:
Happy New Year, sounds like you had a wonderful trip, my older daughter wanted to teach in Prague, she had a baby instead, lol.
Yes I am back, and will fill in the gaps as I go, there are a lot of them.
I am really ok, gettin better everyday, it was a rough year. Thank you for your concern, I do appreciate it.
Not exactly Ballanchine's Nutcracker. Sounds like a great trip. I have Prague on my list of places to go.
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