At the Castle

Today we visited the Castle Quarter and saw the Strahov monastery and library. The library was magnificent. Then, we took a short walk to the Castle complex where we were lucky enough to see the changing of the guard at noon. The buildings are now municipal but rich in Czech history. The centerpiece of the complex is the St. Vitus cathedral. The first three Habsburg kings are buried there. Because the Pope is visiting next month, there is much work to renovate, clean and restore so some of the areas were closed, but the façade and stained glass windows were breath-taking. The most famous chapel is the Wenceslas Chapel (from the “Good King Wenceslas” Christmas carol fame). Wenceslas is the most revered saint of Prague. But the cathedral on the complex was well worth the visit. From the cathedral we walked to the Charles Bridge and stopped on the way at another Starbucks. This one had its act together and was a 2-story building. It was the largest Starbucks we had ever been in. Spent 200 somethings there. Then, a walk across the Charles Bridge and back to the hotel. Tonight we have tickets to hear a concert of Gershwin and other “international” music at the Spanish Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter. It seems that most churches and synagogues have nightly concerts to raise money for the upkeep of the building. (We actually saw an organ on which we were told Mozart played. Yesterday we saw the theater where Mozart conducted the world premiere of Don Giovanni). Many of the programs include the Vivaldi Four Seasons, then a Mozart piece and something by Dvorak. We have seen that over and over. Often the churches have organ recitals but the repertoire is quite traditional.