And The Sun Set on Prague

 

Apologies for the lengthy satellite delay; I've had an enforced break to deal with the scary matter of emergency eye laser surgery.  I won't go into details here, but let's just say I can now relate a little to Alex, A Clockwork Orange's protagonist.  I've also stayed off the screen as much as possible, so forgive me if I've missed anyone's posts.

So where was I?  Part way through drafting a post on our last day in Prague, which I was forced to abandon and have been slowly editing over the last couple of days.

We were once again awake by dawn after a fitful final night's sleep in the heat of this beautiful city.  We had one thing on the day's "To Do" list which was to visit the Alphonse Mucha museum, a stone's throw from our apartment in Old Town Square. 

So, dragging our small suitcases, we left the shade of our hallway for the last time, sunscreen generously applied and emerged sixty seconds later into the street outside. 

It's evidently impossible for someone like me to stand anywhere or turn any corner in a city like Prague, without reaching for my camera.  The holes in this sign are admittedly too symmetrical, but I immediately thought of bullet holes, which appealed to my sometimes dark sense of humour.  Why would painted furniture be so provocative?

As our flight was much later in the day, I was able to capture as many of the architectural details and sights of Prague at leisure.  

Cubist Grand Cafe Orient

Onwards to the Museum.  The name Alphonse Mucha is synonymous with the Art Nouveau movement; his artwork gracing everything from magazine covers, book illustrations and theatre posters, to his more commercially recognised work for Moet Champagne and cigarette papers to name a couple.

The museum provided a comprehensive understanding of the Czech artist and offered up an eclectic selection of his work.

I took many photographs here, but I've included just a few of my favourites.  Although it has been said that this museum is a bit of a tourist trap, I think that's grossly unfair.  It was well curated and if you have any interest in Art Nouveau's distinctly decorative style, this is a must.

Theatre poster

Byzantine style plate

An edition of The Burr McIntosh Monthly - devoted to photos of famous people and landscapes

A poorly photographed "The Kiss of Spring"

I was also taken with the part of the collection devoted to photos of Mucha's muses.  It's purely speculation on my part, but it's entirely possible that one of these women was been asked to "hold that pose" one too many times!

To better understand the man and his work however, it's best to see what else he created in the city.  As luck would have it, our wanderings took us to Smetana Hall, the Municipal House.  Here you can enjoy a concert and study Mucha's artwork, which adorn the walls and ceilings.  We didn't have time for a concert, but the building itself is a wonderful example of the Art Nouveau style and I paid the briefest of visits inside, somewhat curtailed by the watchful gaze of a surly doorman.  

No part of the building escaped the movement's influence...from door handles...

....to the beautiful box office inside...

...and this fantastically opulent French restaurant.

Tile envy.

Mucha also designed one of the stained glass windows in St Vitus Cathedral.  Poor research on my part meant that I only became aware of this after our visit to the castle.  Even more unforgivable, I do recall spotting said window and a connection forming in my mind, but for whatever reason, I don't seem to have a photo of it.  I seem to have photographed every other square inch of Prague!  Fear not!  Here's the link for those who want to see it.

Stained glass window St Vituss Cathedral Mucha 1a (2547703719) - Category:Stained glass window by Alfons Mucha in St. Vitus Cathedral - Wikimedia Commons

Emulating the sinuous curves of Art Nouveau, we continued our self guided (or should that be directionless) walking tour, weaving through the streets of the city.  It really is the only way to see a place.  Silly as it sounds, Prague is very much a city for its people as well as being a magnet for tourists.  All the hallmarks of city life were evident just a short walk from any tourist hotspot.

Clearly nothing was off limits for me.  We moved seamlessly from the sublime, exemplified here by interior photos taken the Church of Our Lady of the Snows (founded in 1347 but modified during the Renaissance and Baroque periods)....

Highest vaults in Prague

...to the faintly ridiculous.  Below we have Madame Tussaud's Jim Carrey, an extravagantly dressed marionette, a sand sculpture dog and a glum looking wooden faced chap I encountered in a Bric-a-brac shop caught my eye.

The pedestrian sign's characters appeared rather outmoded and made me smile...

....and how cute was this little local girl, blending in well with the street sign?

We paused to watch Statue of Kafka; an outdoor kinetic sculpture depicting Franz, installed outside the Quadrio shopping centre, standing 11 metres tall and made of 42 rotating panels.

This sculpture, The Cloak of Conscience, was created by Anna Chromy as a symbol for hope and peace.  The faceless hooded figure, shrouded in cloth, is also shrouded in mystery as numerous visitors have reported faces appearing in the cloak on photos taken with a flash.  Not so in my case I'm happy to report!

We spotted some cool rides too, like this handsome Cadillac parked outside a bistro..

 

...a red Skoda with its obliging occupants...

...a denim clad BMW motorbike...

...and this 1937 Horch 853 Sport Cabriolet.

Eventually we headed back to the place that first captivated us on the evening of our arrival - Old Town Square.

 

Here's the Jan Hus memorial (Czech theologian, philosopher and Church reformer, a seminal figure in the Bohemian Reformation).  All the cool pigeons hang out here.

Said pigeons' feathered friends took off in unison and flew in front of the Gothic Church of Our Lady Before Tyn's landmark "twin towers" creating this spectacle.  It has been the main church of this part of the city since the 14th century.  With little perspective in this photo, let me enlighten you.  Each tower is eighty metres tall and each tower's spire is topped by eight smaller spires in two layers of four.

Once again, subliminally influenced by other Art Nouveau characteristics, I spent a good chunk of time squatting in the heat of the afternoon sun to capture the dynamism and movement of life in this city.

I witnessed the comings and goings in front of the famous Astronomical Clock (unbelievably first installed in 1410, making it the third oldest in the world and the oldest still in operation).

Here, the crowds gathered on the hour to see the mechanisms in action.

All too soon it was time to head to the airport.  Naturally, it being Prague, our transfer meeting point was this gorgeous fountain.

Sbohem Prague!  You made an impression!

Farewell Summer, Hello Autumn

 

Long time no speak!  It feels particularly autumnal here right now.  I've already consumed the lion's share or not one, but two, crumbles (an apple and blackberry and a cherry), have had hairy encounters with a couple of muscle-bound spiders and the nights are most definitely drawing in. 

Betws-y-Coed, "False Autumn", August 2022

Events have conspired in recent weeks to keep me from the keyboard.  I'm now pretty familiar with the labyrinth of corridors and departments that is our local hospital after accompanying Mom to various appointments and also suddenly being called in myself for a minor op I had been waiting almost a year for.  

I went in bright and early a couple of Sundays ago and almost had the ward to myself.  The staff were attentive and thorough and by lunchtime, I was done.  So far so simple I thought.  Not so.  I was prescribed a course of antibiotics - a belt and braces approach to infection avoidance, which I started taking later that day.  But on Wednesday morning, I noticed I had what appeared to be a black eye.  As I examined my reflection in a mirror, the area around my eye was swelling before my eyes (well my good eye), transforming me into the Phantom of the Opera.  

I hurriedly arranged an appointment with my GP and was told to stop taking the antibiotics and immediately start taking antihistamines, as there was no infection in my wound.  I had a tense 7 days, waking each morning and wondering where the swelling would be that day or if it would worsen.  It seemed to move around my face each morning until eventually, it dissipated.  I was told that it could possibly have been a reaction to the antibiotics, but that such swelling is also a very common reaction to illnesses such as flu (I have had a sniffle).  Who knew?

My latest look was born of necessity until my stitches were removed.  

I have also been busy organising my forthcoming photoshoot, which, now falls on a designated UK Bank Holiday, courtesy of Queen Elizabeth II's funeral.  Mercifully, not one member of our little team of suppliers has backed out.  We've all invested far too much time and effort to abandon our plans at this late stage.

Consequently - and with our first Autumn ground frost this morning - it seems like an age ago that we were basking in the balmy Welsh sunshine.

I'm going to rewind to the final couple of days of our getaway and our pilgrimage, on foot from the village, to one of the most remote churches in the UK, Llangelynnin Old Church.  Positioned high on the hills above the Conwy Valley, some 900 feet above sea level, the church is dedicated to a local Saint, St Celynnin who lived in the 6th Century and probably established the first religious settlement on this site.  

The views on the ascent were stunning.

It's hard to convey the isolation, but I did my best with some wide angle shots and a short video.

Within the church grounds, lies the Holy Well.  It's possible that this was used by the Saint in the 6th century as a water supply or to baptise those who converted to Christianity.  As time passed, locals believed the water to have magical healing properties, particularly for sick children.  Clothing belonging to the sick children would be tossed into the water.  If they floated, it was assumed that the child would recover.

People lived in the uplands before the wooded lowlands were cleared and the present hill tracks would have been the main routes in Celynnin's time.  The church as it stands today dates from the 12th century and was in regular use for worship until 1840 when a new church was built down in the valley.  In 1932 and 1987 major restorations of the church were carried out and now services are held here during the summer months and on special occasions.

The porch is 15th century with an unusual squint window in the east wall.  The porch roof was repaired with purlins of yew, which may have grown in the now almost tree-less graveyard.

The threshold and hinges of the door are believed to be 14th century, although the door itself is a later addition.

The nave is the oldest part of the present church, dating back to the 12th century.  The benches are 19th century.  Hanging on the wall of the nave there is a bier that was used to carry the remains of the dead to their final resting place.

The chancel is probably 14th century.  You can just glimpse the remains of a boarded barrel roof in the photo above.

This fascinating skull and crossbones detail was discovered a when layers of time and whitewash were removed, revealing the Ten Commandments in Welsh.

Back outside, the clouds were playing to the camera...

...and I managed to capture a beautiful sunburst.

The North Wales Pilgrims' Way framed by the churchyard entrance.

A special place indeed...and for the record, after this particularly energetic workout, I should have doused myself in water from that Holy Well to ease my aching thighs for the next few days.  For more on St Celynnin's, here's a short video.

Wild, Windy Worship. - YouTube

Of course, we couldn't leave this part of Wales without paying a visit to Bodnant Garden, an NT managed, Grade I listed horticultural gem comprising 80 acres, just 10 minutes' drive from our cottage.

It was founded in 1874, developed by five generations of one family and given to the National Trust in 1949.  The garden's founder was Henry David Pochin, a Leicestershire-born Victorian industrial chemist credited with inventing white soap.  He became a successful businessman, mayor and JP.  His wife, Agnes, was from a wealthy Scottish family of ship builders.  

Originally just lawns and pasture, Pochin and his employee Edward Milner redesigned the land around the Georgian manor house, relandscaping the hillside and valley, planting American and Asian conifers on the banks of the River Hiraethlyn to create a Pinetum and reinforcing stream banks to create a woodland and water garden in the valley.  

It was here we encountered this fallen giant (originally planted in 1887 and standing over 50 metres tall), one of 50 lost in Storm Arwen back in November 2021.  

The enormous team of 20 full time gardeners were hard at it, burning rubbish just out of sight from visitors.

In the upper garden, a Laburnum Arch was created and glasshouses to house exotics.  

From 1905 to 1914, five terraces were completed; an enormous undertaking of manual labour involving the levelling of hillsides, movement of earth and the construction of granite buttress walls to protect the tender plants being introduced from overseas.

The much photographed Pin Mill building on the Canal Terrace was added in 1938.  Originally built as a garden house in 1739 in Gloucestershire and later used as a pin factory and then a hide store for a tannery, it was rescued from decay by Henry's grandson - Henry McLaren, who dismantled it, brought it to Bodnant and rebuilt it brick by brick.  

As you might expect, there was a fountain or a statue at every turn.

Situated on a steeply winding path running from the valley to the terraces, was the family Mausoleum. Sadly it was closed to visitors on the day of our visit....  

....but I did manage to get a glimpse inside through the impressive entrance door panel grills.

Throughout the 1900s the continued development of the garden was a partnership between three generations of the McLaren family - Henry, Charles and Michael.  Charles' sister, Dr Anne McLaren, was one of Britain's leading scientists.  She pioneered techniques of reproductive biology, which led to IVF and cancer research.  The current owner is Michael McLaren, who inherited in 2003.  He is a practising Barrister, working in London, but continues to act as garden manager.  A family of high achievers for sure, but also philanthropists.  It's not lost on the volunteers and locals just how much they are indebted to the McLaren family, who have saved huge swathes of the Conwy valley from development.  

Bodnant is hands down the best National Trust garden we've visited to date, but one visit just isn't enough to grasp the scale, detail and myriad plant species on display.  We shall return.

I'll leave you with a few random photos from the past couple of weeks.  First up, a photo I am calling "Portrait of a Stall Holder" captured at an Antiques Fair at Hartlebury Castle in neighbouring Worcestershire. I loved her vintage style, which was well suited to her life as an antiques trader. 

She is also the proud owner of this cool ride, a 1959 Edsen Villager Cruiser.

I helped fund her expensive running costs by purchasing some vintage decorative green glass tableware for the boudoir.

Also green - and I suppose quite decorative - is this punk amongst caterpillars.  Feast your eyes on this fuzzy noodle of fun!  It's a Pale Tussock caterpillar and the first I've ever seen!  Spotted outside our 

Take care, stay warm and I'll see you soon.