As a fourth generation Canadian, when it comes to history, I tend to use Canada’s European settlement as my reference point for “old.” Like 1534, when Jacques Cartier sailed across the Atlantic into the Gulf of St. Lawrence and planted his cross at Gaspé to stake claim to the new territory. Or 1608, when Quebec City’s fortressed old town was founded. To think of history so long ago never fails to thrill me.
You can imagine, then, how an old European country like Czech Republic would excite me. Over its 1,000 years or so of recorded history, Czech has revolved through dynasties, culminating with the powerful Austro-Hungary Empire that collapsed after World War I, when Czech finally gained its independence. Said independence was short-lived, however, when along came the German occupation during World War II, and the subsequent communist coup d’état in 1948. Eventually, with the non-violent resistance of the Velvet Revolution in 1989, Czechoslovakia freed itself and, in 1993, peacefully split into Czech and Slovakia.
In 2018, this “new” country celebrated 100 years since its independence – a fitting time for me to visit and get my history fix.
The Handsomest City in Europe
My exploration starts in Prague, Czech’s vibrant capital, deservedly called “the handsomest city in Europe.” A jaw-dropping 866 hectares of the city is UNESCO protected for its gothic, renaissance and baroque mix of architectural wonders. Compared to other major European cities, Prague’s structures remained relatively unscathed during wars, because it lacked industries to be bombed. For me, architecture makes history more definite.
I start with a visit to the Prague Castle complex, where I follow the knowledgeable guide past horse stables and sweeping cathedrals, through stunning gardens and too many rooms and courtyards to count. As she shares information of the castle’s renditions from monasteries and convents, to nobility and the seat of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, to current office of the President of Czech, there’s so much history, it’s hard to focus.
In the courtyard in front of the Presidential Palace, the guide points to a window and explains that President Havel, the country’s leader after the Velvet Revolution, climbed through it onto the balcony followed by members of the Rolling Stones, to wave to the crowd in 1990. Nobody could find the key to the balcony door. New history, but this tidbit of casual behaviour that seems totally out of context in such royal surroundings, I will remember.
My wanders of the endless cobblestoned streets bring me to more historical sites: the 1357 Charles Bridge, packed full of tourists admiring the view of the Vlatava River and watching street buskers perform classical music. And across the bridge to 13C Old Town, where I find the 1410 Astronomical Clock, the world’s oldest operating clock positioned to the sun and moon.
Further along, I come to the golden-roofed National Theatre, opened in 1881. Music and theatre are important to Czechs, who declare it has helped them survive the hardships of different regimes. “It’s very normal to have a theatre subscription,” says my tour guide, Eva, “and theatres are usually full. Many people go twice a week.”
Coffee with Einstein
By now, I’m ready for a coffee. I cross from Old Town into New Town (don’t let the name fool you, it was established in the 14C), and then cut back a block or two to take some space from the touristic masses. I climb the stairs to Café Louvre, opened in 1902 (for context, Alberta didn’t join confederation until 1905), and sit at a small wooden table.
In the 19 and early 20C, Prague was a hotbed for intellectuals and artists as Bohemian culture swept Europe. Café Louvre went strong until the communist coup in 1948, when the extravagant café fixtures were thrown out windows onto the street. The café was completely restored in 1992 maintaining its ornate turn-of-the-century décor, and as I sip my espresso, it’s easy to imagine it in its heyday when the likes of Karel Capek, Franz Kafka and even Albert Einstein hung out here.
The Countryside History
I’m cognizant though, that Czech is so much more than Prague, so to widen my scope of learning, I venture into the countryside.
Just an hour away in Mlada Boleslav is the Skoda car factory, one of the best-selling Czech brands in the world (which I admit I’d never heard of). Its two founders, Laurin & Klement, started with bicycle manufacturing in 1895 before joining forces with Skoda, a heavy-equipment manufacturer to produce cars in 1905. The museum is a car collector’s dream. Across the road, at the car factory, today’s production line is mesmerizing – skilled employees performing the same task repeatedly, knock out a completed vehicle in 24 hours.
Next, I continue through countryside filled with picture-book half-timbered houses, verdant green pastures and pretty barns to Ajeto Glassworks. World-famous Bohemian glass-making started in this region back in the 13C because of the special sandstone found here. The tour walks us through an explanation of the raw materials and culminates at a showroom of the fragile glassware. What I like best, though, is watching the glassblowers melt the glass in 1,200-degree ovens before expertly blowing it into the final, intricate creation.
In nearby Jablonec my glass exploration continues. Jablonec was established in 1904 as an imperial centre, where people came from all over the world to buy glass. Today, the Museum of Glass & Jewelry has one of the biggest collections in the country, with exhibits like the jet-black jewellery Queen Victoria popularized by wearing when she went into mourning for Prince Albert.
Pondering Over Beer
In the end, perhaps the best place to muse upon history is at a brewery. And really, no visit to Czech is complete without learning about the beer, as Czechs are credited with founding hops-brewing as we know it. Beer’s not really considered an alcoholic beverage here, and Czechs fondly refer to it as water or “liquid bread.”
I visit Brewery Cvikov, a brewery initially opened in 1560. Through the subsequent ages, however, it has gone through as many makeovers as the country itself – a veggie market, a disco, abandoned, a mushroom-growing warehouse, and now reopened as a craft brewery in 2014.
It’s here, as I lick the foam off my upper lip, a sign of good quality beer in Czech, that I ponder more dates. The oldest brewery in Canada is the Molson Brewery, opened in 1786. Pretty old too, right? But the Czechs have also found evidence of a Prague monastery brewery dating back to 993.
I’m sure many have sat at this brew pub before me, maybe in 1560, contemplating what came before. There will always be old, older and oldest. I guess, like Einstein said, time is relative. And travel is the perfect way to remind ourselves of that.
IF YOU GO:
For tourist info: http://www.czechtourism.com
From Vancouver, airlines like Air Canada and Lufthansa usually have one stop in Munich or Frankfurt on the way to Prague.
In Prague Old Town, stay at K & K Hotel Central or in New Town at the Radisson Blu Acron, both beautifully-restored historical buildings.
For Prague fine dining, go to the Michelin award-winning Alcron Restaurant, or for a rowdier atmosphere and more traditional fare, try La Republica restaurant and beer bar.
In the country, at Liberec, stay at Clarion Grand Hotel Zlaty Lev with its historical furnishings and crystal chandeliers.
While in Liberec, visit Radnicni Sklipek for a traditional town hall dining experience, or drive up to the spaceship-looking Jested Tower and watch the sunset from the highest mountain in the region while eating elegant Czech food.
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