When planning this trip, we really wanted a guided tour of Prague, its musical history, and a Christmas concert. We reserved such a tour in advance. That the package included a traditional Czech Christmas Eve dinner was a bonus.
After shopping the markets on Christmas Eve, we met our tour guide, Martin, in front of the Municipal House, Prague’s premier concert venue. Martin pointed out that we would return to this building later for the concert. He told us that this building, erected in 1912, was where the declaration of Czechoslovak Independence was signed in 1918.
We then walked to the original Prague opera house where Mozart debuted two of his 22 operas, including one of his best works – Don Giovanni.
Mozart visited Prague for extended stays at least five times, and even considered moving here. Martin said his fee for Don Giovanni in Prague was 50% more than what he was paid in Vienna.
Beethoven also visited Prague but only twice. It was on one of these stays that he realized he was having hearing problems. Martin showed us where Beethoven lived during that time.
We also saw Franz Kafka’s childhood neighborhood and school. His most famous story, The Metamorphosis, was written in 1912 in Prague.
Martin briefly took us to Old Town Square, jammed full of tourists visiting for the holidays.
He talked about the statue of Jan Hus, a priest, theologian and religious reformer whose thinking influenced Martin Luther. Jan Hus vocally criticized the moral failings of church leaders and opposed the selling of indulgences as well as pursuing crusades.
Sadly, Jan Hus was excommunicated and burned at the stake for heresy. The statue on the Old Town Square was erected in 1915 on the 500th anniversary of his death.
On the night we were there, Jan Hus was surrounded by a lot of hubbub nominally related to celebrating Jesus’s birth. Today, only 20% of Czechs have religious beliefs, and more than 90% of those are Catholic. I wonder what Jan Hus would have made if this raucous, glitzy display. Here you can see his statue surrounded by the festivities.
In my previous post, I referenced the shooting in Prague only a few days before by a college student who killed 14 people at the university in Prague’s old town. Part of Martin’s walking tour includes the university because it is right next to the opera house where Mozart worked. Instead we paused before we got to the university for Martin’s remarks about Mozart. Then we stopped silently to pay our respects at the makeshift memorial that we see far too often in the U.S.
As we walked, Martin talked about what Old Town Square was like during COVID: “Empty,” he said. But he added that it was an opportunity for locals to appreciate these historic areas again. There are no locals living in Old Town Prague due to the expense and the focus on tourists. He compared it to Disneyland. We definitely got that same feeling, as the square was completely packed.
I think there were some locals, though, because the closing song at the musical stage was the Czech national anthem, and a lot of people were singing along.
Martin told us that only about 20% of Czechs are religious, though many still celebrate Christmas as the night when Baby Jesus (not Santa) brings toys to children. By comparison, 100 years ago, 90% of the country was Catholic.
Partway through the tour, we made our way to the concert hall for a string orchestra performance of Christmas carols (some English/American, some Czech) and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.
The featured violinist during the Four Seasons was amazing.
After the concert, we walked to the Vltava River for a great view of Prague Castle. This was a somewhat short stop, as it was really cold and had started to sprinkle.
We scurried over to a nearby restaurant for a traditional Czech Christmas Eve dinner. What is the main dish, you ask? Carp. Yes, the fish. It’s farmed locally to provide everyone with a carp for Christmas Eve. We had carp stew and fried carp with a traditional Czech potato salad. But first, Martin said, “Beer is obligation for dinner.” So most of us had a traditional Czech beer, except Nezzie who had hot tea and another guest who had wine.
Let me tell you a bit about those on our tour.
Frederic, an architect from Biarritz, France. He was older than me — maybe 70? — and had a grizzled smoker’s voice with a deep French accent.
A young couple from Albania and currently living in Cologne, Germany. The husband is a cardiologist who jovially tried to convince Frederic to give up smoking. His wife is a bank auditor.
Lana, a surgeon originally from Poland and still with a Polish accent. She now lives in upstate New York.
Martin, the tour guide who was born and raised in Prague. His son goes to college in Vienna, and his wife, an American, was on vacation in Florida. After the holidays, Martin will join his son in Vienna. They know that Christmas is one of his busiest times as a tour guide.
The Europeans at the table were very interested in learning about life in the U.S. Specifically, the Albanian husband (whose name I can’t recall) asked, “Is it true that in the U.S. you can’t drink alcohol until you are 21?”
They also asked about the cost of education in the U.S, and all were shocked. The Albanian cardiologist was able to complete education for free. We also fielded questions about U.S. politics and the upcoming election. It was fun answering their questions, but I think Martin was a little nervous that the conversation was too serious.
Here is our full group:
At the end of dinner, Martin ordered traditional Czech liquor for each person. The choice was a plum drink similar to slivovitz with 50% alcohol content or an “herb” drink with a cinnamon flavor and a 37% alcohol content.
When we asked if there was a lighter alternative, the answer was – “Absinthe.”
We went with the herb liquor.
After the festivities, we separated from the group, as we wanted to attend a local church service.
We stayed at the restaurant a little longer before trying to find the church that had advertised an Anglican service. When we got to the church, it was dark with locked iron gates. We were confused. Then another person walked up and asked if we were looking for the service.
He turned out to be Daniel, a Methodist missionary from Virginia. He works in Vienna and was meeting some U.S. friends in Prague. While his friends were sleeping off jet lag, he was searching for a worship space, just like us.
All of us ended up walking across the river to another church that advertised international Christmas carols and a Catholic mass at 11:30 p.m. Here is the church interior.
The carols were fun, though the translation of Silent Night had a line that said “he abhors the Virgin’s womb.” Someone needs to fact-check if that was in the original.
The mass was said in both Czech and English, with sections being repeated in the two languages. By 1 a.m., we were all ready to fall over. Also, the church wasn’t heated. So we left the service before it ended.
We walked part of the way back with Daniel. Before we split up, he gave us his card.
All in all, making new friends was a lovely closing to a day celebrating Peace on Earth.
The next post will be the last one from Prague — bit about Christmas Day and the day after Christmas.
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