Prague 2013 Photo Gallery by nuthatch at pbase.com

Prague 2013

we're back in Prague after a dozen years...	...rediscovering its remarkable mix of architectural styles	here's the Municipal House, now a gallery and concert house
we're here for an exhibit of posters by Alfons Mucha, appropriate in this Jugendstil building	then onto the streets for a first look around
		a mix of deco and contemporary!
now we're distracted while hunting for books...	... in the shops on Václavské náměstí
as evening approaches, we head past the Moorish Revival Jubilee synagogue	and look for a tram back to our hotel...	...where we meet friend and expert family researcher Paul for dinner	the next morning it's over the bridge to the old town again
	this time we're heading for the 13th~15th c. convent of Saint Agnes...	...now the national gallery of medieval art	under the floors here lie the bones of kings and queens of Bohemia
[we tread lightly]	above, an impressive collection of art from central Europe
and some lovely rooms and halls	back out in the Josefov neighborhood...	...admiring the building facades
		we duck the rain in the decorative arts museum...	...itself a highly decorated building
not surprisingly there is an excellent display of middle-European glass		perhaps we've had a few too many dumplings	from the second-floor windows, we can look over the old Jewish cemetery
from the riverfront, the castle watches over us	now we zigzag our way toward the old town square	it's easy to get lost...	...but every wrong turn is right
old Jan Hus looks just as frustrated as on our last visit...	...despite his excellent view of the square	now we head south toward Národní street...	...where we meet Jan, a friend and the project coordinator of the Czech 10 Stars program of Jewish heritage preservation
then around the corner we visit the church of Sts. Cyril and Methodius...	...where the assassins of Reinhard Heydrich took refuge...	...and were ultimately killed by Nazis and collaborators	the sun begins to set and the rain begins to fall again...
...but there's so much to look at!
a contemporary take on turn-of-the-century decor	finally we catch a metro train back to our hotel	the next morning we are in the Holešovice quarter for more art	there is a free street art museum...
but we're after the large national gallery of modern art across the street	first stop is the monumental painting collection by Alfons Mucha...	...the Slav Epic, which celebrates Slavic history from its beginnings...	...across two millenia and vast landscapes
then we travel up to the top to wind our way down through the displays	there are collections of works in many materials...		...including architecture and outdoor sculpture
this sketch is by Osvald Polívka (no relation), architect of the Municipal House	but of course there is also glass...	...and an excellent collection of graphic art
a selection of woodcuts is a highlight of the collection
the collection concludes with some amusing movie posters	and a temporary exhibit which draws us in, to daydream...	with resounding words? Or something like... we'll have to come back!

click on thumbnails for full image