St. Nicholas Cathedral is located in Mala Strana (Lesser Town) region of Prague. St. Nicholas is one of the first and most famous landmarks in Mala Strana, with its robust dome and bell tower. The beginning of the Cathedral dates back to 1283 as a parish church under the name and protection of St. Nicholas. In the 17th century came a change of authority, as well as the start of a new era, Baroque. Starting in 1702, Kryštof Dientzenhofer began to design the current structure that stands today known to him as the “new Prague Baroque pearl.” After his death his son, Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer completed his father’s work, as well as designing the unique vault and robust dome. Following this work two chapels were added on to the Cathedral, St. Barbra to the left of the entrance and St. Anne to the right. The construction of the Cathedral was completed in 1752.
The Interior of the Cathedral
A variety of art work lies within St. Nicholas Cathedral with the style of course being Baroque. Viennese artist, Jan Lukas Kracker is the artist who painted the main fresco. It is said that Kracker sis not want this work to be seen until completion, however a Jesuit priest snuck in and hid behind a pillar to take a peek at the work. Kracker saw him and as punishment to the priest painted him into the fresco behind hiding behind a pillar. F.X. Palko one of the most acclaimed artists of the era is also known to have painted frescoes that lie in the Cathedral. A significant part of the Cathedral décor is that of Karel Skreta. The more than 50 statues that can be seen within the Cathedral were done by Ignac Frantisek Platzer. My favorite part of the Cathedral was being able to see the organs, more in particular the organ that W.A. Mozart used while he stayed in Prague. The late Baroque organ was built by Jesuit Order called Friar-organifex Tomáš Schwarz during 1745-46.
If ever in Prague I highly suggest visiting the Cathedral, and, if able, attend one of the daily concerts. The acoustics in the Cathedral are quite wonderful. Although, Mozart’s Organ is not used for all the performances the organ that is used sounds amazing. The concerts that are held at the Cathedral feature Classical and Baroque music that will sure please the ears and the soul.
See what I did there? I’m calling the chocolate ‘market’ in Galerie Harfa a ‘dealer,’ because it’s so crazy how people love chocolate and refer to themselves as ‘chocoholics!’
I mean, I should know, I’m a woman, and therefore genetically wired to react to chocolate like Charlie Sheen to cokey hooker parties. Allegedly.
But, here’s the thing (cue hokey piano music), I’m, well, I’m different than other gals. I didn’t choose this, I guess some people are just born this way, but the fact of the matter is, I could stand by impassively while someone dumped bars of Valhrona chocolate onto metro tracks. I wouldn’t feel a thing. I could be dumped, fired and in the throes of PMS simultaneously and I would not crave, or want, or even think about chocolate. It’s a stupid stereotype, especially since I’ve dated more than one savage chocolate man-beast who can’t be left in a room with unattended chocolate.
Unfortunately, my only habitual use of chocolate is a big tablespoon of ovaltine powder in my coffee, when I can get it. I say unfortunately because, dammit, I want to be in on it. Vices are fun, fun, fun and chocolate is a socially-acceptable way of giving in to those urges. I, on the other hand, get only condemnation and pity for MY favorite indulgences, whiskey and cigarettes, which I enjoy simultaneously and in heaping amounts (Just kidding, mom and dad!).
Given my indifference to chocolate, it’s taken me a while to get around to Cacao Sampaka, the Spanish chain of upscale chocolate shops which opened an outpost in Galerie Harfa. The mall was opened in November of last year, and is right next to the O2 arena. On Thursday night, it was mostly empty and was made surreal by the presence of a large, frosted green plastic christmas tree sculpture in the open middle of the mall and several outposts of Dino Land. That’s right, it’s the world’s first shopping mall/dinosaur statue theme park. Or it will be, anyway, when they finally install the life-size replicas in and around Harfa. It reminds of a wise man’s words:
“[Your real estate developers] were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.”
-Dr. Ian Malcolm, Jurassic Park
Ahem. Back to Cacao Sampaka.
Ack! Ack! Chocolate!
It was initially quite disappointing, if only because I’d explored their web site before going and seen pictures of what is probably their flagship store. The version in Prague 9′s Dino Mall of Retail Doom was significantly smaller. On further consideration, however, how big do you need a chocolate market to be, exactly? This was certainly plenty, with walls of different chocolate bars and displays of chocolate dipped… stuff.
I can’t tell you exactly what most of the products were, they were written in Spanish and Czech, neither of which I’m particularly proficient in.
Sales clerks circled around with perma-smiles, offering small samples of their products. I sampled half of a chocolate that was flavored with curry. It was both disgusting and annoying. I mean, enough with the weird flavors already. I became further befuddled after I awkwardly pinched up tiny chocolate “shots,” lentil-sized chocolate balls that tasted like astringent lemon on the inside. All I could think, was, “why?” I found no explanation.
Here’s where Cacao Sampaka could really come in handy: The store featured a section of chocolate baking products. Fine cocoa powders and several sizes and flavors of chocolate chip, beloved component of chocolate chip cookies.
We picked up a couple of chocolate bars. It seems like a stingy amount, given I had come all the way out there to review Cacao Sampaka’s products, but they don’t come cheap. The smallest sampler box of truffles ran about 260 crowns and two chocolate bars came to a total of 230 crowns. It is admittedly fun to peruse the different bars. There are sugar free varieties, several different sources of chocolate in varying strengths, and a line of novelty ‘chocolate’ bars like white chocolate mint, strawberry and cappucino. You can get your chocolate with black pepper, chilis and even flavored like a gin and tonic.
The truffles themselves are displayed as jewels in glass cases. You can pick and choose, or even buy a single chocolate, placed in a single box. It’s quite cute, actually, especially to someone who would feel overwhelmed by a whole box.
We settled on two beautifully boxed bars of chocolate: One white chocolate with natural peppermint and one 71 percent cocoa from Madagascar. I’ve always like the combination between mint and chocolate, alas, I had to do the mixing myself. On its own, the white chocolate peppermint bar was wonderfully creamy with the herbal, green notes of fresh mint. The dark chocolate, I have to admit, was quite pleasurable to munch on. The dark flavors reminded me a bit of figs and made your mouth go dry like strong red wine tannins.
The packages come with two thin sheets of chocolate, stamped with the brand at the top and separated with a thin tissue paper.
In keeping with the haute chocolate theme, the shop also offers and sells suggested wine pairings.
Final verdict: It’s good. But don’t take my word for it. That’d be like asking a mormon missionary who makes the best dirty martinis in town.
Restaurants in Prague make good business from the lunch crowds, both through daily offers and their regular menus. But not everyone — myself included — often has time to sit down for a proper meal and linger over coffee at lunchtime, as even ordering from the ready-made specials at many restaurants can turn a “quick” lunch into upwards of an hour. It’s at that point I start to get restless, checking my watch and wishing I’d just snatched a sandwich to gobble at my desk instead of trying to make eye contact with a harried waiter to cancel my lunch order because it’s simply taking too long.
There’s also the cost. Walking into a restaurant, or even a pub, for a meal usually means ordering a drink, and that’s where the cost of a lunch can end up spiking: At many places, I’ll end up slurping down two tiny 0.25 L bottles of Diet Coke, running a cost of around 60 Kč. A beer or wine is usually, and funnily, much better value than a soda or water, but starting down that path at lunchtime usually leaves me sleepy or buzzed, neither being good conditions for getting back to work. And even though traditional restaurants often will let you take food to-go, charging you for the box, you’re still faced with a longish wait at many places.
The working-lunch tradition here of jídelnas — cafeteria-style eateries where you’re slopped and shifted down the line, usually with a tray of dumplings and sauce or the like — has alas become somewhat of a relic, with a few modern interpretations (like the Jarmarck brand, currently Apetit).
But there’s hope yet for the lunch bunch. Following a budding and promising trend of lunch-oriented quick food options in Prague, Starsano opened a few weeks ago on Anglická street, serving fresh pasta and pizzas to both the taste- and time-conscious. It wasn’t necessarily ground-breaking cuisine, but there are some good dishes and some very fresh ingredients, and speed counts in its favor.
The new Starsano
My first visit to Starsano took less than half an hour, start to finish, leaving me breathless and satisfied (Did I really eat a full, hot meal in that span of time?, I thought to myself). It’s a good location in between in I.P. Pavlova and náměstí Míru.
The interior of Starsano is airy and modern, with light-wood high-top tables and colorful accents in turquoise and sea-green.
A hostess of sorts greets you at the door, giving you a white key card that retains your order (you pay on your way out). The food counter is divided into sections for ease: one for ordering sweets and coffees, one for ordering meats (the menu includes saltimbocca, barbecued chicken, meat skewers and several fish options), one for ordering pasta and salads (Starsano boasts 60 available combinations of pasta), and one for ordering pizzas.
May I take your order?
There’s also a daily offer, which I assume makes a quick meal there even faster. On my last visit, the special cost 97 Kč for mushroom soup and a choice of pizza pepperonata, rigatoni Arrabiata, salad with polenta or gratin potatoes.
I ordered a Caesar salad to start. There’s the option to top it with chicken, but I chose not to since I was also waiting for a pasta.
Caesar salad
The Caesar took me by surprise: It was very fresh, with a light, yolky dressing hinting of anchovies. The Romaine lettuce was crisp, the croutons were crunchy and slightly garlicky, and there were generous amounts of shaved Parmesan on top; not the highest-quality sort, but perfectly serviceable. For 89 Kč, it’s a good starter, although I’m not sure it would suffice for a full meal, although perhaps if ordered with chicken (for an extra 25 Kč), it would be better.
My friend’s starter of bruschetta (59 Kč) was so uneventful that I forgot to take a picture of it, and had to be reminded that he’d even had it. The tomatoes were fresh enough, but there was little seasoning and the bread was just average.
The pastas were quite good, for a lunch option. I had the tagliatelle Bolognese, and for 115 Kč, it was a heaping bowl that I couldn’t finish (granted, I had filled up on lettuce beforehand).
Tagliatelle Bolognese
The noodles were hot and fresh, and there was ample meat, coated in a rich, comforting tomato-based sauce. I found it very satisfying for a spag-bol craving, although I would have appreciated if there’d been extra Parmesan available, as there was only a dusting on top of the dish.
The spaghetti Carbonara, also for 115 Kč, was nice if slightly bland. The cream sauce was sweet and rich, but there were only a few flecks of bacon in the sauce. It also seemed a smaller portion than the Bolognese.
Spaghetti Carbonara
Returning a second time, I ordered two pizzas to go. I was in and out the door in 10 minutes — a great turnover. But the pizzas had wilted slightly by the time I’d walked them 10 minutes to my office. I had the “Verdure” pizza, for 115 Kč, which the menu claimed came with grilled vegetables, sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella.
Verdure pizza
When I opened the box on my desk, there was no sign of sun-dried tomatoes, and only a paltry offering of vegetables, which had perhaps been grilled but were soaked in olive oil and had lost much of their heat by the time I bit into them. The cherry tomatoes were also hard to crunch, giving an unpleasant range of textures for a pizza.
The “Crudo” pizza, for 135 Kč, fared better after the journey, as it looked less so like half of it had soaked into the box.
My colleague said it tasted fine, and we both agreed that the sauce on the pizzas was especially nice: bright and sweet. He said the rucola was clearly the bagged variety from the grocery store, and it looked as though the Parma ham was of the same origin.
Pizza Crudo
I wouldn’t go to Starsano if I was looking for a nice Italian meal out. There are much better places in Prague. But I will definitely keep it in mind (and recommend it) for a reasonably priced pasta or salad for lunchtime, for the variety. There’s always room for affordable, quick lunch options close to the city center.
In the first part of Broadband Security, you learnt why security is important for your computer. This article will describe what forms of security “online criminals” use to gain personal information, and how to prevent this. There are several ways how security is breached, and having a security package in place can prevent “online criminals” gaining personal information.This is not a new method of .. more …
There are beers that are made for light, social sipping, and then there are stronger beers that are made to wreak havoc on the senses, both in pairing unexpected tastes and in upping the alcohol content.
The 10° to 12° lagers on most pubs’ taps fall neatly and nicely in line with the pivo status quo. But there’s also the darker, exhilarating world of extreme beers that push traditional alcohol limits and test-drive a range of more unconventional flavors and brewing techniques. And in a country like the Czech Republic, where the making and partaking of beer are national pastimes, it’s only natural that the dark side would see the light of day.
Kocour Pivovar, the funky, indie brewery that pioneered the successful AleFestivAle in October (which I wrote about here), is hosting the aptly named Pivní Valentýnský Masakr (Valentine’s Beer Massacre) this Saturday, Feb. 19. It’s a fitting moniker for an event aimed at true lovers of beer (Chocolates and roses? I’ll take a finely crafted specialty brew, thank you) featuring a selection of Europe’s strongest beers. And seeing as even the lightest of what’s on offer is 17° — and ranging up to an unholy 26° — it most definitely will be a massacre. In the best way possible, of course.
According to Kocour’s website, the impressive list of beers on tap will include:
Bottled varieties featured will include Kaltenecker Brokát B27 Old Beer (Slovakia), Bakalář 18° (ČR) and Jihlavský Grand (ČR), as well as a selection of Bavarian Eisbocks, Belgian specialties, and beers from Brewdog (Scotland).
The festivities also feature a market of locally crafted items, specifically, those that have received the distinction of origin from the Destination Fund of Czech-Saxon Switzerland, and including ceramics, liqueurs, soaps and knives, among others.
Kocour, located in Varnsdorf, opens its gates for the event starting at 11 a.m. Entrance for the day costs 30 Kč (which the brewery cutely apologizes for on its website, explaining that their heating costs are quite high in winter) and includes entrance in a raffle, the winners of which will be announced between 4 and 5 p.m.
For the hungry, there will also be 10 butchers serving up meats, from the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland. Country band Ruksak will keep the atmosphere lively from 1 to 6 p.m., and the band Tohard will keep it going from 7 p.m. till 1 a.m.
Art and drink lovers should head to the top of the Hilton Prague Hotel this month for the latest installation of their Art in the Sky series. We wrote about their last exhibition in September and recently attended the opening of their newest project featuring Italian sculpture Marco di Piazza.
I’m a bit biased as sculpture is one of my favorite art forms but the work on display here is gorgeous. Piazza’s pieces are light and airy and you can feel the movement of the figures. With names like “Circular Dance” and Figure of Fire” you get the idea of the emotion behind them. There are 11 pieces in total, although not all are displayed in Cloud 9, the hotel’s rooftop cocktail bar, and primary home to the exhibit. There are some large pieces by the front entrance, in the lobby and outside on the hotel’s terrace.
Like last time, Cloud 9’s master bartender created cocktails to accompany the exhibit. The sculptures and their names are inspiration for the drinks, so you can enjoy a “Couple” (vodka, ginger syrup, triple sec and cranberry juice) or an “In That Direction” (Tia Maria, cacao dark and cream.) The “sculpture” cocktails also are specially priced at 130 CZK.
Theatreland, as it has come to be known, has a buzz unmatched anywhere else in the world and right in the middle of it all is Piccadilly Circus, a spectacular neon-lit intersection that oozes with excitement. Some of the shows in the theatre district have been running for decades. Plays such as The Phantom of the Opera, Blood Brothers and Les Miserables have been showing continuously for well over .. more …
43%, were the police in uniform? In the 76 journeys I have made in the last 6 years (centre to airport/airport to centre) I have never, ever been taken by the shortest route. My solution? Throw them 600kc and walk away, whatever they demand. The worst cab drivers in Europe by a country mile. I include the airport white knuckle rides as well, if I want to travel in fear I get on a rollercoaster.
