Houses Of The Holy

“But you’re so far away.

Doesn’t anybody stay in one place anymore?

It would be so fine to see your face at my door.

Doesn’t help to know you’re so far away.”

--Carole King, So Far Away

Talk about relaxing.  The Czech Republic was a very nice stop during our trip.  It was a very nice time to reflect on all of our time in Europe and our imminent return to the English speaking world.  The prospect of returning to London is both exciting and sad.  Understanding the culture (more or less) and the language will be thrilling, but a big part of the adventure and the culture will be different.  It won’t be the same challenge to order food or to communicate.

Instead of the constant movement that was Barcelona or Paris, we wandered through Prague a lot.  We didn’t always have an end destination; we explored much more.  We didn’t arrive in Prague until 11:30 pm, and our first challenge was to obtain Czech koruna.  In taking the subway to our hostel, we needed change, which ATMs don’t provide.  So we found a random shop open in the train station to get change.  After getting to the right metro station, we proceeded to find our way through unfamiliar streets to the hostel.  It really wasn’t hard with the exception of orienting ourselves once we left the subway.

We didn’t start our next day until later than most others, which was so refreshing.  We stopped at a bakery recommended by our hostel, which became a routine of sorts.  We started wandering with the intent of finding the Prague Castle, but we made a wrong turn (or, more specifically, didn’t make a right turn) along the way.  Instead we found ourselves outside of a church called Loreta, which we later found out to be considered one of the most holy places in Prague.  We had to wait for fifteen minutes or so for it to open after a short lunch break. 

Loreta was incredible!  It started with what I want to call a “Walk of Saints.”  There were portraits of saints (and a few of Jesus or angels) hung around the porch of this courtyard.  Along with each portrait was a sign that provided a short bibliography or summary of each saint and a prayer.  The walk was so peaceful, reflective, inspiring, and prayerful.  Reading about all of the inspiring lives of different saints and remembering so many issues that should be prayed for, both for myself, for others, and for the world created an indescribable mood.

In addition to the paintings around the wall, there were murals on all of the ceilings and directly underneath the ceiling.  Everything was painted in light colors and felt very bright.  In contrast with this feeling, there was a small chapel that was kept darker and decorated with plenty of gold and silver.  This chapel was small enough that there was only one row of benches inside.

Beyond the chapel was the church.  The church was absolutely spectacular.  The only way I can think of to describe it is that the church was much heavier than the outside courtyard.  Almost everything near the altar was completely covered in gold.  Everything was so elaborate.  I can’t actually imagine attending a mass there because I would be so distracted by all of the decorations around me.

Of course most churches in Europe are not complete without some tourists.  The closer to the altar I sat, the less I noticed them.  The second time that I sat in the church, I sat in the third row.  The tourists and their cameras were so distracting!

Loreta also housed a monstrance decorated with an insane amount of diamonds as well as other chalice and monstrance sets decorated with various gems and designs.  They were all sights to behold.

We eventually did leave Loreta.  From there, we wandered until we happened upon a library and a church that was only open for worship services –such a strange concept from what I have been experiencing in Europe.  We did find the castle but didn’t enter because it was late enough.  Instead we went to a little café and enjoyed some strudel while looking out over the beautiful countryside that is Prague.

For dinner, we went to a restaurant that basically refused to let us leave without drinking a beer and a shot of some cinnamon liquor.  It was an interesting experience with some drunk guys in the corner requesting that the accordion player play the chicken dance.  Over and over and over again.