Day 30 – Sunday 7 June

We took the tram to the National Gallery of Modern Art – Trade Fair Palace in the hope of seeing Mucha’s Slavic Epic. When we got to the ticket desk I thought it would be a good idea to check if they were actually on site, as there was conflicting information on the internet.

Unfortunately they were not and were indeed in a town over 2 hours away. We were so disappointed, however the lovely lady explained that the museum was free today and there were many other great art works, including a Mucha we could view.

Well that was a bonus, so we spent just over two hours admiring the art works, including many of the masters from the 18th and 19th century. There were so many Picasso I lost count, plus Monet, Toulouse, Van Gough, Renoir, Gaugin to name a few. Impressionists, cubist, realist and more. An absolute feast for the eyes and one of the better collections we have seen.

Things got better at the cafe downstairs which was very reasonable and had great food including my favourite Norwegian cardamon buns. We enjoyed one of them and a raw raspberry and chocolate tart. That and two coffees came to 22 nzd. Cheaper than what we could have bought the equivalent.

Back on the tram, over the river and into old town for our next visual feast – the Municipal house. Entry is by tour guide only, and we only had a half hour wait till the next English tour. It would be impossible to describe this building, suffice to say it was incredible.

The detail at every level from floor to ceiling was mind extending. You would look at something, and then look again and realise you had missed a whole new visual journey – from inlaid wood, gem beading curtains and inlaid ceilings. Artistic brass work everywhere, lace curtains, painted ceilings and walls, fringed leather, bohemian glass, macrame, embroidery, relief work, mosaic, tiles….. I could go on and I could go again! Clearly a 3+ out of 3 recommended visit.

Mucha also was very influential in the design and decoration of the building, including one room entirely his own work. He was passionate about the Czech nationhood, and it was built at a time and for a purpose of inspiring people with a sense of Czech pride and unity.

Under communist rule it nearly was demolished and went into disrepair. Thankfully they got too busy to knock it over and in the 1990’s a huge restoration to ordinal drawings and specifications was undertaken. You can attend concerts there and other exhibitions.

Our tour finished at around 5pm, so we went downstairs to one of the ‘underground’ levels to the American bar – come beer hall. Here we enjoyed a top class perfect dinner of pork hock and duck leg – traditional style. To me it was the same as my German grandmother and mother would have cooked and therefore was comforting as well as delicious. Yes, 500ml of beer helped complete the experience.

It really has been a wonderful day today, and we conclude our Prague visit with positive memories and ideas of more one could do here. We did not manage a river cruise as it stays light till about 9pm and we cannot spare a late night tonight as we have a 0900 morning start tomorrow to catch a train.