Featured Book

Featured Articles

Travel Safety

Featured Advertisers

Hotel Savoy Prague

Sea Kayak Advenures

Search

go

Search By Country:


Search Now:

Experiences

go

Stalking Kafka in Prague


Writer Franz Kafka lived most of his life in and around Prague's Old Town Square. Copyright Kathryn Means.Dawn breaks on a gray and chilly morning in Prague. A handful of tourists are already stationed in the shadows of the dimly lit statues that line the Charles Bridge, the city's most familiar monument. Their cameras are aimed at the fairytale Prague Castle that overlooks the city. Built on the rocky headlands above the Vltava River, the castle is barely visible through the fog. It is the beginning of a perfectly Kafkaesque day, surreal with a hint of danger.

 

Franz Kafka, acknowledged as Prague's greatest writer, both loved and hated the city of his birth and incorporated its monuments, especially the legendary bridge, castle and cathedral, into his nightmarish novels.

Kafka's sad, dark eyes stare from book jackets in every bookstore. Kafka kitsch, including T-shirts with reproductions of his portrait, are sold in every souvenir shop. There is a Franz Kafka Gallery, prominently situated on the Old Town Square, the Kafka Centre, a Kafka Hotel, a Kafka Theatre and endless other reminders of the celebrated author.

St. Vitus Cathedral, site of one of the most famous scenes in Kafka's book The Trial, looms over Prague Castle. Copyright Kathryn Means.In one of his most famous books, The Trial, the character Josef K., a thin disguise for Kafka himself, is asked by his boss to show an important Italian client around Prague. After brushing up his Italian and boning up on city sights, Josef K. learns that the visitor, whose time is limited, had decided he only wants to visit the hauntingly gothic St. Vitus Cathedral.

As the Italian realized, there is so much to see and savor in this "city of a thousand monuments" that the tourist who blindly follows the crowds from sight to sight soon succumbs to sensory overload. There is the beautiful setting on a river, brocaded buildings that make Prague a veritable living architectural museum, galleries and gardens, restaurants and cafes, fairs and festivals and music everywhere.

One way to combine all of Prague's riches into a single objective is to custom-design your own thematic tour around the writer. My husband and I found that our pilgrimage to Kafka turned an ordinary sightseeing tour into an adventure trip.

We were not the first visitors to Prague whose imaginations have been fed and inflamed by Kafka's dark obsessions. Filmmakers from Orson Welles to Steven Soderbergh have tried to capture the macabre horror of his stories and novels. Welles turned The Trial into a satisfying gothic melodrama starring Anthony Perkins, while Soderbergh, working from a script by Harold Pinter, sent a cadaverous-looking Jeremy Irons into the jaws of the darkened castle.

How could anyone living in such a beautiful city portray the sensuous appeal of cold fright so convincingly, we asked ourselves as we meandered down the scenic cobblestoned streets of Prague? The answer is that Kafka had a passionate interest in the history of this city that had known the horrors of invasion, foreign occupation, anarchy, plunder, hunger, pestilence, tortures and beheadings. He had his own personal demons as well. As a member of the small German-speaking, Jewish minority, he was largely alienated from his Slavic neighbors. Even worse, he was terrified of his tyrannical father who criticized his shy, sensitive son constantly. Today the family would be in therapy. Instead of writing about his angst, Kafka might have spilled it out to a support group.

Tyn Church, a Baroque building with a Gothic interior, contains the tomb of astronomer Tycho de Brahe. Kafka lived next to it at one time in his life. Copyright Kathryn Means.Prague was the 14th century capital of the Holy Roman Empire and is one of the few cities of Europe not destroyed during World War II. Emperor Rudolph II, who ruled there from 1578 to 1612, wanted to know how he could live forever and remain very rich. If Rudolph were reincarnated, he would be a well-buffed Wall Street securities dealer. Like them, he relieved his angst by shopping. He eventually amassed one of the world's great collections of art, jewelry and the decorative arts. Meanwhile, Jesuit priests were turning Prague into the most sumptuous Italianate city north of the Alps.

Kafka lived mainly in or around the Old Town Square. It is the centerpiece of any excursion to Prague and the logical place to begin a pilgrimage to the writer. We stationed ourselves at a window table on the second floor in Café Milena at the Franz Kafka Centre to enjoy cappuccino and crepes while we plotted our sightseeing strategy.

Removed from the crowd below, we also waited for the twelve apostles to appear on the hour above the 15th century astronomical clock on the Old Town Hall.

Like Kafka's prose, we knew that our pilgrimage would have to be tightly controlled. Kafka was a tall, long-legged man who needed very little sleep. All his life, he sought solace by roaming the city's hills and gardens, swimming in its pools and ponds, and rowing or rafting on the river.

At night, he visited cafes, theaters, concert halls and movie houses as well as the homes and apartments of his friends. Many of the buildings associated with the father of modern legal thrillers still exist and it would be impossible to visit all of them in the few days we had allowed.

Tourists flock over the Charles Bridge, past its statues of saints and heroes, on their way from the Old Town to the castle. Copyright Kathryn Means.The house where Kafka was born was on the northeast side of the square at U Radnice 5, in the immediate vicinity of the Church of St. Nicholas. Only the entrance to his birthplace remains, but the church, built between 1704 and 1755, is the most significant building of the "Prague Baroque" period. Another church that was a familiar sight to Kafka was the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn, a prominent Gothic building with a Baroque interior, where astronomer Tycho de Brahe is buried.

The upwardly mobile Kafka family moved several times in the space of a few years. Between 1885 and 1888, they lived on Wenceslas Square, a short walk from the Old Town Square. Today, Wenceslas Square is best remembered as the site of the police brutality that led to the Velvet Revolution and the overthrow of Communism in 1989. Kafka would no doubt find it vaguely amusing that the communists touted him as a "revolutionary critic of capitalist alienation."

Kafka grew up during the dawn of cinematography and frequented the Art Nouveau movie houses along Wenceslas Square.

 

The House of "U Minuty (at the minute)" where the Kafka family lived when young Franz was in elementary school, still stands at Male Namesti (Small Square) 2, Praha 1, and is easily recognized by the classical sgraffito, an etched design, on its façade.

The family cook walked him to school past the hanging carcasses and stench of flesh in the meat market, all the while threatening to tell the teacher he had been naughty. Long before they reached the school, the future writer of horror stories was so terrified that he clung to door posts and the cornerstones of buildings. Is it any wonder that at the age of 13 he decided to become a vegetarian, a decision that enraged his meat-eating father?

The traveler doggedly following Kafka's footsteps through Prague is rewarded for the effort so many times that it seems Kakfa lived his life with future voyeurs in mind. How many children go to school in a palace? Kafka's secondary school was in the Goltz-Kinsky Palace, still standing only a stone's throw from the double-spired Tyn Church.

Kakfa received his Doctor of Law degree from the German University. The law school was housed in the Carolinum, the remnant of a university founded by Charles IV in the 14th century. The building, at 9 Zelezna St., just off the Old Town Square, is easily recognized by the oriel window projecting from a gothic chapel.

Golden Lane, where goldsmiths lived in tiny, quaint cottages behind the castle in the 17th century, is the most picturesque street connected to the writer. He rented No. 22 with his favorite sister, Ottla, for a few months in 1916-1917 so he could write in peace and quiet. Today, tourists have to perform a sort of line-dance, with everybody shifting directions as if on cue, to get from one end of the lane to the other. Even the Charles Bridge was not that crowded during the week we spent in Prague.

The office of the President of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel, is located in the castle compound. We were standing outside the building listening to the cathedral bells strike noon when we sensed we were under surveillance by a young woman standing near the entrance. Had we attracted the attention of a plainclothes security guard? Were we going to end up in our own Kafkaesque nightmare, innocent and under suspicion? While we pondered this possibility, a handsome young man in a business suit shot through a side door and the woman thew herself into his arms. Our misdeed had been to witness a lunchtime tryst that was meant to be private.

Kafka continued to write in the little house on Golden Lane after he moved to the Schonborn Palace on Trziste Square, still identified by its decorative caryatids. As he often did, we walked from Golden Lane through the castle grounds to his rooms in the palace.

This ancient astronomical clock and circular calendar with the signs of the zodiac fired the young Kafka's imagination as he watched it from his window. Copyright Kathryn Means.One of Kafka's favorite nature walks at all seasons of the year was to Petrin Park on Petrin Hill. Today local families with children mingle with young lovers and tourists to ride the little railway to the top of the hill and climb the 299-step spiral staircase of the 100-year-old observation tower for a panoramic view of the city. We did not stop at the Nebozizek café, halfway up the hill, though we heard its apple strudel is to die for. Instead we zoomed to the top to climb the tower. Afterwards we walked through wooded slopes and ancient orchards to Strahov Monastery, following the 14th century fortification known as the Hunger Wall. It is said that the wall was commissioned by Charles IV to give work to men who were starving during a famine, much like the Civilian Conservation Corps did in the United States during the Great Depression.

Detail. Copyright Kathryn Means.Strahov Monastery, founded in 1140, was a familiar sight to Kafka and it is still a working monastery and museum.

We finished our tour with a metro ride to the suburb of Vinohrady where Kafka is buried beside his parents in the New Jewish Cemetery. He died of tuberculosis in 1924. His medical condition undoubtedly contributed to his sense of doom. He became familiar with death at a very early age when his two younger brothers died in infancy. His three sisters, who outlived him by many years, died at Auchwitz. Though Kafka never married, he was engaged three times, twice to the same woman. His father strongly opposed these engagements and Kafka himself wondered how he could support a wife on his meager salary from the insurance agency. His work, written in German, was little known in Prague during his lifetime.

Detail. Copyright Kathryn Means.While we read the inscription on the dignified stone obelisk on Kafka's grave, an insect stung the back of my hand. A few hours later it began to throb with pain. It was still red and swollen a week later. Kafka once wrote, "Prague does not let go…This little mother has claws." Maybe it wasn't an insect that stung me. Had I been clawed?

When you go

Boutique hotels, or those quaint little hole-in-the-wall accommodations my husband and I prefer when we are traveling for pleasure rather than business, fill up fast in Prague. Spur-of-the-moment travelers like us may find themselves out of luck when they try to book into places like the popular U Pava, Pension Vetrnik or Pension Pav. Our travel agent in Houston came to the rescue and recommended the five-star Palace Praha Hotel (Panska 12, Prague 1, tel: 2-2409-3111.) It turned out to be an excellent choice. The location just off Wenceslas Square could not have been better and we became reacquainted with old-world, Swiss-style hospitality. The breakfast/brunch featured everything from cold cereal to smoked salmon and omelets cooked to order. It easily satisfied our hunger until teatime.

One restaurant we can truly rave about is the Vinarna v Zatisi, located just off Bethlehem Square down a small side street not far from the Charles Bridge or the Old Town Square, at Liliova 1, Betlemske namesti 2-2422-8977. The menu is European contemporary and is imaginatively and impeccably interpreted. Of course you'll want to try a traditional meal and we were not disappointed in the venison, cabbage, dumplings and beer we had at Mucha, (Melatrichovas 5, tel: 26 35 86), a restaurant with a Victorian atmosphere named for the Art Nouveau artist Alfons Mucha, whose paintings adorn the walls.

A Czech Government Tourist Office is located at 1109 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10028 (212) 288-0830.

Kafka grew up during the dawn of cinematography and frequented the Art Nouveau movie houses along Wenceslas Square.

The House of "U Minuty (at the minute)" where the Kafka family lived when young Franz was in elementary school, still stands at Male Namesti (Small Square) 2, Praha 1, and is easily recognized by the classical sgraffito, an etched design, on its façade.

The family cook walked him to school past the hanging carcasses and stench of flesh in the meat market, all the while threatening to tell the teacher he had been naughty. Long before they reached the school, the future writer of horror stories was so terrified that he clung to door posts and the cornerstones of buildings. Is it any wonder that at the age of 13 he decided to become a vegetarian, a decision that enraged his meat-eating father?

The traveler doggedly following Kafka's footsteps through Prague is rewarded for the effort so many times that it seems Kakfa lived his life with future voyeurs in mind. How many children go to school in a palace? Kafka's secondary school was in the Goltz-Kinsky Palace, still standing only a stone's throw from the double-spired Tyn Church.

Kakfa received his Doctor of Law degree from the German University. The law school was housed in the Carolinum, the remnant of a university founded by Charles IV in the 14th century. The building, at 9 Zelezna St., just off the Old Town Square, is easily recognized by the oriel window projecting from a gothic chapel.

Golden Lane, where goldsmiths lived in tiny, quaint cottages behind the castle in the 17th century, is the most picturesque street connected to the writer. He rented No. 22 with his favorite sister, Ottla, for a few months in 1916-1917 so he could write in peace and quiet. Today, tourists have to perform a sort of line-dance, with everybody shifting directions as if on cue, to get from one end of the lane to the other. Even the Charles Bridge was not that crowded during the week we spent in Prague.

The office of the President of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel, is located in the castle compound. We were standing outside the building listening to the cathedral bells strike noon when we sensed we were under surveillance by a young woman standing near the entrance. Had we attracted the attention of a plainclothes security guard? Were we going to end up in our own Kafkaesque nightmare, innocent and under suspicion? While we pondered this possibility, a handsome young man in a business suit shot through a side door and the woman thew herself into his arms. Our misdeed had been to witness a lunchtime tryst that was meant to be private.

Kafka continued to write in the little house on Golden Lane after he moved to the Schonborn Palace on Trziste Square, still identified by its decorative caryatids. As he often did, we walked from Golden Lane through the castle grounds to his rooms in the palace.

This ancient astronomical clock and circular calendar with the signs of the zodiac fired the young Kafka's imagination as he watched it from his window. Copyright Kathryn Means.One of Kafka's favorite nature walks at all seasons of the year was to Petrin Park on Petrin Hill. Today local families with children mingle with young lovers and tourists to ride the little railway to the top of the hill and climb the 299-step spiral staircase of the 100-year-old observation tower for a panoramic view of the city. We did not stop at the Nebozizek café, halfway up the hill, though we heard its apple strudel is to die for. Instead we zoomed to the top to climb the tower. Afterwards we walked through wooded slopes and ancient orchards to Strahov Monastery, following the 14th century fortification known as the Hunger Wall. It is said that the wall was commissioned by Charles IV to give work to men who were starving during a famine, much like the Civilian Conservation Corps did in the United States during the Great Depression.

Detail. Copyright Kathryn Means.Strahov Monastery, founded in 1140, was a familiar sight to Kafka and it is still a working monastery and museum.

We finished our tour with a metro ride to the suburb of Vinohrady where Kafka is buried beside his parents in the New Jewish Cemetery. He died of tuberculosis in 1924. His medical condition undoubtedly contributed to his sense of doom. He became familiar with death at a very early age when his two younger brothers died in infancy. His three sisters, who outlived him by many years, died at Auchwitz. Though Kafka never married, he was engaged three times, twice to the same woman. His father strongly opposed these engagements and Kafka himself wondered how he could support a wife on his meager salary from the insurance agency. His work, written in German, was little known in Prague during his lifetime.

Detail. Copyright Kathryn Means.While we read the inscription on the dignified stone obelisk on Kafka's grave, an insect stung the back of my hand. A few hours later it began to throb with pain. It was still red and swollen a week later. Kafka once wrote, "Prague does not let go…This little mother has claws." Maybe it wasn't an insect that stung me. Had I been clawed?

When you go

Boutique hotels, or those quaint little hole-in-the-wall accommodations my husband and I prefer when we are traveling for pleasure rather than business, fill up fast in Prague. Spur-of-the-moment travelers like us may find themselves out of luck when they try to book into places like the popular U Pava, Pension Vetrnik or Pension Pav. Our travel agent in Houston came to the rescue and recommended the five-star Palace Praha Hotel (Panska 12, Prague 1, tel: 2-2409-3111.) It turned out to be an excellent choice. The location just off Wenceslas Square could not have been better and we became reacquainted with old-world, Swiss-style hospitality. The breakfast/brunch featured everything from cold cereal to smoked salmon and omelets cooked to order. It easily satisfied our hunger until teatime.

One restaurant we can truly rave about is the Vinarna v Zatisi, located just off Bethlehem Square down a small side street not far from the Charles Bridge or the Old Town Square, at Liliova 1, Betlemske namesti 2-2422-8977. The menu is European contemporary and is imaginatively and impeccably interpreted. Of course you'll want to try a traditional meal and we were not disappointed in the venison, cabbage, dumplings and beer we had at Mucha, (Melatrichovas 5, tel: 26 35 86), a restaurant with a Victorian atmosphere named for the Art Nouveau artist Alfons Mucha, whose paintings adorn the walls.

A Czech Government Tourist Office is located at 1109 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10028 (212) 288-0830.