Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ing churches, perched high above Vyšehradská, the tramlines tracing a sweeping curve be-
low. Unfortunately it's closed to visitors, though you might be able to sneak in for the 11am
Sunday service, which is held in German.
Botanická zahrada (Botanical garden)
Na Slupi 16 • Daily: Feb & March 10am-5pm; April-Aug 10am-7.30pm; Sept & Oct 10am-6pm; Nov-Jan
10am-4pm • Greenhouses 55Kč • 221 951 879,
bz-uk.cz
• Tram #6, #18 or #24 to Botanická zahrada
The
Botanická zahrada
belongs to Charles University's botanic garden, laid out in 1897 on
aseriesofterraces.Thoughfarfromspectacular,thegardenisoneofthefewpatchesofgreen
in this part of town, and the 1930s greenhouses (
skleníky
) have been restored to their former
glory.
U kalicha
Na Bojišti 12-14 • 224 912 557,
ukalicha.cz
• Metro I.P. Pavlova
The
Ukalicha
pubisimmortalizedintheopeningpassagesoftheconsistentlypopularcomic
novel
The Good Soldier Švejk
, by Jaroslav Hašek. In the story, on the eve of World War I,
Švejk (Schweik to the Germans) walks into
U kalicha
, where a plain-clothes officer of the
Austro-Hungarian constabulary is sitting drinking and, after a brief conversation, finds him-
self arrested in connection with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. Whatever the pub
may have been like in Hašek's day (and even then, it wasn't his local), it's now unashamedly
oriented towards reaping in the euros, and about the only authentic thing you'll find inside -
albeit at a price - is the beer.
Muzeum Antonína Dvořáka (Dvořák Museum)
Ke Karlovu 20 • Tues-Sun 10am-1.30pm & 2-5pm • 50Kč • 224 918 013,
nm.cz
• Metro I.P. Pavlova
Set back from the road, the elegant salmon-pink
Vila Amerika
houses the
Muzeum An-
tonína Dvořáka
, devoted to Czech composer
Antonín Dvořák
(1841-1904), who lived for
a time on nearby Žitná. Even if you've no interest in Dvořák, the house itself is a delight,
designed for the upwardly mobile Count Michna as a minuscule Baroque summer palace
around 1720 and one of Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer's most successful secular works. Easily
themostfamousofallCzechcomposers,formanyyearsDvořákhadtoplaysecondfiddleto
Smetana in the orchestra at the Národní divadlo, where Smetana was the conductor. Among
the various items of memorabilia are Dvořák's golden honorary degree gown from Cam-
bridge and some furniture from his Žitná flat. However, the tasteful period rooms, with the
composer's music wafting in and out and the tiny garden dotted with Baroque sculptures,
compensate for what the display cabinets may lack. Occasional concerts take place upstairs,
in the
velky sál
, with its trompe l'oeil frescoes.
