Up and Up to Fantasy Land

The little fur-clad woman moved aside as I stepped by. There was plenty of room in the covered stairway; I wondered why she’d stepped aside as I continued past. It’s that way with lots of Czechs… they go out of their way to avoid you. They’ll stare at you but when you glance back, they look away at a wall or at the floor. I reached the top of the stairs and the mouth of the tunnel opened to a plain white wall of Strahov Monastery.*

I had chosen Strahov to explore because it was close. No point in taking the tram across Prague when there is a monastery dating back to 1140AD a few hundred meters away from my dorm. I circled the building and found myself in Narnia. There was a metal lamppost next to a large wooden door with bows of evergreens hanging and spiraling about it. As if on cue, snow began lightly falling out of the sky. I smiled and looked up. Tiny droplets dotted my cheeks. I think this is how C.S. Lewis must have liked his Christmases.

I continued walking and noted a steep, seemingly-endless driveway to my left. Several Czechs with dogs were walking down it. ‘Why not,’ I thought. I trekked up for minutes on end. I was amazed to suddenly find myself in a deserted park hundreds of feet above Prague: Petřín Hill. Ice coated the ground, and snow coated the ice. Undaunted, I continued to explore the maze of icy walkways. There were several churches on the hill along with a Czech Eiffel Tower and a house of mirrors (both closed for the season). They seemed out of place here, as if exiled from the main city of Prague.

Before descending some icy switchbacks to a tram stop, I veered over to a peculiar section of the hill marked by Spanish walls and corridors. I ducked into stone passages and around walls covered in graffiti. I was walking the path less traveled by when I discovered a hobbit hole. I’d have very much liked a hot cup of tea, but he must have been out of town…

*James Bond: Casino Royale will be filming in the Strahov Monastery in less than two weeks.