Caffe Avec

December 7th. Prague

@brittarnhild

I haven´t counted my nativity collection since last December, but I guess I will soon be heading towards a hundred. The one I am showing you today is among the early ones, bought in Prague during the summer of 2006, when Terje and I spent a few days there.

Ever since I bought it, it has been one of my favorites, not least because of the lovely expressions in the faces of Mary and Josephs. My creches are often placed around in the house on a whim, though this one can often be found on the diningroom table.

 

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The visit in 2006 was my first visit to Prague, and among several amazing sights, I completely fell in love with the stained glass windows in the St. Vitus cathedral.

In 2006 I had never heard of Alphone Mucha, the artist from Prague, and I had no idea that this, and many other windows, were designed by him. On my next visit to Prague I "discovered" Mucha, but even then it took me a long time to discover that Mucha is the artist behind this heavenly art.

Here is a link to a post I wrote in 2006 about the stained glass windows.

And here is a post I wrote some years later about Alphonse Mucha.

 

 

 

Caffe Avec.....Fantove Kavarna in Prague

It was my last morning in Prague. A short stay, a busy stay with long work meetings and sightseeing squeezed in the best I could. The airport taxi would pick us up in an hour, my suitcase was packed.....and I realised I had time at hand for one more cup of coffee.

The previous day I had bought Prague Cafes, A Guide to the 50 Best Coffee Houses, and flipping though it, I saw that I would be able to run up to the railway station and have my coffee at Fantova Kavarna.

 From the book:

Prague's main railway station, built in the Prague Secession style built around 1901, was originally called Franz Joseph Station after the last but one emperor of the Habsburg dynasty.......No-one has high expectations of a station cafe, even if one knows that it has a long history and has seen illustrious guests. Passengers on the Orient Express took refreshment here, many film producers have used the hall as a backdrop, and the business-minded young tennis star, Anna Kournikove, posed in front of the camrea here for advertising shots......

The book was right. The coffee was not worth bragging about, but the atmosphere was quite something else. It was cold in the railway hall, but I enjoyed my time there......parfect inspirations for travel dreams and writing in my Moleskin.

 Some days are for good coffee, others are for the atmosphere....

Here are more Prague posts.