Where I want to live
The library of the Strahov monastery in Prague.
As of March 2011 this is the world’s largest indoor photo, 40 Gigapixels, 360-degree panorama.
JessicaRulestheUniverse.com
Personal blog of Jessica Zafra, author of The Collected Stories and the Twisted series
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April 4th, 2011 at 12:34
parang ang sarap umupa nang bahay malapit dyan! :D
April 4th, 2011 at 19:25
Hi Jessica. When a friend and I visited Prague in 2009, we stayed in Residence Monastery, which is part of the Strahov Monastery complex. The monastery (and the hotel) is perched on top of a hill overlooking Prague’s distinctive red rooftops and blue and gold spires, and is about a 25- minute walk to Charles Bridge. We took the tram a few times, got lost once (all the way to the city outskirts where the architecture is more Communist-era grungy than picturesque), and for two days, this hotel (which the taxi driver had trouble finding) provided us very nice but affordable accommodations, warmth from the bitter cold outside, hearty breakfasts every morning, and a built-in immersion in history and culture owing to its unique location. In late March when the trees had not quite shed their wintry character, the place had an austere and melancholy beauty that made me promise I would go back if given the opportunity. At night, the building and courtyard were suffused with a blurry golden light, equal parts eerie and romantic.
When I read this blogpost, quite frankly, I couldn’t remember if I saw the library. After a two-week trip, all those museums, cathedrals, castles, churches, and other historical landmarks sort of blend into each other. I knew nothing about the Strahov Library then, and because the monastery was just next door, I didn’t give it priority in our tour itinerary. Finally on our last morning in Prague, anxious about not missing the tram transfer that would bring us to the train station, my friend and I did a blitzkrieg visit of the library, less than an hour. In my travel notes I just have a cryptic “tiny place but crammed full with ancient books.” Now I have a hazy mental picture consisting of various bibles, an assortment of curios, and those books. Shame on me, this one got buried under memories of grander, flashier places of interest. My memories of Prague and the monastery complex itself, though, are right up there with the best of them.