Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine February 2018 | Page 119
Travel | Prague
1 The façade of one of Prague’s many ornate
baroque-era buildings.
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2 The interior of the Church of St Nicholas
in Malá Strana.
5 Senses – Sound
PRAGUE SPRING
INTERNATIONAL
MUSIC FESTIVAL
The castle offers spectacular views from the windows:
a chequerboard of tiled roofs and green domes tumbling
down to the Charles Bridge...
Prague is one of Europe’s cultural
capitals, famed for its music and
opera, but also for hosting theatre,
ballet and a variety of annual and
occasional festivals. The Prague
Spring International Music Festival is
a highlight. Running from May 12 to
June 3 this year, the series of music
events includes concerts, opera and
church recitals, as well as pop music,
and showcases the country’s top
performers as well as international
guests. www.festival.cz
Praha merupakan salah satu ibu
kota budaya Eropa, yang terkenal tak
hanya musik dan operanya, namun
juga tempat teater, balet dan beragam
festival tertentu maupun tahunan.
Prague Spring Music Festival termasuk
yang dinanti. Berlangsung mulai 12 Mei
hingga 3 Juni tahun ini, rangkaian acara
musik digelar seperti konser, opera,
resital musik gereja, dan musik pop
yang menampilkan bintang-bintang
dari dalam maupun luar negeri.
glows in spotlights like a surreal fairy-tale vision,
its reflection shimmering in the ripples of
the Vltava below. It isn’t so much a castle as
a vast sprawl of palaces, government offices,
outbuildings, museums and courtyards. The
complex has always been at the heart of Czech
history: an imperial residence during Prague’s
Golden Age, a brooding presence during the
Stalinist regime, and more recently a symbol
of the country’s new-found freedom.
The castle is entered through gates topped by
grim statues of the Battling Titans, under which
fresh-faced young guards stand surrounded
by a swarm of tourists. Wander on through the
medieval wood-beamed coronation hall, the
gingerbread cottages of the Golden Lane (once
home to palace servants) and the world’s largest
toy museum. The castle offers spectacular views
from the windows: a chequerboard of tiled roofs
and green domes tumbling down to the Charles
Bridge and a lazy, picturesque sweep of the river.
Equally impressive and just as romantic is the
interior of St Vitus Cathedral, a kaleidoscope of
glowing stained glass, baroque madness and royal
tombs at the heart of the castle complex. Squeeze
your way up the Gothic cathedral tower and peer
down at gargoyles, flying buttresses and metal
spikes topped by rooster weathervanes. Below you
lie the courtyards of the castle and the gardens
laid out by the Hapsburgs; around that a sprawl
of mansions, elaborate as whipped meringue,
fall away in a tumble of rooftops and church
spires to a river glinting like molten silver.
This is better than any theme park:
a thousand years of history at your feet,
arranged to perfection. It’s a great place to pop
the question or, failing that, for a quick kiss.
After all, this is Prague, and love is in the air.
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