Last Sunday my boys and myself needed some exercise and outdoors, so we put on face masks and went to explore one of my favourite parks in Prague, especially in the Spring, the Petrin Hill. The hill offers breathtaking views and is covered with many fruit trees which are fully in blossom right now.
The hill is featured prominently in Franz Kafka’s early short story “Description of a Struggle” and briefly in Milan Kundera’s novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Medieval defence wall, the Hunger Wall was built on Petřín Hill during 1360 – 1362, by the order of Czech King Charles IV. The Petřín Lookout Tower, which strongly resembles the Eiffel Tower, was built atop a hill in 1891. Other sights include the Rose Garden, Mirror Maze, Cathedral of Saint Lawrence, and St Michael Church. Everything was closed now, of course, but at least it wasn´ t hard to keep the social distancing as there were very few people around.
The summit of the hill is linked to Prague’s Malá Strana district by the Petřín funicular, a funicular railway that first operated in 1891. But just like everything else in Prague now, the funicular is not operating, so we hiked and got the much needed exercise.
Sitting at the foot of the Petrin Tower on top of the hill, drinking coffee offered by a sole stand open, watching the sun set and listening to many birds singing, was a truly magical experience.