Prague: of ring of Kafka
It was both his prison and inspiration. Of the atmosphere oprimía, but also gave vent to his literary talent. Praga y Kafka. Kafka y Praga. No means the one without the other. Its streets are the ring where the tormented writer himself settled accounts in search of a reason to redeem the absurdity of existence. Follow in his footsteps by the current Prague is another incentive to dive into a city full of inducements.
[tab: Travel]Franz Kafka is one of Prague's history even more than his famous Charles Bridge. Visit the latter is a must for any traveler passing through the Czech capital, but how do you look for Kafka in Prague today? Speak of the great writer, course, the houses where he lived, wrote and suffered; the streets he walked his rebellion against a world that he throttled by the minute; the bridges over the Vltava that fueled his tormented thoughts about suicide; parks that reconciled with a city that always fought shy… All these places, and many others where the trail survives, allow travelers to delve into the troubled world of who is considered by many the father of twentieth century literature. One of his rivals, Eugene Ionesco, pioneer of the theater of the absurd, wrote that the history of humanity could be in a cigarette paper: "They were born, suffered and died ". The Kafka-although not died in Prague began to die on the day of his birth- is linked to Prague and a stroll through the city in search of the shadow of that legacy is a must for lovers of history and literature.
Its streets are the ring where the tormented writer himself settled accounts in search of a reason to redeem the absurdity of existence.
The tour can start a few meters from the Old Town Square, fotografiadísimo housing the impressive astronomical clock and Tyn Cathedral. At the gates of picturesque Jewish quarter, Josefov, in number 5 the Rathausgasse (U radnice), City Street, is the house where the author of "The Metamorphosis", of which only the portal, and now converted into a museum. A bust of Kafka by the entrance and a fountain with two cherubs urinating left and right indicate that we are in the right place, as directed by the streets of the city guided by the instructions of street is not always easy. The nearby St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral is another helpful reference.
Tourist attraction
Inside the house you can visit a small exhibition of a writer who, surely much to his regret, has also been reduced to icon "merchandising" Czech. Breakfast cups, beer mugs, calendars, t, pens… Kafka's face is screenprinted on a host of products and, 84 years after his death, the main attraction of the emerging advertising Czech Republic.
The family of a Jewish artist, who, paradoxically, always wrote in German- moved home several times. Some of these houses have been demolished. The traveler looking, eg, The Boat House (adonde the family Kafka if he moved in June 1907) in the number 11 of the Antigua Niklasstrasse (Hoy Parizska), within walking distance of the river Vltava and the Czech Bridge, will smack into the luxurious Hotel Intercontinental. In the same place, on the top floor of the old rental building, write to the 29 years, one night in September 1912, his first novel, "Conviction". "I've written in one sitting during the night of 22 the 23, between ten pm and six o'clock he writes in his diary, elated. I could barely get out of my legs under the desk, that I had fallen asleep so long to be seated ".
"The only solution was to jump out the window"
From the windows of the former Casa del Barco Kafka saw the bridge was constructed Czech. The fog that enveloped the icy waters of the Vltava in the cold days of winter must not help lift your mood, chained to a terrible pessimism that impelled him to flirt with suicide. "Torments in bed at dawn. The only solution was to jump out the window ", writes in his diary in August 1913, three months before embarking on a new move. A Kafka uses his passion for literature and the obligation to engage in work that considers banal (in a mutual insurance and accidents, near modern Wenceslas Square). "My job is unbearable to me because it contradicts my only desire, my only vocation, which is the literature. Given that I am nothing but literature and I can not want to be anything more than that, my employment may not attract me never, although it can completely destroy me. I'm not very far from it ". Cornered by the frustration, not surprisingly, is defined as "a man imprisoned in myself, taciturn, all social, dissatisfied ".
Here also writes "The Metamorphosis", his most famous story, that does not withstand the sieve of their nonconformity. "I have been reading at home" Transformation "and find it bad", is relieved. But he can not shake her head. "I keep thinking the black beetle, but not write ".
Belvedere under the stars
Crossing the Bridge Czech, on the docks of Swim School Civil (another of its weaknesses), the traveler will smack into the jardines the Belvedere (high Letenska sady), where the Czech writer sought refuge in solitude. From a viewpoint where at the time (during the Soviet occupation) rose a statue of the dictator Stalin, will enjoy magnificent views of the Vltava and Old Town and Jewish Quarter. "Last night, en el Belvedere, Under the Stars ", Kafka reflects an August night 1913. The gardens shelter a unique building, the Hanau Pavilion, donated by a German prince early in the century. Today it houses a cafe that offers a panoramic view of Prague is well worth a stop.
Close by is Belvedere Chotek Park, of preferido of Kafka, saw it as the most beautiful place in Prague, where he used to sit unleash latent self-destruction. "Birds singing, the castle with the gallery, the old trees with foliage hanging previous year, the darkness ". All ingredients, for him, formed "welfare". And really worth laying on the prairies of Chotek and soak in the romantic, isolated from the bustle of the tourist Prague here, from above, looks like a sleepy town.
Only minutes walk to the Prague Castle, spreading its menacing shadow over Small City (Mala Strana), a strange presence and distant forcing Kafka to write "The Castle", one of his best works. To sense the feeling stifling and oppressive that fortification might cause the writer you have to climb the old stairs walk, now full of street stalls, step by step and feel the weight of his sturdy walls on the old inhabitants of Prague. Only in this way, I, the novel can be understood, that delves into the helplessness of the human being always hostile to half.
La Tumba de Kafka
The mark of Kafka still printed in many other places in Prague, on which I shall not bore the reader not to: the house of Bilekgasse (Bilkova corner today Dusni) where he wrote "The Trial" (should be required reading for all students of law); the island of St. Sophia, at the foot of the National Theatre, a haven of peace on the banks of the Vltava flanked by Franz Kaise Bridge; the Golden Lane (Jirska ulice), behind the castle, the house he shared with his sister Ottla and today is a "Kafkaesque sanctuary" where you can find his works in several languages; the old coffee Savoy (plaza Kozi esquina Vezenska) where Kafka went to the Yiddish theater performances…
The list is endless, but this journey can not conclude without a visit to the final resting place of the writer: the new Jewish cemetery in Prague, where he was buried after dying in a sanatorium in Vienna 3 June 1924, to 40 age.
To reach the cemetery (not to be confused with the old cemetery in Josefov, always crowded with tourists) it is best take Metro line A and get off at the station Zelivskeho. Once outside you have to cross a street and ask permission to charge the enclosure, will force us to cover our head with the "kippah" Jewish. The road to where Kafka is buried with his parents part of the strip, lined with mature trees. Just follow the signs, that at any given time steps of the traveler twisted clockwise, where the writer's grave beside the outer wall of the cemetery. Devotees of his work tend to stop short votive funky written on paper that embedded in the stone from the grave. The traveler does not want to be less. "Thank you for your work, that help us better understand the absurdity that surrounds us. That the earth will be mild ", written as a sincere tribute.
[tab: the way]Iberia (www.iberia.com), Air Europa (www.aireuropa.com) y Czech Airlines (www.czechairlines.com) Direct flights to Prague.
[tab: a table set]Restaurant "Uzlateho Fairy", in the Calle Karlova. Potato Salad, pork with cabbage and crepes for dessert, eg. No perderse the local cerveza. But the best "anti-crisis" menu consists of gorging on local sausages at street stalls.
[tab: a nap]Prague has a wide range of hotels, but if you want to escape the bustle of the historic center is a good choice Hotel Racek, on the banks of the Vltava (National LOUCA Dvorecke). Leaves room for less than 25 euros per night.
[tab: highly recommended]
Worth spending a few minutes to enjoy the views of the city and the Vltava River from the jardines the Belvedere or from rises from San Lorenzo (the ascent on foot is not recommended in winter, for that there is a funicular that avoids dangerous slips). It's a different perspective to the city's busiest (and sometimes saturated) of the Old Town Square or Charles Bridge.
Two bedside books to trace the trail of the great writer: "La Praga de Kafka", de Klaus Wagenbach, in Peninsula Publishing, and "Franz Kafka. Daily ", in Debolsillo Editions.
[tab:END]
Comments (4)
Maribel
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Impressive.
When I was in Prague seemed like a fairy tale city. Now, Thanks to this story, I know it is.
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Rosa
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I will visit Prague in a few days. The information in this article I will be very useful.
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Mayte
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Bueniiisimo and super interesting. I love Prague, this story made me want to return soon. Thanks Ricardo!!
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La revista de viajes con HistoriaS Maneras de viajar
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[…] Prague, after several days following the footsteps of Kafka, one of my favorite writers, if not the most, my companion exploded in front of a house […]
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