Fourth day in Prague.
We are up at the crack of dawn to drive into the quiet Czech countryside. Our coach arrives at Novy Dvur about an hour early, so we sketch and take photos until the monks are ready for us. The absolute peace and tranquility of the place is like the surface of an undisturbed lake, lucid and perfect, save for the sounds of birds.
One monk comes out in his white robes to receive us. We have a short meeting with him, as he explains the protocol for being at the monastery and talks a little about monastic life and Novy Dvur. After the meeting we have another hour before mid morning prayers and then a mass. We sketch and shoot some more.
It turns out there is a European Scout troop here from France to help with construction of a guesthouse. They are young, and there are maybe fifty of them. We all file into the church for the services.
Entering the church at Novy Dvur is a catharsis.
The structure is all white, and the simplified lines and curves are accented by a vacuum of light. There are no electric lights in the church, save for a few halogen bulbs above each monk’s seat. It is all sunlight sucked in through windows mounted on either side of the church. You know when a cloud goes by. And it is so quiet. The silence echoes.
We sit for the mid morning prayers and for the mass. The monks singing the prayers puts me in a meditative state. There is such clarity. After the mass, there is another round of prayers, and I stay for it. I meet with everyone outside afterwards.
We return to Prague later in the afternoon. We all split up; some of us go hire paddleboats, and the rest go on to explore or shop. It is our last night. Around 10, we all walk up to a high place in the city where the panorama of lights and landscape is beautiful. There is a large metronome-like device in the park, and two large urns that supposedly once held the fires of communism, which have long since been extinguished here. The Czechs are left to their own devices. Capitalism and democracy are young here, and the bitter taste of Czechoslovakia is still ripe in the mouths of its people. But Prague is a symbol of promise and enterprise for them. Amidst the struggle to move on and to become accepted as a member of western Europe, there is an echo of hope and optimism.
We are up at the crack of dawn to drive into the quiet Czech countryside. Our coach arrives at Novy Dvur about an hour early, so we sketch and take photos until the monks are ready for us. The absolute peace and tranquility of the place is like the surface of an undisturbed lake, lucid and perfect, save for the sounds of birds.
One monk comes out in his white robes to receive us. We have a short meeting with him, as he explains the protocol for being at the monastery and talks a little about monastic life and Novy Dvur. After the meeting we have another hour before mid morning prayers and then a mass. We sketch and shoot some more.
It turns out there is a European Scout troop here from France to help with construction of a guesthouse. They are young, and there are maybe fifty of them. We all file into the church for the services.
Entering the church at Novy Dvur is a catharsis.
The structure is all white, and the simplified lines and curves are accented by a vacuum of light. There are no electric lights in the church, save for a few halogen bulbs above each monk’s seat. It is all sunlight sucked in through windows mounted on either side of the church. You know when a cloud goes by. And it is so quiet. The silence echoes.
We sit for the mid morning prayers and for the mass. The monks singing the prayers puts me in a meditative state. There is such clarity. After the mass, there is another round of prayers, and I stay for it. I meet with everyone outside afterwards.
We return to Prague later in the afternoon. We all split up; some of us go hire paddleboats, and the rest go on to explore or shop. It is our last night. Around 10, we all walk up to a high place in the city where the panorama of lights and landscape is beautiful. There is a large metronome-like device in the park, and two large urns that supposedly once held the fires of communism, which have long since been extinguished here. The Czechs are left to their own devices. Capitalism and democracy are young here, and the bitter taste of Czechoslovakia is still ripe in the mouths of its people. But Prague is a symbol of promise and enterprise for them. Amidst the struggle to move on and to become accepted as a member of western Europe, there is an echo of hope and optimism.
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