Where fictional professor Robert Langdon goes, readers tend to follow – in droves. After Dan Brown’s novel The Da Vinci Code lit up bestseller lists in 2003, DaVinci Code tours sprang up in Paris and Langdon haunts such as the Louvre set new attendance records.
In Brown’s latest novel, The Secret of Secrets, the globetrotting professor of symbology heads to Prague. Following in his footsteps is a fun way to see the Czech capital through new eyes – as long as you’re not fleeing villainous masterminds, of course.
My first stop was Black Angel’s Bar (Staroměstské náměstí 29, Praha 1), where Langdon’s nemesis uncovers some damaging intel. Located in a cellar below the Hotel U Prince in Prague’s Old Town, it’s an atmospheric spot of stone arches, glittering chandeliers and dim corners – perfect for swapping secrets. The selections on the bar’s 40-page cocktail menu include both alcoholic drinks and mocktails. I opted for one called Black Angel’s Medicine, an almost savoury twist on James Bond’s vodka martini made with Lillet Blanc, peach bitters and a dash of an herbaceous Czech liqueur called Becherovka – delicious but potent.
It’s worth showing up at Black Angel’s around 5 p.m., when the place opens, to nab a seat at the bar. When I visited, the four bartenders – all in crisp white shirts with dark ties and armbands – kept up an easy patter with patrons as they tossed cocktail shakers around with abandon. Note that, like many other bars in Prague, Black Angel’s has a no-photographs policy.
Luckily, no picture prohibitions prevailed at my next stop, the rooftop terrace of Coda restaurant (Tržiště 9, 118 00, Praha 1). From the dozen tables perched atop the Aria Hotel, diners enjoy a stunning view of the copper-domed 18th-century St. Nicholas church, as well as hundreds of tile-roofed buildings across the city. I wasn’t the only guest snapping selfies. (According to Brown, Langdon loves the view, too – as well as the fact that the restaurant’s name sounds like “code.”) That said, the place doesn’t coast on its setting.
The service was superb, and that’s not something you can always say when you show up at a restaurant as a single woman of a certain age without a reservation. Moments after I sat down, a server arrived with a cool lime-scented towel so I could clean my hands. Next, he brought me a complimentary glass of goat cheese-topped gazpacho, which I ate with an impossibly tiny spoon. It tasted as though the tomatoes had been picked minutes before. But it was the scallop ceviche appetizer that won my heart. Even though the combination of ingredients – cilantro, chili oil, tomato granita and raspberries—seemed peculiar on paper, it was outstanding: fresh, spicy, sweet and salty, all in one perfect dish. My main course, a lovage gnocchi with fresh mushrooms, was also excellent. Coda’s rooftop terrace is open from late spring to early fall, weather permitting, and the seasonal menu changes frequently.
Langdon’s life isn’t all fine food and drink, of course. In The Secret of Secrets, he’s chasing down lethal bad guys who are trying to suppress his girlfriend’s new book about the nature of human consciousness. (Who knew literary critics could be so dangerous?) That quest leads him into some of Prague’s many historic buildings. For instance, in the Baroque library inside the Clementinum Astronomical Tower (Mariánské náměstí 190/5, 110 00, Staré Město, Praha 1), a hidden staircase saves the prof from an untimely death.
If you want to see the famously beautiful library, be more organized than I was; when I showed up on weekday at noon, tickets were already sold out for the day. But I can recommend the one I visited instead: the gorgeous Strahov Library (Strahovské nádvoří 1/132, 118 00, Hradčany, Praha 6). Located in a monastery, it has both Baroque and Neoclassical reading rooms.
Fortunately, one of Prague’s most famous historical sites – which Langdon experiences in the bitter cold of winter – requires no tickets and is free. Lined with statues of saints, Charles Bridge was built between 1357 and 1402. Today, it offers magnificent views of the Vltava River and Prague Castle, a vast, walled collection of palaces, churches, towers, homes and squares.
The pedestrian bridge is packed with people from morning to night, along with souvenir sellers, caricature artists and street musicians. A Dixieland band was a crowd favourite, but I was more intrigued by the guy who played selections from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons on an accordion. (Like the scallop ceviche, it shouldn’t have worked, but it did.)
If you wanted to pass a secret dossier to someone and then disappear into a crowd, Charles Bridge would be an easy place to do it. However, just snapping a few photos and soaking up the unabashedly touristy atmosphere is probably the safer choice.
