For some of us reading our horoscope is nothing more than harmless entertainment – something to read in the daily newspaper during the morning coffee break. For many people though it is something to be taken much more seriously and is not only an important checkpoint before important decision making but also an integral part of their lifestyle.
But what exactly is Astrology all about? Is it just antiquated nonsense as many scientists believe – or is there something more to it after all?

Originally ‘Western Astrology’, as opposed to ‘Indian’ or ‘Asian’ Astrology (which seems to have developed independently) was synonymous with the study of Astronomy rather than considered as a separate discipline. Archaeologically it was found in its most developed form in ancient Babylon from where it spread outward to other nations. It arrived in Greece about the middle of the 4th century B.C. and reached Rome before the advent of the Christian era. With the introduction of Greek culture into Egypt, both Astronomy and Astrology were actively studied in the region of the Nile during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Astrology was further developed by the Arabs from the 7th to the 13th century, and in the European courts of the 14th and 15th centuries Astrologers were highly sought after by royalty and other rich patrons.
The Mayans and the Aztecs of Central America also developed their own form of Astrology using surprisingly sophisticated forms of mathematics. Other cultures and civilizations around the world also created their own Astrological systems particularly in the Indian subcontinent and China where today it still remains an important aspect of the culture along with other forms of divination such as I-Ching. The ‘horoscope’, which is the main tool of the Astrologer, is the name given to the chart that shows the position of all the astronomical bodies (planets and stars etc) at a specific point in time (usually at the time of an individual’s birth) Astrology is therefore based on the premise that this chart can then be used to ascertain the ‘potentiality’ of certain events happening during the life of that individual.

Historically the terms ‘Astrology’ and ‘Astronomy’ have long been closely related. An Astrologer is essentially an interpreter of celestial phenomena who studies the supposed correlations between the positions of various heavenly objects based on the belief that there is an inextricable link between the Earth and the Stars and therefore the time and date of everyone’s birth would not only have a causal link to specific zodiac signs with their own special characteristics but would also, to a large extent, determine their ultimate destiny. So ingrained were these beliefs that even Kings and Queens would appoint their own personal Astrologers to help them choose the most auspicious times to sign treaties or introduce new laws etc. An Astronomer on the other hand takes a more scientific approach and studies the motions of the heavenly bodies including things like the phases of the moon and timing of eclipses.

Logically, according to the purely scientific viewpoint, there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that the movements of the stars and planets relative to the Earth have any direct influence on individuals or their destiny. For years experts in astrophysics, geology, astronomy, chemistry, biology and environmental science have delved deeper and deeper into the mysteries of nature and our level of knowledge has grown exponentially to such a degree that today some of the most profound workings of the universe are now well understood. And it seems to the academics that the more that we learn about the universe the less credence we should give to Astrology which many believe should now be consigned to history as a ‘quaint but naive’ notion invented by our ancestors. And yet, for some reason, Astrology just won’t go away!

However, whether you believe in Astrology or not there is no doubt that something disconcerting is starting to happen in scientific circles that have profound implications for our understanding of how we are connected to the universe as a whole. Biologists have known for a long time that the human body is not somehow a separate ‘entity’ from the natural world but an intrinsic part of it. Whether it is menstrual cycles correlated to the phases of the moon, migraines initiated from atmospheric pressure, elation in the presence of air charged with negative ions or mood swings relating to the weather there seems to be a growing awareness, supported by detailed research that each of us is fundamentally an intrinsic part of the natural world and our bodies are in constant interaction with it. As more and more research is carried out on things like atmospheric pressure, sun spot activity, gravitational fluctuations and planetary movements scientists are now starting to admit that many aspects of our lives like hormone levels, moods, health etc are indeed subtly influenced by forces emanating from the stars. In other words maybe there is more to Astrology than the sceptics like to think.

It is difficult for us to understand today just how important Alchemy and Astrology were up until the twentieth century. Alchemy gradually evolved into the well respected science we today call Chemistry, but Astrology seems to have taken a different direction. Instead of gaining credibility and evolving into a respectable science it has instead become more of a sub-culture amusement activity equated with harmless ‘fortune telling’.

Today we can check our stars in the daily papers or on the Internet, we can phone “professional” astrologers to give us personal readings or we can even buy magazines or books dedicated to our own personal birth sign. Whether you are believer or non believer though, it seems that Astrology is here to stay and whether you are a Libra or a Virgo, a Taurus or a Capricorn there will always be those days when your horoscope is surprisingly accurate and sends a little shudder down your spine.
I have just read my stars in the morning paper. It says that today I should relax and not worry about anything too much. Thank the stars!

Three minutes after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport the plane struck a flock of Canada Geese while still climbing towards its cruising altitude. The bird strike, which occurred just northeast of the George Washington Bridge, resulted in an immediate and complete loss of thrust from both engines.

When the aircrew of the Airbus 320 determined that they would be unable to reliably reach any airfield from the site of the bird strike, they turned it southbound and glided over the Hudson, finally ditching the airliner near the USS Intrepid museum about three minutes after losing power. All 155 occupants safely evacuated the airliner, which was still virtually intact though partially submerged and slowly sinking. Everyone on board was quickly rescued by nearby boats which had witnessed the whole incident.

The entire crew of Flight 1549 was later awarded the Master’s Medal of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators. The award was in recognition of the emergency ditching and evacuation, with no loss of life. The Captain in particular was hailed as a hero, averting a potential disaster and central to this unique achievement in aviation history.

Although the incident was reported widely at the time something else happened on that day which has irrevocably changed the way we define ‘news’ – and the repercussions are now changing history.

On that particular day hundreds of people were out taking a morning stroll beside the Hudson River. There were dog walkers, joggers, people going about their daily business and people travelling to work. As the plane started to get into trouble and change course the people on the ground started to reach for their mobile phones to take photos of the descending plane. Others sent text messages describing the unfolding events, some sent messages via Twitter and other social media sites. By the time the formal news channels heard of the incident the plane was already in the water – but already people the world over knew what had happened. In other words by the time CNN and Sky News got their reporters to the scene the incident was already old news.

Later that day, in the boardroom of one of the leading TV News Channels, a Senior Manager was quoted as saying to his team “Gentlemen, as of today we are no longer in charge of the news. It is in the hands of the people.”

On that day ordinary people were sending news updates, images and sound clips around the world from their mobile phones. In other words ordinary people were using mobile phones to spread developing news stories faster than the corporate news channels could ever hope to. Suddenly, the News Channels woke up to the reality that they no longer had a monopoly on the news.

Social media, by which I mean popular sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and MySpace, have already started to irrevocably change the social and business communication landscape. Now it seems something as reassuringly familiar as the News on TV and Radio is being challenged by the media tools available to all of us. Whether you believe this to be a good thing or a bad thing is obviously a matter of personal opinion. What is undeniably clear, however, is that mobile phone technology is not just changing the way we interact with each other. It is now also changing the way the very fabric of our society operates.

‘Fairy tale’ is an English language term for a type of short story called “conte de fée” in French, “Märchen” in German and “fiaba,” in Italian. In Sweden they are called “sagas”. Strangely, only a small number of the stories explicitly refer to fairies but the term ‘Fairy tales’ is still the most popular term for these types of stories. Fairy tales typically feature a number of characters drawn from folklore, myths, legends and traditions and include a wide variety of human-like entities with names like goblins, pixies, elves, trolls, giants or gnomes – as well as fairies! Often the stories will involve a far-fetched sequence of events with lots of magic spells, quests, adventures, enchantments and battles between good and evil.

These stories embody ideas or concepts that are so ingrained into our collective subconscious that we constantly use the symbolism and story themes in everyday life. For example we refer to events as having a “fairy tale ending” or of a “fairy tale romance” (though not all fairy tales actually end happily). We also sometimes use the term “fairy tale” or “fairy story” in a derogatory way to mean any far-fetched tale or unbelievable claim.

In some cultures where ‘demons’ ‘wizards’ and ‘witches’ are perceived to be very real, fairy tales may merge into legends, where the stories are perceived, both by storytellers and listeners, as being grounded in historical truth. However, unlike legends and Nordic sagas, they usually do not contain more than superficial references to actual places, people, and events. Instead they take place in a non-specific “once upon a time” rather than in a definite period of history.

The history of the fairy tale is particularly difficult to trace, because only the written forms can provide evidence in a way that oral traditions cannot. The evidence from literary sources though, indicate that fairy tales have existed for thousands of years. Many of today’s fairy tales have evolved from centuries-old stories that have appeared, with variations, in multiple cultures around the world and such is their popularity that new stories are still being written today.

Defining what a fairy story really means in terms of its ‘genre’ is not easy and scholars still debate what constitutes a real ‘fairy tale’. For example, talking animals and the presence of elements of magic seem to be more common to the fairy tale than fairies themselves. However, the mere presence of animals that talk does not make a tale a fairy tale, especially when the animal is clearly a mask on a human face, as in the case of ‘fables’ which are stories created to make a specific moral point.

What is very clear though is the fact that fairy stories have always provided, and continue to provide, a rich source of material for writers and film makers. In fact both J.R.R. Tolkien and Walt Disney openly acknowledged that they have established their careers based on fairy tale concepts, ideas and characters.

Some folklore experts prefer to use the German term Märchen or “wonder tale” to refer to the genre defined as “a tale of some length involving a succession of motifs or episodes. It moves in an unreal world without definite locality or definite creatures and is filled with the marvellous. In this never-never land, humble heroes kill adversaries, succeed to kingdoms and marry princesses.”

The characters and motifs of most fairy tales are usually simple and archetypal: There are beautiful princesses and gallant princes, youngest sons and ‘seventh’ sons, ogres, giants, dragons, trolls, wicked stepmothers and sly tricksters, fairy godmothers, talking horses, foxes, birds and other animals. The stories tale place in magical landscapes of haunted forests, mountains made of glass, magnificent castles and pastoral countryside.

The first collectors to attempt to preserve not only the plot and characters of the tale, but also the style in which they were told, were the Brothers Grimm who were collectors of German folklore and fairy tales. Their first edition of ‘Grimm’s Fairy Tales’(1812) remains a treasure for folklorists although they rewrote the tales in later editions to make them more socially acceptable which ensured their sales and the later popularity of their work.

With regard to the origin of fairy tales we will probably never know the true answer. Two theories of origins have attempted to explain the common elements in fairy tales found spread across continents. One is that a single point of origin generated a given tale, which then gradually spread geographically over the centuries. The other is that such fairy tales stem from common human experience and therefore can appear separately in many different cultures.

It is certainly true that fairy tales with very similar plots, characters, and motifs are found spread across many different cultures. Many researchers claim that this is caused by the spread of such tales, as people repeat tales they have heard in foreign lands, although the oral nature of fairy tales makes it impossible to trace the route.

In some cultures fairy tales are used in the first grade of school as a central part of the curriculum. Rudolf Steiner’s work on human development claims that at age six to seven, the mind of a child is best taught through storytelling. He claims, and other experts have agreed, that the archetypes and magical nature of fairy tales appeals strongly to children at this age. The nature of fairy tales, following the oral tradition, enhances the child’s ability to visualize a spoken narrative, as well as to remember the story as heard and absorb the messages of the story.

Whatever the true origins of the fairy story might be there is no doubt that these wonderful tales have been an integral part of our culture since time immemorial. Adults and children alike remain captivated and ‘spellbound’ by the memorable characters and the message behind each story. So when you think about it, being criticised for being “away with the fairies” may be no bad thing at all.

The herbs we use today come from many parts of the world. For example we know a lot about the herbs used in Ancient India and Ancient China through a famous Arabic doctor called Avicenna who studied ancient writings. We also know that in the middle Ages across Europe monks grew many herbs in the monastery gardens and used many of them to make herbal drinks as well as medicines. In Germany for example an abbess known as Hildegarde of Bingen was a famous herbalist who treated the sick with herbs as the Chinese still do today.

In the 15th and 16th centuries pilgrims took herbs with them to America that they used in England. Then, over time, herbs native to America came to Europe and other parts of the world. Trade in herbs though started much earlier than this with Phoenicians and Romans buying and selling herbs from all over the world.

In Britain a herbalist Nicholas Culpepper published a book in 1653 to help ordinary people make their own herbal remedies instead of paying for expensive ones from doctors. The book called ‘The Complete Herbal’ is still very popular even today.
Today we are able to trace the origins of many herbs and plants which gives us an insight into not just how important they were but also the myths that surrounded them. Here are a few examples.

Basil – Today Basil is in common use as a culinary herb. There are many stories about the origins of Basil and one of the more interesting theories is that the name originates from a mythical beast known as a ‘Basilisk’. The Basilisk was a sort of giant lizard, much like the smaller bearded lizards of today (still called dragons in some cultures) and in mythological stories it was believed that a single look from the eye of a Basilisk was enough to kill a man. Scorpions have also been associated with Basil and it was even thought that eating too much Basil could result in scorpions inside the brain!

Bay Laurel – One of the favourite Greek myths pertaining to Bay Laurel is that Apollo was teasing Cupid about his tiny arrows so Cupid shot one arrow of love into his heart. Daphne, a nymph, was standing close by watching the two gods so Cupid shot another arrow into her heart but this time one of repulsion. Apollo then saw Daphne and fell madly in love but she became frightened and started to run away from him. Apollo though was too fast for her so she cried out for help to her father Peneus who magically turned her into a Bay Laurel tree to save her from Apollo’s attentions. Apollo grabbed the tree and flung his arms around it crying, “My love, my love, I shall love you forever and I will wear your leaves as a crown to remember you” Supposedly this is the reason that to this day Bay Laurel wreaths are used as a sign of victory and honour. Today the Bay leaf is also commonly used in many meat dishes and soups.

Borage – According to Greek historians Borage was the famous ‘nepentha’ mentioned by Homer – a herb which was drunk after battle steeped in wine in order to bring about complete forgetfulness. There is an old saying “Borage is for Courage”. Borage has been used as a pot herb or in cooling drinks and the flowers can be candied or frozen in ice cubes.

Fennel – Fennel was held in reverence by early man because in mythology Prometheus brought fire to man in its hollow stem. It was and still is used as a vegetable and also used as an aid to digestion.

Garlic – In Ancient times Garlic was always placed at crossroads as a supper for the goddess Hecate. Homer tells us that one of the other virtues of garlic is that its properties also saved Ulysses from being turned into a pig by a wicked witch. Garlic has been popular for centuries and is today commonly used as a flavour enhancer for meats. It also has proven medicinal properties as it contains a natural antiseptic and antibiotics. It is also used today used as a stimulant, diuretic and expectorant as well as being used in healing ointments.

Mistletoe – Mistletoe has a long history as a magical plant. It was considered the “Golden Bough” which opened the world of the dead to mortals. To the primitive mind, mistletoe represented the opposite of death and was therefore the emblem of life itself. It was also thought to be a panacea to cure all ills. It was said that Asclepus, the son of Apollo, learned the arts of healing and was therefore considered the father of medicine. He cured many Greeks with mistletoe and legend has it that he was first shown mistletoe by a serpent in a tomb.

Mulberry – Mulberry berries were dedicated to the goddess Minerva and have always been closely associated myths about love. They were also a common delicacy at ancient feasts. In Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer night’s dream’ for example Pyramus and Thisbe were in love but were forbidden to marry by their parents. They planned a midnight meeting under a mulberry tree and ended up killing themselves for the sake of love. In mythology their mingled blood was then absorbed by the tree and the berries, which had been white, were turned deep red as they have remained to this day. Mulberries can be eaten raw but more popularly they are these days made into jams or wine.

Narcissus – The word, narcissism, meaning ‘to love oneself’ derives from the myth of a beautiful youth named Narcissus. It is said that he saw his own image reflected in a pool of water and fell in love with it. Although he tried in vain to embrace the image it always eluded him and he became so grief stricken that he starved himself to death and on the spot where he died a beautiful flower bloomed.

Nightshade – In past times it was always believed that the devil himself lived inside this deadly poisonous plant which is also, ironically, a valuable medicine. Its botanical Latin name derives from one of the ‘three fates’, Atropos, who in mythology cut the thread of life and this alludes to its poisonous attributes. Today eye specialists use Atropine to dilate the eyes and it is also sometimes used as an antispasmodic.

Parsley – Parsley is said to have sprung from the blood of the Greek hero Archemorus, the forerunner of death. This herb was dedicated to Persephone, goddess of the underworld, and was used in funeral rites as it was considered the herb of the dead. Today Parsley is widely used as a culinary herb and is also used medicinally. It is also a diuretic.

Poppy – Somnus the god of sleep was always crowned with poppies or is depicted lying surrounded by them. Also in popular mythology Ceres, the goddess of corn, wore a crown of grain interwoven with poppies which were considered sacred. Poppies are often called cornflowers in many European countries. The seeds can be used in cakes and the juice removed from the head is used medicinally for pain.

Rosemary – Rosemary has always had a reputation for strengthening the memory. In mythology the ‘Muses’ were the nine daughters of Jupiter and Mnemosyne (Memory). They presided over song and prompted the memory. The Muses are often pictured with rosemary in their hands and Minerva, the goddess of knowledge, is also associated with this herb. It was often used at both weddings and funerals as it sometimes is today. Rosemary is a versatile herb used widely for flavouring meat dishes, in flower displays as well as for medicinal purposes.

Thyme – ‘Thymus’ comes from the Greek word meaning courage. This herb was known to the Ancients because it is a herb loved by bees which convert it into honey which was in turn loved by the gods. It was used as an aromatic herb and also rubbed on tables to clean them for food. Thyme was also used internally and externally as an antiseptic. “To smell of thyme” was an expression of praise. It was also used to preserve meat.

Yarrow – Achilles, the great warrior in the ten year Trojan War staunched the bleeding wounds of his soldiers with Yarrow. He also tried to use Yarrow to stop the bleeding wound in his heel that became known as the “Achilles tendon”. Yarrow was called the military herb by the Ancients. Today Yarrow is used as hops in beer, as snuff, and as an antiseptic.

So next time you find herbs growing in your garden or add them to your food stop for a moment and reflect on just how important these extraordinary natural products are and how important they always were to our ancestors.

In only a few short years scientists had managed to scale down computers from something that filled a whole room with valves and wires to a small square box that could sit on a desk. Even then computing was really only for the ‘geeks’ that could understand the complex languages needed to make computers do what you wanted them to do. Then a bespectacled schoolboy from Seattle changed the world by inventing a simple interface that almost anyone could use and computing changed forever. His name is Bill Gates and he founded Microsoft, one of the most successful businesses in the world that has totally dominated the world of home computing.

But it is not just home computing that has radically changed the world of communication and revolutionised our lives. In the later part of the same decade – the 1980’s – other visionaries were removing the wires from the back of telephones and using radio waves to transmit audio signals. The era of the mobile phone had also begun and suddenly you could talk to other people all over the world from a small gadget that fitted into your pocket. These two radical developments in technology have now totally changed the fabric of society and indeed changed the way we communicate and interact with the rest of the world.

The actual pace of change in both technologies has been staggering since the first fledgling prototypes were launched into the media only two decades ago. Computers have got increasingly smaller and yet more powerful with increased ‘processing power’ and almost unimaginable amounts of ‘memory’. They have turned into multimedia machines with thousands of ‘applications’ now available to do everything from home shopping to watching full length feature films and from fighting in ‘virtual wars’ to finding a job.

Similarly the humble phone, designed to bring two people together by voice, now includes satellite navigation, movie camera technology, calculators, electronic games, message ‘texting’ and even electronic banking – and a whole host more.
There are two elements of this electronic revolution though, that have probably overshadowed everything else and that is the phenomenal growth of e-mailing and the Internet. Interestingly both of these concepts actually took time to become established but once the implications and opportunities were better understood they literally exploded across the globe. The idea of e-mail had been around for a while but was viewed just as another medium to transmit messages. At first it was just used in the business environment until home computer users started to realise how it could be used to contact thousands of ‘strangers’ and communicate ideas.
The internet also began as a widely fragmented ‘islands’ of information that could be accessed individually until someone came up with idea of linking all this information together by creating a ‘search engine’ to help locate whatever you wanted to find. Like Microsoft, ‘Google’ had foreseen the future and then helped to create it.

Gradually the distinctions between the power of the personal computer and the mobile phone started to blur and by the dawn of the new millennium phones were essentially mini computers and home computers were also communication devices.

Today the rate of change shows no sign of stopping and the exponential growth of these amazing technologies is creating new social phenomena that even the most visionary commentators did not foresee. Instead of business leaders driving the new revolution it is teenagers that have seen the future and are pushing the boundaries. They have taken the idea of a ‘daily diary’ to new heights through ‘blogging’, created their own persona’s through the medium of ‘My Space’ and ‘Facebook’ and displayed their personality and talents through ‘You Tube’. And now even the older generation have discovered how to use Twitter and the revolution shows no sign of stopping.

Everyday new applications arrive on our desktop computers that are set to change the way we think about everything. We now use our computers for on-line banking, electronic shopping, watching films, e-mailing each other and communicating in a thousand different and innovative ways. In two decades technology has not only radically changed the way businesses are run it has actually changed the way we run our lives. As one media business commentator recently put it “these days if you are not on the net then your business doesn’t exist”.

And, come to think of it, whether we agree or not the same might be said of our private lives too.

Ask people what they think of this wonderful city that has been at the heart of European history and culture for thousands of years and their impressions will be mixed – romantic images of ancient untamed Bohemia are likely to be mingled with images of floods of tourists, stag parties and cheap beer.

That’s because Prague is a paradox. The heart of the city is a medieval fairyland of cobbled streets and gas lamps, gothic towers and dark crypts, castles and ancient monasteries. Step outside the bohemian heart though and you enter another world – a cosmopolitan city of designer shops, trendy coffee houses and chic restaurants, night clubs and disco’s. Travel on one of the metro trains beyond the city centre and Prague still surprises – grey menacing tower blocks, the legacy of the communist era, sit beside brand new business parks and shopping malls.

But then everything about Prague surprises. There I was standing in front of the Smetana Museum, looking across the Vltava River towards Charles Bridge when I noticed a small movement beneath my feet. The trees along the river walk are set into ornate circles of ironwork and there beneath the iron circle two beady eyes were looking up at me; a small whiskered nose protruding through the grating. It was a large brown river rat who had found a perfect place to nest and watch the world go by. I watched it with fascination for some moments before it scuttled away back into the labyrinth of tunnels beneath old Prague.

There are so many places to see in Prague that you feel spoilt for choice. In the very centre of the city lies Charles Bridge, its image captured on thousands of postcards and always reverberating to the sounds of a thousand camera shutters. It is the tourist mecca with its fabulous statues and views across the city from the middle of the mighty Vltava River. High above you looms the gothic splendour of the castle and cathedral and a vista of towers and spires. Every building fascinates as almost every style of architecture imaginable jostles for space from different periods of history. There are numerous tourist shops selling Russian dolls, glassware, jewellery, T-shirts, baseball caps, prints and countless pictures and paintings of Charles Bridge. Slip away from the main tourist trails though and there are lots of other shops to explore filled with weird and wonderful things to interest and amuse. Take a turn down cobbled streets and you are likely to find ancient monasteries or gothic cathedrals, pretty town squares filled with flowers and fountains, museums and coffee shops.

If you are wondering how to spend your time in Prague there is something to suit all tastes. A lot of visitors choose the guided tours to see the city sights but if you are not of the herd mentality a good guide book and a map are all you need to explore at your own pace. Prague is a very safe and welcoming city to wander around – the only things to watch out for are the pickpockets on Wencelas square and the mercenary taxi drivers (if you do need to take a taxi agree a price up front and don’t be afraid to haggle if it sounds expensive)
Other ideas? Try to see a ‘Black Light Theatre show’ – in which the whole theatre is completely blacked out and your senses are assaulted by weird lights, shapes and sounds that are truly mesmerising. Alternatively try one of the Puppet shows – you will love it and so will the kids. The Czechs love puppets and staging puppet shows and there are some wonderful shops selling souvenir puppets that are reasonably priced and well constructed. In a bizarre juxtaposition of old and new you might also stumble across the “Sex Museum” sandwiched between more austere premises. If you are in the mood for something more cultural however then there are numerous classical music concerts to choose from. Prague has some stunning music venues ranging from ornate marble halls to ancient chapels with wonderful natural acoustics and fascinating frescoes on the walls. There are professional orchestras, string quartets, classical guitar concerts or opera – whatever suits your mood. I went to see a string quartet perform in an old chapel just off Old Town Square – don’t ask me what piece of music they were playing – I don’t recall – but the amazing acoustics, fascinating frescoes and ancient setting made it magical.

If you enjoy eating out then you will not be disappointed. Prague boasts thousands of restaurants to choose from whether you want to sample traditional Czech cuisine or something more international. Whatever food you enjoy Prague offers a myriad of hidden, mysterious restaurants to suit all tastes. If you want to impress and dine in bohemian splendour try the delights of the Palffry Palace on Valdstejnska but be sure to book first! And don’t be put off by the ancient decaying entrance to the building. A gloomy flight of stone stairs will lead you into a magical room of glistening chandeliers, old paintings and art deco decadence. If you’re after reasonably priced good food with good service and a nice ambience there are literally hundreds of places to choose from. Try ‘Le Café Colonial’ on Siroka Street or the enigmatic underground cellars of the oddly named ‘Architects Club’ – a restaurant carved out of the rock cellars beneath the amazing Bethlehem Chapel built in 1391. If you just want a leisurely coffee and somewhere to sit and watch the world go by then find a table in Hotel Europa’s lounge and sit in the faded glory of this old hotel’s turn of the century interior looking out over bustling Wencelas Square.

You can’t visit Prague though without trying the beer. Czech beer is famous the world over and there is no shortage of places to drink. The city centre bars are all very pleasant if you don’t mind rubbing shoulders with hundreds of tourists. If you are looking for something more authentic then try the places where Czechs drink which are usually only a street or two away from the main tourist trails. I spent many happy hours in a small unpretentious bar in a nondescript back street drinking good beer and superb food. Don’t expect any frills though. I can recommend the underground cellar bar in “Bar Fly” on U Dobrenskych street near Charles Bridge where you will sit at a wooden bench pushed up to a wooden table with one fat candle and a steak knife.

And then there’s “Beer Cheese”! You won’t find it on many menu’s in the tourist areas that’s for sure – but if you ask the waiter for some he will generally oblige with a knowing nod. Beer cheese is ordered by the Czechs in their beer halls and café’s in the same way the Brits order crisps or peanuts in the pub. Such a simple idea too. Take a few slices of cheese, crumple it in your hands until you have a small pyramid in the middle of your plate, cover it in thinly shredded spring onion then pour a small glass of beer over it. Absolutely delicious!

So where does Prague hide her secrets? For me the answer is about doors. It’s all about enigmatic doorways with secret interiors – and endlessly speculating about what might be concealed behind them. Nowhere else in the world will you find so many unusual doors as in Prague. In fact if there is such a hobby as ‘door spotting’ then Prague has to be the mecca. Just wandering around the old city you can see thousands of fascinating doorways to stand and wonder at. Ancient wooden doors with incredible carvings, glass art nouveau doors of many colours, wrought iron doors and doors with strange pictures or engravings. Tiny leathery doors, grand ornate double doors in fact every type of door you can think of. But it’s not just the doors themselves that fascinate. Raise your eyes above the door frame and you will see enigmatic pictures, frescoes or carvings that tell you something about the building itself and what might lie concealed within. All over Prague there are wonderful timeless images above doorways. Exotic creatures – dragons or unicorns, blue bears or black wolves, esoteric Masonic diagrams or alchemical symbols, black Madonna’s or heraldic insignia’s.

If, like me, you are fascinated by the more mysterious or esoteric elements of history then Prague has everything you could wish for and more. A labyrinth of alluring backstreets you will find Prague to be a city of secrets in which Alchemists, Rosicrucians and Freemasons practiced their arts and left tantalising traces all over the city. If you are onthe tourist routes then a ‘must see’ is the incredible Astronomical clock in Old Town Square dating from 1410. What most tourists miss though is all the other historical sites connected with Prague’s esoteric past – forget the Da Vinci code – if you want the authentic city of conspiracies it is here in Prague. Just off Betlemska is the house of John Dee, Elizabeth the first’s personal astrologer and magician. It was here the John Dee conducted his experiments associated with the search for the Philosophers Stone. Nearby in Karlova the famous astronomers Kepler and Tycho Brahe met to discuss their radical ideas about planetary orbits. In another side street called Templova the Knights Templars held their meetings and close by is the house where Komensky, the mystical author, Rosicrucian and Alchemist, worked. Sometimes known as the ‘crossroads of Europe’ Prague is a place that has always been a melting pot of ideas and experiments where secret societies still meet and where history oozes from every corner of the city.

One reason tourists are drawn to Prague is because they want to find the real heart of Bohemia but many of them return disappointed and complain that Prague has turned into a city ruined by tourism and that it has somehow lost its magic. But they would be mistaken – the magic is still there if you make the effort to find it. It’s just that you can’t capture the essence of Prague. You can’t bottle it and take it home. You can’t capture it on film and you can’t find it in a guide book or by following the well worn tourist trail through the heart of the city. Prague is too mysterious for that. She is like a mysterious and alluring temptress who only reveals her secrets very slowly and the more she reveals the more you want to see.

So I’m booking another trip next month. I know there are other places I want to visit but as usual I can’t get Prague out of my head. I too came here looking for the real ‘Bohemia’ – the romantic, enticing, mysterious city of the Alchemists. At first I thought it was all gone – sadly replaced by trendy shopping malls, strip clubs and McDonalds. But Prague is too cunning to give up her secrets that easily.

No, Bohemia is here all right if you know where to look for it.
Bohemia lurks just beneath the surface like the rat staring up from the ironwork. It’s there in the cobbled backstreets, in hidden corners, in the old beer halls and cellars, in the faded frescoes above doorways, in ancient monasteries and mysterious carvings on the sides of buildings. It hangs in the early morning mist over Charles Bridge and in the deep shadows beneath its gothic towers. If you look for it too hard it will slip away from your eyes like a mirage in the desert but if you don’t look hard enough it will remain forever just out of reach.
Czech legend says that Prague was formed when a jewel fell to earth from Lucifer’s crown and yes, I like that idea. For me it somehow sums up the whole essence of Bohemia.

Not very far from Stonehenge though, is another equally impressive archaeological site that remains little visited by comparison with its more famous neighbour. The site is called ‘Avebury’ and it remains one of the most fascinating and mysterious places in the World.

Today the small village of Avebury lies nestled in the folds of the landscape of Wiltshire in Southern England, a green and generally open area of beautiful countryside. The most amazing thing about Avebury village though is that the small cluster of houses lies in the centre of an incredible circle of huge stones known as ‘megaliths’. The history of the village is thus inevitably linked to the prehistoric monuments that surround it. Abandoned for several thousand years the land around the stones became occupied once more when people of the Saxon period began to settle in the area. Their arrival and subsequent development of the present village was to have a dramatic effect on the history of the stones for this is a landscape sculpted by ancient man for purposes we can only guess at.

Around 4,500 years ago, when London was still was a thinly inhabited marshland, the area around Avebury almost certainly formed the Neolithic equivalent of a city. In Archaeological terms the site of Avebury is known as a ‘henge’ – an area that incorporates a number of incredible features including an enormous ditch, steep earth banks, huge natural stones that form both circles and linear avenues and many other archaeological curiosities like burial mounds and sacred streams. Very close to Avebury lies the equally enigmatic Silbury Hill, the largest man-made mound in Europe that today dominates the surrounding landscape as much today as it would have done throughout the centuries. If that wasn’t enough the two largest surviving British ‘long barrows’ of West Kennet and East Kennet are also to be found a short distance away and in recent years the remains of two massive enclosures have also been discovered. The whole area around Avebury therefore provides us with an amazing ‘open air museum’ that prompted the famous antiquarian John Aubrey to remark “it does as much exceed in greatness the so renowned Stonehenge as a Cathedral does a parish church”

The stone circle is thought to date from around 2600 BC which means it was already ancient at the time of the Roman Invasion of Britain. Nearby excavations at a site known as ‘Windmill Hill’ has revealed evidence of human occupation as early as 3700 BC so it is known that the area has been a centre of human activity for some 6000 years and is termed by some historians as a ‘ritual landscape’ implying that the Avebury area has been recognised from ancient times as an important and sacred location.
Although it is virtually impossible to state with any certainty why the Avebury complex was carved out of the landscape by ancient man we do know that the original circular ditch was dug out with antler picks and stone tools around 2500 BC and was originally a staggering ten metres deep. It is on the central island of land created by the ditch that the incredible megalithic stones were set into the ground but experts believe that the stones were put in place prior to the creation of the ditch around 2600BC.

The actual stones where quarried from the Marlborough Downs and transported overland, probably on wooden rollers. This must have been a monumental task as some of the stones within the circle are over 40 tons, almost twice as heavy as some of the Stonehenge stones, although not as well finished and shaped. There were originally around 100 of these stones although only 27 remain, the missing stones marked today by concrete posts.

If you visit Avebury today it is probably the size of the stones that leaves a lasting impression but when the circle was first constructed the most awesome feature must have been the ditch and bank which had been dug from the solid chalk of the Wiltshire landscape. Excavations have revealed that, due to erosion and silting, the ditch today is now only one third of its original depth and the bank much reduced in height.

The stone circle and henge that surround the village is only one of a series of ancient monuments that are concentrated in a relatively small area of Wiltshire that archaeologists refer to as a ‘ritual Neolithic landscape’. When in full use around 4000 years ago the Avebury complex must have been a truly awe inspiring place.

Sadly a lot of destruction of the Avebury site took place during the 17th and 18th centuries when ‘puritanical’ religious beliefs viewed the stones as ‘pagan’ and therefore evil. It was at this time that a lot of the stones were destroyed although fortunately a lot of drawings and engravings exist which depict the original site in its former glory.

As with all ancient sites a certain mythology or folklore is attached to certain stones and visitors to this site today are still shown features like the ‘Devil’s chair’, a natural seat where wishes can be made or childless couples can sit in the hope that pregnancy will soon follow! Other stories abound of stones moving in the dead of night accompanied by mysterious lights.

Like most ancient sites there is also a strong connection to Astronomy and indeed many of the stones not only align to particular stars but also align to other ancient features of the landscape and research continues to this day into such topics.

Whether you are a historian, archaeologist, astronomer or just a tourist though, one thing is certain. Avebury exudes an undeniable atmosphere that almost everyone can sense when they visit this amazing place. It is a sense or wonderment and awe at the achievements of our ancestors mixed with a sense of the sacred and special.

Truly, for young and old alike, Avebury is a very magical place to visit if you are ever fortunate enough to get the opportunity.
Author: R A Gear