Back from the Whiteout!!

A 'whiteout'? In Spring? Well, not a real whiteout as in a snowstorm, but another sort of whiteout. We had several rooms in our house painted (white) during the last couple of days and, of course, it meant a lot of moving stuff around, covering things, taking things apart, hiding things, etc., so TheDoorHunter was forced into a temporary 'whiteout' ('blackout' sounds too drastic!!). Sorry about that!!

Today's door is another 'back door' to Obecni Dum. On 20 April 2010, in the post called 'Simply Golden' I posted a service door to this building. Though today's door is very different from the door posted in April, it does repeat the art nouveau theme and feel to it. I'm not exactly sure what this entrance is used for, but I have the impression it is the entrance for the artists as this building, which contains not only several restaurants and exhibits rooms, also has a fabulous concert hall and several large ballrooms (which include incredible murals by Mucha and other painters). This building is an absolute 'must-see' when in Prague and is called, in English, the Municipal House. I strongly recommend visiting as much of it as possible as you will not be disappointed!!

You might recognise the 'P' on the top of this handle...it is also in the arch of the door posted in April!! This 'P' is very unique...even if you only see it one time you will recognise it every time after! I'm not sure what the 'P' stands for in the context of this building, but for me it means 'Prague'!!

For more information visit: http://www.obecnidum.cz/web/en/homepage

Simply Golden

Would you guess that this door, which in itself is quite simple, is just a side entrance? Yep, it is. It belongs to the very famous and beautiful Municipal House (Obecny Dum) which is known for it's art nouveau paintings, murals, stained glass work, restaurant, architecture, furniture, etc. If you know this building, you know that the main entrance is 1000 times more exotic, however, if you want to see that door, you'll have to look it up on the web (lots of pictures of it exist on various sites) because I prefer to show you the lesser-known side entrance, or rather, the service entrance. I realise that it's hard to imagine a service entrance having such a beautiful, ornate green and gold art nouveau arch to protect it from the rain, but believe me, I walked by this door nearly every work day for seven years (when I worked in a building just across the way from it) so I can tell you from those years of seeing this door that I only ever saw it being used as a service entrance. Oh what a very lovely service entrance it is!!

See the gold work? The 'P' in gold and the other touches of gold both in the front of the arch and in the sides of it. And the door handle is wonderful...simple, yet beautiful.

Sad Door Saturday

What a poor, old, sad door!! But it does have something to be happy about... it is one of the few doors that I have come across that is not on a busy street! In fact, when I want to take a nice, calming walk, this door is on my route because it is in a peaceful and inviting neighborhood. I have been by this door in every season and under all weather conditions and a couple of times I have even been lucky enough to have seen it when the door was slightly open so I can tell you that it leads directly into a courtyard. (FYI: All the doors I have shown here until today either open into a long hallway/corridor or directly into the building itself.) My imagination wants me to believe that there might even be a horse or two living behind this door!

I know I've said it before about another door, but I have a special place in my heart for this door, unfortunately, I think it's owner doesn't. I will continue to visit it...maybe some day I will discover that its owner has finally decided to give it the love and care that it deserves. If such is the case, I'll be sure to let you know.

(Click on the picture to see an enlarged version of it.)