“
Cafes characterize Europe.
(…)
Draw the map of the latter, you will obtain one of the essential milestones of the “notion of Europe” ”
, writes George Steiner in his essay
A Certain Idea of Europe
. Better than any museum, the cafes of Prague characterize the identity of the Czech nation and perhaps more broadly of Central Europe. Less known to the general public than the “temples of intelligence” of Vienna, they nevertheless have nothing to envy them. Equally sophisticated and luxurious, but less snobbish, they have been frequented since the 19th century by both the honest Prague man and the high society and constitute the landmark of artists, poets and intellectuals.
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At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the Café Arco, now converted into a restaurant, was the place for passionate debates among young German-speaking writers, including a certain Franz Kafka.
The author of
The Metamorphosis
also frequented, with other members of the Prague intelligentsia,
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