Being an insomniac is not pleasant during the best of times, but during this bizarre pandemic it’s especially challenging. One of the ways that I soothe myself when I am unable to sleep is to recall some of the wonderful places that I’ve been fortunate to visit over the years. If I am really struggling with sleep, I even resort to playing a memory game in which I attempt to recall in detail entire trips. Other times I simply focus on remembering the specifics of an extraordinary place that I’ve been. For example, one of my all time favorite libraries in the world is the spectacular Baroque Klementinium in Prague. When I first saw the library nearly 30 years ago, the city wasn’t yet drowning in tourists and I literally had the place to myself. If you love books, libraries, art, and architecture it is a must destination. Until travel returns to some degree of normality, we will have do with virtual visits.
You can step into the library via its own 360-degree tour and see shelves packed with literature beneath a ceiling of stunning frescoes. In addition to housing more than 20,000 books, the library includes a collection of terrestrial and celestial globes. You can also explore nearby chambers, such as the public reading room flanked by massive frescoes and an observatory in the astronomical tower.