WHAT ABOUT WOMEN

WHAT ABOUT WOMEN

Share this post

WHAT ABOUT WOMEN
WHAT ABOUT WOMEN
Free man in Prague, Kafka, Berta Fanta, not apologising, paywalls, Hejira
The Nosebag

Free man in Prague, Kafka, Berta Fanta, not apologising, paywalls, Hejira

nosebag #34

Milli Hill's avatar
Milli Hill
Mar 16, 2025
∙ Paid
19

Share this post

WHAT ABOUT WOMEN
WHAT ABOUT WOMEN
Free man in Prague, Kafka, Berta Fanta, not apologising, paywalls, Hejira
25
Share

Good morning all and welcome to this week’s nosebag, a flavour of everything I’ve been reading, writing and thinking about this week, for paid subscribers only. Last Sunday I woke up in Prague, a trip on which, as some of you will have seen on instagram etc, the new edition of GBLAF in Czech was ‘baptised’ (literally!)…

…and which was also a really amazing experience for me in terms not just of seeing a place I’d never seen, but also because I was a ‘free man’ - I had the keys to a beautiful flat right in the centre and could come and go as I pleased - and I was alone. Those of you who are mothers will know how rare and almost mythical such an experience is! At times, it was almost overwhelming, and I felt horribly homesick, but most of the time, ‘I felt unfettered and alive, there was nobody calling me up for favours, and no one’s future to decide’.

On day three with this song playing in my mind I got up early and walked to the train station, worked out how to catch a train to another city (Kutna Hora), spent the day there sightseeing, took myself out for lunch and came back to Prague in time for a Negroni and a two course meal… ‘going cafe to cabaret’, as Joni puts it.

May be an image of 1 person and drink

The next morning, feeling I’d seen enough interiors of churches and cathedrals to last me a good while, I visited the Kafka museum. I’ve not read any Kafka, although I’m kind of familiar with his ‘Kafkaesque’ vibe, and the museum didn’t disappoint on this front - the whole place being set up to reflect the edgy, existential and ‘is this actually a weird dream’ energy of his work.

No photo description available.
May be an image of text

He sounded like a miserable bastard to be honest, but fair play to him for at least creating something of value out of it all. What really grabbed my attention, though, was the figure of Berta Fanta, a woman whose literary salon in Prague played host to Kafka, Steiner and even Einstein, who would play violin duets. Very little information was given in the museum about Berta, but I was hungry for it.

This post is for paid subscribers

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Milli Hill
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share