Day in Prague

On Monday I spent the whole day in Prague as a tourist.  Jan (the dad) works in Prague so he drove me to a metro station right outside of Prague and then we rode into town.  I found my way to Old Town Square.  I got there about 8:30 and it was quiet and fairly deserted.  The square is such a lovely contrast between light, colorful buildings and the ominous Church of Our Lady Before Tyn that towers over the square.  Every time I see it I think of how perfect Malifecent's purple dragon would look clutching the towers and breathing fire.  

At 9:00 I watched the medieval morality play above the astronomical clock.  On the hour, a figure of Death pulls a golden bell signaling the beginning of the performance.  Two doors above the clock slide open and the twelve apostles glide out.  Vanity, Corruption, and Greed dance below them with Death.  Rather neat.  

According to my guidebook, the Municipal Council blinded the clock's designer so that he could never make a clock surpassing Prague's masterpiece.  Rough.

I must admit that after watching the apostles I popped into Starbucks for a coffee.  With my latte in hand I felt brave enough to venture out of Old Town Square and to the Charles Bridge. Of course I got lost even though on the map it looked very easy and straight.  But that's okay.  I expect to get lost and I am astounded if I actually find my way the first time.  Besides, sometimes I find the most interesting things in my confused wanderings.  For example, I saw a homeless man defecating on the street when I was trying to find the Charles Bridge.  A little later I stumbled onto the Canadian Embassy.  So that was nice.

Eventually I found the Vltava River and the Charles Bridge.  It is under construction so half of the walkway is covered in scaffolding and tarps.  This distracted from the stately beauty of the bridge and its somber statues.  Then to Prague Castle!  Here is the view of the Castle from across the river.

Amazingly, I got lost trying to find that, too.  Even though it is straight up the hill and it is so huge you can practically see it from every street.  It is the biggest castle complex in the world.  But I wasn't totally enthralled by it.  I enjoyed St. Vitus Cathedral (video) and the Riding Room with its delicately ribbed ceiling (2nd video), but besides those, and I hate to sound so ignorant, it looked like a lot of other palaces.  

I had an excellent lunch at Bohemia Bagel down the hill from the castle, and then I wandered back across the river to Wenceslas Square.  After some browsing in various shops it was back on the metro to the bus station where I caught a bus back to Nove Straseci, my village.  I hope to go to Prague two or three times a week.  I have most mornings off, and I will have weekends free in a few weeks.  They asked me to hang around Nove Straseci for the first weekends so that I can spend more time with the boys and become fully integrated into their lives. 

Thanks for reading!  I will keep experimenting with pictures and video and formats...