Nanny Cam: Prague and Petrin

Last week I went in search of an English bookstore (found it!) and right across the narrow street was St. Jacob's Church. Apparently this is one of the most marvelous baroque churches in Prague. It is certainly a fussy one. Here is one of the outside sculptures. The crazy figures certainly pop against the otherwise bland facade.

The interior was crazy, too. I think this church is also one of the "longest" in Prague. The nave certainly seemed to go on a very long way.

Give me a nice dark Gothic church over a Baroque masterpiece any day. I find the paintings and sculptures and frescoes and windows and statues and curlicues a bit distracting. I like stained glass and bare stone and ribbed vaults.

I couldn't go any further towards the altar, which is sort of a bummer because I am sure there are some spectacular things down there.

Forgive me my snarky comments; it really is a beautiful church.

On Tuesday I went into Prague for lunch with a young woman who goes to my yoga studio. My fabulous yoga teacher set us up. The girl's name is Julie and she is 26 and awesome. I had a lovely time. Julie has lived all over and speaks Czech, French, and English. She worked as a tour guide in Prague in high school and she took me all around. It was different and delightful to see Prague with someone who really knows it and loves it.

We climbed the Old Town Hall Tower (where the astronomical clock is.) Here are some pictures from the top. I really enjoy climbing towers,

whether they are bell towers, guard towers, castle towers, whatever. This picture of the Old Town Square shows the Jan Hus monument smack dab in the center.

Unfortunately I don't know enough about the other buildings to point out anything very interesting. But nice red roofs, huh?

In the distance you can see a funny looking tower thing.

It is a TV tower and it was built under the Communists. It looks like three speared flying saucers. It is considered a major eyesore, the way that Parisians hate the Eiffel Tower. But

unlike the Eiffel Tower, I am not sure anyone

thinks the TV tower is that amazing.

This is St. Nicholas Church. It is de-sanctified and now they have touristy Mozart concerts in it every afternoon. There is a huge and unique iron and glass chandelier in the middle of the nave with a crucifix hanging from the center.

And here I am. Yes, I am really here.

After the tower climb we walked around a little more and then got lunch at a great (and cheap!) restaurant near Old Town Square. Then it was across the river and more strolling. I saw the John Lennon wall where people write messages to him or about him or just about their boyfriend/girlfriend or peace or love.

Julie showed me a restaurant that is down a teeny tiny staircase alley. The stairs are so narrow that they have a traffic light with the green "Walk" and the red "Don't Walk." You press the button (as I am so ably demonstrating) and then when the light is in your favor you go. Otherwise people might get stuck.

Julie pointed out this sign. It says "Smichov" (the name of a section of Prague) in Russian and points to the right. She told me that in 1968 when Russian tanks rolled into Prague to quell the rebellion, the residents put up signs in Russian. But they weren't being helpful. The signs pointed the wrong way, or misidentified areas and streets. We weren't anywhere near Smichov, for instance. The hope was that the signs would create confusion and make the tanks go in circles. It seems like sort of a "Hogan's Heroes" (new favorite show, however incredibly inappropriate the basic premise is (a comedy in a Nazi POW camp? Really?)) stunt but it is super cool.

Speaking of the Eiffel Tower (that was a ways back though) there is a mini one in Prague at the top of Petrin Hill. It was built in 1891. Some Czech people went to Paris and were so inspired by the Eiffel Tower that they built something similar in Prague. This morning we visited Petrin Hill and saw the sights.

I was most excited, though, to see a very nice giant fake ice cream cone at the foot of the tower. Instead of the typical vanilla or chocolate, this one had chocolate chips and chocolate sauce. Naturally I got a picture. That is Lukas with me. It was chilly and windy today, hence the scarf and our jackets.

To get up to the tower you can climb the very tall hill or take the funicular. We took the funicular since we had the boys with us. It was an adventure. A very slow, not terribly exciting adventure.

Prague has lots of green space, which is lovely. Parks and squares with trees and grass and benches. Petrin Hill is also home to this fake medieval tower. Inside is a mirror maze. The boys enjoyed it, but I felt sick. Fun house mirrors creep me out. You worked your way through the maze (very easy, but it is meant for children so I didn't feel that smart) and then there was a crowded, noisy room with weird mirrors that make you look short or very tall.

It was like having a migraine. When I do get one of those nice headaches, my vision goes wacko and I feel like I am looking out at fun house mirrors. So I got out of there as soon as I could.

There were some beautiful views of Prague from the hill. Here is Old Town Square and the Tyn Church.