My Favorite Part of Prague

My hotel for my glorious weekend of freedom was in Mala Strana, the Lesser Town or Little Quarter, right down the hill from Prague Castle. My windows looked out on rather dull, high white walls across the street--but what wonders are beyond those walls! The Wallenstein Gardens: gorgeous Italian-y formal gardens:

with a monstrous fake limestone grotto that looks like drippy grey skulls:

owls:

peacocks:

manicured hedges and flowers:

delightful fountains:

a peaceful pond:

interesting statuary:

and an open air, highly decorated sala with arcades and frescoes and everything.

Here is the ceiling:

A detail:

They have concerts and other events there now. We (Julie and I) were lucky enough to walk around the gardens (free admission!) while an orchestra and singer were rehearsing:

The 17th century Wallenstein Gardens are surrounded by the 17th century Wallenstein Palace which is now the Czech Senate. Mr. Wallenstein made his immense fortune as a sort of arms dealer in the Thirty Years War and he used some of that money to build his magnificent palace and gardens. So he is an ambiguous figure for the Czechs...sort of a traitor, but goodness gracious he sure built a nice house with a pretty yard. (My hotel is the lighter colored building on the right.) Sure is close!

Here is a view of the gardens from up on the hill. You can see how huge they are. The grotto is perhaps the most easily spotted: the mass of grey at the right.

How did we get up above like that? Through another garden. A seriously terraced garden.

This is what the ceiling of the small structure in the top right corner looked like:

Very pretty. There were stairs and more stairs and each level had different plants and benches. Really beautiful and peaceful with a great view of Prague.

Here is Julie on one of the levels. It was lots of fun to zig zag up the hill amidst the greenery.

Here is Prague, including a giant white balloon with hanging harnesses that people sit in and float above the city. Like parasailing, but not on the water. And you are hanging, not being pulled from below. And there is no boat. So not really like parasailing, except you do sit in a harness.

Then to the Vrtbovska Garden. It is an Italian style terrace garden built in 1715-1720 for the Earl of Vrtba. According to the brochure, it is one of the most important Baroque gardens in Europe. I am no expert on the subject. All I can say is that it was gorgeous and I thoroughly enjoying strolling through.

You enter the garden through a crazy gazebo thing all decorated in raised, carved painting reliefs. Friezes? Is it appropriate to say friezes when they cover a rotunda like this?

Here I am. (many thanks to Julie for being my personal paparazzo! She took all these pics of me.)As you can see, there is a small courtyard of short geometrical hedges and ivy covered alcoves and then up the stairs!

This is the second level, with Prague Castle in the background and an attention hog striking her favorite pose in the foreground.
On the top level we could just see the tip of the US Embassy and the dear old Stars and Stripes. A beautiful sight for an expat who continues to be a teensy bit homesick.

I loved the statues lining the stone wall of the second level. With the blue sky and the red roofs and the steeples and towers...not a bad backdrop!

Ahh. Children. Reminds me of my job...

I like to think the statue on the right was about to creep away but he froze when he saw my camera. Gotcha!

Not sure if she is going to pluck the steeple off and eat it or prick her finger on it in an homage to Sleeping Beauty...one never knows, does one?

Here is a video of the skyline, beginning with Prague Castle, over to Saint Nicholas Church, a view of the white balloon, and then a startling swoosh to the garden. I believe I even made a "swoosh" noise as I filmed it. Odd to find out I add my own sound effects.

After a marvelous afternoon of gardens we walked around and wandered into the Church of Our Lady Victorious to see the statue of the Infant Jesus. (By the way, the Jesus Baby brings the Christmas gifts. No Santa in the Czech Republic.) This statue is quite famous and enjoys a cult-like following. It has healing powers, and more visibly, an extravagant fashion sense. Like the Manneken Pis in Brussels, the Infant Jesus has lots of clothes. But unlike the Manneken Pis, the Infant Jesus does not get to wear soccer uniforms or Harry Potter outfits or police clothes. The Infant Jesus must stick to elaborate and expensive triangle shaped robes. He was wearing a blue one when we visited. There were lots of people kneeling in front of him, praying. And plaques with "thank you" in different languages line the walls around him. They are given in thanks by people the statue healed.

There is a museum on the second floor of the church that houses some of the clothes. They have been given to the statue by people and organizations from all over the world for centuries. There was even a video playing of smiling nuns tenderly dressing the statue...

In the museum gift shop you can purchase a copy of the (clothed) statue for about 50,000 crowns. (almost $3,000). You can also get an unclothed statue (just a plain white shift) for much less, or tiny figurines if even the naked Infant Jesus is not in your price range.

After that we made our way to the center of Prague, had an excellent Italian meal to go with the Italian style gardens, and then headed to yoga. And after that we went to a bar to listen to Julie's friends play.

What a lovely, busy day! Thank you, Julie!

Movie of the Week V

Dangerous When Wet (1953)

Finally, an Esther Williams movie! I saw this movie when I was very young and then lost track of it. In fact, I wasn't sure if I dreamed it or if it was a real movie. Fortunately, it is indeed a real movie and not just a happy dream film!

Esther Williams was a national champion, Olympic caliber swimmer who began modeling and swimming in Billy Rose's Aquacade with Tarzan, Johnny Weissmuller. Then she was picked up by MGM. They built a giant tank for her and she and the studio essentially invented synchronized swimming. Her first movie was one of Mickey Rooney's Andy Hardy films, but soon she was starring in her own blockbusters.

I really enjoy her movies. They are light musical comedy swimfests, six of which were released on DVD recently. Here she is in Easy to Wed (1946) with Van Johnson and Lucille Ball.

Williams is still alive and sells vintage style swimsuits (I have one and love it) and pools (I do not have one, though I would probably love it.) She also released an autobiography, Million Dollar Mermaid. It is my very favorite Hollywood auto/biography. She tells fascinating stories about her career and other stars and it is a fun, funny, fantastic book. It is especially interesting to read about how the makeup and hair people had to figure out ways to waterproof her makeup and 'do, and how directors and set and costume designers worked with Williams to make the movies. They were all basically making it up as they went along since no one had ever done this before. (I checked the book out of the library so many times in high school that my sister finally gave me my own copy for my birthday.) I even managed to work in one of Williams' movies (Neptune's Daughter (1949) and some of her autobiography into my senior thesis!

Williams was tall and muscular and confident, unlike some of the smaller, more delicate stars, so she is refreshing to watch. And, amazingly, she almost never used a stunt double. So when you see her doing 115 foot dives or swimming underwater forever (she ruptured her eardrums over and over, broke her neck because she performed a huge dive wearing a metal crown and a gold sequined body suit (the sequins didn't actually do any harm, but it is a nice detail, I think) and even almost drowned several times during filming) it is really her. Once, she was performing an underwater ballet and the genius set designer added a ceiling on the underwater room...it was dark and she couldn't find the trapdoor to surface...a cameraman finally noticed that she was drowning and got her out. The only time she would use a double was when she was pregnant and the director wanted her to just, you know, dive from a helicopter into a V of water skiiers. See Easy to Love (1953). Besides her physical prowess, Williams' has a strong presence on screen and she is almost always playing a woman in charge. A businesswoman, a movie star, a swimming star (she often plays that so that her swimming sequences can be more plausible, just as Fred Astaire often played a "dancer")...she is almost always independent and making her own money. So that is a nice change from some other films of the time.

So, why did you choose Dangerous When Wet as your first Esther Williams' flick, Cameron? Well, it is among my favorite Williams' movies and I think it is a great introduction. Unlike some of her other films, this movie has a real plot. Other films tend to be sort of silly. Many of them follow the same pattern: two couples, Williams is the primary girl, but they aren't paired correctly...something unusual happens and eventually the right girl gets with the right guy, and so on. The locations change, but sometimes the actors stay the same from film to film. I still love them, but if you don't like the actors they could get tiresome, I suppose. Anyway, Dangerous When Wet is not like that. I also really like this movie because Esther gets to show off her champion racing. She swims in all of her films, but often it is just graceful and pretty aquatic performances. In this one she really swims.

Also, the movie was directed by Charles Walters who also directed some of my other faves. Among them, The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964), High Society (1956), Easy To Love (1953), Summer Stock (1950), Easter Parade (1948),and Good News (1947), as well as serving as dance director for loads more musicals. So it is no wonder that I love this movie!

Katie Higgins (Williams) is the oldest daughter in a dairy farming family. They are extremely health conscious and get up every morning to exercise, which includes swimming laps in the nearby pond. Ironically, Williams doesn't like to swim because she would rather read the latest farming news and techniques so that she can figure out a way to improve the family farm. A travelling salesman (Jack Carson) peddling Liqua-pep (a vitamin drink) sees Katie swimming her laps. He is stunned by her swimming talent and her beauty. Then he meets her family and thinks they would be a great way to advertise Liqua-pep since they are all in such great shape. As a publicity stunt, he signs up the entire family to swim in the upcoming race across the English Channel. Katie is reluctant to get involved in the scheme but then she finds out that the prize money for first place would be enough to get a new roof for the barn and buy a famous bull for their farm...so she agrees.

Once in Europe she meets the dashing Andre (Fernando Lamas), an aristocratic wine salesman, who is determined to catch her. (Williams and Lamas eventually got married in real life.) Katie is also reluctant to get involved with this charming Frenchman (Lamas is actually Argentinean) but soon she falls under his spell. Their swimming duets are especially nice since Lamas was a great swimmer, too. Some of Williams' other costars could barely stay above water so she had to literally hold them up as they swam together. But she and Lamas really cut through the water.

This movie has everything. It is a musical with great songs like "I Like Men" sung by Katie's flirty little sister, and "Ain't Nature Grand," which Katie and Andre sing in a duet as they change into their swimming suits in neighboring cabanas. Andre has provided this black lacy number for Katie...

So there is music. There is also a cartoon dream sequence with Ben, Jerry, and Katie. Although it is rather famous, it is my least favorite part of the film. I don't like cartoons that much, and in this one Katie and the cartoon mouse and cat get chased by a scary octopus.

So there is music and cartoons. There is a lovely romantic plotline that follows the great Mr. Darcy/ Elizabeth formula of dislike turning into love.

So there is music and cartoons and romance. And then comes the sport storyline. It is always amazing to me how they managed to work a really compelling, suspenseful race into this otherwise light musical comedy. But it really works. Katie sets out to swim the English Channel so that she can save her family business. It is serious stuff. She swims and swims and swims in her un-glamorous black suit and extra un-glamorous white goggles. Her fellow swimmers drop out one by one and are rowed to the hospital boat that grimly follows behind.

Her family watches...

People on boats and the shore watch...

It is very suspenseful and well done. I won't completely spoil the ending for you (though I know you can probably guess what happens) but I will say that I get chills every time.

Go Esther! I am so glad I didn't dream this movie.

Sumava- Day 4: Ahh Nature!

On our last full day in Sumava we returned to the river.

The boys had adored playing amongst the rocks and streams...and they took advantage of the return outing.

Too big!

After lunch at the otter place again (I did not get the dumplings) we continued on the trail. On our first visit to the river we had gone about 3km down the path to the restaurant, and then returned the way we came. This time we kept going down the path after lunch. We found a lovely secluded spot with lots of giant rocks and little pools for the boys.

The baby took a long nap under the trees while we splashed about. Well, Eva and I didn't actually splash. We just watched and got splashed.

There I am. I kept my clothes on, but the little boys were soon stripped down to their skivvies, and then not even those, in an effort to keep their clothes dry. They looked like Golem creeping about, crawling from rock to rock.

When the baby woke up it was time to move. It really is a gorgeous forest. Primeval is the word, I believe. Tall, straight trees and moss everywhere so that the ground is soft and cushiony.

I was a little surprised to hear a chainsaw and then come upon a section of the forest that was being chopped down. There were big tractor machine things and men with chainsaws. Of course, the little boys loved it. The sound of the chainsaw (the same in any language) reminded me of clearing trails at home. I used to hate that when I was little. But I sure miss it now!

You can see some of the downed trees in this picture.

At the end of the trail, about 6km in total, we caught a bus back to the parking lot. I took the kids on board while Eva stowed the stroller. But I didn't see her get on...and I didn't see her...and the bus was full..and then finally I saw her. Whew. The bus was packed so I was trying to save a seat for Eva. A woman with a small dog in a handbag gave me mean looks and eventually (once I realized Eva could not get through the standing mob in the aisle to sit down,) I patted the seat beside me and the dog lady sat. I was holding the baby and the woman kept giving me death stares whenever he made a noise or his little hand strayed into her space, as if to say "how dare you disturb my dog?"

It was a tense ride. I was sure he was going to start screaming at any moment. He is pretty big, too, so logistically it was tough keeping him on my lap. He loves to stand up. But, amazingly, he stayed quiet and happy the whole 20 minute trip. I was terribly proud.

The next morning we headed back home. At a gas station I saw this sign. Pretty typical until the last blue one. Apparently, it is encouraged for people in wheelchairs to play their trumpets at the pump.

Not really, I know it is telling people to honk their car horns if they need assistance. But I like the music friendly idea better.

Exciting news! This weekend is my first weekend off! I am so incredibly excited! I was trying to visit a friend in Germany but that fell through and flights were too expensive so I have decided to stay in Prague at a nice hotel as a treat. I have a list of things I want to do, among them: sleep, linger in cafes, read, visit some gardens, tour what I haven't seen, and take a bubble bath. Sounds pretty good.

Sumava- Day 3: Cesky Krumlov

On Tuesday we ventured out of the wilderness into the fantastic town of Cesky Krumlov. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and features a really marvelous castle. As soon as we parked the car and I stepped out into the looks-like-rain-doesn't-it?-day I felt great. You know how you feel really comfortable, almost at home, and sort of invigorated in certain places? Cesky Krumlov is one of those places for me.

It is a small town but beautiful and charming even though it is very touristy. It sort of reminded me of Cinque Terre in Italy because both places are extremely tourist heavy and tourist driven, but rather than try to hide it or be ashamed of it or even contemptuous, both towns accept the visitors cheerfully.

I knew I would like Cesky Krumlov when I saw this tower right by the parking lot. It is a hostel! Love it.

It was very pleasant to stroll the crowded streets and gaze unabashed all around. Here is the city center.

We had a delicious lunch outside (the rain held off!) at an Italian restaurant. Our table was right next to this extraordinary courtyard and while we waited for the pizza and pasta I took the boys and we wandered around.

This picture is taken from the opposite direction (see the same white bench?). Our restaurant is through the arch.

After lunch we headed up the hill to the castle. In the moat (dry now) they keep bears. Yes, big brown bears. Sorry for the quality of this picture, but it shows the top of the moat and I thought it was neat how the castle was built into the rocks. Also, the walls are painted with faux finishes, as we might call them. Very good optical illusions, too. It really looks like there are yellowish blocks and friezes and columns, but it is just paint on the flat stone walls.

The moats have lots of trees and plants, they aren't as barren as it looks in the bear picture. The bears live just below all the greenery in the picture above.

The boys and I stared at the bears, (I don't know who was more enthralled, me or the four-year-old,) and then made our way into the castle courtyard.

Incredible tower, huh? Completely painted.

But what do you think the boys were interested in? The crazy tower or the fairly normal fountain?

It's like they're ducks or something.

Eva, who knows how much I enjoy history and especially castles, got me a ticket to tour the castle. She took care of the kiddos while I walked around inside for an hour. Awesome!

Here is a view of an inner courtyard.

Unfortunately they didn't allow cameras inside. I do hate that. The castle is furnished in the various periods it was inhabited and renovated, so 14th century or so until the 19th. It was one of the better "furnished" castles I have been in. The tables were set with dishes and fake food or chessboards or playing cards. It looked like the castle's inhabitants had just stepped out of the room for a moment and would return as soon as the bothersome tour group was gone. Sort of cheesy but I love it. It almost made me grin to see signs reading, "Do Not Touch Exhibit. Items are Electronically Monitored" on every laden table and dressing table and sideboard. I grinned because thin coppery wires snaked their way between the the fake bread and tin plates (in the older sections of the castle) and the dainty pastries and porcelain (in the newer sections, relatively). I guess that is how they are electronically monitored? Noticeable wires connecting the hairbrush to its neighbor the mirror? Are the wires plugged into anything? I wanted to touch something just to see if an alarm would go off or I would get shocked. But I didn't.

The tour guide was a girl who looked about fourteen, very skinny in a plaid school girl skirt, but she was probably close to my age. She spoke English very precisely but with a thick accent, so although the words were clearly enunciated, it was still a little tough to figure out what she was saying. She said cold like khaald and had a swinging, sing song cadence...up up down pause up up down down down so that she ended every sentence as though she had told us something very surprising or mildly ridiculous. She stopped after every sentence to give us time to ooh and ahh even though there wasn't always something to express amazement about. I thoroughly enjoyed it. She was very knowledgeable, too, even though it sounded like she had the tour phonetically memorized. She answered questions quite capably.

I kept seeing an image of a man's head with a black ponytail and long mustache getting his eye pecked out by a black bird. It was in coats of arms and painted on buildings. I asked the tour guide about it and she said it is the Turk with Raven. After a victory over the Turks in the 15th century, this grisly head was added to the Cesky Krumlov coat of arms.

Our last stop on the tour was the Masquerade Hall, an 18th century Baroque explosion. The room is covered in paintings of a party. There are something like 130 figures, each unique and bearing his or her own shadow. Everyone is dressed in costume as though it is a masquerade ball. Mirrors shaped like exclamation points (long vertical rectangles with a circle several inches below) were my favorite part of the decor.

Here is the castle from down the hill.
I don't really know what this is, but I like how the building and the rocks and the wall merge into each other. We had an afternoon snack in a cafe opposite.
Nice church, and finally some blue sky.
When I was indulging my historical interest, the boys were watching boats go by on the river.

At least they are easily amused. There was also construction going on at this blank-windowed building across the river. So lots to watch.

See the For Sale sign? Who wants to purchase it for me?

Cesky Krumlov was the perfect break from rivers and trails. I like Nature and everything, but I do so love castles.

Sumava- Day 2: Blueberries for Sal...and Honzik...and Lukas

On Monday we headed to a beautiful area with a shady trail beside a rushing river with giant rocks that you could easily imagine a glacier slicing through and sculpting on its way to wherever it was going.

Children are, apparently, drawn to water so the boys loved it. We would walk for about 100 feet and then they would see a path leading to the river and tear down it. Once by the water, they found endless enjoyment tossing in rocks and leaves and sticks, and jumping from rock to rock.

At first, this made me terribly nervous. I could too easily imagine one of them slipping and falling into the water or hitting his head on a rock or something awful. Fortunately, besides wet socks and shoes they were fine.

The experience did make me think through something that had been bothering me for a while. I have noticed that parents can seem almost lackadaisical when watching their children. By contrast, I am almost always on edge--ready to step in and jerk their hand back from the hot stove or catch them when they fall off the stairs...(although I do realize they have to figure out for themselves not to touch the boiling water.) My alertness is not because I am a good au pair (though I hope I am) or because parents are lazy, but because if a child slips on a slick river rock and drowns when the mother is watching, it will be a tragedy and everyone will say, "Oh, the poor mother!" If a child slips on the same slick river rock and drowns when the nanny is watching...different story. A story beginning with the headline "Nanny Charged in Child's Death." I know I am paranoid but I feel the enormity of my responsibility. I am looking after someone's most precious thing in the world, and I don't want to bruise it.

On a happier, less crazy note, there were so many wild blueberry bushes! (Lukas says "Blue-belly" instead of blueberry, and I sort of hate to correct him because it is so cute!) The solid carpet of blueberries brought to mind the wonderful children's book, Blueberries for Sal. I always thought it was about my sister Sally. It's not, though. Sorry to ruin your day, Sally.

So Sal goes blueberry picking with her mom and I think they get separated or something, but it isn't scary. Sal meets a bear and has other adventures. Although I didn't have an awesome blueberry picking suit (something in a light tweed, or a greyish blue blend would be perfect), I still felt like I had been plucked out of the book as I helped Lukas and Honzik pick the blue-bellies.All the green on the ground? Blueberry bushes!

It was a really gorgeous walk, and stroller friendly which makes a big difference. About 4 km down the path there is a restaurant with its own otter.

Very touristy and not great food but it is the only place in the woods so there isn't much choice. We stopped there for some tough apricot dumplings. I didn't know they weren't supposed to be that hard until I had some apricot dumplings today...The other grandmother is here and she made them. Like clouds wrapped around apricots with a splash of melted butter and a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar. For lunch.

Anyway, lovely river, right? Here is a pic of me and the baby in the river.And a rock formation...
Which one is cuter?