Here are some photos from the Prague leg of the trip.
10) A cemetery just outside of Prague. (in Praha 5 region) I was going to Bertramska, where Mozart stayed with friends when he was here. It was also where he wrote
Don Giovanni. They also have a museum. But after I got there, I found they were closed with no explanation. Anyway, at least I got a good cemetery photo for my long tram ride out there:
11) In the 16th century, the Lutherans decided that a cloaked skeleton was not scary enough to represent death. So they carved wooden statues from that period depict him as a rotting corpse. (no robes) Just behind the staff of his scythe, his intestines are in full view. Charming chap, eh?.
12) I was curious how & how often they have to repair those character-filled cobblestone streets. It turns out they have their own tiny pick-up trucks for the purpose. The bed is filled with cobblestones and sand just for the job:
13) The metro (subway) is WAY below the city streets. The escalators down were at least a hundred yards long, and VERY steep. It would be a nasty fall.
14) Here's one of the stained glass windows from St. Vitus' Cathedral, in Prague Castle. There are at least two dozen others, equally impressive.
15) Here's a blacksmith from inside Prague Castle. Needless to say, I contributed to his worthy cause.
16) The vaulted ceiling from inside the Old Royal Palace, inside Prague Castle. I just LOVE the gothic tracery in the vaulting.
17) Here is St. John Nepomuk's tomb inside St. Vitus' Cathedral. He was the confessor to King Wenceslas IV's wife. The king ordered him to tell him what she told him during confession. He refused, upholding his vows as a priest. As a result, Nepomuk died under torture, his body was bound, and thrown off Charles Bridge into the Vltava river. Nice. The sculpture is made of over two tons of solid silver.
18) Here is the interior of St. Vitus' Cathedral. It is about twice as big as cathedral pictured earlier. Due to plagues & wars, it took about 580 years to finish it. The present cathedral was started in mid 14th century, and not finished until 1929. Before the present cathedral, there had been a romanesque rotunda here since the early 10th century. Humbling.
19) Here's St. Vitus' from the top of the 1/5 scale Eiffel Tower on nearby Petrin hill. Although it is only 1/5 scale, the top is the same height as the original (built only one year prior) since it is on top of a huge hill. I thought that was pretty fun. (it was a hell of a climb) This and the cemetery above remind me of Castlevania. What do you think?
20) An aerial shot of Prague from the same location. In the foreground, the Castle Quarter and Little Quarter. Across the river, the Old and New towns. The New Town is so named because it is much more recent. It was planned and construction started in the 14th century.
21) Interior of St. Nicholas' Church, in the Little Quarter. This one is baroque in style, and done in pink marble.
22) Prague Castle as seen from Charles Bridge. The Charles Bridge was founded in the 14th century by the Holy Roman Emperer, Charles IV when the earlier Judith bridge was washed away during a flood. They seemed to have done a good job, since it is still here over 6 centuries later.
23) Oblique view of Charles Bridge:
24) Here's my wife, having a look at the Tyn (teen) church from the top of the old town hall clock tower. Very touristy I guess. But we were tourists, and there's no hiding it.
25) We had the option of taking an elevator up, but chose the ramps instead. Made me feel less guilty about all the beer I'd been drinking...
26) Inside the old town hall, there's a room that is all done in mosaic. This is not paint, but thousands of tiny stones in their natural colors.
27) Another church interior. The ceiling is painted as if heaven begins right above the roof arches. (detail in next shot)
28) Here's one such panel:
29) Here's Jan Hus pondering his Tyn church, in the center square in Old Town. Jan Hus is a national hero. Back in the day, 13th century or so, he preached against the corruption that was so common in the catholic church of the time. He was "asked to leave town" and given "safe passage." Safe passage, apparently meant out of the city. Once he was outside the city, he was captured, brought to another city, and burned at the stake. Since he was made into a martyr, his cause was greatly multiplied. (like Obi-wan Kenobi's after Vader cut him down) The Tyn church, mentioned elsewhere, was a Hussite church. (Hus --> Hussite)
30) An inlaid door, inside the old town hall. If you're a woodworker, you can appreciate the skill it takes to do this by hand. I can't even fathom it.
31) The astronomical clock on the side of the old town hall.
32) When the hour comes up, the death figure turns the hourglass over, and continually pulls the rope while bobbing his head. Carved figures of the 12 apostles parade by in the dual windows at the top. The netting is to keep the pigeons from nesting and pooping all over everything.
33) Here's the Blue Madonna, from one of the churches (St. Mary The Victorious, I believe) note the precious stones in her background:
34) Here's the dried-up forearm of a thief who tried to steal those stones over 500 years ago. Legend has it that Madonna grabbed him when he tried it, and held on so tightly that the arm had to be sawn off. It was then hung above the doorway as a warning to other would-be thieves. It seems to have worked.
35) Wenceslas Square, with The Good King Wenceslas, of Christmas Carol fame, on the horse. (note: this is Wenceslas I, not the nasty Wenceslas IV mentioned above) He is the main national hero of the Czech people. He was unusually well-educated for a 10th century Bohemian king; he spoke 5 languages, among other impressive things on his resume. His dear brother Boleslave hired some guys to murder him on the way home from church one fateful day in the year 929. (They consecrated the finished St. Vitus' Cathedral on the 1000th anniversary of his death) He was buried in St. Vitus'. Rather, he was buried in the original rotunda at that location, and the cathedral was built around his tomb over the next thousand years.
Thanks for looking. Prague, outside the city center, is not as clean & friendly as Krakow. Czechs seem to especially dislike Polish people. They were continually trying to short-change my parents in-law whenever they were heard speaking Polish in public. There is also a lot more public drunkenness, since folks are allowed to drink beer anywhere. Outside of the tourist center of the city, no one seems to speak anything but Czech and occasionally, German. It is their right, but if they want to make money from tourists, it is maybe not the ideal approach.
It was a tricky situation for me, since the food on the outskirts cost 30% of what it costs in the city center. A 0.5 L (16.9 oz.) top-shelf beer costs the same as a cup of tea. A bit over a dollar. Needless to say, I didn't drink much tea there. Just remember to factor in the cost of going to the bathroom (3 crowns) with each beer.
($1 = 19 Kr) It is not the cost I mind, but being caught without coins and having to go.
Watch out for dog crap on the sidewalks outside of the city center. They don't pick up after their dogs if cops aren't watching.
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