My last day in Prague.  Hubby still had meeting to go to, so he was staying on for several more days, but this was his last vacation day.  We had several things on the to see list, including more of David Cerny’s works and the Astronomical Clock in Old Town (Stare Mesto).  First up was the TV tower, which was on our way into the city center from our hotel.  Emerging from the Jiřího z Poděbrad metro station (which, by the way, sounds nothing like it is spelled; I could catch the ‘z’ only) we saw this church.  There are lots and lots of churches in Prague, of every shape, style, and color.  This definitely fit into the modern category.  We particularly liked the see-through clock face.

The architectural style was unfriendly, IMO.  The brick surface detail almost looked like spikes or barbed wire. Still, it was quite a nice change of architecture from what we had been seeing. And onto the TV Tower, which the Communists built in 1985.  Uuuuuuugly is the word that comes to my mind.  It looks like some cheap, plastic ray gun or something.  Anyway, I guess I’m not alone in my thinking, from what I read.  After the fall of Communism, the tower was deemed to be fairly unattractive, so, of course, they commission David Cerny to make it more appealing.  From a distance (and most of the center city area) his additions  look like ants.  Which is kind of fun in it’s own way.  But no, those aren’t ants, those are babies. Giant, butt-faced, crawling babies.  All over the tower.   It makes me think of giant babies crawling on an AT-AT.  Or something like that.  It’s just wonderfully bizarre.  The title of the work is ‘Mimika,’ Czech for the word ‘babies.’  For an interpretation… I leave that up to you.  Or Google, if you so wish. It definitely turned the TV tower from an eye sore to a destination, though.  There were also a few other pieces on the TV tower grounds that were quite interesting. This… I have no idea.  I’ve never been a modern art girl.  And headed back to the metro station, I spotted this post box.  Nice.These are just some details from the buildings in the TV tower neighborhood.  Again, not on the tourist beat.  This is just how things are.
Our next stop was Municipal House, in the Old Town (Stare Mesto) where there was an exhibition of Alfons Mucha’s work.  The buildings below are in the Municipal House neighborhood.  Again, all of that gorgeous detail. What we didn’t realize when we headed into the exhibition was that it was the world premiere, and it had only opened about 10 days prior.  How lucky that we happened to be in Prague at the right time!  And while the name Ivan Lendl sounded familiar, I couldn’t place it.  Yes, it turns out that is was the Ivan Lendl of 1980′s tennis fame.  He had begun collecting Mucha’s work in the early 80′s after being introduced to Mucha’s son.  And now owns one of the most complete collections of Mucha lithographs in the world.  Again, there was strictly no photography allowed, but to say the exhibition was amazing is an understatement.  It totally blew away the Mucha Museum.  We enjoyed it so much that we decided to purchase the exhibition book.  All 30 pounds of it.  (Ok, well maybe not that heavy, but pretty close.)

After that, we went and assumed a position in front of the Astronomical Clock, which is a “must see” in all of the guidebooks.  Here’s the crowd (of tourists) that gathers each hour to see the show. While the clock itself is something to behold, the hourly show lasts a mere 45 seconds and it underwhelming, to say the least.  I thought I took a video of it, but I pressed the wrong button, so just a photograph instead.  The most amusing part, I thought, is that the figure of Death is the one ringing the bell.

After that, we grabbed some sausages for lunch in the square, and shared a trdelnik for dessert.  Then onward, there was more David Cerny to find.

But first, more architectural details along the way.  Here’s St George slaying the dragon. And this horrible photo.  Which I took only to show the huge metronome that sits on the opposite bank of the river.  (It’s easier to see in the larger photo.)  The metronome now sits where the huge statue of Lenin used to sit.  Stalin blew that up in 1963 (or so).  So now there’s a metronome.  Ok.  Layers of history, everywhere. And back in Mala Strana (Lower Town), just outside the Kafka museum, we found the other Cerny piece we were looking for: Proudy (that’s Czech for ‘piss’).  These two gentlemen stand in a pool the shape of the Czech Republic, their hips swiveling, while their, um, manhood pisses out lines from famous Czech literature.  It’s quite the crowd pleaser.  I had a difficult time getting shots (and video) without a crowd in the way. I mean, really, what’s not to like?  (Yes, I became a David Cerny fan in Prague.)

After another long day of touristing, we caught a bite to eat in the Namesti Miru neighborhood.  And still I couldn’t stop taking pictures of their buildings.   Afterwards, as it was a lovely evening, we grabbed some gelato from a stand in the park and walked around a bit.  We came across this monument, to Josef Capek and his brother Karel.  Josef was an artist and poet, but also invented the word ‘robot’ for use in one of his brother’s stories.  Karel perished shortly after Germany invaded Czechoslovakia in 1938, and Josef perished in a concentration camp in 1945.  Sad.

However, not to leave the last Prague post on a sad note.  There is so much history in Prague, a lot of it sad, but a lot of it glorious and beautiful.  I highly recommend Prague as a city to visit.  While I’ve just shown a fraction of the photos I took, hopefully I was able to convey some of the beauty and wonder that this city holds.

We thought we had laundry in the apartment that we rented, and while there was indeed a washer, it was “Out of order.”  I was almost tempted to try anyway, as there were other items in there, but I was a good girl and didn’t.  Which meant laundry adventures in Prague.  (The hotel would have kindly done it all for us, at incredible rates.  They were so high I don’t even remember what they were, besides crazy.)

It was difficult to find a coin laundry/laundry service in Prague.  (Or maybe I just didn’t have the correct combination of Czech vocabulary while doing my Google searches.)  In any case, we found a place that wasn’t too far from the hotel, and as a bonus, they opened at 9AM on Sunday.  Sweet!  That meant we’d still have most of a day to see things.  We headed over to the address, just a couple of metro stops away, and found… nothing.  We were where it said to be, but there was no sign of laundry.  Smartphone to the rescue, where a Google reader had commented on that location saying, “It’s closed.  Don’t make the mistake I did and go there.”  Lovely.  It wasn’t a total bust, though, as we found some yummy looking Thai restaurants in the neighborhood, one of which we went to the next night for dinner.

An ad in the metro.  I made hubby stop and take this photo.   A cheese shop sign in the neighborhood with the nonexistent laundry. A theatre in the same neighborhood.  Not on the tourist beat at all, just a neighborhood in Prague. The walls at the Namesti Miru metro stop.  I loved the walls along the A Line.

We found another location on the map in the heart of downtown (right near the Museum of Communism, actually), but it didn’t open until 11AM.  So we headed down to Wenceslas Square to see that area and also see if we could find David Cerny’s statue of St Wenceslas.

I remember watching news reports about the “unrest” in Czechoslovakia back in the late 80′s.  I never thought as a kid that I would get to visit Prague.  So standing in Wenceslas Square was pretty intense.  Here is where the Velvet Revolution happened in 1989.   It’s in the New Town area of Prague, meaning that it has some amazing Art Nouveau and Art Deco buildings.  (You know, instead of all that Czech Renaissance stuff in some of the other neighborhoods.  ;)  I particularly loved the detail on this building.  The little sphinxes and little faces.

And all of the facial expressions slightly different from the other. Some of the lovely old buildings on Wenceslas Square.

Looking for David Cerny’s work, we ducked into a little shopping arcade, Lucerna, on the west side of the square.  For some reason that name seemed familiar to me, so we gave it a try.  And met with success.  My first glimpse of Cerny’s St Wenceslas…

The shopping arcade doesn’t seem much like a going concern right now. I think a lot of the more successful shops have access onto Wenceslas Square, where they can snag tourists.  So, except for one tour group that quickly passed through, it was utterly quiet in the arcade.  (Well, there was one security guy lurking about.)  It was quite peaceful compared to the hubbub of the square.  This is David Cerny’s statue of St Wenceslas.
He even depicted the horse’s tongue hanging out.
There was a handy little staircase and balcony up to a cafe/casino, which allowed for some different angles. And, of course, there was some lovely stained glass there on the balcony.  Six days in and I shouldn’t have been surprised and delighted by every little detail, but I still was.   We were still to early to catch the laundry opening, so we found a coffee shop in the arcade (NOT Starbuck’s, thankyouverymuch) and had some hot chocolate and shared a slice of cake while we waited to head over to the laundry.   (Actually, I think it opened before it said it did, as we were there at 11:03 and all of the machines were full.  It claimed to open at 11:00.  Ahem.  Yes.)  The cafe had some tables on the outside of the shop, which was inside the arcade.  Perfect for capturing some of the details of the arcade.

This was the glass tile roof of the arcade. 

Another decorated building on Wenceslas Square.

After our adventures with laundry, we headed back to the hotel to drop it off, then headed back down to the Old Town for some lunch at the vegetarian Indian cafeteria we’d found.  After that it was off to the Decorative Arts Museum while it was open on Sunday afternoon. (Because, you know, most everything’s closed on Monday.)  We were expecting a nice museum with various decorative items to look at.  The bonus for us was a special exhibition of Matchbox cars that had been extended until that very day.  No photography in the museum, though, which is why there are no more photos from the day.  By the time we finished there, I was pooped, so we headed back to the hotel.  Another lovely day in Prague.

(Still trying to catch up from the trip.  Also fighting a sinus infection, which cuts down on my energy and motivation.)

Day 5 in Prague we headed straight to the castle to finish off the remains of the short tour ticket that we had purchased.  We figured it wouldn’t be as strenuous as St Vitus the day before.  Ha!  First mistake was that it was Saturday.  Second mistake was that it was Saturday morning.  The Rick Steves’ guidebook basically said to avoid the castle from 9:30-12:30, as that’s when the tour groups ran their people through.  We arrived at the castle right about 10AM and what a difference from the day before.  There was a huge line to get into St Vitus, so it was really good we had done that the day before.  The crowds in the castle complex were crazy.  (OK, nothing like Shinjuku Station at rush hour, but it was unpleasant.)  We headed straight to St George’s Cathedral, the oldest on the castle grounds.  It was consecrated in 920, suffered a massive fire in the 1100′s and was rebuild around the mid-1100′s.  So pure Romanesque in style.  And oh, so beautiful to my eyes: the grace of the curved arches and the warmth of the stone.  This is a million times more beautiful to me than Baroque.

Remnants of some of the oldest frescoes in the cathedral; I don’t remember when they dated back to, but it was probably 10th or 11th Century.  Amazing to see with my own eyes. And look at that ceiling!   A view into the crypt below the altar. Where this little guys was hanging out.  Notice the detail in the fresco next to it. And St George, of course. This southern entrance was obviously (and poorly) fitted on sometime after the 12th Century construction. While St George’s was busy, the other tourist were pretty much rushing through.  (Perhaps they had a three hour limit for the castle or just didn’t like Romanesque?)  After that relative calm we headed for the Golden Lane, a restored alley of dwellings on the castle grounds.  Some of the area was used for barracks for soldiers, some was for other castle employees, such as seamstresses.  In any case, it was cramped and super crowded, but very interesting to see.  I’m trying to remember, but I think that these dwellings were used up to WWII, if not after.

It was easy to tell that people have gotten taller since these buildings were originally erected.

This room was set up as the alchemist’s room.  It was one of the more brightly lit rooms, too.  I can’t imagine winters in this…. Oh, yes, they had a torture room up by the barracks.  It was so crowded that I only managed to snap a few pictures before allowing the next in line a peep.  I don’t even want to know what all of these items are used for.

In the long hallway on the second (European first?) floor, they had displays of armor from various periods.  This birdman jousting ensemble was my favorite by far. And the most modern of the abodes in the Golden Lane that we were allowed into was this film buff/maker, who was there until after the war, I believe.

Ah, yes, I’m glad I took this photo, as it reminded me of something we saw all over Prague: self-walking dogs.  Most of the time when we saw dogs, the dogs would be walking themselves, with the owners in front or behind them, carrying the leash.  And for all of that, we never saw an incidence of dog conflict when two self-walking dogs came into contact. After a lunch break (in which we were reminded of the guidebooks caution to be wary of extra charges on the bill) we headed back to the castle to see the last building on our ticket.  On the way, we passed the Schwarzenberg Palace, a beautiful Czech Renaissance building, decorated by sgraffito.  Having only read about sgraffito in my art history texts, it was amazing to be so close to so many buildings in Prague that used this decorative technique. Let’s just say I’m a fan.  It had started to rain when we reached the palace and while hubby was hanging out under the eaves, I was snapping away.
If you click through to the large image below and look at the top, you’ll see antlers. And back to the castle we went. Through the fancy front gates.  With the very pointy flag poles. Our last destination was the Old Royal Palace.  This is still used for ceremonial events to this day.  I loved the tracery detail throughout.
Very old windows.  This was the room in which the Second Defenestration of Prague happened in 1618, one of the events which led to the 30 Years War.  

The nice warm, but ginormous, stove in the room. View from those famous windows out onto a drizzly Prague. Some of the detail back in the main hall. Doors.  Beautiful wooden doors throughout.  Not quite my taste, but beautiful nonetheless. I believe this was the Land Records hall or somesuch.  All of the painted medallions on the ceiling show the relationships of various important persons back in the day. The library, where the Land Use records were kept.  Not only were the library shelves stunning, so were the books themselves. I can’t remember which royal (King, Holy Roman Emperor) used this room, but it was lovely.  We could only peek at it from the steps of the gift shop.
After finishing the buildings, we wandered through the back garden on the south side of the castle.  This allows you to peep into the back yards of very nice buildings, such as the British Consulate. The colorful south side of the castle complex. And just as we were about to go, I spotted this little guy embedded in a garden wall.  I wonder what his story is?  I called him derpy cat.

(Been back in the US for a few days, but have been struggling with allergies and jet-lag, so just now catching up on the photos from the Prague visit.)

After several days in Prague we decided to start tackling the castle.  While you can freely roam the castle grounds without paying, there are a couple of ticket options to see some of the sights of the castle compound itself.  Thankfully all tickets are good for two days, so you can split up your sightseeing.  We decided to see St Vitus Cathedral first, on a Friday afternoon.  That turned out to be a wise decision.  In contrast to St Nicholas which we’d seen earlier in the week, St Vitus is primarily from the High Gothic period of architecture.  (Although the cathedral wasn’t really complete until the early 1920′s, I believe.) High Gothic is one of my favorite periods of cathedral architecture (along with Romanesque), so I was excited about this visit.

(A reminder that you can view a larger version of any photo by clicking on it.)

This is from Stare Mesto (Old Town) somewhere.  My eye was first caught by the architectural details on the building, then I noticed the pony in the window.  Lovely.  :)

Anyway, moving on to the castle.  The single best piece of advice I read in the guides was to take the #22 tram up to the Hrad (Castle) stop and walk down to the castle from there.  Then after hours of castle viewing you can enjoy the stroll down from the castle grounds to Mala Strana.  Downhill = good.  We were doing plenty of walking, so I didn’t feel the need to exert myself to get up to the castle.

One of the entrances, with the Czech guards.  The castle is actually in use by government offices, so there’s a security presence.  (Nothing like the US, where you have to have your bags searched and go through metal detectors, though.)

Our first view of St Vitus Cathedral.  I have about three photos that I need to stitch into a vertical panorama.  This is only about half of the building.  The way the castle grounds are constructed, this is as far away as you can get and see the entire front facade.  Still, it’s breathtaking.

This is Alfons Mucha’s stained glass window in the cathedral.  Clearly my favorite.  His use of light and color in the window is phenomenal.

Some of the interior details.  This little guy was hanging out on an interior staircase. The Rose Window in the Western facade; the photo doesn’t do it justice.

Taking care of evil.
The ceiling in one of the side chapels.  Beautiful!  I think I’m just a sucker for lapiz lazuli and gold together.
“Oops, I lost my head.”
Some of the silver in the cathedral.  This was about as excessive as it got.
The inside of the Saint Wencelas chapel on the south side.   Standing at the western entrance looking up.  After seeing the dim, cramped little rooms that people lived in, cathedrals must have seemed like miraculous buildings: so tall and filled with light.  

Always some little detail on the cathedral to notice. The eastern (apse) end of St Vitus Cathedral.  Gosh, I love flying buttresses. Chimney detail on the old palace building.  You know, because.

My favorite gargoyle of the cathedral, the creepy monkey. Some of the layers of detail on the exterior of St Vitus.  Stunning! The southern facade of the cathedral. The main entrance to the castle grounds.  Behave or you’ll get it. We decided to take one of the routes down to Mala Strana, from which we’d catch the metro home.  This is why you start from the top and work your way down.  There were plenty of people going up.  Breathlessly.About half way down we were arrested by this wonderful smell of pastry and sugar.  As it was well past snack o’clock (and we were both thoroughly chilled by the wind) we stopped for hot chocolate and trdelnik.  It’s a dough that shaped onto a hollow metal tube and baked, then rolled in cinnamon sugar.  So tasty.  This is how much Cloyce liked it.
The baker could barely keep up with the demand; the shop was definitely in a good location.
Further down we spotted this statue of Winston Churchill.  We thought it strange to put a statue in the middle of Mala Strana, but then realized that we were just down a lane from the British Embassy.  (All of the choice former palaces were snapped up as embassies.) And this lovely architectural detail, spotted on just another building in Mala Strana.  It was one floor up off a busy road, so I doubt many people actually stopped to notice it. Lovely.

We had gotten a late start that day and had spent several hours in the cathedral, so that was it for our sightseeing that day.  We joked that we could see a lot more if we didn’t spend so much time looking at things.  We’d see some people cruise through the cathedral in 15 minutes.  I guess that counts as having “seen” it, but….

Anyway, more castle grounds to come on Day 5.

So on Saturday we moved from our nice apartment rental in Prague to the posh hotel where hubby’s conferences are taking place.  And discovered that their internet is so horrible that it is practically unusable.  I mean, I can barely download e-mail, let alone try to post blog updates.

Thank goodness for our iPhones.  We bought unlocked ones, so that we could get sim cards when we travel abroad. They’ve been our primary source of internet communication the last three days.

That said, there seems to be a moment of quick internet, so I uploaded a couple of photos from the last two days to share.  We’ve been wandering around Prague, seeing various museums and exhibitions.  It’s been lovely!  We’ve also been enjoying David Cerny’s public art around the city.

Below, Cerny’s statue of St Wenceslas, just off Wescelas Square in Prague.

And his ‘Babies’ which were added to the (IMO) horribly ugly Communist TV tower that spoils the Prague skyline.

In any case, I’m heading home tomorrow (Lufthansa strikes willing, that is), and will be able to upload photos and blog about the last several days when I get home.

In any case, it’s been a wonderful visit.  I would come back again, if only for the art.  There is so much to see and I feel I haven’t even scratched the surface.

Day 3 in Prague started out at St Nicholas’ Church in Mala Strana (the Little Quarter of Prague).  We had been by there the first day, but the blasts of arctic air coming from the church dissuaded me from entering.  We were in short sleeves, as befitted the 70F/21C weather, so at the time I thought it would be better to wait until we were carrying jackets to enter the church.  Correct decision.

Yesterday we arrived at St Nicholas and spotted the gold Porche again.  Same spot.  After finishing in the church, we joked that it must go with the church, being gold and all.  We paid our small entry fee and ducked into the darkness of the church and were met by cold and… amazing!  The frescoed ceiling of the church will stop you in your tracks.  (Just as it was intended to.)  The photos I took can in no way convey the scale and beauty of the painting here.  It’s simply beautiful.  The trompe l’oeil is masterful, you really do have a hard time figuring out where the architectural elements end and the painting begins.

(Please remember that you can click on any image to see a larger version of it.  I use the smaller images in my posts to save space.)

After getting a crick in your neck staring at the masterpiece of a ceiling, your eyes begin to travel downward and all you see is gold.  Gold, gold, gold.  Everywhere.  It is so visually noisy that your eyes cannot rest.  It’s excessive, in the true style of the Baroque.  (Which has never been one of my favorites.  Give me a nice Romaneaque or High Gothic arch any day.)  Still, it is quite the sight to behold.  Awe and majesty, for sure.  Add to that some carved saints peering down at you from above and you’ve got a great toolkit for keeping the masses in line.

We do not suffer fools here.  Or sinners, either.

And he’s holding the Holy Handcuffs of Antioch.

Every last detail is seen to.  The tassels on the confessionals?  Carved from wood.

The floors change with each chapel and area.  There is always visual information to let you know where you are and when you enter another sacred space.  It really is a masterful arrangement of an entire space.

And in the balcony, the bored scratchings of the 1820′s tourist.  Yawn, another church.

After that excess, it was time for some lunch.  We found a Czech restaurant that had been recommended and it turned out to be quite delicious.  And a different kind of excess.  (Needless to say, we haven’t been eating like this the entire time we’re here.  We usually do breakfast and dinner at the apartment we are renting.)

Near the restaurant, another threesome, the House of the Three Emu.  Or Ostrich.  I can’t really tell.

And a bit of the Charles Bridge showing the two major floods of the last 150 years, the lower (around hubby’s waist height) from 1890, the upper (about a foot above his head) from 2002.  

We walked across the Charles Bridge to get to the Old Town section, where we were heading to museums.  There are 22 (I think?) statues on the bridge, each representing a different figure or saint.  The bridge is absolutely packed during the day, with vendors plying their arts, musicians and thongs of tourists.  It being a nice, sunny day, it was packed.  (And they say tourist season doesn’t really start until May.  Ha!)

I call this Madonna of the Pigeons.

Another beautiful building, by the riverside. A view of The Castle from the Old Town.  

And we were trying to follow the Golden Mile to the Old Town center but took a wrong turn somewhere.  Which allowed us to happen upon this.  Art.  Probably David Cerny?  In any case, it was a providential wrong turning.

Our destination for the afternoon was The Museum of Communism, an eclectic collection of information and articles from the beginning of Communist era in the Czech Republic until the Velvet revolution.  With a special section on the cruelties and excesses of North Korean Communism out on the balcony.

I had to get a souvenir there.  I mean, it’s hard to refuse a Matroyshka doll with fangs.

With the weather unseasonably warm in Prague (~20C/68F), we decided to head out to Kutna Hora on Day 2.  It’s about 75 km from Prague, “easily reachable by train.”  Well, that’s half true.  Buying the ticket was the easiest part of the journey.  We received our round-trip ticket for two, good for two days.  And that was it.   On the one hand, it’s extremely handy, as you can use it for any train you want.  On the other hand, you have to figure out what train to use it on. And then find said train in the central station in Prague.  Let’s just say we were running to the train with just a couple of minutes to spare.  The train we caught to Kutna Hora was pre-Communist, for sure; everything was solid metal or something sturdy.  There was heat (so not needed), but for air you had to use the windows.  Which we couldn’t really do as we were sharing a spot with another man, who didn’t seem  bothered by the warm.  Urgh.

And off we went to Kutna Hora.  To see St Barbara’s Church (Cathedral?) and the Sedlec Ossuary.

The Kutna Hora central train station is nothing much.  (Really, none of the train stations there are much.  When we first arrived, the train stopped and we were looking for the platform.  We finally realized (before the train departed again) that you just stepped out onto the grass between the tracks.  Yup.  A wee bit different than train travel in Japan.)  From the central train station, it’s a bit of a walk up to the central part of town and St Barbara.  Thankfully the ways are helpfully marked.  (In English, too.)

Three important figures in Czech history on the side of a building in Kutna Hora.

Pigeon protection or the beginning of restoration?
The standing thinker.  Again, just a random building in the center of town.

Where we were heading: St Barbara’s Church.Look at those flying buttresses!  High Gothic was always one of my favorite periods in architecture.
Some of the ceiling detail in St Barbara’s. Putto detail. The frescoes adorning the chapels and ceilings.  It was my first time seeing a fresco in person, so it was pretty breathtaking. Candelabra in one of the chapels.  Kutna Hora was a prosperous silver mining town at one point, so there are references to mining and miners throughout the church. One of the many stained glass windows.  We were lucky to be there on a sunny day to see them lit so beautifully. Shadows on the floor at St Barbara’s. One of the many statues on the way to St Barbara’s.  We jokingly called this The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch.   The sign on this door reads, “Entrance to church through club house.”  ?? After the High Gothic splendor of St Barbara’s, we headed for something a little different.  The Sedlec Ossuary, in Kutna Hora-Sedlec.  It looks fairly unimpressive from the outside, doesn’t it?

Yep, those are bones.  Human bones, to be exact.

About 40,000 of them, to be more precise.  It’s an interesting story this ossuary.  The cemetery at Sedlec was vast at one point, holding the remains of victims of plagues, etc. during the middle ages.  Then things happened and the cemetery grounds were reduced to almost nothing.  So the bones were removed to this vault.  And used for decoration.  (This, of course, is a simplified version of the history, so if you are interested in this, I highly recommend doing a little more looking on the internet.  It’s really quite fascinating and not very macabre.)

Well, ok.  Maybe a little macabre.  It’s one thing to stare at a huge pile of skulls and leg bones, but being face to face with skulls is another thing.  Especially skull candelabra topped with putti. Putti playing their instruments.The Schwarzenberg family crest.  In bones.

One of the secondary crosses near the main altar. The impressive chandelier that dominates the vault.  Every human bone is represented in its construction.  Sedlec is really in the middle of nowhere.  This is the train station.  I kid you not.

I really want to write up about each day of our travels, but am finding myself utterly exhausted each afternoon when we return to our apartment.  So, rather than trying to write up a comprehensive daily journal, I’ll be posting photos from each day, with a few notes here and there.  I hope you enjoy.

After a jet-lagged, pretty sleepless night, we ended up taking a three hour nap in the morning, waking up in time to head out around lunch time.  We headed to the castle area of town and found The Maly Buddha (I think it means the Little Buddha), a great little asian restaurant.  It was in the dark basement of a building, so our first meal out in Prague was by candlelight.  (And none of those safety tea candles, thankyouverymuch.)

Poster seen near the Loreta Chapel.  A museum on our to do list.

I love the faux windows next to the real windows.  Providing symmetry, of course.

Just a random fresco on the street. The Loreta Chapel.

Hand-wrought drain cover.  Nice.

Another view of the Loreta Chapel spire.  

In Prague central, cobblestones are everywhere.  In all sorts of patterns.  It’s quite lovely.

I’d heard about the naming of buildings in Prague.  Threes seem to be popular.  This is the House of the Three Lilies. Thanks, Norway, for helping to preserve Prague’s history for visitors like us. Some of the ironwork at the Stahov Monestery.  I rather thought the flower-like bits looked like they should shoot lasers.  (I’ve seen to many Bond films, I think.) View over Prague from the Stahov Monastery.  The Castle looms on the left.

Who knew?  Prague has cool drain covers, too!

I adore this little wooden room off the side of this yellow building.  Beautiful.
Very cool windows.   Layer upon layer of history in the buildings in the castle district.

This building blew my mind.  Click on it for a closer look, as all of that stonework relief that you think you see is actually paint.

Lovely little alleys everywhere, with even more to see.

Art?

Beautiful doors on some building.   The Italian consulate.  Most of the consulates in Prague are in some of the oldest, grandest buildings/former palaces near the castle.  They are spectacular.

Detail from the Bulgarian embassy.

House of the Three Violins.   Sgraffito on the side of buildings!!  This is the stuff that I used to see in my art history books.  All together.  In one city.  Modern traffic barricade soldiers.

View towards the castle from in front of St Nicholas’ Church.

And around the corner, the golden Porche.  Because.  (We have been in the neighborhood on two consecutive days and it has been there both days.  It always has a crowd around it taking photos.)

Even the turn indicators are cobblestone.

We’ve seen quite a few of these sundial paintings on buildings in the Mala Strana (the Lower Town area below the castle).

Grotto at the Wallenstein gardens. Creepy and cool.

How to hide your satellite dishes: put them in the window bays of your old palace.

The white peacock at the Wallenstein Gardens.  Some lady was pestering him mercilessly, prompting me to thinking unkind thoughts as, “I hope he pecks her.”  We left before there was any incident.

The very cool subway wall decor at Malostranska metro stop.

Well, hubby and I are currently in Prague, Czech Republic.  He has meetings here starting at the weekend, so we decided to have a vacation and come  a few days early to explore the city.  I have heard nothing but wonderful things about Prague from friends and relatives who have been here, so I was very excited to come.

The long trip started Sunday morning from Portland (seems like yesterday in my jet lagged brain). Earlier this spring we both applied for the Global Traveller program run by the US border and customs folks.  It basically pre-screens you so that you can have an easier time re-entering the US from abroad.  A bonus with acceptance in the program is you can then ask to be part of the TSA pre-check program, which allows you to head into the 1st class security lines at the airport.  And sometimes you get the bonus of being sent to the metal detector-only, employee security check. Guess who got lucky on her first go with the program?  Yes, that’s right, 3 minutes and I was through security.  Woot!

From Portland we took a regional jet to Denver, where we had the bumpiest, most turbulent landing I’ve ever been on.  It started about 30 minutes out of the airport and by the time we touched down, I was seconds away from needing that barf bag provided in the seat back pocket in front of me.  In fact, it was open and in my free hand; the other hand was gripping hubby’s hand with all it’s might, as if that might somehow make the urpy feelings go away.  I have never been so happy to land before in my life.

After a brief layover there, we caught a Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt.  Wow, I don’t know if this is how all non-American airlines are, or if it’s Lufthansa, but we had the nicest crew and flight.  (And real silverware!!!  Except for the hot main dishes, the plates/dishes were a melamine like substance, so not disposable.  Am I the only one who gets excited about little luxuries like that?)  The food was fairly standard, but if you were a drinker, there was an endless supply of German beer, wines, and after dinner drinks (cognac or Bailey’s) on offer.  For free.  We had only an hour layover in Frankfurt to catch our connection to Prague.  But, amazingly efficient that those Germans are, that was enough time to clear border patrol and customs and still make the first bus out to the plane.  We had a decently sized plane from Frankfurt, but the airport is so busy that there just aren’t enough gates.  It was cool, in a way, as it was like getting a free tour of the airport on the way to the plane.  The last time I’d been there was 200,1 when transiting to Oslo, and it had changed since then.  I’m sure it would be almost unrecognizable to my parents, who met there many moons ago.

And again, amazing Lufthansa service.  There were four cabin crew aboard and in the 45 minutes of flying time, they got everyone a beverage of their choice (bottle of beer? no problem!) and a sandwich, all with pleasant attitudes and non of the passive aggressiveness I sometimes see in the US.  Hubby and I were talking later that the lack of ice in drinks really streamlines things, too.  I’m not an ice in a drink person (unless it’s iced tea), so not having to tell someone each time “no ice” was quite nice.  I’d also forgotten how yummy German apfel soft (apple juice) is.  That may be my be beverage of choice here in Prague, too.  Soooo apple-y without being sweet.

Arrived at Prague’s airport yesterday afternoon and quickly took care of the immediate needs: sims cards for our iPhones.  (Buying unlocked has already paid off!)  Got some money exchanged, got a three-day transit pass for Prague, then hopped on the bus to take us to the Metro, which we rode from end to end.  Prior to hubby’s meetings, I booked an apartment for us in the suburbs of Prague, for an amazingly great rate.  (A steal, really.)  The area isn’t much to look at, a lot of Communist-era and post-revolution apartment blocks, but seems quite nice and friendly.  There’s a convenient mall a couple of minutes walk, with a huge grocery store.  That’s where we ended up getting our dinner last night: fresh rolls, spreadable cheese (like Norwegian ost), and some black forest cured ham.  That was about all our jet-lagged bodies could handle for dining on night one.

The apartment is huge!  Two bedrooms, bath, kitchen; fully equipped.  Nice southern views, too.  It will be nice to be able to have our breakfasts (and dinners) here for the first few days and just relax at a home away from home after long days of sightseeing.

And for once, we were prepared for the curveball weather that usually seems to find us.  It was unseasonably warm yesterday, according to our apartment host.  And looks to be like that for the next three days.  Then it’s back to rainy and cool, just like Portland.  We’re prepared for that, too.

Today… well, we’ll see what we decide to do.  A nap is definitely on my agenda, as I woke at 04:30 local and haven’t been able to get back to sleep since.  In any case, I’m looking forward to seeing some of Prague and the Czech Republic.  People seem very friendly, which makes me feel worse about my utter lack of Czech language skills.   I think one of today’s goals will be to learn how to properly say “Hello” “please” and “thank you.”