Tue 13.Aug.2019
Prague, Czechia
Imagery date June 2019
A measly week to go here in Bratislava, and I am still on pictures of Prague.
It is a lovely city, so let's get to it.
The Vltava river by the Charles Bridge.
The Charles Bridge guard tower, entering the Old City.
The relatively flat top of Petřin hill is mostly lawns, gardens, and attractions
like the city observatory, an Eiffel-like observation tower, and ...
The mirror maze.
The other half of the mirror maze is the room of curvy mirrors.
Your guess is as good as mine.
This plaque marks the entrance to a Very Prestigious Church in Vyšehrad Castle,
upriver from Prague Castle. Many famous Czechs rest in the castle cemetary here.
So what does a flying saucer image have to do with the Basilica of the Holy Apostols
Peter and Paul?
Famous Former People
Awwright class, who knows who Karel Čapek was?
Czech writer - early twentieth century!
Right! What did he invent that nobody used then, and everybody uses now?
He invented the word Robot!
Where is Mr Čapek buried?
In a Very Historic Cemetary at Vyšehrad Castle in Prague, in a surprisingly
chaotic-looking grave.
Who else is buried in that cemetary?
Bedrich Smetana, the most famous Czech composer!
Also (off camera) his fellow composer Antonin Dvořak,
and a huge number of people I never heard of.
Meaning?
There is a big metal plaque with 100+ names and the location of each of their graves.
I gather that they are all famous somehow to somebody.
I never got staight on whose
grave this old stone marker belongs to.
I just like the marker itself.
In the gardens near the mirror maze.
The way Prague is so full of spires, even a random look down an unremarkable street
can give a flash of eye candy on the sky line!
Few if any package tours get as far as the Havliček Gardens, on the south
slopes of Vinohrady district. Prague just has too much more obvious (and accessible)
stuff for a three-day stop to get this far. That said, this grotto is a hoot, and the rest
of the park is a great place for locals to enjoy their city.
Old Town Square
Have I posted exactly these views before of Old Town Square?
Probably. Here are this year's versions. This is still one of Europe's great
city squares.
Just don't eat at any of the tourist traps facing directly on
the square. Not if
quality-for-your-money is an issue. You could probably guess that anyway.
These painted (wooden?) eggs are a popular item
in the numerous souvenir shops in
the old city.
Are they nested a-la Russian dolls? I don't know.
They add eye-spice to window-gazing.