Sat 24.Jun.2017
Prague, Czechia
A corner of a park by the river Vltava has three of these odd baby statues, like the ones
on the Žižkov Tower. Kids play on them, grown-ups
take photos of them.
On a hill top overlooking the river, Petřin park includes a rose garden, an observatory,
a scenic observation tower, and a fine mirror maze, of which more below.
Prague is chock full of little hole-in-the-wall mini markets, seemingly all operated by Asians.
They are handy as all get out. This one has a rear entrance on the courtyard/passage that leads
to my apartment, which makes it especially handy for me. Curiously, the sandwich-board sign
always stands with the arrow pointing away from the entrance. Mine not to reason why...
At the other end of the shopping scale, there is a self-described "Five star" multi-story indoor mall in
the Smíchov district. An escalator ramp runs the length of a long atrium. The underside of the ramp
is mirrored, end to end. FWIW the place is shiny steel and glass, and full of standard chain stores that
you could find in Frankfurt or Omaha.
So... next time you want to visit Prague, but don't have the
time or budget, just go to any shiny mall near your home, one full of standard international chain stores,
and make believe you are in this mall in Prague.
Except maybe for the mirrors under the escalator.
Posters in a simpatico wi-fi cafe in the maze of streets west of Wenceslas Square. Interestingly,
I noticed that the woman who runs it was having as much trouble as I with the famous oddball
sounds of the Czech language. Turns out she is ethnic Croatian from Bosnia. She was tickled pink that I
remembered a few pleasantries in Croatian, and some of the regional jargon, like the nickname for Bosnia and
Herzegovina (BiH, pronounced Bay-ha).
This cute building houses the Petřin mirror maze. I don't know when it dates from - not this century, nor
the one before!
The mirror maze itself.
Innit a hoot?!
A memorial wall to John Lennon!
This is completely unofficial, started by anonymous fans in the 1980's.
The wall itself is owned by the
Sovereign Military Order of
Malta (yes, as in Maltese Falcon), who were once the Knights of Rhodes, responsible for the
grand medieval city where I spend my Winters these days.(!)
Last light of evening on Malostranske Square
And morning light. "He did it again! It's coming up!"
Bratislava has been warm and toasty since I arrived. Daily highs in the 30's and 40's (90+ F).
But strangely, the light has been a bit hazy for distracting photo-ops. It is just as well - I have
had many loose ends to wrap up all at once, none of which are interesting enough to tell here.
I have another page of Prague pix to show, and who knows how many from Yorkshire, Spain, and
Germany to deal with before the Bratislava pictures start piling up.
Do videnia!