A statue of Good King Wenceslas in the large square by the same name. It is interesting to note that the four men surrounding the king are also Czech patron saints They are holding books and other things of learning. The small country with little military power chose to venerate men of learning rather than war. Cool!
The castle at night from the Charles Bridge.
This is the main square area in the old town at night. The clock to the left is an astronomical clock that has no hands. So you can tell what phase the moon is in but who know what time it is.
On Saturday we walked. We went to Wenceslas square which is where the Velvet Revolution happened in 1989. The people (thousands) met peacefully in the large square to ask for a change of government. This was not long after a similar incident in Tiananmen Square in China. Whereas the Chinese government decided to crush that rally with tanks, the Soviet government in its wisdom decided not to bring in the tanks. Within a few days the Czech republic was born.
We also walked to an amazing piece of modern architecture called the Dancing House. It looks like the house is dancing. It is built on curved stilts that are reminiscent of legs. There is not a straight line in the exterior of the building. It is pretty cool looking.
We then decided to go back to the Jewish quarter to check in a shop that Penny saw something in on Thursday. Being Penny she had to mull this purchase over for a few days before deciding. We wound up at a small shop with a woman and her 6 year old daughter who had a scooter and was skating around the inside of the store. This was not a pillow store. It was a crystal store. The shelves were lined with very fragile crystal with signs that said do not touch. I guess do not crash into is a different story. But although there was one crash it resulted in no broken limbs or crystal. We purchased one item and then went for lunch while Penny mulled over the purchase. As we were walking around the area we began to hear sirens and then noticed police gathering on the street corners. I thought there was a parade. But the police just kept coming. Then there were the armored personnel carriers that showed up and we could hear helicopters. We went back to the crystal shop and the owner told us what we confirmed a bit later. A couple of months ago a small group 25 of neo-Nazis had filed for a permit to parade through the Jewish streets on Nov 10 to “protest the war” in Iraq which is being waged by the US and Israel. The 10th of November just happened to be the anniversary of the night of broken glass when the Jews were rounded up and taken to the detention centers. The Jewish watch groups reported this to the courts and the permits were not granted and the group was banned from marching. Indeed the leader is being prosecuted for crimes related to his anti-Semitic activities. The group said they were going to march anyway. The police were there to see that they did not and to see that any counter rally did not get out of hand. We managed to get back to our hotel before it started. But later that evening when we went out to eat we got to the end of the street and a whole throng of very peaceful and orderly people were walking from the Jewish quarter past our hotel to Wenceslas Square (where the Velvet Revolution had occurred. We opted to eat at the restaurant right across from out hotel. We ate there the first night and we thought it was good. We had shish kabob although they were called needles. I had the variety meat and it was all good. So other than about making the CNN world news section, we had a rather uneventful weekend.
This is the main square area in the old town at night. The clock to the left is an astronomical clock that has no hands. So you can tell what phase the moon is in but who know what time it is.
This is in the castle church. In some war long ago they shot cannon balls at the church. So they turned them into church wall decorations.
I have had a bit of blog block lately. Just could not manage to make myself find the time to sit and write. In my defense every time I have had a moment or two I have managed to sleep. I caught the Harlaxton Plague about 4 weeks ago and have spent the time since then trying to cough up a lung. The first week or so I did not have the energy to eat. I am feeling pretty good now but the cough has persisted but only really wants to come out and play at night when I lay down. I think the cough wants to keep Penny awake. This way it can incapacitate two people at the same time.
I did not go to the doctor until after I was pretty much over it but wanted to see if there was anything she might do for the cough. Her advice was to go away and die quietly. I told her that was the problem, the quietly part. It did not work. Well enough about my bout with viruses of the EU.
This weekend, starting on Wednesday morning, was our second and last “long weekend” of the semester. We will make up the Thursday class day next week. Penny and I had opted to go to Prague or as the locals spell it Paraha. I still do not understand the worlds insistence on changing the names of all the cities in the world. Paris is Pari, Rome is Roma, New Orleans only has two syllables “Nor Lyns.”
We wanted to go some place we had not been and someplace that was not too exotic (read safe). Prague seemed to have fit the bill, but we were having some doubts about the safe part on Saturday. I will get to that in a bit.
Paraha has been an independent country only since 1989. Before that it was part of the Soviet Union since the 1950s. The Czech people, previously the Bohemian people, have a history that goes back to the Roman days. Good King Wenceslas (of the Christmas Carol) was the guy who back in 900 or so helped to align the kingdom of Bohemia with the Holy Roman Empire. This led to King Charles IV becoming the Holy Roman Emperor in the 14th century and at that time for awhile Prague was the capital of said empire. But the patron saint of Praha is St. Vitus who was a good guy but got killed by his brother I think.
We spent Thursday touring the Jewish quarter. We got an audio guide that was very informative. I wish I had a photographic ear. The Jewish museum is really a series of places all within a few blocks of each other in the area that historically was where the Jews were forced to live. The Jewish people are and have been a persecuted people. I think the line was in Fiddler on the Roof when Tevia said “I Know we are the chosen people, but maybe you could bless someone else for awhile.” I probably have the wrong quote from the wrong play but that was certainly the thought I had as we learned the history. One of the buildings was a former synagogue that they have written the names and dates of birth and the date they were last seen alive of the thousands of Jews who were taken by the Hitler regime to be killed. Prague was chosen by Hitler to be the repository of all of the Jewish property, books, ritual implements. Hitler had a plan to set up a Museum to an extinct people. The names on the walls were a stark reminder for those who were never seen again. No burial because there was no body. A second museum held children’s art work from kids who were in the concentration camps. Some were recalling days prior to their imprisonment. Other pictures were stark images from a child’s eyes of what life in a detention center was like. When the children left the detention camp they were on their way to death. NO CHILDREN survived the death camps. No one under about 16 survived. Children were not capable of work and thus were not an asset and were killed.
I did not go to the doctor until after I was pretty much over it but wanted to see if there was anything she might do for the cough. Her advice was to go away and die quietly. I told her that was the problem, the quietly part. It did not work. Well enough about my bout with viruses of the EU.
This weekend, starting on Wednesday morning, was our second and last “long weekend” of the semester. We will make up the Thursday class day next week. Penny and I had opted to go to Prague or as the locals spell it Paraha. I still do not understand the worlds insistence on changing the names of all the cities in the world. Paris is Pari, Rome is Roma, New Orleans only has two syllables “Nor Lyns.”
We wanted to go some place we had not been and someplace that was not too exotic (read safe). Prague seemed to have fit the bill, but we were having some doubts about the safe part on Saturday. I will get to that in a bit.
Paraha has been an independent country only since 1989. Before that it was part of the Soviet Union since the 1950s. The Czech people, previously the Bohemian people, have a history that goes back to the Roman days. Good King Wenceslas (of the Christmas Carol) was the guy who back in 900 or so helped to align the kingdom of Bohemia with the Holy Roman Empire. This led to King Charles IV becoming the Holy Roman Emperor in the 14th century and at that time for awhile Prague was the capital of said empire. But the patron saint of Praha is St. Vitus who was a good guy but got killed by his brother I think.
We spent Thursday touring the Jewish quarter. We got an audio guide that was very informative. I wish I had a photographic ear. The Jewish museum is really a series of places all within a few blocks of each other in the area that historically was where the Jews were forced to live. The Jewish people are and have been a persecuted people. I think the line was in Fiddler on the Roof when Tevia said “I Know we are the chosen people, but maybe you could bless someone else for awhile.” I probably have the wrong quote from the wrong play but that was certainly the thought I had as we learned the history. One of the buildings was a former synagogue that they have written the names and dates of birth and the date they were last seen alive of the thousands of Jews who were taken by the Hitler regime to be killed. Prague was chosen by Hitler to be the repository of all of the Jewish property, books, ritual implements. Hitler had a plan to set up a Museum to an extinct people. The names on the walls were a stark reminder for those who were never seen again. No burial because there was no body. A second museum held children’s art work from kids who were in the concentration camps. Some were recalling days prior to their imprisonment. Other pictures were stark images from a child’s eyes of what life in a detention center was like. When the children left the detention camp they were on their way to death. NO CHILDREN survived the death camps. No one under about 16 survived. Children were not capable of work and thus were not an asset and were killed.
The Jewish cemetery was a stark reminder of the persecution they have endured. For centuries, the Jews have been allowed to bury their people only in a small plot of land. The Jewish tradition forbids them from moving bodies once they were buried. So when the grave yard filled up they would bring in more dirt and bury people on top. They then had two head stones for the grave. Then 3 and so on. The result is a jumble of very old stones. In a very crowded graveyard.
There were more uplifting aspects to the museum. It did mark the contributions of some of the more notable Jewish people who lived in the Czech Republic. This includes Sigismund Freud and Franz Kafka and others whom I do not recall.
On Thursday night we were going to go to the singing waters (a fountain show with music). Penny figured out how to get us by tram to the stop we needed but then I got us really confused. The area was dark and although there were people around I did not feel comfortable walking around without knowing where we were going. I convinced Penny we were lost and we got back on the tram and went back to the hotel. After looking at Google Earth I had us going in the wrong direction. I have a hearing next week with the IBNCP (International Board of Navigationally Challenged People) to determine if my license is being revoked.
On Friday we went to the Praha castle and Cathedral. The Cathedral was started in 1000 something and wasn’t finished until 1900 something. For centuries they had one wall blocked in where they were going to finish later. It was interesting to see and read about all of the relics. I don’t know if it is just Catholics but they sure have a thing for old bones and various other body parts that once belonged to this or that saint which makes the churches seem like a mausoleum of sorts rather than a house of worship. The crown jewels are those belonging to King Wenceslas. They are kept in his tomb and when a new king (of course they don’t have kings anymore) is crowned then they borrow them for a few hours and then return them to Wenceslas. He evidently was a very good King.
On Thursday night we were going to go to the singing waters (a fountain show with music). Penny figured out how to get us by tram to the stop we needed but then I got us really confused. The area was dark and although there were people around I did not feel comfortable walking around without knowing where we were going. I convinced Penny we were lost and we got back on the tram and went back to the hotel. After looking at Google Earth I had us going in the wrong direction. I have a hearing next week with the IBNCP (International Board of Navigationally Challenged People) to determine if my license is being revoked.
On Friday we went to the Praha castle and Cathedral. The Cathedral was started in 1000 something and wasn’t finished until 1900 something. For centuries they had one wall blocked in where they were going to finish later. It was interesting to see and read about all of the relics. I don’t know if it is just Catholics but they sure have a thing for old bones and various other body parts that once belonged to this or that saint which makes the churches seem like a mausoleum of sorts rather than a house of worship. The crown jewels are those belonging to King Wenceslas. They are kept in his tomb and when a new king (of course they don’t have kings anymore) is crowned then they borrow them for a few hours and then return them to Wenceslas. He evidently was a very good King.
On Friday night we had dinner at Buffalo Bill’s restaurant. Our lovely daughter Amy, who visited Prague while in High School, told us about this place. It was very nice. It is in the basement of a building but is decorated with lots of American Southwest artifacts (they could be fake but what do I know). The food was Mexican and for the most part it was very good. Europeans have to add something to the food that makes it just a bit different. Bill put olives in the tacos. I don’t recall other Mexican food with olives in the tacos. But it was still very good. The chips were very authentic. The salsa was OK but was just a bit off, but still very good.
On Saturday we walked. We went to Wenceslas square which is where the Velvet Revolution happened in 1989. The people (thousands) met peacefully in the large square to ask for a change of government. This was not long after a similar incident in Tiananmen Square in China. Whereas the Chinese government decided to crush that rally with tanks, the Soviet government in its wisdom decided not to bring in the tanks. Within a few days the Czech republic was born.
We also walked to an amazing piece of modern architecture called the Dancing House. It looks like the house is dancing. It is built on curved stilts that are reminiscent of legs. There is not a straight line in the exterior of the building. It is pretty cool looking.
We then decided to go back to the Jewish quarter to check in a shop that Penny saw something in on Thursday. Being Penny she had to mull this purchase over for a few days before deciding. We wound up at a small shop with a woman and her 6 year old daughter who had a scooter and was skating around the inside of the store. This was not a pillow store. It was a crystal store. The shelves were lined with very fragile crystal with signs that said do not touch. I guess do not crash into is a different story. But although there was one crash it resulted in no broken limbs or crystal. We purchased one item and then went for lunch while Penny mulled over the purchase. As we were walking around the area we began to hear sirens and then noticed police gathering on the street corners. I thought there was a parade. But the police just kept coming. Then there were the armored personnel carriers that showed up and we could hear helicopters. We went back to the crystal shop and the owner told us what we confirmed a bit later. A couple of months ago a small group 25 of neo-Nazis had filed for a permit to parade through the Jewish streets on Nov 10 to “protest the war” in Iraq which is being waged by the US and Israel. The 10th of November just happened to be the anniversary of the night of broken glass when the Jews were rounded up and taken to the detention centers. The Jewish watch groups reported this to the courts and the permits were not granted and the group was banned from marching. Indeed the leader is being prosecuted for crimes related to his anti-Semitic activities. The group said they were going to march anyway. The police were there to see that they did not and to see that any counter rally did not get out of hand. We managed to get back to our hotel before it started. But later that evening when we went out to eat we got to the end of the street and a whole throng of very peaceful and orderly people were walking from the Jewish quarter past our hotel to Wenceslas Square (where the Velvet Revolution had occurred. We opted to eat at the restaurant right across from out hotel. We ate there the first night and we thought it was good. We had shish kabob although they were called needles. I had the variety meat and it was all good. So other than about making the CNN world news section, we had a rather uneventful weekend.
On Sunday we went to the Communist Museum. It was stark and was a lot of reading of the history of how the soviets had come to power and about how democracy finally won. It was I think very truthful and very anticommunist. It described how the potato famine back in the 70s brought a lot of hunger to the people of Czechoslovakia and how the Soviet propaganda machine had blamed the bugs on a US air drop. The information painted it as propaganda. I hope it was.
We made it back to the airport on the shuttle which worked out great. It left from a hotel just a block from ours. It was a good trip. I took a ton of pictures.
Ray
Some of the ubiquitous graffiti.
We made it back to the airport on the shuttle which worked out great. It left from a hotel just a block from ours. It was a good trip. I took a ton of pictures.
Ray
