Hi Everyone! I am moving along smoothly now getting into the Czech Republic which lies in Central Europe and borders Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Poland. I think the route I have chosen, is a good one for some of the history and the cultures blend a bit.
So Prague, it is the capital of Czech Republic, known as the “Golden City” or “City of a Thousand Spires”. They speak Czech, English, some German or French. They also went through the wars, communist take over and soviet-led invasion and survived with considerably less damage during WWII then most other cities. Located beside Vltara River. It is a very nice city, lots of very historical and tall buildings. So here we go….leaving Germany and onto Czech Republic.
Day 58 Thur. June 18
I woke up early to my alarm, packed all my things and quickly made some snacks for my train ride. I headed out to catch the u-bahn train to the main train station and then there I looked up my train on the boards but wasn’t displayed yet, went to information and got the platform #. I grabbed a small pastry for breakfast and went outside to chill and I saw that there was a beach volleyball tournament starting today, crappy I was going to miss it….oh well, I was on my way to Prague, so can’t complain. I finally got on the train and most of the seats were reserved so I was told I could sit anywhere but I might have to move at some of the stops. Off we went at approx. 8:35am, I tried to nap but no go, so I worked on the blog for a bit. Lucky for me, no one got on or off from my car, so I never had to move from my seat. The trip was a bit delayed from some detours along the way and so we arrived in Prague at just after 1pm. I walked through the station and stopped to exchange some money to Czech Koruna. I exchanged 75 Euro and got 1680.00 CK, sounds so strange but the exchange is 1Euro = about 22-26CK, depending where you exchange, makes it really hard to figure out along the way when purchasing things. I found out information for the Metro, and got a map and off I went. Check out these escalators, very steep and scary (u would hate them mom)
I got to my station and I exited out to the main street, I followed the directions as usual to the hostel and I found it easily. I was at Chili Hostel,
It seemed like a pretty neat little place, I had to wait at the reception desk for the 5 smelly guys in front of me to finish (lol), and finally I tried to check in, but they didn’t have me down. They offered to send me to their sister hostel down the road, but I told them I had booked this a week ago and I expected a room. Finally she found my booking and apparently it was for the wrong day, which I found odd, since I book my hostels according to my train tickets, but anyways, I ended up getting into a co-ed room which was fine, I just wanted to get settled in. So they gave me my key and once again I was on the 3rd floor and no elevator, so getting some more exercise which is good with all this bread everywhere. I went up to my room and there was 4 bunk beds and only 2 lockers so I scooped one right away and made my bed.
I locked my things up and took a quick walk through to see where everything was, the bathroom on our floor had one toilet and a shower with 2 showerheads, hoping that they didn’t expect us to leave the door open for others to use…lol There was a self catering kitchen and down in the cellar was an eating area for breakfast and then a games/lounge room with foosball, and a pool table. Back up there was a computer room and a sitting area outside the kitchen with a t.v. I logged online quickly to see if I had any messages from Taylor the guy I met in Munich, who was studying here and he was at school for most of the night and we would try and hook up later. I decided to take a walk around and find out where the walking tour meets for tomorrow, so off I went. I will just add a few pics now as some of the things I took pics of were part of the walking tour and I will add those later. Here are just a few randoms
These were old cars they used for city tours
This is a group of Harry Christeners, walking through the streets singing
I was looking at my map and I happen to come across an area called “Maltezske nam” (Maltese Square), so I went into a store and asked this man if he could tell me what is was and how to get there. he said it was the Maltese Embassy and there was a small area with a group of different buildings all dedicated to Malta. I got the directions and it was on the other side of the bridge and so I went along on a little adventure to go check it out.
So walking along Charles Bridge, there was all kinds of booths set up of things for sale, different art, etc. Also, a few different performers, I just took a pic of one, he was playing all these different instruments and he was a very happy guy. There was a young girl there singing kinda like opera, and a group of men playing violins and trumpet, was pretty neat.
All along the bridge there are different statues, one in particular is the bronze statue of Jan Nepomucky, who was the private confessor of the queen. One of the legends tells how he received the status of Holy Martyr. The king did not trust his wife so he wanted the confessor to tell him the truth. The confessor did not deliver up the queen’s secret and was thrown from Karlov Bridge. When the body was caught out by the peasants they saw golden stars shining over his head; since than all sculptors depict him with 5 stars over his head, and there were 2 dogs below. The story is you rub the one dogs head for good luck and it is shiny from everyone doing that, and the tour guide told us a secret, that apparently some students a while back went to this statue and polished off the other dog, so now people rub either or both and so if you rub one and then the other it knocks out your good luck. (crazy students, playing tricks on the tourists)
you can kinda see the dogs, except the one on the right b/c of the ladies head…ggrr….anyways
This is Charlie Bridge
these are the towers at each end of the bridge, I guess the lookout towers
Ok, finally I get to the other side and I found the Maltese Square.
Here is what I googled about it……The Maltese Square in Prague Lesser Town is called after Knights of Malta, who had a monastery there since 1169. Not 100% sure what each of the buildings are but I know there was a museum there, the Maltese Embassy and unfortunately everything was closed.
These are just some other pics I took while wondering around and on the way back to the hostel.
a restaurant boat
pretty neat building in the middle of a bunch of old historical ones
Opposite the French embassy there is the John Lennon Wall that used to be a kind of political focus before 1989. This was just around the corner from Maltese Square and there is also the Dutch Embassy close by.
I made my way back across the bridge and walked along the water side, a much better walk with less people and a nicer view. I finally got back to the hostel and it seemed that all the beds were taken. I grabbed my puter and went online again for a bit, checked out some of the fliers to see what else to see in Prague. There was a music festival this weekend there also. After that I took a nice shower and crashed for the night.
Day 59 Fri. June 19
Well today I didn’t need an alarm clock as a couple of the guys in my room, got back early this morning, I think it was maybe 4 a.m it was very light outside already, so I got back to sleep for a little bit and then finally got up. I went down to the cellar for brkfast and it was a bit deceiving from what they say on there page on hostelworld. There was cereal and milk, coffee and tea, bread and jam but as for meats and cheese, well I wasn’t expecting meat paste wrapped in foil, was kinda gross, so I just did the cereal and toast. Finished that up and it was rainy outside unfortunately, I really wanted to do the walking tour and I only had today to do it. I got my rain jacket on and I started to make my way to town square to meet for 11am, it started to come down quite heavy so I changed my mind and decided to go look into train schedules and fares, to see if it would clear up for the afternoon tour. I got to the train station and I stood in line to get information. I went up to the one window of which the lady just started her shift and after the first question she really seemed put out by that. Honestly, is it not your job to give information and then when they do, they act as if you should already know…….”really, I don’t live here and I don’t understand Czech, so I wouldn’t be able to read it anywhere”. One thing I was told about the Czech Republic is that the people are very cold and so far I have noticed that. For such a nice, interesting city, you would think they would be happier people but apparently not. I left there and walked back to the hostel to wait for the afternoon tour and hoping it will clear up. I met the 2 Aussie boys that got in early this morning and an Aussie girl also, we chatted for a bit, she was doing a travel tour for awhile and then just doing a few countries on her own, pretty cool. I chilled out for quick bit and then off I went back to the square to meet for the tour and thankfully it did clear up. On my way, there was another demonstration or a march and this time it was high school students protesting about writing exams by the state and not by the school.
I got to old town square and I had to find the group as they were not where they were suppose to be, but I found them. Isaac, was our tour guide, he was from L.A, and he has been here for almost 10 yrs, studying history. He was a really good guide, very enthusiastic, cracked some good jokes, and very informative. Here he is
We learned that Prague is responsible for the contact lens, sugar cube and the word “robot” comes from the Czech language (robota = "work"), and of course Pilsner beer.
So we started in the town square where there was tons of people standing in front of the Old Town Hall
“After King John of Luxembourg accorded the citizens of Prague the privilege of having their own district council in 1338, they decided to build a Town Hall, paid for by a duty levied on wine. The almost 70 meters high tower was completed in 1364. Due to continuous expansions, the building now is a colourful collection of gothic and renaissance-style façades. During the 2nd World War, the building was severely damaged when the Nazis suppressed the Prague uprising, but it is now thoroughly restored.”
“The first clock of the Town Hall dates back to the beginning of the 15th century. Clock maker Hanuš, who perfected the construction in 1490 was - according to the legend - made blind by the city council to prevent him from making a more beautiful clock elsewhere. Most of the mechanism still used today is made by Jan Táborský between 1552 and 1572.”
(all that is all right from the internet)
Orloj - Astronomical Clock
The four figures flanking the clock are set in motion at the hour, these represent four things that were despised at the time of the clock's making. , In the first set of those pics you will see Vanity, represented by a figure admiring himself in a mirror. Next, a Jew holding a bag of gold represents greed or usury. Across the clock stands Death, a skeleton that strikes the time upon the hour. Finally, the infidel Turk wears the Turban.
There is also a presentation every hour above the clock…..listed below
The Apostles come out of the windows in the upper part of the Orloj.
From the left window:
St. Paul appears first holding a sword and a book
St.Thomas follows carrying a spear
St. Juda Tadeus holds a book in his left hand
St. Simon follows holding a saw being the patron saint of lumberjacks.
St. Bartholomew appears with a book and is the patron saint of tanners, tailors and shoemakers.
St. Barnabas (Nathael) comes last carrying a papyrus.
From the right window
First is St. Peter with a key and he is the patron saint to fishermen, locksmiths and clockmakers.
St. Mathew is next with an axe and is the patron saint for builders, carpenters, blacksmiths and butchers.
St. John can be seen castigating a snake being the patron saint of printers and writers
St. Andrew with a cross
St. Philip with another cross and is the patron saint for hatters
St. Jacob with a tool for working flax being the patron saint of linen traders.
The show goes as follows
In the lower parts are the other fixed statues - Death represented by a skeleton pulls the bell cord with one hand holding the clessidra in the other.
The Apostles come out in a procession - this happens in the top part of the Orloj.
When done they then go back inside.
Once the windows close, a cockerel flaps and crows in an alcove and then the chimes of the hour can be heard.
This parody is accompanied by the Turk shaking his head, by the Miser watching his bag and Vanity admiring himself in a mirror.
The original lone tower housing the present day Orloj was built in 1381.
The initial clock was installed in 1410
More pics
The calendar is shown in themes, for example June is berries, and then July is more berries and August is chopping the berries. There are 365 names on the outer circle of the calendar and this is when your name day is, not ur bday and the legend is that on your birthday, people buy you drinks and on your name day, you buy the drinks, and apparently these are the choice of names you can use for your children. (I have now learnt as this entry is late, that most of the Eastern countries also celebrate name days)
Pretty neat stuff…….and unfortunately I did not record this show.
We also learnt that the Old Town Hall was hit in the war and this following pic shows that half the building is missing, it was left this way as a reminder of what Prague survived, and they left the area as a park.
We also learnt about Jan Hus, a 15th century heretic, his statue is a symbol of Czech nationalism
Tyn Cathedral-Church of Our Lady Before Tyn – one of the most prominent Gothic buildings. This is a Catholic church, a bit scary looking then most Catholic churches.
This next church is St. Nicholas church, the protestant church, there was some controversy over the fact that a very large church was built for the Catholics so they wanted something just as big, and this one is not a scary
This is the New Town, and it is of course full of Mc.Donald’s, Burger Kings, and lots of clothing stores, etc
This is when the rain started up a bit again, so we found refuge and stopped at “Bohemian Bagel” to get a bite to eat and I chose a yummy piece of cheesecake that Isaac recommended and it was very good. Finally the rain eased up and we went back out to continue our tour. The next spot was for the Powder Tower, that yes they actually stored the gun powder in there many years ago
just right beside this is a restaurant and it is from the movie XXX, with Vin Diesel, I vaguely remember it myself but it is when he was sitting outside this restaurant
As we walked along we approached the old Jewish neighbourhood, here are a few buildings
old-new synagogue (yes that really is the name of it)
Jewish Town Hall
This is the Jewish museum, and in it there are drawings that the Jewish children in the concentrations camps drew while they were there, as most of them were depressed. I didn’t get a chance to go in and see them but he told us that the former teacher saved them all and placed them in a suitcase and hide them away and they were later found after the war and placed in this museum. A lot of the pictures were of their homes and their families, as they obviously missed them. (very sad)
there is a cemetery just to the left in this pic, that we did not go right up to, but it was what inspired the Holocaust Monument in Berlin, because the land in this area was built on top of a swamp, they have buried people one on top of the other, so lots of different heights, etc just like the monument had of the cement blocks.
just the neighbourhood and buildings there
This is a pic of the signs that people have on their homes and it was a way to identify where you lived before they started numbering them. So some one could have a plaque with an elephant on it and you would say you live at the elephant sign
Oh, I forgot this monument, it was earlier in the tour, it was dedicated to Mozart as this particular location where he played, he would state that it was his favourite – it’s kinda strange
This is the Czech Philharmonic
Okay this next one may or may not be true but it is pretty wild. It is the House of the Black Madonna, and the story behind it is that there is a statue inside of the virgin Mary and she had lots of gold, and precious stone necklaces all around her neck, and one day some young hooligan goes in and tries to steal them off her, and when he does just as he removes them the statue comes to life and grabs his arm and turns back to stone. so of course some time goes by before he is finally discovered stuck to the statue and the authorities come and decide the only way to get him free is to cut off the arm….well they mean his arm as the statue is even more of a miracle now since it came to life and captured the thief, so they cut his arm off and just as they finish the hand of the statue drops the arm…….the obvious lesson is not to steal from the virgin Mary or at all and so to continue to reinforce that they wrapped the arm up and hung it in the church. I took a pic but it is a bit hard to see as the other strange thing about this church is it is extremely dark inside, even during the day, very odd
here is the arm, top right hand corner, hanging from a rope
this is the inside with a good flash
the National Theatre
And lastly, we did not go there, (and only got distant photos of it) as it was a separate tour but the Prague Castle-founded in the 9th century, originally the residence of Princes and Kings of Bohemia, since 1918 the seat of the President of the Republic.
There was a lot more information on this tour but I can’t remember it all, he talked about how the wars, the Communist take over and the Soviet Invasion affected Prague, how they got out of it, and the Velvet Revolution. *here is a link to read up* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velvet_Revolution
After the tour was done, I went back to try and get into the Jewish museum but they were closed, so I just made my way back to the hostel and this time I went a different route back but I found my way. I got in and I used the puters there and booked a hostel for the next destination, Vienna. I went up to the room and Laura, the Aussie was there so we chatted for awhile and a couple of the Malaysian guys came in and out and would chat for a bit. Then we both crashed, got woken up from some new roommates coming in, but just fell back to sleep. Tomorrow is another train ride this time to Vienna.
I hope you have enjoyed the bit of information I did remember and all of my pics. Stayed tuned for more….
No comments:
Post a Comment