Good King Wenceslas looked out...

...on the kids of Riva! Actually, on the streets of Praha (or Prague), the next--and my favorite--stop of the northeastern Europe trip.

The statue is that of king Wenceslas, of common Christmas carol fame. He is the patron Saint of the Czech Republic, and was king of Bohemia in the 10th century. I'm not too keen on the details anymore, but I do remember that he was martyred after being assassinated by his brother and his supporters, and that the reason the song is sang around Christmas time is because St. Stephen's feast (mentioned in the carol) was celebrated on December 26th. Other than the date proximity, there really is no connection to the nativity. The statue is on St. Wenceslas square, which is the Prague equivalent to the Champs Elysees in France. All of its big shopping stops are found along this corridor, along with several unique buildings, new and old. In the middle of the street on the medians, to make the scenery even more distinctive, is an impressive modern art display. It features abstract, realistic, and even historical sculptures all the way to the end of the square. Here are two that I found slightly haunting, yet very well done.



There was also an interesting home appliance/flower sculpture in there, featuring metal pipe like stems leading to kitchen sink and toilet buds and blooms. This wasn't too attractive to me, but apparently the locals loved it, because there was more than one set on the street.
Other major highlights of the trip included:

The Astronomical Clock:
The most famous piece in Old Town Prague, its centerpiece was built in 1410, and accurately shows the day, time, zodiac sign, place of the sun and moon in the sky, and displays the activities typically done in the current month of the year(back in the 15th century). It is an absolutely captivating sight, and when the clock strikes on the hour, death--represented by the skeleton--rings the bell of time, and keeps it moving. The other figures at his side represent greed, vanity, and lust. Each of them moves slightly with the tolling of the bell, and while all of this goes on, at the top doors, the twelve apostles appear and show themselves to the crowd. It really is a sight to see, and really makes you want to go back at every opportunity to see how much the clock has moved(funny, maybe slightly ridiculous, but true...it moves much differently than what we're used to) and to see how the moving figures change with each hour.

St. Vitus Cathedral:

A place so big I couldn't fit it all even in three panoramics. It really is a monumental structure, and just takes your breath away both inside and out. A MUST SEE if you ever go to Prague, and yet another to add to the ever growing list of extravagant Catholic churches of Europe's seemingly endless Christian connection and history.

















Charles Bridge and Prague Castle:
The bridge, led on by this large facade, is perhaps the city's most traversed and is for sure the prettiest. It has several statues along the path, mostly depicting scenes from the bible. On the path itself, you'll find street vendors selling their paintings, and a talented musical show for you pretty much twenty four hours a day. I was fortunate to cross when a really fun jazz band was playing. They made it feel like I had traveled back in time--people around were dancing to their music and everyone who walked by stopped to enjoy the music and scenery.
The Castle, visible from the bridge, is really large...the largest ancient castle in the world actually, according to the Guinness book of records. It's so big even, that it completely encircles the St. Vitus Cathedral, a basilica, monastery, and several other palaces, towers, and gardens. When we visited we got a chance to see the changing of the guards as well. The guard is then responsible for standing watch at the Castle gate with no movement until the end of their shift. Its not unlike the English royal guard most of us Americans have seen on TV or in the movies. The procession was very neat to see, and full of Czech fanfare.

The TV Tower:

After hearing about this place in an email from my grandparents (Thanks so much!), and being the I-love- sci-fi- stuff kinda guy I am, I had to visit this spot before leaving Prague. There were basically 3 reasons why: 1) This description, courtesy of my grandfather, and I quote-- "A gray metal tower that can be seen from almost everywhere in the city. The Czech's hate it. It was built by the communists, during their regime, on a site of an old Jewish cemetery. You will notice a number of mutant, alien babies climbing up the steel tubes. You can take an elevator up to the viewing platform where we were told there is an awesome view of the city". He wasn't lying about those mutant alien babies, its pretty much exactly what they are. I may even add a tad android, but the description fits the bill just fine. 2)I had yet to see an up high view of the city, and 3) I couldn't remember the last time I saw a good sunset, and was determined to watch it go the day I made it out to the tower. In Europe, most times the sun is obscured, even in Riva, and it's pretty disappointing. Here, however, I went to the top of the tower, snapped a bunch of pictures, and stayed there for about 2 hours just taking it all in. It was a good time to just think to myself, on the events of the past year, what all had happened on the trip thus far, and what was to come in the near future. The tower, because of the sunset above all else, is my favorite part of Prague. Here's a really cool one just as the sun was hitting the city line. It was a beautiful night.

I love Prague.
The thing that amazed me most in the city in general is how unbelievably clean it was. The streets were spotless for the most part, and everywhere you went, the stores, marketplaces, historical sites and etc. were all well kept. Toward the TV tower you started to see lots of graffiti, but mostly the people there keep their places well kempt, and it feels safe, so if anyone is worried about the security of places, Prague would be up near the top of my list of worry free places to visit.

There's so much more to that part of the trip, and it can all be seen in the album. Check it out!

Until next time folks, Love and Peace.
Next stop...Munich!
B Ezie