praha is one of my favourite cities in the world, even if it is overrun with tour architects that
built it through the centuries should have crypts right next to the importantists, it is still one of the greatest cities, and the relics. this is my third time in prague, and despite that, i've never really gone to wenceslas square. i think i got off the metro at the tube stop once, trying to find a place to stay for the night... and couldnt there... so we stayed somewhere else. so i walked down w
enceslas square, to the narodni muzeum, narodni is czech for like the people i think. and if you dont know what muzeum means, seriously, go, i dont want you reading this. so i went to the muzeum, and i didnt think the muzeum bit was worthwhile... but, the architecture on the inside was glorious. i wish priscilla was there, so we could take some pictures of us walking up the steps. i couldnt bring myself to do that alone. but the inside is glorious, palatial is a good description. so after that i walked by one of the opera houses, i was trying to avoid the crowds of idiot tourists that plague stare mesto and the karluvs must... so i walked along random streets just enjoying
being back in the czech republic. and wondering where the czech part of my family actually comes from. and practicsing my few phrases, dobre dan, dobre veche, dikwy, and thats about it... although vychod means exit. i wandered past this little square with a sculpture of four musicians dancing and playing around a small central fountain of water, i thought it was really cool, not sure why. it was kinda like a modernised version of a baroque style of fountain, so i guess thats why i liked it. and then i wandered on... i was on streets i hadnt explored since 2000, when i came over with neill, fresh out of high school, and we stayed in some hovel for $10 a night... so the streets
were distantly familiar and i wandered back into stare mesto through the way i first did when i was oh so young. stare mesto is the old town square... it is a mishmash of european architectural styles through the centuries, the townhall is medieval and the church is baroque (even though its a hussite church, its still baroque, which confuses me, but thats why i leave theology to the priests) i avoided the crowds that jam the streets and the hawkers selling river boat cruises, random trinketry, and classical music concerts, by walking by (and sticking my head in the hussite church) and wal
king along through streets that made a direct path back to my hotel along the banks of
the vltava... although, i ventured over to brave the crowds on karluvs must so i could take a few pictures... that is a bridge much better at night, because there are fewer people about. you can actually see the statue of st john of nepomunk...
a little bit of czech history, in the 1400s jan huss was a religious type, who disagreed with the catholic church (at this time, bohemia was part of the holy roman empire and mostly administed by catholic hapsburgs) so he started a bit of trouble down around bohemia and his people got crushed by the empire's troops, but the ideas stuck around (there is a statue to jan huss in stare mesto that was being rennovated, he was burned at the stake) so basically this simmering discontent continued, with tensions between catholics and hussites into the 17th century when th
e second defenestration of prague touched off the 30 years war... (although that portion of the war was rapidly won by the Catholics, santa maria della vittoria was built in rome to commemorate the hussite defeat at white mountain) the protestant czechs threw several representatives of the empire out of windows at prague castle. for those of you who dont know, defenestration means, throwing someone out the window. think of it, throwing three guys out of a window and into a pile of horse dung meant 30 years of fighting in germany between catholics, protestants, and swedes. defenestration is still popular to this day, while the italian mafia like to bury people in the football fields at the meadowlands or let them try a pair of cement shoes and a swim... the czech mafia to this day,
prefer the historical tradition of defenestration. (even the communists defenestrated jan masaryk when they usurped power from united front government)
built it through the centuries should have crypts right next to the importantists, it is still one of the greatest cities, and the relics. this is my third time in prague, and despite that, i've never really gone to wenceslas square. i think i got off the metro at the tube stop once, trying to find a place to stay for the night... and couldnt there... so we stayed somewhere else. so i walked down w
enceslas square, to the narodni muzeum, narodni is czech for like the people i think. and if you dont know what muzeum means, seriously, go, i dont want you reading this. so i went to the muzeum, and i didnt think the muzeum bit was worthwhile... but, the architecture on the inside was glorious. i wish priscilla was there, so we could take some pictures of us walking up the steps. i couldnt bring myself to do that alone. but the inside is glorious, palatial is a good description. so after that i walked by one of the opera houses, i was trying to avoid the crowds of idiot tourists that plague stare mesto and the karluvs must... so i walked along random streets just enjoying
being back in the czech republic. and wondering where the czech part of my family actually comes from. and practicsing my few phrases, dobre dan, dobre veche, dikwy, and thats about it... although vychod means exit. i wandered past this little square with a sculpture of four musicians dancing and playing around a small central fountain of water, i thought it was really cool, not sure why. it was kinda like a modernised version of a baroque style of fountain, so i guess thats why i liked it. and then i wandered on... i was on streets i hadnt explored since 2000, when i came over with neill, fresh out of high school, and we stayed in some hovel for $10 a night... so the streets 
were distantly familiar and i wandered back into stare mesto through the way i first did when i was oh so young. stare mesto is the old town square... it is a mishmash of european architectural styles through the centuries, the townhall is medieval and the church is baroque (even though its a hussite church, its still baroque, which confuses me, but thats why i leave theology to the priests) i avoided the crowds that jam the streets and the hawkers selling river boat cruises, random trinketry, and classical music concerts, by walking by (and sticking my head in the hussite church) and wal
king along through streets that made a direct path back to my hotel along the banks of
the vltava... although, i ventured over to brave the crowds on karluvs must so i could take a few pictures... that is a bridge much better at night, because there are fewer people about. you can actually see the statue of st john of nepomunk...
a little bit of czech history, in the 1400s jan huss was a religious type, who disagreed with the catholic church (at this time, bohemia was part of the holy roman empire and mostly administed by catholic hapsburgs) so he started a bit of trouble down around bohemia and his people got crushed by the empire's troops, but the ideas stuck around (there is a statue to jan huss in stare mesto that was being rennovated, he was burned at the stake) so basically this simmering discontent continued, with tensions between catholics and hussites into the 17th century when th
e second defenestration of prague touched off the 30 years war... (although that portion of the war was rapidly won by the Catholics, santa maria della vittoria was built in rome to commemorate the hussite defeat at white mountain) the protestant czechs threw several representatives of the empire out of windows at prague castle. for those of you who dont know, defenestration means, throwing someone out the window. think of it, throwing three guys out of a window and into a pile of horse dung meant 30 years of fighting in germany between catholics, protestants, and swedes. defenestration is still popular to this day, while the italian mafia like to bury people in the football fields at the meadowlands or let them try a pair of cement shoes and a swim... the czech mafia to this day, 
prefer the historical tradition of defenestration. (even the communists defenestrated jan masaryk when they usurped power from united front government)
No comments:
Post a Comment