This part of the journey almost got cancelled. Cuz dad developed a rash from sun exposure etc... and seemed rather uncomfortable... Fortunately, the cream we bought from a pharmacy in Bratislava helped.
Just remembered this clip I saw from Eurotrip... when they got sent to Bratislava... my photos of Bratislava is nothing like the movie setting.. ahaha dont know which suburb they visited. It's not that cheap either. =P
Okay back to the point. PRAGUE, Czech Republic. I think in Eastern European parts, they call it Praha. (There's a Praga in Poland... so not to be confused with that) With 2 days to spare, we decided to spend our time in Prague and abandon plans to visit Cesky Krumlov. (Zhimin said it's really nice... so maybe... ONE day... I might return =))
The history of Prague is really interesting - with connections to Luxembourg dynasty and eventually to House of Habsburg as well. hehe Seems like not many places in Europe are left untouched by Habsburg.
Street scenes.
Picture 1 reminded me of "Buy a brick, block a cow" fund-raising we did for Tumkur. The bricks in that picture are also for fund-raising.
You'll also see pictures of puppets being sold in stalls and shops. hehe THey are really well made! There are even witches on broom sticks that go "hyak hyak hyak" when you press a button or something. grin I wanted to get that for Aldwin, but I guess it's bulky and don't know what he'll think of it. hahaa Got him a top instead.
Hmm... what else.. the market also sold fruits and sweets. AND very thoughtfully included a tap that you can also see in the pictures. =))
hee I like things that are suspended mid-air. I think there were so many other pictures I've taken elsewhere with things suspended mid-air. =) OH! And whoever thinks Eastern Europe is backward... they have Crumpler too k!
This is my favourite part of Prague. Hehehe I want such a clock!!! =)
This is the Astronomical clock in Stare Mesto (Old town square). Every hour, there will be a mini procession in the clock. You see 2 little windows above the main clock? hehe Those will open and then you can see little figures parading within the windows.
The last picture is actually a postcard of the clock. I really really love the clock! =)
ZM, when you do your exchange in Netherlands, you HAVE to visit Prague!
Well.. Eastern Europe is characterized by music rather than drama. We attended a concert at the little concert hall. There was a mini organ and a harp. Among the many pieces they played for us, there is one particular piece I liked =) That's Bedrich Smetana's Die Moldau. It's really appropriate cuz this was his birthplace. And he was writing about the river Vltava that we saw flowing through Prague. Sigh... if you get a chance, you absolutely have to go and listen!
See? The river Vltava and Charles Bridge (Karlův most). The amount of activity going on on Charles Bridge is amazing. Cuz on one street, the traffic flow is huge... you see street musicians with all kinds of musical instruments, people actually standing around to listen to them, there are stalls selling handicraft items and handmade earrings and artists doing portraits etc... Bustling with life literally. =P
A bit of background on Charles Bridge. It links Old town with New town and is protected by 3 bridge towers, 2 on the Lesser Quarter side and 1 on Old town side. Hehe I took a picture of dad on level 2 of the Old town tower from the bridge. But it's kinda dark so I didnt post it up.
This bridge is decorated by a continuous alley of 30 statues and statuaries, most of them baroque-style (1700). It's considered to be one of the most astonishing civil gothic-style buildings in the world. Really really amazing!
This is one of the more 'famous' statuary.
Background: It's the statue of John of Nepomuk. In March 1393, he was thrown into the river Vltava from the Charles Bridge at the behest of Wenceslaus, King of Romans and King of Bohemia. I seriously have no idea about the specifics. But dad and I parked ourselves opposite the statue and watched tourists come one after another to touch the golden parts of the statue. haha NOBODY really knows why they're touching it.. but it's a chain reaction - you see others touching, so you inch forward to try to touch it too... even if you don't know why and so on. hehe 20 touches / minute. hahaha Very very fascinating study.
This is a random collage. Some taken on the bridge. Others taken at Prague Castle on the other side of the bridge. Can't remember how many flight of stairs we had to climb to reach it.
Motifs on the gate. =))
Another random collage of a photo collection. Mostly of the Prague Castle side.
Food! =) We ate one of our lunches in a fancy restaurant on the square - where even mineral water costs a lot.
Transport. =) I think this was quite an experience for dad.
Next post on Mikolajki, Poland!
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