Just got back from a weekend excursion to Prague - the beautiful city of old buildings, old buildings with tourists, and old buildings with, oh wait, more tourists. Not that I'm really in a position to complain (by now I'm quicker with the shutter button than a Japanese tourist), but really, I think I've heard more Polish, German, and English this entire weekend than Czech! Nevertheless, Prague is truly beautiful. Not having been bombed in WW2 like most European cities, many of the old buildings not only still exist, but are not riddled by old bullet holes. Here's a shot of Praha Castle as seen from the Charles Bridge. The Cathedral of St. Vitus is inside the castle itself.
Here's one of the pictures taken from the top of the Cathedral of St. Vitus bell tower. To get to the top one must climb up a continuous, narrow, winding staircase of 287 steps. The staircase is very dimly lit and in some places one has to climb up in total darkness, bumping into people climbing down. One quickly loses count of the steps and after a while has no idea how far off is the top - its a real relief to finally get there. On the way down, a few turns from the top, I found perverse pleasure in telling some Polish tourists they were only a third of the way up :)
Prague has many churches, especially in the old town. From the main square one can see this one. I'm not sure which Saint it honors, but it doesn't detract from it's Gothic beauty in my eyes. I made night shot of it as well, but here I love the contrast between the dark multi-towers and the bright summer sky.
As part of our sight-seeing we've wondered into the Museum of Communism. It was interestingly set up starting with the dream of Communism, the next sections showing the reality, then the nightmare of an authoritarian state, and finally the fall of Communism in Czechoslovakia. One of the stories was that of Jan Palach, a student who burned himself alive on the steps of the National Museum to protest the Communist government. He was followed sometime later by Jan Zajic. The monument of a molten cross spanning two mounds was placed in their memory in front of the museum.
On our way to see the Bodies exhibit, where you can see human bodies dissected in the strangest way to show the anatomy of the human body, I saw this really cool sculpture. I guess after seeing about 50 sculptures of kings, knights, and saints, one yearns for a little humor.
On one of our crossings of the Charles Bridge, we've been caught by an incoming summer storm. Here's an awesome picture of the approaching weather. It doesn't really give justice to the howling winds, but you can get some idea by looking at the water.
Finally my favorite picture of a giant metronome! In the Communist era the Czechoslovakian government has spent astronomical sums of money on a giant head of Stalin overlooking the city. After the fall of Communism, the head has been detonated with explosive and in its place erected a giant metronome. We've climbed up a million stairs to the top of the hill to check it out. The place has an amazing view of Prague across the river and is the Czech equivalent of "lookout point" for couples.
Just got back from a weekend excursion to Prague - the beautiful city of old buildings, old buildings with tourists, and old buildings with, oh wait, more tourists. Not that I'm really in a position to complain (by now I'm quicker with the shutter button than a Japanese tourist), but really, I think I've heard more Polish, German, and English this entire weekend than Czech! Nevertheless, Prague is truly beautiful. Not having been bombed in WW2 like most European cities, many of the old buildings not only still exist, but are not riddled by old bullet holes. Here's a shot of Praha Castle as seen from the Charles Bridge. The Cathedral of St. Vitus is inside the castle itself.
Here's one of the pictures taken from the top of the Cathedral of St. Vitus bell tower. To get to the top one must climb up a continuous, narrow, winding staircase of 287 steps. The staircase is very dimly lit and in some places one has to climb up in total darkness, bumping into people climbing down. One quickly loses count of the steps and after a while has no idea how far off is the top - its a real relief to finally get there. On the way down, a few turns from the top, I found perverse pleasure in telling some Polish tourists they were only a third of the way up :)
Prague has many churches, especially in the old town. From the main square one can see this one. I'm not sure which Saint it honors, but it doesn't detract from it's Gothic beauty in my eyes. I made night shot of it as well, but here I love the contrast between the dark multi-towers and the bright summer sky.
As part of our sight-seeing we've wondered into the Museum of Communism. It was interestingly set up starting with the dream of Communism, the next sections showing the reality, then the nightmare of an authoritarian state, and finally the fall of Communism in Czechoslovakia. One of the stories was that of Jan Palach, a student who burned himself alive on the steps of the National Museum to protest the Communist government. He was followed sometime later by Jan Zajic. The monument of a molten cross spanning two mounds was placed in their memory in front of the museum.
On our way to see the Bodies exhibit, where you can see human bodies dissected in the strangest way to show the anatomy of the human body, I saw this really cool sculpture. I guess after seeing about 50 sculptures of kings, knights, and saints, one yearns for a little humor.
On one of our crossings of the Charles Bridge, we've been caught by an incoming summer storm. Here's an awesome picture of the approaching weather. It doesn't really give justice to the howling winds, but you can get some idea by looking at the water.
Finally my favorite picture of a giant metronome! In the Communist era the Czechoslovakian government has spent astronomical sums of money on a giant head of Stalin overlooking the city. After the fall of Communism, the head has been detonated with explosive and in its place erected a giant metronome. We've climbed up a million stairs to the top of the hill to check it out. The place has an amazing view of Prague across the river and is the Czech equivalent of "lookout point" for couples.
1 comment:
Nice pictures and interesting article. Prague is a highly attractive and stable economic environment for a successful property investment. Taking into account the growth of property prices in recent years properties in Prague will produce a sustainable 10-20% capital gain per year as the earning capacity of the average Czech increases. There is no better time to invest in Prague property. Strong economic and demographic factors have produced what we believe to be one of the world’s best investment property opportunities.
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