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Location: Blogs Simon and Melody's Blog |
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| Posted by: supersi |
Monday, October 16, 2006 |
The locals call her Maticka Praha, or Little Mother Prague, one of Europe’s most beautiful and fascinating cities. This was our first time to the Czech Republic, of which Prague is the capital and also considered the centre of culture and music. And yes there are lots and lots of spires.
Something that struck us was how different the language was. Usually you can recognize words in other languages and get the gist of street signs. Czech is quite different though, and reading a map was lots of fun. “How do you get to the museum?” “Oh, real close. Take metro two stops to Staromestske Namesti station, turn left down Havelska Ulice for two blocks, go right at Politickych Venzu until Kraodvorska Truhlarska, then it’s right there on corner of Spanelska. Only 15 minutes.” “Uh, thanks…”
But that’s just the wonderful thing about being in a foreign city, isn’t it? You feel like you’re 6 years old again. The sights are new, the sounds and smells are new, you can’t read anything and you haven’t got a clue about what’s going on in the world around you. It’s great!
The city itself is not hard to get around in. It’s divided in half by the Vltava River, and further divided again into four quarters: the castle district, the Little Quarter, the Old Town and the New Town. The “New Town” is new only in relation to the Old Town, and was founded in 1348. You know you’re in another world when “new” refers to something 650 years ago!
Prague is full of stunning architecture. There’s Gothic, Renaissance, baroque, neoclassical, Art Nouveau, the list goes on… not that I know what any of those mean of course, but I can still appreciate the beautiful buildings :) The city is also known for its musical side, and we were able to attend a small concert during our stay. It was wonderful to fall asleep one night to a violinist playing somewhere in the streets below. Our own personal contribution to this fine musical city, was to go to Saint Wencaslas Square and grump out the tune to Good King Wencaslas under our breath. Don't think you'll find us performing on Charles Bridge anytime soon.
Want to see Prague without the funny street names and foul-singing tourists? See our pictures here.
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Re: City of a Thousand Spires |
By Anonymous on
Thursday, October 19, 2006 |
Wow - Prague has actually always been on my list of places to visit...but those photos bumped it closer to the top! Miss you guys!
Hayley |
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Re: City of a Thousand Spires |
By Anonymous on
Wednesday, October 25, 2006 |
I'm jealous! ...the home of Smetena and Dvorak. The pictures are beautiful.
Bat |
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