Karlův Most

Karlův Most, or Charles Bridge in English, is the most famous of the numerous bridges that cross the Vltava River. It does not mean that it is the most picturesque though. What makes this bridge famous is the numerous Baroque statues that line up the sides of the bridge.

So one weekend, when the weather was cooperating, we decided to stroll down the length of the bridge. It is the bridge that can be found at the very middle of the city. And famous as it is, we expected that it would be packed with tourists.

Coming from the eastern side of the bridge, the first notable structure would be the Staroměstská Mostecká Věž, or the Stare Město Bridge Tower. This is a shot of the imposing structure.



When we crossed, the tower was open, and we could actually climb up. But we thought that we had already climbed plenty of things to be climbed here in Prague (see my former posts) and so we passed on this one.



The shot above is the typical scene on the bridge. There are tourists, there are the souvenir shops that line both sides, and there are the statues that can be found every five meters or so. There is also the inevitable pickpocket, targeting tourists that are so busy clicking their cameras.





The two shots above are what the river looks like from both sides. One was taken looking to the left, and the other to the right.



Ah, the ever beautiful Pražský Hrad (Prague Castle). At night, this whole block of buildings are floodlit, and it just makes a surreally romantic and enchanting view.



Nearing the other end, one can see the other tower, the Malostranská Mostecká Věž, or the Mala Strana Bridge Tower. Again, the tower was open but we passed this one too. By the way, can you count how many spires are in the picture?



This is the statue of the soldier, found at the very end of the bridge. This is also one of the protectors of the bridge. In ancient times, this bridge was guarded by the army, and passage was restricted. Why would there be two bridge towers on both ends in the first place?



Before disembarking from the bridge, try to take a peek on the left side of the bridge, and you will see the one and only surviving still-functional watermill. Plenty of postcards feature this particular landmark.



Finally, one gets off the bridge by going under the arches of the other tower, and one finds oneself in the streets of Malá Strana. But that is for another entry.

Gearshift in Neutral

I know I know. I haven't been posting for a few days now. Well, I have my reasons.

First of all, I was revising my paper for publication for the past few days. The deadline for the final revisions is just around the corner, and so I needed to finish it before the next month knocks at the door. The weird thing is that I am still receiving comments from the anonymous reviewers even a week before the deadline. So I just have to speed up the revisions. But as of today, I am done, at least, if there are no other comments to come my way.

Aside from that, the weather here in Prague sucks, to a certain extent. The rain hasn't stopped since last week. The weather forecast is always rain. Actually, there is a flood watch on the river areas, so it's no joke.

So that means that I am here at home sitting, letting my 3-month Prague Transport Ticket go to waste.



By the way, this ticket is valid everywhere, from the bus to the metro to the tram, even to the funicular that takes passengers up the Petřín Hill. They say that it will close sometime this June for renovation, so I better go there or else I'll be forced to hike the long walk up the hill.

Meme: Seven Deadly Sins

I was tagged by Yuri, apparently, wanting to know my inclinations regarding how I would be rated on the Seven Deadly Sins Scale. So, here are my results, feel free to peruse them as you wish.

By the way, I just noticed that this is my 250th post. *pats oneself on the shoulder*

Greed:	Medium
Gluttony:	Medium
Wrath:	Medium
Sloth:	Low
Envy:	Medium
Lust:	Medium
Pride:	High

Take the Seven Deadly Sins Quiz

Prague in Black and White

Prague has been a favorite location for filming movies. Plenty of movies that require old Renaissance shots were filmed here, an example being Milos Forman’s Amadeus. So I tried to capture Prague’s finest scenes in the neighborhood of Vyšehrad, this time, in black and white.

Vyšehrad is a fortress south of the city center. The main centerpiece of the fortress is a huge church, but it was closed when I visited the fortress.

There are plenty of ways to approach the fortress. One of the ways to enter it is to walk through this secluded cobblestone path lined with tall trees.



If you reach the top, the outer walls actually are thick enough to walk over it. It has been made into a path that goes around the fortress, and gives the visitors a great view of the city, again.



On one end of the fortress, there is a small piece of land jutting out of the hill, and this makes into an open-air theatre. This is one side of the wall of the theatre, which also serves as a slope.



The Vyšehrad church has stunning architecture, and the stone sculpture that adorns all the sides of it simply is amazing. I will make a detailed post about the church later; for now, just enjoy a detail of the pillars of the front door.



This is a nearby well, used to store the water that was scarce in medieval times.



And another majestic view of the river, facing south. The Vltava River actually flows north, draining into the North Sea after passing through Germany.



This is a pathway that leads from the wall path to the road within the fortress.



This is a small church within the fortress grounds. Built in the 11th century, this is the oldest structure in Prague that is still standing. Again, I’ll make a detailed post about this one later.



I was playing with the lines here, trying to recreate non-Euclidian geometry. See the parallel lines? They all converge and meet in one dot in the middle eh? Euclidian geometry doesn’t permit that, since for Euclid, parallel lines never meet.



Here is another challenge to Euclid. Notice the cobblestones. Don’t dare to walk in high heels here, as they will be a pain.



Finally, the cemetery within the fortress. Famous people are buried here, and I have visited some of their graves. I will make a detailed post about this later as well, for now, just enjoy the mythical ambient feel that emanates from my shot.



So, anyone up for color?

Communist Prague: Part II

As I said in the previous post, I sometimes tread the off-beaten path when it comes to tourism. And that was what I did the other day, visiting the Communist relics in this amazing and enchanting city.

The previous post dealt with the Letná Metronome, the Hotel Crowne Plaza Prague, and the National Monument. This post on the other hand will deal about the Paneláky and the Museum of Communism.

The Paneláky refers to the housing complexes that were made in the 1970s using prefabricated reinforced concrete panels. All the units are identical, and the only thing that is different from the outside is the color of the paint of the building.

These can be found in the outskirts of the city, so I rode the Metro Red Line to the end of the line (the station’s name was Haje), and got off, and took a quick stroll outside the station.

These are some photos of the Paneláky.











As you can see in the photos, some might look unenticing. And as Lonely Planet points out, Western visitors often assume that these complexes are “sink estates”, where all the crime of the city are brewing. However, the guidebook points out that this is false, and that many different sectors of society live in the Panelaky, from lawyers to teachers to street sweepers to students.

These are shots of the two highest buildings in the area.





By the way, in case you were curious, yes, I was the only tourist there, I was the only one carrying a camera and taking shots of buildings, or concrete canyons, as Lonely Planet describes it.

Aside from the Paneláky, I also visited the Museum of Communism. It had plenty of exhibits and artifacts that deal with the Communist Era here in Prague, back starting from the end of WWII to the early 1990s.

When you enter the museum, a flag of the USSR (the red one with the hammer and sickle) will greet you.



Then the busts of Vladimir Lenin and Karl Marx will pop up and greet the visitors.





There is also a life-size model of a workshop in the museum. This is complete with sounds and other things that are eccentric, I should say.



Look at the bundy clock, and the way they always tie up the idealism of work with the hatred against the Americans.



Of course, the products only had one brand, there was no selection, so the model of a shop featured only one brand of cocoa.



They also had items that pertained to biological warfare. Apparently, children were used to having biological war drills, and they were knowledgeable in wearing these things when they were in school. It reminds me of the nuclear war drills that the American kids had in the 1960s.



Finally, there was also a model of an Interrogation Room. This is where they question the not-so-outstanding citizens.



Inside, there is a table for the officer and a table for the typist, or stenographer, or whatever that machine is called.







Above the door, there was this weird-looking picture, something that reminds me of the Blair Witch Project.



And there was also a cabinet that contained eccentric articles, like handcuffs and the gallows, like this one.



The Paneláky is free, of course, those are technically not tourist attractions, but the Museum of Communism will cost you 180 Kč for adults and 140 Kč for students. Admittedly, the price for this museum is a little bit steep, compared to the other sights that I have been. I could climb the towers in the Old Town three times for the price of this entrance.

Communist Prague: Part I

I sometimes have the fancy for treading the off-beaten path when it comes to tourism. So the other day, I decided to find and see the relics of a political system that was in place in Prague for about half a century, that is, Communism.

My ever-reliable Lonely Planet had a page worth of Communism-related articles and artifacts that can be found in Prague. So I decided to explore them. Since there are plenty of pictures, I decided the split the entry in two. This is the first part, which will consist of Letná Terasa, Hotel Crowne Plaza Prague, and Národní Památník.

Letná Terasa, or Letna Terrace in English, is an elevated part of the city that is overlooking the Vltava River. This is the part of the city that faces direct to Čechův Most. This is a place with plenty of lush green pastures, and it has plenty of steps that one can climb to reach the very top. At the very top is a huge metronome.





The fact of the matter is, in the beginning, there was no metronome on top of the terrace. Instead, there was a huge stone sculpture of Joseph Stalin and his associates. The sculpture had the form of four men lined up in a single file, facing the city, with Joseph Stalin at the very front of the queue. Given the location of the hill, it is a very prime spot for an ideological statue.

However, in the 1960s, some Czechoslovak citizens put dynamite on the statue and destroyed it. Apparently, not all are happy with the Communist regime. When the Communist era ended, a metronome was installed there to signify the passing of time.

I climbed the terrace and went up to the side of the mechinery that controls the metronome. It made a creeking sound whenever it would swing its bar, and it reminds me of that Charlie Chaplin movie with the gigantic clocks.

Of course, as with any high structure in Prague, this terrace also commands a great view of the city. These are the views from Letná Terasa.









Notice the last picture, with the numerous bridges that cross the Vltava River. Isn’t Prague romantic?

As I said before, beyond the metronome lies a lush green park. There are plenty of trees, and plenty of people are taking their clothes off to sunbathe and enjoy the spring sun.





After Letná Terasa, I proceeded to go to Hotel Crowne Plaza Prague. Now what is so special about this hotel? My ever-reliable Lonely Planet tells me that this is a silhouette of a huge Stalinist building. It was built in the 1950s and the design was inspired by the tower of the Moscow University. And the moment the tram pulled up in front of it, I knew I was looking at the right building.









Now does this building remind you of that building that was used in the Garbage video for The World Is Not Enough? It also reminds me of the buildings in the movie Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.

My guidebook told me to take a peek at the marble bar at the right-hand side of the lobby and find a tapestry. So I entered the lobby, turned right, and yes, there was a bar in there. And yes, at the very end of the bar, there was the tapestry. Entitled Praga Regina Musicae (Prague, Queen of Music), it features an aerial view of the city. It also shows the original statue of the Stalin in Letná Terasa.





So after I found the tapestry, I exited the hotel and then headed south. I then took the metro and got off at Florenc Station, and then walked to Žižkov Hill. I then climbed the hill to get to Národní Památník, or National Monument. On the way to the top, I saw this tank.



Národní Památník is technically speaking not a Communist relic, because it was completed in the 1930s. However, for most Czechs, this colossal monument is linked with the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, and in particular, with the country’s first “worker-president”, Klement Gottwald.



As you can see, the statue of the horseman is being renovated.

I happened to be at the monument when a funeral was being held. I asked from people later, and it turned out that a war hero had passed away recently, and he was being given an honorable funeral. So I took pictures of the military guards giving him the standard gun salute. These are some pictures.









After watching the military exercises, I then trekked down the hill and went to my next destination.

In case you were wondering, all the sights I visited in this entry are free. The only thing you need to pay for is transportation. I will conclude my entry on Communist Prague next time, with an entry on the Museum of Communism and the Panelaky.