Saturday, March 29, 2008

Other sights

YoYo again. Will we ever hear from Hoops again?!??!

An offer from one of the vendors on the Charles Bridge.


The view from 274 steps (inside the Astronomical Tower)




The view from 398 steps.





The above pictures were taken from Prague's Eiffel Tower. Although this tower is much shorter than the one in Paris, it is at the same elevation due to it's location at the top of Petrin Hill.



Fun in the Petrin Hill Mirror Maze

Classical music concert in the Mirror Chapel

We were lucky enough to pick the Mirror Chapel for our first classical music concert.


And a splendid choice it was! We both throughly enjoyed the music and the venue was outstanding. The acoustics were excellent and the backdrop couldn't be beat.




The odd thing about the Mirror Chapel is that during the day one is forbidden to take any photographs. In the evening, it was a free-for-all. I was very happy to chronicle the evening's event in photos and video.


What the heck is this giant instrument, anyway?



.

The curious sight on the streets of Praha explained!

Upon closer inspection...



Happy Praguer!

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Today's Word: Stalwart

YoYo here again.

Burr... check out today's photo of the weather.


It's so cold here, even the statues are chilly. (Sorry, couldn't resist!)


A very curious sight on the streets of Prague today...

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Catching up on the photo log

These photos were taken over the last several days...

Astronomical clock on Town Hall






Stained glass window in St Nicholas Church


Easter switches and eggs




Easter Tree in Old Town Square




Old Jewish Cemetery








We found the Golem...


Jan Hus Memorial


Tyn Church - Hussite


Prague is a town of marionettes


And a Franz Kafka town

Another cold day in Prague...

Your intrepid YoYo here...

Resolute. Yes, that's the ticket. Remain resolute and all will be well. Shut up, button up, and remain resolute. Desert rats be warned, Spring in Prague is really freakin' cold. Just saying.

The cold didn't stop us from spending 7 hours exploring the city and it's lovely cultural offerings. And here are some pics of St James Basilica for your viewing pleasure.










In the other news...
While it is very nice to have a washing machine in the apartment, it would be far nicer to have one that wasn't possessed by some discontent spirit. Each time I wash a load it takes at least half again as long as the previous load AND the machine likes to walk around the bathroom bumping in to things and knocking items on the ground. The last load took nearly 3 hours and the clothing came out tied in multiple tight knots. This would be the load of delicates, of course. One of Hoops' shirts is worse for the wear as it is now an indescribable color. The closest I can get to describing the new color is "distressed yellow." If Lisa were here she would no doubt have a better description. Keeping in step with the theme for the day, I shall focus on how nice it is to be able to continually rid our clothing of the nasty cigarette smoke stench we pick up every time we walk into an eating or drinking establishment. The concept of a no-smoking section is not common here.

The weather forecast for tomorrow is even grimmer...

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

More pics and weird weather


YoYo here...
The weather couldn't make up its mind today. First thing in the morning, it was all about the sunshine. Still cold, but nice and shiny. By mid-day we had a snow storm. Nice pretty swirling snow flakes. Even colder, but tolerable. By the end of the day we had seen sunshine and snow swirls repeatedly. However, the day ended positively freezing and Hoops has gone to bed with a chill. Burr!




Hope you enjoy the photos from today. The library is in the Strahov Monastery.



The bearded lady is from the Loreta Church.



The story about the lady goes something like this:
Father: I want you to marry this brute here.
Daughter: No.
Father: You must marry him! I insist and I am your father. So there.
Daughter: No.
Father: You will marry the brute and that's that.
Daughter: Dear God, save me!
Father: Ok, you don't have to marry the brute.
Daughter: Thank God!
God: Well, there is a price to pay for this boon. You are now a man.
Daughter: But I don't look good in a beard.
Father: You're right, you don't look good in a beard. Therefor, I shall crucify you.
Daughter: I weep.

Let's hope the weather tomorrow is more clement.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Day 1 - Friday March 14, 2008

We made it. No problems with the flights. No trouble with customs or security. In fact, it seemed rather light in those areas. hmm.. I noticed that in the airport in Paris, many people were allowed to go through security without having to take their shoes off. What's that about?

We were greeted in Prague by the taxi driver that had been arranged by the apartment owner.
It's great being picked up at the airport in a strange city and not having to try to figure out how much it should cost and how to communicate while you try to give someone the address to your lodging, especially when you are not even sure how to pronounce the street name.

It had rained, so the streets were wet and the cobble stones were quite slippery. It was cold out, but not unbearable. The apartment was cold, but gladly we have central heating, so we cracked it up to take the chill off.

We have several restaurants and pubs on the street were we are staying. We picked the one our driver recommended and tried to fit in with the locals as we ordered beer and roasted chicken breast with ham and chips. The ham was draped over the chicken breast. The chips were really french fries. All three of these were piled upon each other with a nice layer of melted cheese on top. It sounds bad now, but it was quite yummy at the time. After dinner, it was time to rest.

Our sleeping patterns are whacked out so we ended up going to bed by 2:00 p.m.
I managed to get up and go foraging for supplies at around 7:30 p.m. We needed the staples, bread, milk, tea, peanut butter. I figured the staff at the Four Seasons hotel were guaranteed to speak english, so I headed straight there to ask for directions and get a map. Good choice.
The magic store is called Tesco. It's much like our Walgreens or Target, but it was quite a hoof away. but that was fine with me. I was ready to go adventuring.

I made my way through the Old town square. It was hopping. It was like a carnival. They had booths selling goodies all around. I made it to Tesco and back in a out 2 hours. By the time I got back the apartment was quite toasty. I backed the temp back down a bit and settled in to read about the Golem. There were no streets sounds, no voices from other rooms. Just the sound of creaking wood floors every now and then. Oooh, spooky... The knock on the door was only slightly startling. The apartment owner stopped by to check in on us. I guess she's a late night person. It was well after 10:00 p.m. At least by that time the temperature had calmed back down.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Wednesday March 12, 2008

In 9 hours, we'll be on a plane. It's hard to believe that after 3 years of planning this is finally going to happen. bwahaha. 

Happily, I was able to see my mother today to say goodbye. It's always nice to be able to give your mother a big hug before you go out on a great adventure. It's very exciting. 


We will fly into Atlanta, then on to Paris by morning. In the wee hours, we will arrive in Prague. It will be raining, but I don't care. 

We plan to stumble about for two or three days while we get our sea legs back. I plan to dive head first into "The Golem" by Yudl Rosenberg. I figure with the sleep debt, jet lag and foggy rain, I'll be in for some severe spookiness. Nothing a dram or two can't shake off.

Ok. Back to the packing and such.
Hoops