Stare Mesto, Mala Strana and Josefov

 Ciao!

I'm finally getting around to posting more Praha pics.

On day 2 in Prague I walked around Mala Strana and Josefov, but the day began with a trip to Old Town Square. Old Town is also called Stare Mesto. Pretty much every day began here. There was a big street fair going on for St. Martin's Day, with food and wine and people everywhere, and between that, and the crowds gathering to see the astronomical clock, it was pretty happenin'.

Here are some shots of the square that morning as well as some interesting things I saw on the way to the square.

Church Near My Pension

Lenin Restaurant

Ready for a Revolution with Hammer, Sickle, Beer, Duck, and Dumplings

Antique Touring Cars

Tyn Church Towers from Across Square

Painted Details on a Building Front in Old Town Square

Row of Painted Buildings Flanking the Clock in Old Town Square

Red Building

Window Details

Building Facing the Clock in Old Town Square

I find I have no trouble walking amidst buildings like this and imagining that I'm walking through the square 600 years ago. I felt like the architecture was that evocative of the past.

Prague has an astronomical clock in Old Town Square, and the hoards gather to watch it. I recall seeing the one in Strasbourg as a child, and being amongst the hoards in Munich to watch the one there. It's funny how many people will drag a tripod into a crowded public place, while on vacation. More power to them.  ;)

Astronomical Clock in Old Town Square

Close Up of Astronomical Clock

Old Town Square is really beautiful and striking (no pun intended) despite the crowds and the tripods. One rounds the corner into the Square and sees the striking towers of the Our Lady of Tyn Church. The Town Hall, which houses the clock, has a similar tower with the pointy black spires on it. The buildings in the square are a rainbow of colors---yellow, black, sand, red, many with figures painted on them or built into the stone work.

The clock is fascinating and I almost regret I don't possess a tripod and the requisite photographic skills to do it justice. The clock face is flanked by carved wooden figures of kings, saints, and a skeleton. In Medieval art the skeleton and the skull always represent the transitory nature of our life here on Earth. The clock face depicts the sun and moon and planets. Here are some shots of the clock details including the skeleton.

Figures Flaking the Astronomical Clock

Dancing Skeleton Flanking the Clock Face

Details of Carving On Clock

Immediately before striking the hour music plays and the figures on the front dance and turn back and forth in their places. Then the clock strikes, and a person dressed as a Renaissance trumpeter who blows a coronet from the balcony to the ooohs and awes of the spectators. It's quite a sight, touristy thought it may be. People who believe that technological achievements belong to the modern age have never seen one of these clocks. It reminds me that man has always possessed talent and skill, and the people who think the statues on Easter Island were put there by aliens because "humans couldn't have been that advanced way back then" just don't realize what human beings have always been capable of. Intelligence and ingenuity doesn't belong only to the 20th century.

After this trip into the Square, which happened to coincide, quite accidentally, with the striking of the clock. After witnessing an example of man's ingenuity I walked to Mala Strana.

Mala Strana
Mala Strana is the neighborhood across the Vltava River from Old Town. It's at the base of the hill where the castle is and it's home to something known as the John Lennon Wall which is where I made my pilgrimage.

Getting to Mala Strana entailed crossing the Vltava, and I chose to do this on one of Prague's most famous institutions, the Charles Bridge. This pedestrian bridge was the first bridge across the Vltava River, and it was built by Emperor Charles the IV. I understand it was called "the bridge" until other bridges were built, and then at that time it became known as the Charles.

The bridge is like a circus, carnival and street fair all rolled into one. Vendors come out to sell their wares, street performers dance, sing, and play the violin. Beggars sit prostrate on the ground with their caps in front of them hoping for some coins. It's a fun place to hang out even thought it is pretty touristy. It can get pretty crowded at times. Here are some shots of the bridge and the river that I took while crossing over to the Mala Strana.

Charles Bridge Tower in Stare Mesto

Charles Bridge Tower

Prague Castle from the Charles Bridge

Prague Castle

Crowds on the Charles

The Vltava Looking Towards Mala Strana

An Organ Grinder on the Charles Bridge

The Mala Strana

The Czech people are great lovers and art and music and John Lennon is something of a hero due both to his amazing talent as a songwriter and musician as well as his pacifist activities and beliefs. Remember the bed-in for peace?

The story goes that after John Lennon's assassination on December 8, 1980, a painting of him appeared on a wall in the Mala Strana, soon followed by graffiti honoring him. The Communist government opposed to this display and had it removed. It sprang up again, and once again it was removed. This continued to happen and it seems nothing could be done to keep these images off the wall. This went on until finally any attempts to remove it were abandoned.

The John Lennon Wall is on a quiet little street that heads down towards the river. There are some beautiful trees nearby and when I visited it there were people walking there dogs quietly in front of it. It is a very peaceful and inspiring sight. Imagine.

Beautiful Trees Approaching the John Lennon Wall

John Lennon Poster in Someone's Window

The Original John Lennon Painting that Would Not Disappear

It's a very peaceful, beautiful, and interesting spot. Quite fitting.

Here are some closeups of the trees and of leaves on the ground.

Imagine All the People Sharing All the World

I wandered around the Mala Strana little bit longer, then mosied back towards the bridge, snacked on a slice of pizza that cost about 35 cents and then went back to the pension to regroup. It was really crowded and the sun kept going behind the clouds, but I took a few pictures of some buildings and statues in this neighborhood.

Church in Mala Strana 

Statue in Male Strana

Here are some more pictures of the river which I crossed to get back to the pension.

Vendor in Front of Charlest Bridge Tower

 A little later I headed out again and wandered around Josefov, which is the old Jewish Quarter. It was getting dark and I didn't get to search out as many sites as I would have liked, but I did locate the old synagogue, which was closed, but I got some shots of the cemetery through the gate. It's very old and the graves are piled up almost on top of one another. I would like to go back and explore the graveyard itself.

Here is the synagogue and the cemetery.

Old Synagogue in Prague 

Gravestones Piled One On Top of the Other in the Old Jewish Cemetery

After supper I wandered around through Josefov, past all the chic stores that you find everywhere from Mid-Town Manhattan to Paris, and back through Old Town Square towards the pension. I lingered in the square to watch some of the festivities then headed back to hit the sack and get ready for another day.

Praha-Czech It Out

Ahoy There and Ciao! (Both accepted greetings in the city of Praha)

Allow me to indulge myself and explain the silly title to this post. I went to Prague, and there are tacky tourist shops lining the streets of Old Town, especially as you approach the Charles Bridge. I kept expecting to see t-shirts that said, "Czech it out!" or "Czech me out!" Boy was I disappointed! I saw every variety of tacky crap made in China with the exception of anything making a pun out of the word Czech----until the very last day that is, when I finally did encounter a "Czech me out!" t-shirt. In any case, the thought provide me many a good snicker while I was walking through the streets of that beautiful city, so I couldn't resist doing SOMETHING with that ridiculous pun.

I took A LOT of pictures. Get ready to spend a long time thumbing through them. I hope you enjoy them as much I as enjoyed taking them. Prague is wonderful!

Arrival
I got to Prague on a Saturday night, and the pension I had booked a room with was kind enough to send a taxi. I later found out this was very good of them because apparently the taxis in Prague are known for ripping off tourists leaving from the train station. Sounds like Budapest.

I stayed at the Green Garland, in Old Town, and I would highly recommend this pension for anyone who wants a nice, clean, friendly place to stay, whether you are on a budget or not. The woman who manages it is very sweet and will help you in a dozen different ways, providing maps, directions, recommendations---even theater tickets.

Here are some pictures of the pension. It was in a building that was originally a Romanesque structure which had been remodeled. The original ceiling beams were still in place and the original stonework was behind the plastered walls. It was clean and quaint and quite nice.

Entrance to the Green Garland

The Green Garland Pension Prague

Sitting Areas at the Green Garland

Map of Prague in Common Area

Communal Fridge and Free Tea

Heading Upstairs

My Window

I had a view of a narrow little street with pastel colored buildings.

View from My Window 

From My Window Looking Left

Looking Left Again

View from My Window Looking Right

I arrived at night (the pictures above were taken the next morning) and the woman at the Green Garland suggested I eat at a little Czech place down the street. I had supper and came back to the pension for a good night's sleep and started out bright-eyed and bushy-tailed the next morning. The weather was gray but fairly warm for that time of year.

The first thing I did was stroll through the streets of Old Town following the crowds to locate the City Center. The first thing I encountered was this church tower a hop, skip, and jump from my pension.

Church Tower Near the Green Garland

Here is a building I encountered along the way.

Just a Building

The next thing I encountered was the funniest bar. It was called the Starsky and Hutch Bar. Here are some shots.

Starsky and Hutch Bar 

Czech Cuisine Friendly Prices!

Next I came upon a street market. I later learned that in honor of St. Martin's Day, which was November 11, Prague was having a street market in Old Town, and a big Street Fair/Wine Festival in Old Town Square. Here is the street market as I saw it as I was approaching Old Town Square.

St. Martin's Day Market in Prague 

Street Market

Church Approaching Old Town Square

I always notice interesting architectural details, and Prague was full of them. If I had had time I could have walked around the city for days and done nothing but take pictures of doorways and windows.

Old Doorway with Wolf Detail 

After a minute I rounded the corner and I knew I had arrived. Old Town Square.

Clock Tower in Old Town Square Prague

Hop On Hop Off

Old Town Square was packed, and I quickly realized the astronomical clock was about to strike and people were gathered to witness it. I noticed a man rounding up people for the Hop On Hop Off Tour and I asked him when it started and he said if we ran we could catch it. It was only $20 and I decided to do it. I have a really good sense of direction once I get my bearings, and I find sometimes a little tour like that can give you a sense of the overall layout of a city, and then you can retrace your steps pretty easily.

Here are some shots of Old Town Square before I encountered my tour guide.

Here is the church tower which is to the right when facing the clock.

Church of Our Lady Before Tyn

Here is a shot with both the clock tower and one of the church towers.

Clock Tower and Church Tower in Old Town Square Prague

And now for the bus tour. This tour wasn't the greatest. We got some interesting tid-bits, such as Ice T gave a free concert in the soccer stadium once, but we would pass great monuments and the tour guide would say things like, "That church might look old but it was built in the late 1800's, it's just made to look old." But he would never tell us what church it was. It did give me a glimpse of some parts of Prague I probably wouldn't have been able to see, such as one of the affluent neighborhoods. I did get to ride across most of the bridges, and see some great panoramic views going up towards the castle. And I did accomplish my purpose of getting the lay of the land. While I spent the majority of my time in Old Town and around the Castle, I have a real sense of the city and I know where I want to go next time. Next time I plan to branch out.

Here are some panoramic shots of the city I took while on the bus tour. Too bad it was such a gray misty day.

The tour took us next to the soccer stadium which I thought was pretty ugly but I took some pictures of it anyway. It's the largest soccer stadium in Europe. I believe they said it could hold 9 American football fields.

Sparta Praha

Coke Is It

Half-Painted Soccer Stadium

Stadium

Here's another panoramic shot taken from a different angle.

Nice shot of the bus seat, huh?

Then I have a picture of the Dancing House. I actually like this building although it took me a little while to appreciate it. It was commissioned in the early 90's and is a modern glass building among historic buildings so it's striking in that respect even if you don't appreciate it. It overlooks the Vlatva River, and was is referred to as the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers building because it is supposed to look like a couple dancing.

Maybe it was that reference which drew me in, but  like the building. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers moved so well together, and were so graceful. I like the way the curvy building flows into the other one, resembling a long swooshing skirt. It makes me wish I was watching Swing Time.

My Terrible Photograph of the Dancing Building

Now let's see what wikipedia has to offer.

View of Bus Seat from Bus 

The Dancing House at Night

Fred and Ginger

The Dancing House Windows

I like the way the windows seem to ripple and move. This building is all about movement and flow, just like Fred on the dance floor and Ginger's dress.

The First Great Dance Number in Swing Time 

Swing Time Movie Poster