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

All Saints' Day

Szia,

I thought I should visit the big cemetery in Budapest on All Saint's Day to see what All Saint's Day is like, and also to see what it's like in Hungary. I woke up early that morning and as on the day before, everything was dead. Shortly after lunch I bundled up and got ready for the walk to the cemetery.

I had to walk a mile or so, and I saw almost nobody out on my walk. Maybe two people. No stores were open except a couple of flower shops, which were clearly trying to make some money off people heading to the cemetery.

The Only Thing Open on All Saint's Day

When I reached the cemetery things changed, however. Suddenly there was a flood of people in the street, all flocking toward the cemetery gates. The police were out directing traffic as if a parade was expected. I even saw the all-too-common site of a man just peeing on the sidewalk, not even bothering to walk behind the bushes that were right next to him. You know it's a busy public event in Budapest when people are peeing all over the place irregardless.

I noticed two things when I got inside the cemetery gates. The long line to get into the WC, and the cemetery's own flower shop.

Cemetery Flower Shop on All Saint's Day

I had not been to this cemetery before. I noticed a pretty little chapel inside the gates at the beginning of the winding road that takes you into the grounds.

Devotional Chapel in Budapest Cemetery

You can see the cops there directing traffic, or standing around, as the case may be.

I took the main road into the cemetery grounds, and the first thing I encountered was a large circle of graves dedicated to those who fell during the 1956 uprising. It was very moving and very sobering. I couldn't help but notice how many of the individuals were under twenty years of age, or, if over twenty, not much older.

To see the graves lined up like that repetitively made quite an impression. They all had flowers and candles on them. I noticed some elderly people placing flowers on them and crying. I assume they knew the ones who had died.

I walked around and looked at the names, and the ages. I thought about what it would be like to decide to kick out a foreign power for the good of your country, and to be willing to take up arms and stand up to tanks and Russian soldiers.

I walked on and a little way further down the path encountered a monument to the fallen, which was also heavily decorated.

I continued walking. The cemetery is huge and many small paths veer off from the large thoroughfares. I plan on visiting it again, and it was such a beautiful day, and so crowded, I decided to just wander around and see what I came across. There are some very famous people buried here, but I didn't attempt to seek out any specific tombs that day. I simply wandered around, seeing what I could see and enjoying the beautiful fall weather. The cemetery had beautiful old horse chestnut trees, and the leaves were yellow and falling and smelled crisp and spicy. It was pleasant just to be there. It was as if I was in a big park. Many of the tombstones and monuments are covered in lichen and moss and it was often difficult to read the names or the dates, so I didn't bother to record them, but simply took photographs of what interested me.

Here are some more photos.

This grave looked positively spooky---as if it was left so something could escape from it.

I mean no disrespect, but the figure in this monument looks as if it's doing yoga.

This is the tomb of Blaha Lujza who was a famous actress and singer.

Tomb of Blaha Lujza

These last two pictures are of the interesting architectural details of a random building right outside the cemetery walls. Budapest is full of buildings with features like this.

Interesting Building Outside Cemetery