Two days ago I received an e-mail from Lydia, my 15-year-old daughter, saying that the photos I've posted so far of the buildings in Prague look too much like the rest of Europe. To remedy this problem, she suggested I post photos "of people and of cars." I bore this good suggestion in mind as I ventured back to the Charles Bridge yesterday morning with Lanny to buy some things for our kids, but found it hard to follow Lydia's advice in practice--at least the suggestion about people, since they are either tourists and therefore uncharacteristic of Prague, or locals who do not seem to appreciate my intruding upon them with my camera.
In any event, the Charles Bridge was built in the 14th century and is open only to foot traffic. On both sides of the bridge are a number of statues, some very complex and ornate. Many date back to the 17th century. In the photo below, a child who probably isn't a tourist is putting her hand into a lion's mouth in a statue at one end of the bridge.
Though Lanny and I had only come to buy souvenirs, we decided that rather than returning by cab to our hotel, we'd first explore the area on the hill beneath the Prague Castle. This required that we cross the bridge.
The photo below shows more activity on the bridge, which was crowded with tourists and artists selling photos, paintings, and jewelry. Some of the statues can be seen in the photo. In the photo's upper right, the spires of St. Vitus' Cathedral, which stands in the center of the Prague Castle, are visible just to the left of the lamppost.
In a previous post, I wrote about the medieval gate that stands at the west end of the bridge with the McDonald's just beyond. This time after we crossed the bridge and reached the gate, we turned right rather than heading straight, and checked out some of the many churches in the area. We ventured up the hill all the way to the bottom of the castle, then turned around and headed down by way of another street, where we accidentally came upon the U.S. Embassy. It's shown in the photo below. In the second photo, security guards are checking a car entering the embassy (the guard on the right has a mirror on a pole, and is inspecting the underside of the car).
After the car was checked and cleared, the wooden gate opened and the car passed through. Lanny and I caught enough of the view on the other side to see a courtyard that looked magnificent and grand, but the guards wouldn't let us enter, saying the embassy was closed to the public except for one room that "wasn't very interesting."
After we passed the embassy, we continued downhill, where I stopped to take the next photo for Lydia. It shows both the buildings and the cars of Prague. On the left, a police officer in a lime-green vest is writing a parking ticket.
With our souvenir shopping complete, Lanny and I again made the long walk away from the tourist areas to our hotel, which is located in the "outskirts." The hotel is only a few blocks from a major complex in which a number of tram and metro lines come together. The mall I've written about already is located near this intersection; many of the local residents seem to get off a tram, do their shopping, then continue on their journey on another line.
The converging tram lines are shown in the photo below. Although it's hard to see, there are hundreds of people lining both sides of the street in the distant background. Few, if any, are tourists.
It was in this area of the city that Lanny and I had our first serious language problem of the trip, when we ate lunch yesterday in a basement restaurant where the waiters spoke no English and the menu was in Czech. Our waiter gave us some time to try to translate the menu with Lanny's phrasebook, but that turned out to be impossible. We could have done the "we'll have what that guy's having" thing, but no one around us had been served yet. Finally, we just guessed and pointed to a menu item and stuck up two fingers. It turned out to be a thin slice of pork with a plate full of kidney beans. I thought it tasted all right, but Lanny wasn't too fond of the beans, and he had to break down afterwards and sample the Czech McDonald's. According to Lanny, the hamburger and fries tasted 100% correct. I had a cappuccino milkshake, which tasted pretty disgusting, especially compared to all the beer I've been drinking this week. I threw it away. (I don't know that I've mentioned it, but the Czech Republic is famous for its beer. That's why I've been drinking it so much.)
After lunch, Lanny and I split up again to shop just a little more for our kids at the mall. This turned out to be a little difficult, since we weren't in a tourist area and most of the goods seem to have been imported from the same places from which goods are imported in the U.S.--in other words, we seemed to be in a typical American mall, the only difference being the long lines at the ATM machine and in the grocery store. I ended up buying my third-grade daughter Zoe a shirt that says "California." I doubt she's going to appreciate the irony or the fact that I couldn't figure out the correct size and so had to buy her two to make certain that at least one fits.
Later, after we'd finished shopping, Lanny and I continued our investigation into the variety of bars in Prague, though slowing our consumption of Czech beer and spirits in preparation for the trip back today.
I'll end this post with a special treat for Lydia--more photos of the cars in Prague, which I shot yesterday evening a few blocks from our hotel.
Today, on Saturday, Lanny and I will be flying back to the United States. I hope to post a wrap-up on Sunday then return to the weblog's normal fare and format next week.
I love the photo of the pink, blue, yellow and orange houses all in a row. That's exactly what Lydia was looking for.
How was the fresh Pilsner Urquell?
Posted by: Steve | March 11, 2005 at 08:49 PM
Steve: Pilsner Urquell is everywhere; it seemed like almost every bar was marked by a Pilsner Urquell sign. If just asked for "beer" it was Pilsner Urquell that you got.
The Czech "Budweiser" (a different beer than the one made by Anheuser Busch) was alse heavily advertised. I brought some of that back with me.
Posted by: Evan | March 13, 2005 at 08:26 AM