Nora & BW are in Europe!

Prague - Day 8

June 11, 2000

We've seen the sites. They picked us up at ten, for a reputed three hour tour. Time is different here. Drove down Paris Street with its fabulous shops--sorry I missed that on foot and with credit card at the ready. On toward Prague castle. First stop a church. Loreta, with many exquisite chalices, reliqilaries. Amazingly ornate and so filled with gilt I needed my sunglasses. I am comforted by seeing a painting of the reliable St. Sebastian--or Sebastianus here, I believe--with his usual expression of baffled sorrow and body full of arrows.

The castle itself is more palatial than castle like. Silent uniformed guards a la Buckingham palace stand in front of the entrance. This is the official office of the president, though he lives in a villa elsewhere. Grand open courtyard with a big fountain. We were told that during the Communist regime you could be hauled away to prison for touching the water. Today people all but play it in.

We go through the treasury with its lovely old jewelry and antiques.

They change the guards every hour, but at noon daily do it with pomp and ceremony for the tourists. It's brutally hot, and I wonder how those guys can stand out there in the heat with those heavy uniforms, all full of braid, the white gloves, the boots. The band stands in a window and plays and the guards parade around a courtyard. Very militarily. This draws a real crowd for the fifteen minutes or so it goes on.

We walk to a little cafe and get drinks. Then down a narrow road with tiny, Snow White cottages which were once the home of alchemists. Charming crooked road of brick and stone, little houses with low doorways now little shops with handicrafts. I could've wandered there quite a while, but we're on a schedule.

Back up again and a quick stop at the Basilica. Much more simple, more quiet and reverent than the church. Stone walls, faded murals, simple altar. Then onto the huge Romanesque cathedral. You step in and it steals your breath. This is definitely the jewel of this tour. The grand arches and fluted columns are so perfectly aligned that they give the optical illusion of going on forever. It's cool and quiet despite the hordes of tourists. There are deep, bold colors in the stained glass windows, and above them leaded windows where the light streams in pale gold.

There's a huge organ with gleaming pewter pipes, ornate silver work, glossy marble and lovely murals.

Since we're on tour we join the horde going down windy steps to view the tombs of Czech kings. I wonder as I shuffle along with the crowd why people of all cultures seem compelled to look at the places of the royal and holy dead. What I see through the little window when I get up there are some big caskets. I suppose I'm just not drawn to such things. I preferred the walk through, the musty smells, the old stone and little passageways closed off the the public.

We take the long, long walk down to the Charles Bridge. A lovely walk though through yet another section of the city which I'd have enjoyed if there been more time. The bridge itself is quite lovely. Street artists line up there as they do along Jackson Square in New Orleans. There are wonderful views of the river and the heart of Prague beyond it.

But by now it's nearly three, and we need to get back to the hotel to meet the pick up for the box we're shipping home. We say goodbye to Marcella here. Karel will be here in the morning to see us off to the airport. Or perhaps he'll go with us. We are arranged here. LOL.

We have a nice, light lunch at the outdoor cafe at the hotel, and watch the people walk by. Corn on the cob on a stick is a big walk-around treat here.

Young women wear capri pants, black, midriff tops in black or white, and clunky platform shoes or sandals. It's almost a uniform. You hear every language imaginable.

I've had a short nap and our banana box is on its way back home. We'll have dinner here at the hotel and organize for our flight tomorrow.

Can't wait for Ireland. Nothing but free time. No interviews, no schedule. No pantyhose.

Nora