So: as warned, Prague was cut a bit short due to my crippling gastro-intestinal un-adventure. So a few quick notes about the place and then a story-by-pictures.
1) Food. We'd heard from both locals and visitors that Czech food is nothing to write home about. WELL GUESS WHAT?! I'M WRITING HOME ABOUT IT! Despite all the grumbling I was quite excited by good meats of all variety (sausages and other cured stuff, rabbit, duck, beef, venison, boar, etc--not quite Iceland but impressive nonetheless), potato dumplings (and potato pancakes, oi vey), dark bread, sauerkraut or other cabbage-y things. Goulash was also pretty good. Generally it was very hearty and washed down well with beer, and one cannot complain... but I have never been one for subtlety and will typically choose a very finely-prepared burger over a French soup, so there you have it. I liked it. Would have liked it even more if it were winter, and I can see how folks would get somewhat tired of it.
2) Language: by the end of the week (har) my Czech had gotten back up to snuff that I was having "conversations" in all Czech where I was using 20% content and 80% context to figure myself out. This worked both in a little tavern we ate at (where the proprietor didn't speak any English--go me!) and also on the bus to Berlin, where the attendant (that served coffee, gave out newspapers, and other delights--the bus is the new train, everyone!) spoke to me in all Czech even though she spoke perfectly good English, and I thus knew I had tricked her into believing that I knew Czech, which means my Czech was not awful.
Now slowly trying to learn Deutsch while in Germany, which I intend to try to hold on to through some future practice.
Prague is a gorgeous, sight-dense city due to its awesome and well-preserved architecture, so let's not waste any time. And now, a story through pictures:
Below, a statue of something. Not entirely sure what, but it's quite high-gothic, no?
The Charles Bridge, from the south. You'll see some great pictures of this later. We're on the east side of the river here in Old Town, lookout out at the Castle Quarter (that's the castle, beyond the bridge). This was the first permanent bridge ever built in Prague by Charles IV, and indeed was on the Royal Route (for processions) for quite some time.
An opera house, with famous composers of Europe along the top, unlabeled. The story goes that during the Nazi Occupation, they wanted to get rid of the very famous Jewish composer on there (I don't know my composers, so sue me). The guys sent didn't know their composers either, so they triumphantly knocked over the composer with the biggest nose. Unfortunately, this was Wagner (Hitler's favorite), and they were probably brutally executed, or so we hope (seeing as they were Nazis).
A very cool old Synagogue. This is in the "Jewish Quarter," which was--like in the rest of Europe--a place of apartheid for the Jews of Prague. And, as usual, they picked the worst (at the time) part of the city, in part because it flooded all the time.
The neo-Gothic belltower in Old Town Square. You'll see the famous Astronomical Clock later...
Another church from Old Town Square. This moved between being Hussite (pre-Protestant) to Catholic (Hapsburg) to Russian Orthodox. It was in Old Town Square where Hus made his first declaration and general revolution.
There's our man Hus in this true masterpiece of a sculpture. To his right, Czechs rising up. To his left, they lay having been beaten down by the Hapsburgs.
To the right of Powder Gate is the art-nuveau Municipal House, where various changes of government were declared, including the fall of Communism, the Velvet Divorce, etc.
Another awesome opera house. Neo-classical, of course.
Below, the National Museum. Closed for a few years for renovations, but maybe the prettiest city in this very pretty city (the architecture is just awesome, as you're seeing). In the 1968 uprising, a good number of people were killed in front of this. The Commies ordered that the bullet holes be plastered over... the Czechs used off-color plaster to make sure they never forgot.
More Hare Krishna dudes! We saw three times. Running around and dancing is clearly their outreach program.
Here's our guy, Good King Wescenclas (I have no idea how to spell the Anglification of this guy's name).
Same thing, but picturesque.
The famous Hotelu Evropa! Really the defining piece of Art Nouveau.
Looking down at the river bank. The river had lots of great bar/restaurant boats and kids hanging out along the banks eating/drinking. Even better than Paris, the banks also had little stands selling beer! Doing this was planned and canceled due to Erik's illness. Booo.
Heather enjoying absolutely delicious meat-on-a-potato-pancake. How is that not awesome?
Below is a monument (with real bullet holes) to the defense of Prague by the airborne units of the Czech army against the Nazi invasion in 1940.
Looking across the river, towards the Palace, at night. Just awesome.
Monument to Franz Kafka. A direct pull out of one of his short stories. Apparently he wrote in German and was only recently translated into Czech!
A colorful sunset, ahhh.
More sunset.
Prague, looking south from the belltower in Old Town Square.
Looking west. See the castle on the right?
Looking north, at that church-that-changed-hands-many-times.
Finally: Prague had the best street performers I've seen yet, from swordplay to fire-spinning to these dudes with bottles banging out pop tunes like the Friends theme and YMCA. Everyone actually looked like they were enjoying themselves, which is quite different from what we saw in Italy and Hungary. Behind were fake-old-looking stalls that still sold a mean, cheap sausage-on-a-bun. Would recommend if you're in the area and hungry.
Anyway, that's all--off to Berlin for one more crazy month.
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