PRAHA - 2

OK, I will need mouth surgery from having my mouth open for so long. I'm glad that it is winter so no flies can go in it! lol

This is an incredibly beautiful city. It lives up to its reputation! It's the geographical center of Europe. It is totally different from any of the other cities I have visited. It's divided in 2 by ther river Vltava, one side is Hradcany, with the castle, the cathedraland the royal palace and Mala Strana (little quarter)below with a labyringh of twisty, narrow, steep, cobble stone streets where there are many little restaurants, bars, shops, galleries, etc, but very discreet, nothing flashy. The other side is Stare Mesto (old town) and again is like a web of alleys, a map here is really useless, the good thing is that the center part is very easy to find and gorgeous. There is the Astronomical Clock, the Tyn Church and the Charles Bridge (which connects with Hradcany). Close to the Tyn square is Nove Mesto where there is the National Museum and the Weneslas Square, where the Velvet revolution took place in 1989.

everything has happened here, all sorts of wars, revolutions, executions, invasions, oppression, communism, hunger, and all sorts of horrendous things, the history of the country is quite violent and yet, the city is absolutely beautiful. It has an understated elegance, not only in its architecture but also the people, well dressed but unpretentious. Typical Chezc food is not that great but the beer is and it's cheap, a hugh glass 25 crowns (about 1.10 CAN). People don't like to talk about the time of the Communist rule, but there is an excellent museum called the Communist Museum which is ironically placed between a MacDonalds and a Casino, in fact, to get into it you go up a double staircase with red carpet, in a beautiful building with a great frescoed painting celing. At the top of the staircase there is a sign: museum to the right and casino to the left...I bet Stalin is not very happy in his grave.
There are many vaulted ceilings in the buildings around that still have the original designs and paintings from the Renaissance. It's remarkable that the city looks the way it does after so many occupations and wars throughout history including the floods, the last one was in 2002.

The Charles Bridge was built in the 1400's (i think) and it has all these beautiful sculptures, the bridge is packed, not late at night or early in the morning, but a stroll across it could take a good hour if you stop and take in the views, and look at the sculptures. The view of the Castle is breathtaking, is like being inside a fairy tale landscape.

The city has a really great energy, it's like something big is cooking here, like there is much more to come. I have only gone to one museum, walking around is a treat, everyday I find new things. I have taken a couple of guided walks and that has been really great because then you learn things and they point out details that otherwise would be easy to miss. There are hundreds of galleries, I've gone to many of them and I really like the art that is happening here. It is very colourful and energetic and unusual. The jewelry design is fantastic, totally different from the other places I've been, it has its own style, bold and modern with a touch of medieval or tradition. The shoes.....this is the place to buy shoes, wow! better than Paris, much variety and very different. The Bohemia Crystal is really nice, the traditional designs are not my style but there are some great super modern things, again bold and colourful. There are hundreds of little bars and cafes. 10 -12 concerts going on everyday. I went to see the Praha Philarmonic the other night, beautiful theatre. There are about 6 concert halls (that I know of) plus the Opera plus countless churches. The women are very beautiful, the men OK but short.

I have been hanging out with some swiss people at night so that's good to go out to party, though they are at a different hostel in the opposite side of where I'm staying and last night I walked by myself at around 2 and it was spooooky!!! It's supposed to be safe but I didn't like it, the streets are dark and I get lost easy, fortunately I was not the only lost person at that time, so that helped.

I am going to eat something now so I'm going to stop. I'll try to send Marcela some more pictures, but the best thing will be for you to come and see. I have seen sooooo many things here that it's hard to write them all. What I have written so far is my overall impression of this city, fantastic!