We were going to have a full day in Prague, and after a late breakfast six of us that stayed in the same hotel, went to the town. From left to right, in front of the Wenceslas Square (Vaslavske Namesti in Czech): Anders, Celie, Johan, Robert, and John:
The Wenceslas Square was set in the 14th century, and was called “The Horse Market”, due to regular horse markets held there in the Middle Ages. In the 19th century the name was changed to St. Wenceslas who is the patron saint of Czechia. His statue is better seen here (photo: John Eriksson / Johan Wallstén):
This square has always been one of the main squares of Prague, its cultural and historical centre. The Wenceslas Square has witnessed many celebrations, demonstrations, and other public gatherings. In 1969, a Czech student Jan Palach set himself on fire there, to protest the Warsaw Pact invasion of his country.
Anders, Celie, Johan, Robert, and John went to the Nation museum, and I continued to the Old Town.
There were artists performing on the streets. The older man on the photo below could stay in that position forever:
Look at this crowd:
All those people gathered there to watch the famous medieval Astronomical Clock (Prazsky Orloj). When the clock strikes the hour, the procession of the Twelve Apostles sets in motion. The clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world, and today it is the oldest one still operating. I took this photo of the clock later, when the crowd was over:
The Church of Our Lady before Týn (in Czech Kostel Matky Boží před Týnem), the main church of Prague from the 14th century:
Old and beautifully restored classic cars like on the picture below were driving tourists around:
Street food – real meat; it was barbecued everywhere, with lots of black smoke…
Czechia is world-known for its crystal; stunning chandeliers were everywhere:
Svatopluk Čech Bridge of stone and iron over the Vltava river:
A very peaceful dog watching people passing by from one of the shops:
And in case you wanted to buy a dog matching to your shoes – it was also possible:
Friday the 31st May was a holiday in Czechia; many people in Prague – locals and tourists – were out enjoying the warm weather.
Another artist I admired – he played beautiful music on glasses that were filled up with water at different levels:
For dinner, we had a restaurant booked for the whole group somewhere in the Jewish Quarter. I arrived earlier, and walked a bit around. Near the restaurant, there was a statue of Franz Kafka (one of the major fiction writers of the 20th century, who was born and spent most of his life in Prague). I noticed that feet of the sculpture had different colour – like they were rubbed. I waited, and indeed, people were stopping by and rubbed the statue’s feet!
Later I learned that the book the statue is modelled on – Description of a Struggle – was ordered by Kafka to be burned when he died. Good thing it wasn’t, or we wouldn’t have this statue. Nowadays, the legend has it, if you rub his foot on the statue, it will guarantee that you will return to Prague someday.
Another interesting thing nearby was a bar called “Hangar”. The interior was somewhat aviation-related, and there even was a “Follow me” car parked by its side:
Soon the whole group gathered in the restaurant, and we exchanged stories from the day – who did what, etc.
The restaurant name was V Kolkovně , it had lots of local beers (that I don’t drink), and food suitable to be consumed with a beer.
After finishing the main course, we discussed possible flying destinations for the following day:
Having a drink with Lena Maria:
It was a nice evening together… Sven, Anders, Celie, Robert, John, and Johan waiting for the taxi outside the restaurant:
