the city was not bombed during the War (the "War" will refer to WW II in future posts) so consequently it maintains all of its original baroque and gothic-ness. I had been here a number of times but I never realized how different it is from Florence. besides being much larger, 1.2 million to 370,000 population, the architectural styles are totally different: Florence was home to the Renaissance architectural movement in the late 14th to 16th century, and the homeland of Palladianism, a style which inspired Neoclassical architecture. Prague is a mixture of several sytles including Gothic, Romanesque, Baroque, Art Nouveau. unlike most cities in the US, you would never confuse one for the other.
Photo 1: shoes are removed at the door; Photo 2: clothes dryer; Photo 3: kitchen with oven, a luxury in European kitchens and the little bitty frige, standard size because shopping is done daily
King Charles, 1316 - 1378, is a hero and more; you can't go far wrong guessing that something was built in the time of Charles or named for him, a la Charles bridge, Charles University etc etc.
Photo 1 & 2: the National Museum with statue of King Charles; Photo 3: Old town square with the Astronomical Clock on the left
on Saturday Mary (mostly recovered) Grant, Lenka and I took the 40 minute train ride to see Karlstejn Castle. (Karlstejn translates to Charles ... unless you think as my son Brian does that names don't translate; Karlstejn is Karlstejn!) looking up at the castle from the bottom of the hill, the mist and low clouds lent the gothic castle just the right air of mystery and a bit of foreboding. we took the English speaking tour - English being only a euphemism for the language the guide was speaking! her "English" was so poor we could barely understand every 3rd word or so; I can tell you only that the castle was built by Charles (see you can't go wrong guessing "in the time of Charles") and that many, maybe 4, of his wives died very young of one thing and another: TB, childbirth, general malaise. the language barrier notwithstanding, it was a pleasant day in the country.
Cerny has several provocative/evocative works around the city including "babies climbing the TV tower"
more of David Cerny: https://www.google.com/search?
q=david+cerny&hl=en&prmd=imvnso&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=iuxWULSXJ4SSswaE_4CQBg&ved=0CDcQsAQ&biw=1241&bih=551
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