Prague Sept 21

Saturday was a travel day. We were on the road by 7 for the four hour drive to Vienna, to drop off the car, and take the train to Prague.

That's where things got interesting. Our train to Prague left at 1:08. A train pulled at 1:00, and we got on; not easy with all our luggage. I found it strange that it left right away, 7 minutes early. We asked on the train and found out that we where on the train to Slovakia, not Prague. The solution was to get off at the first stop, 30 minutes later, take a train back to Vienna, and then take the 3:08 train to Prague. Fortunately there was such a thing.

The other problem was that we had arranged to be picked up at 5:30, when our original train was to arrive. I phoned and changed the time, but it got screwed up and there was no one to meet us. I called again, and someone did come and we finally got to the apartment by 10.

It was a long day.

The apartment is great. Three large bedrooms, living room, nice kitchen, and a bathroom, of course. The other great thing is the location; we are a only half block from Wenceslas Square, which isn't really a square, but a broad avenue.

Sunday was a great day.

We had a lovely breakfast in a garden restaurant in one of the arcades along Wenceslas Square, and then walked around town. Prague was bombed by the Americans at the end of WW2, but most of the historic buildings escaped undamaged. In this part of Prague are a lot of Art Noveau buildings, more than any other city I know of. The style is from the early 1900's, very beautiful, soft colours, decorative. We just wandered, admiring the architecture.

We also visited the Old Town Square, one of the most beautiful anywhere. It is large and surrounded by beautiful buildings.

The main feature is an Astronomical Clock Tower. There are always a couple of hundred spectators waiting to see the show, put on by the clock every hour.

One of the other features of the square is the Church of our Lady before Tyn, with four spires. For a Physics teacher this church is significant because it is the burial site of Tycho Brahe, who made the work of Kepler and Copernicus possible by his measurements of the stars.

The evening provided us with the theatrical highlight of any of the trips I have been on. We went to see the ballet Swan Lake at the Prague Opera House. The building itself is worth a visit, but it was the performance that was outstanding. The costumes were gorgeous, the dancing was outstanding. The ensemble had almost 50 dancers, and the co-ordination was perfect. There were many times when two dozen dancers were on stage, in perfect harmony.

Both Sandy and Sonja agreed that it was the theatrical experience of our lives. It was that spectacular.

An absolutely great day

Photo 1 the Astronomical clock

Photo 2 Church of our Lady before Tyn

Photo 3 one of the many beautiful buildings in Prague

Photo 4 the castle and cathedral across the river

Photo 5 Sonja at the opera