European Scarf Count: 8
This. City. Is. Beautiful!
I think that I can easily say that Prague is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen. My favorite thing is all the colors. The buildings are all different shades of bright yet understated natural colors like yellows and tans and most of the roofs are an orange or green color. The skyline is also very interesting since there are many decorations on the tops of buildings and churches. It is pretty fantastic.
My day started with a tour of the city by car. While I stayed warm, I have to say that I think I prefer a walking tour or hop-on, hop-off format, but it was informative nonetheless. We saw all five regions of the city and learned lots about Prague’s history. The city was originally 5 separate cities, but was united together (even though you can still see the different areas of the city named on maps). There is also a heavy French influence since the country was seen as a role model for architecture and culinary delights. The city even has a smaller version of the Eiffel Tower on the hillside. We saw basically all the major buildings and sites of the city with a short intermission to take pictures (aka smoking and drinking break for the fabulous Czech woman who was our tour guide) on the hillside near Prague Castle, the largest castle complex in the world.
After the tour ended, I walked around and explored the Old Town area. Prague gets bonus points from me because they have a trumpeter who performs a little song on each of the four sides of the clock tower in the main square every hour. It is like something out of a movie.
I continued my walk as I ventured across the Charles Bridge, a pedestrian bridge and one of several bridges connecting the two sides of the city. There was an amazing “Bridge Band” performing halfway across. I liked them so much I took a video to share. Love it!
I had some trouble navigating the city’s tram system since I had only taken their underground, but eventually made my way to Prague Castle. I thought a couple hours would be enough time to see everything there and I was very wrong. The complex is huge, there is so much history and so many exhibits to see on the grounds. It took over one thousand years for the complex to be completed since additions kept being made to the area because different royalty made different additions to the castle complex. I saw an art gallery, an old merchant street, the main church and learned about the history of the castle.
After all the exhibits closed, I spent plenty of time staring out over the amazing view of the city as the sun began to set.
I took the long route home so that I could head back over the pedestrian bridge and see the city at night. The “Bridge Band” was still playing when I headed back home. Maybe they never get tired of sharing their music with the world? On my way home they were performing “What a Wonderful World” in the style of Louis Armstrong, so I was naturally in love.
As I walked through some of the side streets near the main part of town I couldn’t help but notice the abundance of marionette stores and even saw several marionette performance venues. So I decided that I wanted to go to a show. Who does that? Apparently this girl.
The National Marionette Theater (that exists?) was performing Don Giovanni, so I went to their later performance. I am not sure what I was expecting, but the performance was very entertaining. It really does seem to be an art form to control giant puppets on strings and in fact it was pretty funny as well. The puppeteers (if that is what they are called) not only controlled their marionettes, but also played a role in the show as if they were actors since you could see their hands at all times. This particular production company is known for their version of Don Giovanni which is the most performed marionette show in the world. Now I feel so cultured. Marionette VIP status? I am on my way… J
The National Marionette Theater (that exists?) was performing Don Giovanni, so I went to their later performance. I am not sure what I was expecting, but the performance was very entertaining. It really does seem to be an art form to control giant puppets on strings and in fact it was pretty funny as well. The puppeteers (if that is what they are called) not only controlled their marionettes, but also played a role in the show as if they were actors since you could see their hands at all times. This particular production company is known for their version of Don Giovanni which is the most performed marionette show in the world. Now I feel so cultured. Marionette VIP status? I am on my way… J
