Day 8 - Steps

...Lots and LOTS of steps. But that comes later. There's a water filter in our hostel. It makes a "Thuc, Thuc, Thuc" sound if you leave it on too long. I was filling our water bottles this morning, and heard "Thuck, Thuck" , so I turned off the filter, but the noise got louder...and louder...and LOUDER. "Oh sh*!, I've broken the water filter", I think to myself, but no, it was an effin' helicopter right on top of our hostel. Anyone who had been asleep wasn't anymore! Still haven't figured out exactly what the helicopter was doing, exactly, other than giving one helluva wake up call...

One of the metros near our Hostel is called the Museum stop. There are, however, no museums listed on the map near that stop. Perplexed, we decided to hop off and see what was what. Turns out the Natural History Museum is there, as well as this monument of two young men who immolated themselves to protest the Soviet invasion. In case the pic isn't entirely clear, it is a charred cross curving over two mounds in the sidewalk.

Street food...Prague's cheap thrills - Hotdog and a Grilled Cheese Sandwich, translates to kielbasa with bread and mozarella stick in a bun...yummy!

In keeping with the theme of death and destruction, went to the Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments. This chair could have a future on Trading Spaces, no?

It was starting to rain, so rather than exploring the Jewish quarter as planned, we decided to make our way across the Charles Bridge to the castle district. On Charles Bridge, there is a monument to a saint - which saint? couldn't tell you, Prague has a plethora, but this particular one grants wishes and/or good luck if you touch his image. Personally I think it's a ploy by the city to keep him polished, but hey couldn't hurt!

From there, the steps. The many, MANY steps up to the castle. We could have taken a tram, but why ride when you can climb? Once int he castle complex, we spent most of our time at St Vitus Cathedral. An homage to one of our professors, we have kindly included a scale figure indicating the height of an average person. The cathedral was as tall, lovely an full of stained glass as such cathedrals are wont to be. It was begun in 1329, and not fully completed until 1929! Extra Bonus, the south tower is open to visitors willing to climb the, you guessed it, STEPS. Lots of them. The sign said 287, but I think that was a big lie. To buy climbing to count for myself though. At the top, we were rewarded with panoramic views, a top-down look at the bells and other spires, and an almost working astronomical clock from 1537. Almost working in that the hands still moved clockwise, they just didn't quite keep accurate time...

Back on ground level, we took shelter from the rain in a doorway. I wasn't until we took this photo that we realised that the rain might be the least of our worries. (Look at the arch over Cz's head...notice the shield?)

Our evening's entertainment was a marionette version of Don Giovanni. It was AWESOME! Cut down to about 2 hours with a puppet Mozart conductor to vamp during the scene changes, it was funny and poignant, and totally proves that a full-length puppet show is viable. The puppeteers wore little sleeves that fit in with the costumes, and their hands were totally visible. Watching them work only added to the enjoyment of the piece. The marionettes themselves were half-human scale. When the statue of the Commendatore comes to life to carry Giovanni to hell, it is a real person in a sack-like costume with a giant mask.After accepting that 3 feet is person size, this newcomer looked HUGE! Giovanni's protests before going into hell were made clear and poignant by a tug of war between the statue and Giovanni's regular puppeteer.









From there, to here, the internet cafe. Blogging away.