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Traveling through Bohemia (the Czech Republic)
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A Prague street:
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Another Prague street:
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I remember taking this picture because it had a plaque to
evidence the fact that someone famous had lived here. I just
can't remember who it was!
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My fellow tourists, Judy and Ron Borcherding, supplied this great shot of
our group in Prague's Old Town Square (that's our faithful tour manager, Monika,
gathering us all together):
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A better look at Monika and her new jester's cap, whose purpose was
to make it easy for us to spot her in a crowd:
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Church of St. Nicholas, also in the Old Town Square, rebuilt in
the 18th century:
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Behind me is the Church of St. Nicholas:
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When these folks talk about the Old Town Hall,
they mean old - as in 1348 for the start of the tower!
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And on the left side of the Old Town Hall is the famous
horologe astronomical clock, of the same age. Each
hour, the 12 apostles appear in the two top windows and bow to
the public below:
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Don't ask me what this "baby" is supposed to represent -
it's a modern sculpture in the Old Town Square (quite a contrast!):
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Looking across the river Vltava (Moldau in English) to
the Little Quarter with Prague Castle on the hill:
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Young people of Prague began decorating this wall with their art,
philosophy and poetry after John Lennon's death:
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It is now proudly protected as the John Lennon Wall (note his
portrait):
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Little Quarter (West) end of the Charles Bridge - the two tall structures
are the towers from the 15th and 16th centuries, that guard the entry to the bridge:
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Old Town (East) tower of the Charles Bridge, built in 1380:
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On the Charles Bridge, looking westward, Prague Castle
on the hill in the background:
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One of the many statues on the bridge. The bridge dates to the 14th
century, but the statues were added in the 17th and 18th.
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Prague is filled with interesting architecture:
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The oldest synagogue still standing in Central Europe, this was
built in the 13th century:
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Church of Our Lady Before Tyn, in the Old Town Square, also 14th century:
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The Matthias Gate to Prague Castle. The castle's origins date back to
the 10th century, but the current buildings are generally from the 14th to
15th centuries, with some having been rebuilt after fires much later:
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The castle sentries are like those at Buckingham Palace -
you can't cause them to disrupt their composure:
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Chapel of the Holy Rood, inside the Prague Castle walls:
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Within the castle walls, overlooking the Little Quarter - the church
of St. Nicholas on the left:
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View of Prague from the Castle ramparts:
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St. Vitus' Cathedral, the saint whose awful torture in boiling oil gave
rise to the expression St. Vitus dance. Within the castle walls, one
of the entrances to the cathedral is called the Golden Gate. I would
accuse them of stealing the name for San Francisco Bay, except that the
Golden Gate here was built in the year 1370!
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The nave of St. Vitus':
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One of the Rose Windows:
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You didn't think I'd get away from St. Vitus' Cathedral without a shot
of the organ, did you?
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The tomb of St. John of Nepomuk, one of Prague's most revered saints:
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OK, so they have two organs in St. Vitus!
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Well, I think this is Vladislav Hall, where state ceremonies are
still held. In any case, it's a wonderful building:
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Chapel in the Prague Castle:
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And of course it has an organ:
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Golden Lane is on the castle grounds, where alchemists and
the like once lived. The white house is where Franz Kafka also lived and
did much of his writing:
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