PRAGUE - 2007

In January 2007, Anna, Nancy, Tony & I went to explore Prague. Prague is a beautiful city, and 5 days was nowhere near enough to see even a fraction of what Prague has to boast. Almost every building is adorned with some form of decoration - signs, murals, carvings, & architectural features are everywhere you look, at all times. There are more than 200 churches, and the old Jewish quarter is home to several synagogues, all are well-preserved and house literally thousands of treasures. Prague is also home to a variety of arts - galleries, potteries, Czech craft shops, and other shops are plentiful. Theatres offer black-light performances, marionette shows and a variety of ballets, opera's & music concerts take place in several magnificent venues. Add to this the city's rich history, which includes communism, invasion, various cultural & religious settlements, all of which has survived world wars relatively well, and you have an outstanding place of interest. We all agreed on a return visit to see some of what we missed this time!

We spent a day taking the funicular railway to the summit of Petrin Park, which offers great views across the city. At the top of the hill is an observatory, a mirror maze & a 1/3 scale replica of the Eiffel Tower...

From there we headed to Hradcany, where Prague castle is situated. The castle encompasses St Vitus' Catherdral, entombed in the cathedral is St John Nepomunk... he died under torture and his body was bound & thrown from the famous Charles Bridge. This is also represented by a plaque depicting the scene on his statue on the bridge - his body is worn bright by people touching him for good luck...

The Old Town Square comprises a number of important buildings, the Town Hall is where people gather on the hour to watch the Astronomical clock. The Church of Our Lady before Tyn is the distinctive building with twin towers, and the golden statue of the Madonna, and the Church of St Nicholas...

Prague is easy to get around using the frequent trams, pictured at night: the Goethe Institute building, Charles Bridge, St Vitus Cathedral...

I first wanted to visit Prague after seeing the INXS videos filmed there in the 80's. We found the Municipal House - an amazing collection of art deco / nouveau designs, which was featured in the video for 'New Sensation' & 'Guns in the Sky'. We ate very well in Prague, prices vary according to the area, but all served excellent food, and some were extremely cheap! Wenceslas Square was rather more commercial than I expected, although it is home to the National Museum & a statue of St Wenceslas (as in Good King Wenceslas!). Also pictured at night is the National theatre, the modern 'Ginger & Fred' building & just one of the many statues dotted around Prague...

A close up of the art-nouveau lights featured in new Sensation. One of the sites we visited in Prague was the Jewish cemetary, and the Jewish Quarter with its cubist style houses...

We took a side -trip out to Kutna Hora to visit the Church of All Saints, also known as the Church of Bones. This involved navigating the Czech rail network, changing trains at a town called Kolin! Outside beautiful Prague, what we saw en route to Kutna Hora seemed remarkably stark - a sure indication of the former communist state. Buildings were very bare, a far contrast to the intricate detail on Prague's' streets. From the train its about a 20 min walk to the church of bones, so named after its unique decor. The church was decorated with the bones of people buried in the extended area surrounding the church, which were moved when there was no more room...

It was great to spend a few days in the company of Anna, Nancy & Tony, we had a fascinating & fun few days and I will look forward to further adventures with these great friends.