Prague! Part Old World, part Soviet, with some modern weirdness mixed in for good measure. |
It has a restaurant where your food is delivered on a train. |
And beer of course. |
The National Museum was undergoing some renovations. Saint Wenceslas stands guard. |
Bohemian coins from the 13th century |
A great artistic rendering of the defenestration of Prague |
An odd alternate history offered by the museum about the 30 Years War |
Odd the Czech National Museum would imagine an alternate future with Czechia part of Germany. |
A creative way of displaying how Bohemian rebels were executed by the Hapsburgs during the 30 Years War. |
Henry's Tower, from the 15th century |
The Powder Tower and Municipal House |
The Old Town Square |
The Church of Our Lady before Tyn |
I don't know why everyone is obsessed with this clock. |
Tonic water and coffee... no thank you. |
Pickled hermelin (white mould cheese) and beer from U Fleku, a 500 year old brewery. |
The St. Charles Bridge spans the Vltava River. |
Eggs two ways from Cafe Savoy. |
Why? |
St. Nicholas Church, built in the 18th century |
There's a lot of folks fighting demons in the Church. |
St. Nicholas Church is probably the greatest example of Prague Baroque style. |
Back beast! |
Nice pulpit |
Wallenstein's old palace is the current home of the Czech Senate. |
There was some sort of free concert going on when we visited. |
The Dripstone Wall |
I'm not sure why the gardens were Bond villain themed. |
Prague Castle overlooks the city on the west bank of the Vtala. |
Lobkowicz Palace is housed in the first part of the castle complex and houses the family's art collection / museum. |
The family owns some priceless art, including a larger portrait of the Infanta by Velazquez. |
They have a lot of odd knick knacks. |
The Arms Room |
One of the Lobkowicz acquired a Canaletto rendition of the Thames through a dalliance with the Venetian ambassador's wife. |
The birds in the Bird Room have real feathers. |
A dog collar for a massive dog |
Seen here |
You probably shouldn't let your dog smoke. |
A view from the palace |
St. Vitus Cathedral, the most important place of worship in Czechia |
The stained glass windows are on point. |
The tomb of John of Nepomuk |
The tomb of St. Wenceslaus |
Gross |
The window in Prague Castle where the defenestration occurred. |
Chicken liver pate with plumb puree, baked beetroot with curd cheese and walnuts, and Pilsner Urquell at Kuchyn |
The Loreta in Prague is a pilgrimage location built in the 17th century. |
The chapel is surrounded by a cloister. |
The inside of the chapel |
The ceiling of the cloister church |
This crucifix reminded me of ones from South America. |
The Loreta also houses a treasury. |
A spooky tomb was founder under the cloister church. |
An effeminate male saint |
Strahov Monastery was founded in the 12th century and is a repository for some of the oldest books in the Czech language. |
The view from Strahov Monastery |
Equestrian statue, deconstructed |
The door on the National Memorial on Vitkov Hill |
The Zizkov Television Tower has weird baby statues crawling on it. |
A mosaic tribute to Czech soldiers |
Frieze of a Czech soldier |
You can go to the top of the Memorial for a great view of Prague |
I don't get the baby tower. |
Jan Zizka, Czechia's greatest military leader, guards the Memorial |
The Franz Kafka statue |
Prague had a thriving Jewish community that was wiped out by the Holocaust. Many of the synagogues, including the Spanish Synagogue, have been repaired or rebuilt. |
The synagogues can be visited as part of the Jewish Museum in Prague. This nice building is nearby. |
The Old New Synagogue is the oldest synagogue in Europe still in use, built in 1270. |
The Golem supposedly lived in the top of the Synagogue and climbed up this ladder to get there. |
Franz Kafka's head |
The Battle of White Mountain took place just outside Prague. |
The Battle, lost by the Czechs, sealed Czechia's fate to be ruled by the Catholic Hapsburgs until after WWI. |
KFC in Czechia is wild, and pioneering delicious unhealthy food Americans can only dream of. |