Today we went out of the New Town University District and into Old Town. Old Town is my favorite, this is the place you see in your dreams. Color buildings packed tight together with old signs and flowers in shambled windows, picturesque old couples walking and holding hands, cobblestone streets where you know thousand of people have stood and where history has been made. Incredible, really.
We passed the old Rotunda, there are 3 in Prague and I will have to do some exploring around the city to find the only two-like a little treasure hunt! A Rotunda is a round building that is 1,000 years old
and original, no remodeling here!
We then went into a passageway that houses one of the works of David Cherny who is a Czech sculptor focusing on parody and provocative works of Czech symbols and history. This sculpture is Statue of St. Wenceslas riding a dead horse. The original sculpture of St. Wenceslas in a main attraction in Wenceslas square and is a symbol of Czech patriotism and history. As you can probably figure, most Czech's will not house David Cherny's artwork, however this passageway is owned by the Havel Family as in Czech's former (recently deceased) Vaclav Havel. Apparently, the artwork in the passageway is the responsibility of Havel's sister-in-law and she is a fan of David Cherny.
We went through the Svetozor passage where a famous Ice Cream place taunts traveler's with their yummy zmrzlina (meaning ice cream in Czech, say that 10x fast!) named after popular trains from the nearby train station.
Through the gardens we could see a part of an incredible friary that is not and never will be completed. It was built during the 13th century but by the 1500's they didn't have the money to finish it. The sanctuary is the only portion that is done and now there are building surrounding that would block it's finished chapel. The original plan was meant for it to be the biggest church in Prague. It is still very beautiful and other than its oddly shape that is tall and thin you couldn't tell. The church is open on most days so I am hoping to get an inside glimpse!
We then passed the Municipal Building and walked down a street that Jan said used to be part of the moat into the city, the wall were torn down in order to expand. We walked into where the old fruit market used to be held and past the Charles University Headquarters. Some of the group went ice skating in the little square, what a beautiful way to spend the afternoon!
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| Friary |
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| Gardens |
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| David Cherny Sculpture |
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| David Cherny Sculpture |
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| Growing Old Together |
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| Passage |
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| I love Prague meat shops! |
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| Routunda |
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| Some weird but cool stencil artwork on an old building |
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| Great view of the old Hospital near Charles University |
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