Cap 'n Baldy here!
'Tis a grand thing when my ignorance gets dispelled! I had assumed Europeans contemptuously eschew American-style ball caps. Well ... our current experience tells me a different story ... here's a tidbit to savor before we start our tour day ...
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Our Prague Tour Guide is Karel, a bearded energetic and passionate soul who proceeds to guide us through this historic city of 1.2 million people ... about the same size as San Diego ...
We drive over the River Moldau, which divides the city of Prague and stop at the entrance to Hradcany Castle ... pronounced ROD-CHAH-NEE as Karel informs me ... site of St. Vitus Cathedral and home to the current Czech government ... construction of the castle started in 1000 A.D. ...
We witness the posting of the Castle Guard ...
Modern circumstances necessitate supplementing the ceremonial guard with troops in fatigues with automatic weapons ...
The main entrance to the Castle portrays Blood and Heroism!
A group of musicians plays Czech music outside the castle entrance ... they were good ... the guy on the left plays a soprano saxophone ...
St. Vitus Cathedral is the most important church in the Czech Republic ... it is located totally within the grounds of the Castle ... construction was initiated in 1344 but not completed until 1929!
Tile Mosaic at the St. Vitus Cathedral entrance depicting the Last Judgement ... I try to envision the effect of such a picture on a person who could not read! Most people of those early times could not read!
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We tour around the Castle grounds, looking at old fortifications, and then walk along a narrow, rough cobblestone lane to the Place of the Polished Penis. NOW, my beloveds ... in NO WAY do I wish to unnecessarily gross you out! I must present the FACTS as the facts present themselves! In a small square near the Castle exit stands a bronze statue of a nude teenage boy ... the statue is gray-green from surface oxidation except for The Member ... which shines with a bright copper sheen! Now, The Member can only be in this condition by persons rubbing the damn thing! I ask Karel if this is a good-luck ritual ... a la Lincoln's nose in Springfield, Illinois. He comments about people here revering youth. We let the matter rest and move on ...
across the Moldau toward St. Nicholas Church ... where we shall sing our last full concert!
We walk and we walk since our bus cannot enter the Old Town area where St. Nicholas Church is located ... this is a high-end zone with such shops as Jimmy Choo and Louis Vuitton ...
Our choir is in need of new choir robes ... perhaps Louis Vuitton could be of service!
When we arrive at St. Nicholas Church, we are greeted with advertising for our concert!
Interior Chandelier at St. Nicholas -- here is a wonderful space for our last concert!
Goldilocks and I, and perhaps others in our party, are beginning to suffer from ABC Syndrome (Another Bloody Cathedral) ... this affliction is exacerbated by the fact that that the church has no available W.C. ... Thank the Lord for the Colonel Sanders down the street where we don't have to pay! The concert buoys our flagging spirits ... Goldilocks and I think it is our best! It is interesting for us to learn that St. Nicholas is not a Catholic Church ... it is a Czech Hussite church which draws on the work of Jan Hus, a 15th-century church reformer who pre-dated Martin Luther and John Calvin.
After our concert, we join fellow choir member Pat and Lynn Sheffey and Joyce and Dennis Coffee for a very mellow one-hour cruise on the Moldau ...
Cap 'n Baldy on the river ...
Beautiful city views from the water...
Charles Bridge as seen from the river ...
Our post-concert meal is at Restaurant Plzenska, a short walk from the church ...
As we enter the cavernous place, the noise level must be near 100 decibels ... the place is full of hyper-energetic American teenagers ... we learn that these kids are all members of the National Youth Orchestra of the U.S.A. which is on tour here. Neither of us think the food in this place is all that good. As we eat, a genial old man serenades us on an accordion!
That's the story for today, kids! Stay connected and stay well!
Affectionately,
Baldy aka Bob
Goldilocks and I, and perhaps others in our party, are beginning to suffer from ABC Syndrome (Another Bloody Cathedral) ... this affliction is exacerbated by the fact that that the church has no available W.C. ... Thank the Lord for the Colonel Sanders down the street where we don't have to pay! The concert buoys our flagging spirits ... Goldilocks and I think it is our best! It is interesting for us to learn that St. Nicholas is not a Catholic Church ... it is a Czech Hussite church which draws on the work of Jan Hus, a 15th-century church reformer who pre-dated Martin Luther and John Calvin.
After our concert, we join fellow choir member Pat and Lynn Sheffey and Joyce and Dennis Coffee for a very mellow one-hour cruise on the Moldau ...
Beautiful city views from the water...
Our post-concert meal is at Restaurant Plzenska, a short walk from the church ...
That's the story for today, kids! Stay connected and stay well!
Affectionately,
Baldy aka Bob
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