prague prague prague

3 days of girl talk is a luxury.

On Tuesday, late afternoon, Yvonne & I were having cappuccinos at a cafe on the river's edge, looking at the most gorgeous East bank and water, lit up by the sun. Total contentment.

An hour earlier I went into a baroque church and almost got suffocated by the statuary. Every one of those saints and near-naked biblical characters seems to be clamouring for your attention. There were literally 3 on each pillar, twice life-sized, reaching down to snare you with their meaty marble fingers. Frightening.

Seriously, you walk in and you want to jump back. These cathedrals
are like jungles, with vines hanging from the canopy ready to snatch
you up.

We were going to go to the opera (the Opera!) at the gorgeous State Opera house. Madama Butterfly. But we decided just to enjoy the evening instead.
The Mucha museum was inspiring but disappointing in terms of quantity of materials.
The Jewish quarter was wonderful, and so quiet. Again, we sat out at a cafe and ate Czech food - I had sour potato gnocchi with bits of ham.

I've definitely got Stendhal syndrome from all the architectural splendour. St.Petersburg had the big pieces, Prague has the sheer density and variety.

We finished the visit yesterday at Bila Hora, the site of the 1620 battle that crushed Czech independence and cultural identity for 300 years. They've kept it free from the encroaching suburbs, a small hillock in a farmer's field on the crest of a hill. The site was mournful and powerful: a simple rough stone pyramid within about 8 trees. The Star castle stood on the next field over. You could almost hear the men hacking each other to death. It was a beautiful, chilling moment, with the golden sun lighting the Sepetember fields. You could feel how important this site, this moment was, to the Czech psyche.