Praha

The falling dollar has forced me east, first Warsaw, and now Prague, where I arrived yesterday morning. A full day of sun and walking brought me to Hradčany, a massive castle complex sitting on a hill on the west bank of the Vltava river and looking out over the entire city. A gorgeous late-Gothic cathedral stands in the middle of the complex. You can climb the 287 steps to the top of the south tower for breathtaking views of the city. The entire complex is illuminated at night and forms a priceless backdrop for evening strolls on the opposite bank of the river. I give you a picture, but you should just see it:


For me, Prague was immediately comfortable and comforting. Except for the train station. The station is awful, the worst I have yet seen. All future visitors should prostrate themselves in submission to whatever god is responsible for the renovation. I was terrified that the city would in any way resemble the station, which is not the case. Magda's friend Marketa (not quite sure on the spelling) met us at the train station at 7 am and gave us a mini-tour before heading to class. We ended up at the Old Town Square, which is exactly what its name implies. One of the churches in the square has an awesome astronomical clock:


I have no clue what it Signifies, but it does it really well. We stuck around to watch the clock strike eight, because apparently there is an animatronic spectacle on the hour every hour. Little doors open and the Apostles come out. I think they dance, or something. For some reason it didn't happen, leaving me and the rest of the small crowd merely under-caffeinated and not excited as well.

My frustrating utter inability to choose the music I listen to continues. I could have put my computer to good, relevant use last night. We were leaning on the railing on the east bank of the river in front of a statue of Bedřich Smetana, Prague's hometown hero-composer, looking out over the river to the castle. The relevant music was Smetana's piece named after the river (called The Moldau in English). I didn't know the piece was about Prague and the river until yesterday, but I started thinking about it right after we arrived, because the little jingle announcing announcements in the train station is a bit of the theme. Yay small countries.

I need to end this post because the woman behind me in this café is suffocating me with her perfume. I'll hopefully be back online tomorrow morning in Munich.