Saturday
I woke up Saturday morning all prepared to head out to the Jewish quarter. I was craving some Matzo ball soup, and I was super excited to see if any of the Czech restaurants make it as well as I do. Of course, about 15 minutes on the bus ride there, I remembered that it was, in fact, Saturday and nothing would be open. So, I quickly changed my plans.
I have attached a slideshow of the morning's events. I went to the other side of the Prague Castle to try and glipse this wall of rocks that Amanda and I had seen from afar two weeks ago, but I failed to find it. Instead, I found the main castle gates and the Loreto, this unbelievable church. Unfortunately, I could not take pictures in side the Loreto, but you can see some photos here. Yes, the Czech say Loreta, and we say Loreto - just another one of those things. You can see some of the pictures I took of the outside, but the coolest thing inside was the replica of Mary's house and the alter to Mary. The female symbolism throughout was intriguing.
From the Loreto, I hiked up a massive hill to an observation tower on the top - sort of a mini-Eiffel tower. I took tons of photos and met several Indian men who actually live in Phoenix, a lovely woman from Liverpool who walked around with me so we could take photos of one another, and Chris, from Canada, who entertained me on the very long walk back down the 299 steps of the observation tower.
From there, I traveled a few feet away to the Mirror Maze - created for the World's Fair Exhibition. It was entertaining - especially watching the 4 years olds walk smack into a plate of glass, fall to the floor, and burst out into giggles.
I had a fabulous lunch where I actually ate some red meat - the first time since coming to Prague.
Sunday
Sunday was amazing. Amanda and I met early to go to Kutna Hora, a small village about 75 kilometers from Prague. We managed to traverse the crazy rail system and got to the village in time to follow all the other tourists to the Bone church. Along the way, we discovered a Phillip Morris cigarette museum, housed beside and underneath a gorgeous old church, which supposedly, Phillip Morris paid to renovate. Amanda and I were pretty humored about the whole thing and snapped several pictures of the small museum.
We then trekked to Kostnice - the bone ossuary and cathedral. I have never seen anything like it. Both Amanda and I thought it was one of the coolest places we had ever been. Having toured the catacombs in Rome, I thought I was prepared, but seeing the bones arranged so artistically was overwhelming. The story of the church can be found here. It's pretty great. I really cannot say much about it - it was so striking in person, but I highly recommend you check out the photos. I think the one of Flat Amanda and Flat Sara in front of the bone ossuary is pretty priceless.
Amanda and I bought a few trinkets at a small crystal shop outside the churce and met. . .the Czech Bill Clinton. When trying to describe where we are from, I finally said, "you know, where President Clinton is from." That got him excited since he said that people says he looks like Bill Clinton. He knew how tall President Clinton is, how much he weighs, his birthday, and a whole range of other information because, for so many years, people were stopping him on the street to get his autograph. At one point, about 15 years ago, he was living in San Francisco and was being stopped so frequently that he went into a barber shop and asked them to buzz off all his hair. I decided I needed a picture of him, so Amanda kindly snapped one for me.
After that, Amanda and I toured the village, seeing the Cathedral of St. Barnabus and an amazing chapel carved below the ground in the stone. I also managed to buy two, count them - TWO - pairs of shoes for $12. Prague has been pretty pricey, so this was extremely exciting. I will take a picture of my new green tennis shoes as soon as I get to wear them.
Amanda and I finally got back to Prague after some concern that we were on the wrong train, managed to have a fantastic dinner at an Indian restaurant (sooooo good), and went to the Peach Pit (named after the bar in 90210) for some wine with Amanda's new friend. I made it home super late, with a very bad sunburn, but I couldn't have asked for a better weekend.
Other News
Congrats to my very best friend in the world, Elise, on her wedding on Saturday. I wish I had been there, but my mom says it was awesome. I am so happy for Luke and Elise and wish them all the best in their new life as husband and wife.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
SRH,
Have been on your blog so many times, but finally had the time to view all! Great stuff - keep it coming. I can only imagine the collective depository all of you will have when the summer comes to its close - hope there's some way the best of the best can be fully shared among all the participants.
Like to see a photo of you on a horse!
Mr. Weasley conjures great memories of Mac, Buddy and Tosh - hope you find the nerve to give him a squeeze.
Love,
Dad
The wedding was amazing...wasn't the same without you there. I caught the bouquet and then some chick came out of nowhere and ripped it out of my hands and twisted my arm. I was not a happy camper after that. My arm would not stop shaking. Anyways..she looked beautiful. Mom's camera died quickly and mine was dead and I could not find my charger..so we are depending on the pictures from the photographer.
Post a Comment