It's funny, I was the first to go to bed at 1 am and there was only one other person in my room. I woke up to find 6 more had stumbled in. They were all asleep when i left for the day at 10am. This seems to be popular with tourists who want to party. Booze is cheap and there are lot of clubs. I was amazed at the 18 year olds (though they looked a lot younger to me but I'm just getting old) guzzling 40's in the common room playing rowdy chess.
But I digress, started out chatting with one of the staff who is from Seattle, Green Lake in fact. She's over here teaching English, a pretty common thing I found. Today is just about wandering around Prague and getting my bearings. First I was struck by the architecture, it's about 90% art nouveau. I didn't realize Prague escaped most of the bombing of World War II. As a result there is a harmony that is hard to find elsewhere. It's also a bit overwhelming as I want to take a photo of everything. I could spend a year just on the doors.
I wandered up to the old town square and was struck by the sheer volume of tourists. I'm here in shoulder season, I would hate to see this place in June. Did a quick tour of the town square and Tyn church. Then headed over to the municipal building which is an art nouveau masterpiece. You can walk around for free or pay for a guided tour. I sprung for the exhibit of decorative objects which was amazing, took a lot of pictures. Parts of the building reminded me of the movie "The Grand Budapest hotel" movie se. Particulary this immense cloakroom that was empty except for lone coat and coat check lady.
Saw another protest, maybe related to May Day which is pretty big in Europe, lots of police but peaceful. Walked up to Charles Bridge with a billion other tourist. Beautiful bridge with statues about every 10 feet. Great views of the river and city. Wandered to Kampa island where I found a museum not in any guide book. The Kampa museum is all contemporary art. There was some intriguing art in the courtyard so I went in. I discovered some new artists:
Jiří Mrázek
Karel Malich, minimalist sculpture that's playful.
Karel Trinkewitz, word play with collage and calligraphy.
Frantisek Kupka
David Czerny, cute penguins and creepy babies
But I digress, started out chatting with one of the staff who is from Seattle, Green Lake in fact. She's over here teaching English, a pretty common thing I found. Today is just about wandering around Prague and getting my bearings. First I was struck by the architecture, it's about 90% art nouveau. I didn't realize Prague escaped most of the bombing of World War II. As a result there is a harmony that is hard to find elsewhere. It's also a bit overwhelming as I want to take a photo of everything. I could spend a year just on the doors.
I wandered up to the old town square and was struck by the sheer volume of tourists. I'm here in shoulder season, I would hate to see this place in June. Did a quick tour of the town square and Tyn church. Then headed over to the municipal building which is an art nouveau masterpiece. You can walk around for free or pay for a guided tour. I sprung for the exhibit of decorative objects which was amazing, took a lot of pictures. Parts of the building reminded me of the movie "The Grand Budapest hotel" movie se. Particulary this immense cloakroom that was empty except for lone coat and coat check lady.
Saw another protest, maybe related to May Day which is pretty big in Europe, lots of police but peaceful. Walked up to Charles Bridge with a billion other tourist. Beautiful bridge with statues about every 10 feet. Great views of the river and city. Wandered to Kampa island where I found a museum not in any guide book. The Kampa museum is all contemporary art. There was some intriguing art in the courtyard so I went in. I discovered some new artists:
Jiří Mrázek
Karel Malich, minimalist sculpture that's playful.
Karel Trinkewitz, word play with collage and calligraphy.
Frantisek Kupka
David Czerny, cute penguins and creepy babies
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