5/21 Tuesday
Today's our day for a tour of the
castle, a huge complex that includes St. Vitus Cathedral. The castle is
actually used as the current government offices. We walk through the town
square to the bridge and stop at St. Nicolas Church where a Swedish school
choir is giving a performance. The church is beautifully painted, with
elaborate marble and sculptures and a massive crystal chandelier. The choir is
nice, but it's mostly fun to see these kids, about fifteen or sixteen, talented
and serious and still sort of goofy. The boys have mostly pulled their dress
shirts right out of a duffle bag, one has a spikey mustache stuck on his baby
face, one has his bushy hair parted and pushed down smooth over his head like a
pet rabbit. The girls are wearing their white shirts with tiny stretchy skirts
and high-top keds.
After the concert, we continue
through the plaza, passing the traditional street vendors selling food from
rustic wood cabins. A
popular choice is the Old Prague Ham, mammoth boulders of meat, slow roasted on
a spit over wood fires. There's a scale with a price per 100kg, about a quarter
pound. It looks so good it would bring tears to your eyes. When we ask for a small
portion, the ham-tender says “Is not possible.” They'll only sell a minimum of
300kgs. Another ham-tender
tells his customer “I'll show you, then you decide” He cuts off a big portion,
puts the plate on the scale. The customer says, no it's too much. Instead of
giving him a smaller portion, the ham-tender takes back the plate and puts the
meat back on a skewer on the fire, waving the customer away to go buy himself a
hot dog, ya shmuck. They're tough, these ham-tenders.
Later, unfortunately, after we've
climbed the hill, we find that the Old Castle is closed for renovations until
tomorrow, so we decide to redirect today and return for the full tour tomorrow.
As we walk through the complex, we overhear a tour guide telling his group that
an area that requires a ticket is usually left unattended and free near the end
of the day. We follow along through a gate to a narrow street at the castle
wall lined with small, charming cottages that once were the homes of gold
merchants. Kafka lived at No.22, where he was inspired to write The Castle.
Exploring further, we find a stairway up into the castle wall where a stone
hallway is filled with an exhibit of knight's armor and weapons. Some stone
rooms are arranged to show castle life, with a dark bedroom, a collection of
torture devices and a room full of work tools, including a giant bellows for
the furnace. Most of the tourists are gone, so we wander around our illicit
self-guided tour with just a few other people. Returning back down the castle hill,
we're given another spectacular view of the city glowing with the late
afternoon's golden light.
2 Videos Included
May 21st, Prague Castle
May 21st, Prague, Youth Choir of Sweden
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