On my way from Bouzov Podolí to Prague I spent an evening and morning in Olomóc, a city located on the Morava river. Despite its long history it has a really nice, young feel to it, and is second only to Prague in its number of historic sites.
The astronomical clock on the side of the Town Hall is a replacement, made in the 1950s for one destroyed by the retreating German army. It replaced the saints of the original with Soviet workers.
Praha (Prague) was the first stop on my month-and-a-half of 'holiday' travelling. Parts of it are interesting and beautiful, but I found it more expensive than I'd expected and overrun with tourists. After the months I'd spent on farms and outdoors projects it was a bit of a sharp adjustment, and I found it odd to walk along Václavské Námestí (Wenceslas Square) and find a Marks & Spencer.
The futuristic Žižkov Television Tower (above left) was built between 1985 and 1992 on a hill in the district of Žižkov, fulfilling with gusto the Communist manifesto for destroying cherished skylines. It was hated by the residents of Prague for many years, but recently has become more of an attraction for its unique aesthetic and technical achievements.
The tower's three concrete pillars support observation decks, a restaurant, cafe and meteorological station, as well as television transmitters. Click on the image above to see the tower in more detail, and the crawling baby sculptures by Czech artist David Černý.
The tower's three concrete pillars support observation decks, a restaurant, cafe and meteorological station, as well as television transmitters. Click on the image above to see the tower in more detail, and the crawling baby sculptures by Czech artist David Černý.
Luckily I met up with a friend from the Natural Building weekend, who showed me around and told me some stories from the city's past. Like the tale of Horymír, who rode his horse Šemík over the edge of Vyšehrad castle to escape the vengeful Duke Kroc. He landed in the River Vltava and survived - his horse did not.
It was good to get a sense of how Praha is wrapped up in it's folklore and history; the headless knight riding the streets at night or stones jutting out of the ground that the devil threw in anger at losing a bet. And this is reflected in the character and atmosphere of the buildings and their sculptures. Some are clear in their sentiment, some bizarre.
It was good to get a sense of how Praha is wrapped up in it's folklore and history; the headless knight riding the streets at night or stones jutting out of the ground that the devil threw in anger at losing a bet. And this is reflected in the character and atmosphere of the buildings and their sculptures. Some are clear in their sentiment, some bizarre.
Pražský Hrad is one of the biggest castle complexes in the world, and it had the longest queues of anywhere I visited. I had a walk around Saint Vitus Cathedral and admired the gargoyles, but it was just too crowded with people.
I went up to the Letenské Sady park on the advice of a friend to get some good views across the old part of town. I found an empty place in the morning rain, with a rather morbid sculpture called Metronom ticking away. It had been erected during the Velvet Revolution, in place of a statue of Stalin that had been blown up. A string of shoes was attached to it...
I also found graffiti around the park, some of it quite good. Click here to see more, and to see some of the modern art on show at the Museum Kampa.
