My friend and I took a ride on a swan paddle-boat around the river Vltava and immediately became the centre of attention for all the curious tourists and other paddle-boats fellows, who started taking pictures of the plastic swan plowing the waters alongside the National Theatre, Charles Bridge and the Prague Castle. :-)

We were enjoying the ride so much! And of course, we couldn't resist taking pictures as well! As the sun was setting down and it was generally very cloudy that day, the swan's head on the dramatic sky created really nice images.

Reminiscent of the story that happened in one little town in Germany last year, where one of the local swans fell in love with its significant other plastic paddle boat and got very depressed and even lifeless over the winter when the boat season was over, we were also observing the interaction of the swans with our plastic one and found this observation to be quite funny actually...

If you're thinking how could also you capture a gigantic swan sticking its noisy beak in the major historical sites of Prague, then rent this one and only paddle-boat at Zofin Island and try it out on the river Vltava yourself! It really is worth it as the atmosphere of this ride is truly unforgettable!

[gallery]

When I spoke about the unique atmosphere of a pure relax that Prague has to offer, I meant not only my "swan experience" from last Sunday but also the Jazz Week festival that is currently going on at the Old Town Square. Where else than Prague - and now honestly - can you sit down right on the cobble stone ground of one of the majorily crowded places in all of this country, drink a wonderful beer from a plastic cup on a public and listen to some high quality jazz by Jiri Stivin Quartet for free in a less than close distance to a bum sitting on his plastic bag from the local supermarket, happily stinking 10 meters around but being obviously passionate about jazz and clapping in the rhythm with the rest of the listeners? :-) I don't know of any such place that offers both locals and visitors as low-keyed atmosphere as Prague!

We all know that the customer service is not necessarily the #1 in Europe, it still has a LONG way to go, but the mindset of people living here is simply: easy! So PLEASE don't try to apply such high requirements that you would expect from the city of your origin and try to take Prague for what it is because it undoubtedly has other (and better) things to offer! What can seem as a lapse on one hand is on the other hand enabling us to live the way we do... So simply try to go with the flow and acclimatize to our way of living and feeling things. You won't regret, I promise! If you are opened enough, you will get into it very quickly.  Just don't take things so deadly serious and take it easy, after all you're in Prague, right? :-)

• Fortunino Francesco Verdi - Nabucco, Va Pensiero
  [audio="http://www.goear.com/files/sst4/f2fa09812342f75cc897d498805617f5.mp3"]
• Fortunino Francesco Verdi - Aida, Marcia Trionfale
  [audio="http://www.goear.com/files/sst4/aed38ba33cb34be8e33d3aeff75730df.mp3"]
• Samuel Osborne Barber - Adagio For Strings
  [audio="http://www.goear.com/files/sst4/9e94c56a86c64989b971ed15fdba9d4d.mp3"]
• Carl Orff - Carmina Burana, O Fortuna
  [audio="http://www.goear.com/files/sst4/52d632beeab02eee0b8193bed5c54b28.mp3"]
• Bedřich Smetana - Má Vlast, Vltava
  [audio="http://www.goear.com/files/sst4/f8c3e022a3b714efcffbefbddfbf9f87.mp3"]
• Clément Philibert Léo Delibes - Lakmé, Duo Des Fleurs
  [audio="http://www.goear.com/files/sst4/b6116460e93e0a76e811d91ca5bb95d7.mp3"]

Anoche subí un post a este Faro. Una especie de postal o crónica viajera de mi estancia en Praga, maravillosa ciudad a la que llegué a mediados de la pasada semana. Hace un rato, cuando intentaba subir un video de Youtube y colocarlo al final del texto, lo borré accidentalmente... Supongo que a muchos de ustedes les habrá pasado, y la rabia que se siente en ese momento es grande. He intentado recuperarlo a través de la memoria caché (leído en un foro para torpes), del propio Wordpress y de Technorati, pero no ha funcionado.

En todo caso, les dejo la foto que acompañaba al post... Les envío un fuerte y cariñoso abrazo a tod@s ustedes!

Luis

PS. Gracias al amigo Rafael por su amable comentario, que ha quedado como prueba patente de la real y corta vida de esas letras nocturnas que ahora deben vagar sin rumbo por ese infinito limbo de la blogosfera.

Bla var vi på en "partybåt" som kryssade upp och ner för floden Vltava (även kallad Moldau). Fullt med mat, dryck och ett band som spelade ABBA covers :-) .

Man har svårt att tänka sig hur högt vattnet i Vltava stod i augusti 2002. 10 m över det normala, helt bissart! I lobbyn på vårt hotell hade man satt upp en skylt för att visa hur högt upp vattnet var där:

/Andreas

Day One: Old Town Square

• Start your day off right with a stop at Bohemia Bagel . There's one right off of Old Town Square. For directions either ask a local or go read my blog dedicated to Bohemia Bagel here.
• After you're fed, spend some time in the square. Get to the Astronomical Clock at some point, just so you can say you've seen it. Don't bother hoping on one of those touristy horse-drawn carriages. See it all the old fashioned way. It's better, trust me.
• Turn around and look at Tyn Church. It looks kind of like Sleeping Beauty's Castle at Disneyland, right?
• If it's around a holiday like Christmas or Easter, there's probably a festival in the square. Pick up some Trdlo at one of the stands. Yum!
• Take a look inside St. Nicholas Church. You have to pay, but it's worth it if you like old churches or architecture or anything like that.
• Wonder the alleys, but DON'T stop at the KFC you'll see right off the square. Resist the temptation to eat American food!!! haha.
• Take a gander at Jan Hus for a few minutes. You know all about him after reading my post on him, I'm sure. ;)
• Once you've taken in all there is to see in Old Town Square, wonder towards Charles Bridge.
• On your way you'll see the Rudolfinum. Pretty nifty, huh? Unless you're a big classical music fan I wouldn't recommend making a stop. You've got lots to see! But if you ARE a classical music fan, there are always concerts going on in Prague. Find tickets and enjoy a night out. :)
• Once you're on the bridge, shop. This stuff is cheap and you won't find it in most other places in Prague. A lot of it is handmade.
• You're probably hungry and there are LOTS of places to eat around here. Find one with a patio if you can (and if the weather permits) and just drink it in.
• If you're in Prague during the summer and you have the time, I highly recommend paddle boating in the Vltava. SO fun.
• Don't try to fit the castle district (on the other end of the bridge) into your schedule today. Save your energy.

Day Two: Prague Castle

• If you have it in you, take a walk to the castle. If not, metro/tram it up there. There's no shame. Public transportation is amazing! :)
• There's not much play-by-play that I can give you for this. Make sure you see the castle compound and DO go into St. Vitus'.
• Climb the tower if it's a clear day. It's a hike, but it's beautiful.
• Walk down the stairs from the castle. More vendors, more shopping!
• Go into the Wallerstein Gardens while you're in the neighborhood. Pretty and so fun!
• Eat more good Czech food!!! :)

Day Three: Miscellaneous

• Wenceslas Square. Get the last of that shopping bug taken care of. This is modern Prague at its finest.
• Vysehrad. Do it. Go there. Drink it in. Bring a blanket and enjoy! (read about it in tomorrow's post)
• While you're up there, take a gander at the cemetery and see if you can find Dvorak.
• Just take it slow today, you're leaving soon and it's your last day to enjoy this wonderful city.
• Fit in the stuff you saw along the way, but didn't get a chance to stop at. Maybe it was a restaurant that got passed by or a museum you think you'd enjoy.
• Choose: National Museum (in Wencelsas Square), Jewish Quarter, Museum of Communism (kind of cool, actually). Do something you think you'd enjoy.
• Wander. If you've got the time, I fully condone getting lost in this city. You'll find your way home and you'll love every minute of your adventure until you do.

If you're not planning a trip to Prague right now, do so soon. And do it before the Euro takes over it 2010! :)

If any of you have seen the movie Amadeus, the picture above should look a little bit familiar to you. Amadeus was filmed mostly in the Czech Republic, which is the home of the director of the film, Milos Foreman. Yes, Milos Foreman IS Czech. Oh, and if you're unsure of who exactly Milos Foreman is... he's the guy who directed movies like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest with Jack Nicholson and that movie about Andy Kaufman with Jim Carrey, Man on the Moon. Anyway, I'm digressing. Although Amadeus and Milos Foreman and all that are very interesting topics, the topic on the agenda for today has to do with the Wallenstein Gardens in Prague.

The Wallenstein Gardens make up the grounds of the Wallenstein Palace which was built for the Wallenstein family back in 1630. The Czechs call this place Valdstejnska zahrada. Today it serves as the seat of the Czech senate. Both the palace and the garden were modeled after the Baroque style. It was built by Albrecht von Wallenstein, a Czech nobleman of the time whose intention was to outshine even Prague Castle by creating the most glorious building in the entire country. The palace has a great location right on the Vltava River near the top of Mala Strana (the "lesser town"). Although Wallenstein's palace was built in Prague, it's architecture is extremely Italian as it was designed by an Italian architect.

The Wallenstein Gardens was one of the first places I got to see in Prague. It was one of the many places my boss took us on our weekend rompings. I think I'd been in Prague for about two weeks when I first saw it. I remember standing in the gardens just marveling at the fact that this was somebody's house once. Someone actually lived in this fabulous buildings and got to walk in these beautiful gardens every day. I didn't recognize the setting as being from Amadeus until much later. I knew that much of the film had been shot in Prague, but it wasn't until about six months after my first venture into the gardens that I happened to watch Amadeus and recognize the location. It's always fun to me to say to people, "Have you seen the movie Amadeus? Do you remember the scene of the concert being played in a garden? I've been there."

I took my parents there when they came to visit and I'd definitely recommend stopping by even if you're only in Prague for a short time. The entrance to the gardens is right outside of the Hradcany metro stop on the red line and if you're on your way up to the castle (which requires hopping onto a tram to take you up the hill because I would definitely NOT recommend doing it on foot) it's a worth-while stop. There are lots of interesting statues to look at (ya, like that one up there) and if you're there in the spring or summer the plants and flowers are gorgeous. An added bonus is that there are actually peacocks waddling around. My friends and I had a good time chasing those around the grounds.

Ask me what never got old about living in Prague and I guarantee my answer will be the same every time. No matter how old you are, the little girl in you can't help shining through when you get to see a castle every day while walking to work. The feeling was surreal the first time and it never dulled. I'd been to Europe before and seen other houses intended for royalty (ehem, there is nothing spectacular OR castle-like about Buckingham Palace), but not until I saw this castle was I sure that the castles from fairy-tales really do exist. It made the magic of Prague even more real.

If we're being technical, the building that people refer to as the castle isn't a castle at all, but a cathedral. It's attached to the castle (if that definition is solely based on the living quarters of the king) though and has an undeniable castley look. St. Vitus' Cathedral is the name of the church adjoined to the castle and it's the most recognizable and visible building in the entire city. Like many castles in Europe, it's built on a hill. This was done both for the purpose of making it easy to see from any part of the city, but also to make it easy to defend from invaders. The palace was first built during the 9th century, but was made into what it looks like now by Charles IV in the 14th century. Like nearly everything else Charles IV built in Prague, the castle & the cathedral were built in the popular Gothic style of architecture.

Although there hasn't been a royal family in Prague for quite a while, the castle is still guarded by the Royal Guard. Much like the famous palace guards in London, these guards aren't allowed to so much as blink. The changing of the guard takes place at designated times at any of the guard towers (like the one pictured above) around the palace. It's definitely something to see. Like I said before, there's no royal family in the Czech Republic anymore, but that doesn't mean that the castle is uninhabited. The new head of the government, the president, lives in the castle. In the courtyard between the palace and the cathedral there is a place where crowds gather to be addressed by the president. This courtyard functions much like an outdoor oval office. The president addresses his country throughout his term from the balcony overlooking the courtyard.

St. Vitus Cathedral is one of the truly remarkable houses of worship in the world. Many famous Czechs are buried in the crypt at St. Vitus such as Charles IV and his four wives as well as many other Bohemian kings. There are many things to see once inside the cathedral. My favorite part was the Rose window on the western part of the church. It's a huge and beautiful stain-glass window which rivals the one in Notre Dame in Paris for its stunning beauty. There are also chapels off in the side halls of the cathedral bearing names such as "Wenceslas Chapel" and so on. The best part of the cathedral that I would encourage all visitors to Prague to see, though, is the view from the tower of St. Vitus. You'll climb most steps than you can count and will probably want to kill me for recommending it before you're half way there, but the view you'll take in from the top is one that can't be beat. I promise that you'll forgive me once you see it. And, eventually, your thighs will too.

Compare for yourself
Monica Zetterlund singing Värmlandsvisan:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX_seHJgTFk

Donald Byrd playing Dear old Stockholm:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDq_bl0JstE

Vltava by Bedrich Smetana: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8G9qHNS68s
Israel's national anthem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biQtrQpyJGo

The TV documentary, Swedish TV2, K-special:
http://svt.se/svt/play/video.jsp?a=1110789
(I sing the original at 34 minutes, it is streaming so you can fast forward there)

About Dear old Stockholm: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dear_Old_Stockholm
Värmlandsvisan lyrics in english: http://www.esther-ofarim.de/ackg.htm

Bedrich Smetana is everywhere in Prague. We most recently flew to the City of a Thousand Spires from London, and as our tiny Czech Airlines airbus touched down, they began to play on the airplane’s sound system Smetana’s “Tales From the Bohemian Woods.” Along with Mozart and Dvorak, the city claims Smetana as a national asset, one who beautifully captured his fatherland in the aptly titled symphonic poem, “Ma Vlast.” Along the Vltava river now sits a museum that’s worth interrupting your riverside stroll. Go a little past the Charles Bridge and cut into the small side street of Novotneho lavka to visit the Bedrich Smetana Museum.

While the waistcoat pocket-sized museum doesn’t have the space or artifacts to compete with the Dvorak House or the Mozart Museum at Bertramka, there is nothing more Czech than listening to “Vltava” while sitting on the Vltava. Point the laser-tipped baton in the main section of the museum’s room towards any of the music stands to sample “Má Vlast,” the “Bartered Bride,” or a handful of other works by the composer. If you’re unsure of what to do, the very helpful staff will show you; a remarkable feat in and of itself given that they only speak Czech. They will just as happily charge you to take photographs of the museum’s interior.

More interestingly, and worth the price of the CZK50 (€1.75; $2.35) admission fee, is the display of Smetana’s ossicles—that is, his ear bones. They’re available for viewing under magnification among the standard mix of journals, letters, scores, and family photos. Personally, I never get tired of seeing the preserved journals, letters, and medical records of historical figures.

Novotného lávka 1
Praha 1 - Staré Mesto
222 220 082
http://www.nm.cz