Fairy Tales and History Come to Life

Monday, September 8, 2008

Once I learned to read, I was voracious! I read everything I could get my hands on. Some of my favorites of the many books I read were collections of fairy tales. As I grew up, I enjoyed studying history and learning about the way people lived “long ago and far away”. This past week, in Prague, I felt like I was walking through some great combination of fairy tales and history. There’s nothing quite like walking down narrow cobbled streets and finding they are just like you imagined! It is absolutely awesome (the real meaning of the word, not the “teen” meaning) to walk through an arched opening in a wall and see a gothic cathedral that fits every image brought to mind by the word “cathedral”.

It was almost surprising to see cars and trucks parked on the streets in the old part of town. I kept expecting to come around a corner and see a fine lady in her carriage or a knight on his steed. I did see some horse-drawn carriages but they were filled with tourists. I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it but I can’t wait for the opportunity to go back to Prague! Two days is not enough time to see the city but we gave it our best and walked miles with our heads swiveling constantly! We saw some of the “must see” things in Prague and hope to go back and see more.
We were able to visit the Charles Bridge on Friday, on our own. It was busy but not overly crowded. We climbed to the top of the eastern tower of the bridge and enjoyed the views of Prague, the river, the bridge, and Prague Castle. We walked over the bridge to the western side and then walked back. My big regret there is that we didn’t buy any of the photographs for sale on the bridge. Hopefully, some of ours will be worthy of the bridge! We returned to the bridge on Saturday on a tour—along with THOUSANDS of other people! I was glad we had seen it the day before. If we go back, I would love to walk the bridge early in the morning or late in the evening. Also, on Friday, we saw the Astronomical Clock. We waited, with lots of other tourists, for the clock to strike the hour. At that time, the twelve apostles appeared one at a time, briefly, at two windows (six in each one) and then a golden cock “crowed”. I had to put the word crowed in quotes because it is very generous to use the word for the sound that issues from the cock! The whole performance lasts about 45 seconds and then the clock is just a clock for the next hour. When we visited the clock on Saturday, it was part of our tour and were there closer to the half hour than the hour. We didn’t have time to wait but the guide made a point of encouraging everyone to return.

On Saturday, we went on a guided tour of Prague. The guide was very personable and knowledgeable. We chatted with her briefly and discovered that she is working on her PhD. She is well-versed in history beyond just “guidebook” history. Our tour took us through some of the areas we had visited the day before but it was much better hearing the history as we walked. After our visit to the Charles Bridge, we took a tram up to Prague Castle. I had seen it from the bridge and other points around the city because the Castle is on a hill and dominates the skyline. Having had glimpses of it from a distance for a couple of days did not prepare me for being in the Castle complex. Your first impression is the overwhelming size! It is said to be the largest castle in Europe. I believe it! As we were walking up to the first gate, we passed over a bridge. It seemed to be over a ravine and the guide explained that it was the remnant of the moat. Suddenly, the moat as a defense for a castle, made a lot more sense. The area was very deep and very wide at the top. An invader would have had a difficult time bridging that space! Then we walked through an archway that presented us with a side view of St. Vitus Cathedral. All I could say was, “Oh…my…goodness!” As I said earlier, it was the embodiment of what I thought a gothic cathedral would be. I saw the towers, the buttresses, the gargoyles and the stained-glass windows. I was in awe. We were able to go inside the cathedral—which still has services—and the inside was just as beautiful as the outside.

After seeing the cathedral, looking at the central courtyard and seeing the guards in their blue and white striped guardhouses, our tour was over. Easel and I took a leisurely walk back to our hotel and collapsed. The next morning, we left for the airport. We hope to return and spend more time in Prague because there is so much more to see and we never made it to Petrin Hill!