August 6

Our plan for today, August 6, was a walking tour of the Charles Bridge and the Prague Castle, scheduled for 1 o clock . Priscilla had read about an arts and crafts fair being held in the courtyard next to the National Theatre so Pam, Priscilla and I decided to check it out before the tour and would meet up with the guys at the Charles Bridge, the meeting spot for the tour.

Since everything was relatively close we walked over to the National Theatre and found the fair. It was a lovely small fair of local artisans selling their wares and numerous food booths in the mix. We had just enough time to take a quick spin through the aisles and planned to return the next day with the guys. We continued our walk over to the Charles Bridge, along the Vltava River, taking in the stunning view of the Prague Castle across the way and watching all the joyful activity on the river.

We met up at the Bridge and found Thereza, our guide, who resembled a Czech version of Mary Poppins, complete with umbrella, polka dot dress and charming personality . She, like Vanca, spoke excellent English and was extremely knowledgeable with a great sense of humor. Throughout our travels we have been so impressed with the young people who lead the Free Walking Tours in the major cities.

We started our tour with a little history of the Charles Bridge, the building of which was ordered by Charles IV, King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor, in 1357. Prior to the construction of the Charles Bridge, the fury of the Vtlava River, combined with the power of heavy rains, had flooded and destroyed all of the bridges connecting the two banks of the Vtlava. Legend has it that Charles IV sought the advice of a royal astrologer to tell him the exact date and time the construction should start in order to build a bridge that would last forever. The information Charles IV received was the numerical palindrome,135797531, and is carved on the Old Town Bridge Tower at the east end of the bridge a well as on a plaque outside the museum next to the bridge This sequence of numbers, which reads the same both backwards and forwards, refers to the exact time and date of the placement of the bridge's foundation stone . It was determined by the royal astrologer to be an auspicious time to start construction. So, as the legend goes, the construction did, indeed, start in 1357 on the 9^th of July at 5:31. Like the bridges before it, Charles Bridge has also been the victim of floods and natural or human calamities but, nevertheless, is still standing…..I guess the legend is true! The bridge was completed in 1402 and is 516 meters long and nearly 10 meters wide. It’s decorated with 30 statues, most of them in the Baroque style, erected around 1700. However, today, most of the statues are replicas due to tourists’ proclivity to chip pieces off the originals to keep as souvenirs. Most of the original statues are kept in the Lapidary at the National Museum.

We crossed the bridge, passing,by musicians and vendors selling their wares, and entered the Lesser Town, stopping at the John Lennon Wall. Prior to the 1980’s this was just a normal wall. Since then, however, it’s been filled with John Lennon-inspired graffiti and pieces of lyrics from Beatles' songs .

In 1988, during the communist regime, Young Czechs would write grievances on the wall which led to a clash between hundreds of students and security police on the Charles Bridge. The movement these students followed was described ironically as "Lennonism" and Czech authorities described these people variously as alcoholics, mentally deranged, sociopathic, and agents of Western capitalism.

The wall continuously undergoes change and the original portrait of Lennon is long lost under layers of new paint. Even when the wall was repainted by the authorities, in two days, it was covered once again. Had we not been on our tour and had had time, we would have followed suit with many of the young people who were sitting on each other’s shoulders to write poems or make paintings, continuing the tradition of the wall. Today, the Lennon Wall represents a symbol of the global ideals of Love and Peace.

After passing the Lennon Wall, we meandered through the streets of the Lesser Town before climbing the 200 stairs to feast our eyes on the Prague Castle and, the jewel in the crown, so to speak, the spectacular St . Vitus Cathedral. The castle, dating from the 9^th century, was a seat of power for kings of Bohemia, holy Roman emperors and, today, is the official residence of the President of the Czech Rebublic. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Prague Castle is the largest castle complex in the world, with an area of almost 70,000 sq. meters, and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It consists of a large-scale composition of palaces and ecclesiastical buldings of various architectural styles, from the remains of Romanesque-style buildings from the 10^th century through Gothic modifications of the 14^th century.

We entered into the 2^nd courtyard and learned about the history of the countless buildings located in the complex. Compared to other historic buildings we had seen, the exterior of the Prague Castle was fairly plain and not very interesting. St Vitus Cathedral, on the other hand, is breathtaking and, apparently, most people think of this Cathedral when the Prague Castle is mentioned . It’s a beautiful example of Gothic architecture with soaring spires and elaborately carved stone walls and is the biggest and most important church in the country. Unfortunately, because of everything else we had planned to do, we didn’t have time go inside either of these historic structures….maybe next time. We passed numerous musicians playing a variety of instruments as we climbed town the stairs from the Castle to the Lesser Town and gazed out at the expansive views of the Old Town across the Vltava River.

After our tour, we had a late lunch back near the Old Town Square, returned to our palace and, later that evening, Rod and Priscilla went to a production of Don Giovanni and Pam and Miles and Bill and I went back to the Square to meet up with the couple from Australia, Dave and Lyn Colson, that hosted us, three years earlier, in Bali. We knew we were all going to be in Prague at the same time and it was great seeing them. I was disappointed that only one of the photos I took…only of Dave…wasn’t blurry. Sorry guys.

So, we retired after yet another full day with plans to return to the arts and crafts fair the next day and go to the Mucha Museum.

Buenas Noches