Prague Castle

In all three cities, we had great fun discovering the public art on the streets and in the plazas. From the boat, we saw one up on the bluff that took a while to figure out. I finally decided it was a huge metronome, slowing ticking out a rhythm. With a bit of research, I found out that it is, indeed, called Metronome. A Soviet statue had been on that site during the Communist era. When it was removed, the Metronome was erected to occupy the space. Now there are mixed feelings about this sculpture and, according to our guide book, it may not be there too much longer.

We had read that garlic soup was a traditional Czech dish, and we couldn't wait to try that. The first we got resembled what we call French Onion Soup, with some white cheese in the bottom of the bowl, and large toasted croutons floating in the top. We had other variations, too, as well as a creamy version. It was all good!

The next day we went to Prague Castle, a huge complex of buildings. Central is the St. Vitus Cathedral - all sorts of soaring Gothic arches and stained-glass windows. We tried to watch the changing of the guard, but it was very hard to see anything, and certainly did not compare to other "changings of the guards" in pomp and circumstance. We had lunch at one of the cafes in the castle area.

Further touring brought us to an area where some bishops had been "defenestrated". This is one of the odd words that I remember from having taken French. "Fenestre" is the French word for window, and to "defenestrate" someone means to throw him out the window, presumably to his death. I loved getting to explain this to the group. The really funny thing, though, was that the bishops were not killed - they landed in a pile of manure. History can be SO funny!

Today's picture is one of the stained glass windows from the St. Vitus Cathedral.