Prague – Czech Republic

The Flixbus from Frankfurt to Prague was fine.  It’s a long ride, 7 hours by bus or train, but most of the time we flew along.  The good news was it cost about €30/$35 which was less than the train from Berlin to Frankfurt.  So the first thing I did in Prague was to figure out how to get to Krakow cheaply.  Or at all it turned ou,t as the options were limited, but I found a train for CZK 338/ €14./£12.35/$16.58.  The funny, in a give a guy a heart attack kind of way, was when the ticket seller said “338 Kronos”, it sounded like pounds! I could fly to the States for £338! She really laughed on that one, probably told her mates about the dumb Yank.

When you’re going to be in city here in Europe start at a Tourist Information shop.  In all countries so far I find them outside the rail/bus/train terminal.. Here I got a transportation map and an all day, train, bus, tram ticket for about $5/day.  Similar to Berlin.  I didn’t bother in Frankfurt as anything I wanted to see was within walking distance. So the first full day in Prague, after making my arrangement to leave, I used my metro pass and did a little wandering.

The first thing that surprised me was this monument to US President Woodrow Wilson.  After seeing a Lincoln monument in Manchester, UK, I was sue there was a story here.  In 1918 The president had supported the Czech and Slovak bid for independence in the aftermath of WWI and in 1928 they unveiled a monument to him in thanks.  The Nazis destroyed it in 1941 but city never forgot and in 2011 unveiled this new monument to Wilson, a friend of the Czech people.

A few  meters away I saw this one which  shows two soldiers kissing each other. It was erected to remember the “liberation” of the country by the Russian Army in 1945. Of course the tallest soldier is the Russian and the smallest and submissive is the Czech.

A view on St Vitas Cathedral, Prague Castle and the Charles bridge. And then turning I saw The Bedřich Smetana Museum (Muzeum Bedřicha Smetany) which is dedicated to the life and works of famous Czech composer Bedřich Smetana (1824–1884). One of the best reasons to visit Praha (Prague in the native language) is the fact that most of it’s buildings were spared the destruction so many other cities suffered in WWII. Prague was one of Hitler’s favorite cities. Hitler intended for Prague to be the arts and culture capital of Nazi Europe and thus ordered it to be kept intact. Thank you Mr H for being so ‘kind’.  There are a few others he did not want damaged.  Salisbury, England, not because he liked it in particular but due to the height of its Cathedral, Luftwaffe pilots could use it as a fixed directional point when bombing other cities.

 

I haven’t determined what the structure on the left is but the right is obviously a replica of the Eiffel Tower

Being the second Saturday before Christmas the crowds were out.  At the various Christmas markets and crossing the Charles Bridge. The bridge’s construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, seen here. It is a massive stone bridge The bridge is 621 metres (2,037 ft) long and nearly 10 metres (33 ft) wide, following the example of the it was built as a bow bridge with 16 arches shielded by ice guards and guard houses on either end.  The 30 statues on the bridge are replicas, the originals now housed in the National museum which was closed for renovation during my visit.

St Ivo

Its. Barbara, Margaret & Elisabeth and Madonna with St Bernard, I think.

Madonna with Sts. Dominic & Thomas Aquinas

Crucifix and Calvary & John of Nepomuk

St. Christopher

 

Oh, I watched The Bridge Band on the bridge for awhile

 

As I travel Europe I go into churches to see the beauty.  The craftsmanship. I try to focus on that, not the over the top opulence, the massive spending on gold, painting, statuary that probably could have been better used to help people. Then I remember the con that the Catholic and later Protestant Churches played.  I’m not talking about Christ or heaven or any of the basic religious tenants of these religions, I’m talking about how people were conned into giving money in exchange for forgiveness.  Let me be clear on this most un-christian of concepts.  No where can anyone show me where Jesus said : “If you give extravagantly  to the church, and make sure everybody knows you did so then you will be forgiven for all your past sins, including the sins that you committed to accumulate your vast wealth, And you will be promised a place by my side in my Father’s House”  That is the con I refer to.

So I try to put this lie out of my head and think about the skill of those who designed and built these masterpieces of art. People who felt that their work, and effort making the churches to show their devotion to God would also get them into heaven even though they had not the wealth to buy their way in. These are the people closer to Jesus’ preaching.

Start with the fact that the engines they had available were arms, legs and backs often hauling on a rope where a pulley, attached to some wooden scaffolding lift the massive stones in place.  I think of the time spent carving even a small statue or painting a ceiling or making a stained glass window!

So I focus on that part of these magnificent, old and brilliant works of collective art and I am filled with awe.  Awesome in a word that is so overused in America that it is applied to a taco.  But this building, this work of art, this dedication to God is truly awesome.