Simply put, I fell in love with Prague. It's nobody's fault. I was born this way. We are in love and are getting married.
An exaggeration? Perhaps. But not by much. I spent a weekend in Prague on a whim and picked exactly the right time to be there. Between Christmas decorations, the wonderfully seductive smell of hot wine and cooking smoke, and the overall surrealist vibe, there was little not to love. I spent the better part of the weekend walking through the mazes of the old town. It was almost reminiscent of the fabled labyrinth. Despite my best attempts, I never seemed to follow the same route twice to get places. The streets twist and turn in a maze of Goliathan buildings that ooze age and good taste. Yet, it seemed delightful surprises rather than a malevolent bull-man figure was lurking behind every corner. I'm perhaps too comfortable with just showing pictures. However, I have no choice here. Describing the wonderful and invigorating time I had would be insufficient. I spent a few hours watching Jan Svankmajer films on loop in the modern art museum then went to see the Christmas market officially open. I wandered through the Old Jewish Cemetery and examined buildings of historical significance in both Prague Spring and the Velvet Revolution all in the same weekend. It happened in such a blur that I'm quite happy that I took so many pictures.
Frankly, I distrust memory.
Mein damen und herren, madames et messieurs, ladies and gentlemen...I am pleased to present you with...Prague, a city in pictures (and comments from me).
So this building stood out to me as something to photograph. It reminded me of what a building might look like if Edward Gorey converted to Christianity and started sketching on buildings.
This is the building where the Golem is supposedly hidden. There's no way to get into the attic (where the Golem allegedly is) but previous expeditions into the attic (including a Nazi who supposedly climbed in and never came out) have not yielded any proof that there's really a Golem hidden there. It's a pity. Who couldn't use a big, strong Jewish man lying around the house?
Kafka statue. You'll notice it's sitting on top of a mosaic of the infamous "monstrous vermin."
Death and a Turk on the Astronomical clock. Apparently white Christians could not be associated with sin in the Middle Ages. Go figure.
Giant faceless babies at the modern art museum.
Old Jewish Cemetery. The graves are 12 layers deep and over 150,000 bodies are buried here.
Thanks for the beautiful update, Emcee. ;)
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