It was a rather easy relaxing day, well if an over 8 hour train ride can be relaxing and in this case it can. I only had to take one train the whole time and left Warsaw at 8:25am arriving close to 5pm in Prague. I took a few pictures from the hotel this morning, one from my room looking over a main street and gas station and two from the windows in the spa area looking out over the roof tops. It's a beautiful city and despite the fact that we had virtually no sunshine in the city my whole visit it's still a marvelous place to visit winter included just be sure to bundle up.
I walked to the train station and enjoyed the quiet of the Sunday morning and took a nice picture looking down the street toward my hotel and with St. Barbara's Church on the left side. I also got one last picture of the amazing old skyscraper with it's unique tower design that stands directly across from the train station.
In the first 3 hours of the trip I was in a train berth with a very sweet 22 year old young lady who was going to a town not too far from Krakow to visit a friend for the day. She lives in a small mountain town further North from Warsaw so this was a very long trip for her to make for just one day but she didn't seem to mind although she admits she doesn't really like Warsaw or the big cities she prefers where she lives with her parents in a small town. She lived in Warsaw for about 6 months going to University but didn't love it so she moved back home and now commutes once a week for classes and is studying public safety. We had a very nice conversation about Poland and life here and of all the natural wonders Poland offers including high mountain ranges that she and her friends hike up. She showed me pictures and I must admit I had no Idea Poland even had a mountain range let alone one that was so impressive. The man she was meeting is 37 years old and she met him on one of her hiking excursions. She said they're just friends but he met her on the train platform and whether she wants to admit it he really likes her you could totally tell from the look on his face when he saw her. So sweet although 15 years is a pretty big age difference.
So the rest of the trip, with the exception of a few random people and a young women with two very sweet medium sized dogs who sat by my feet, the berth was empty and I got to enjoy listening to some of Agatha Christie's short mystery stores as the truly stunning Polish and Czech countrysides whizzed by.
One in Prague I, after figuring out the subway ticket machine took a subway from the train station one stop to the green line which then took me one stop to the Mustek where my hotel was only a 2 minute walk away.
The hotel Melantrich is a three star very simple hotel only about a block and half from the Astrological Clock which for anyone who has ever been to Prague knows it's right in the heart of the old city and a perfect location. I was just amazed when I got such a good rate to be so close although it really is not fancy at all and is actually only occupies two floors of an apartment building so you have to walk up a flight of stairs. It's a little strange but again it's in the heart of it all.
I went out for a nice walk as snow flurry's fell around me. I love this city and it's just as magical and amazing as I remember from my last visits 4 years ago. I took a few pictures of Staromestskie square where the Astrological Tower stands and got a picture of the tower as the clock struck 18:00 and the 12 apostle statues peeked out the two windows at the top and the golden rooster sculpture crowed to begin the statue march and when it ended with 18 loud bell chimes. This happens every hour on the hour. Information about the clock: "he Prague Astronomical Clock, or Prague Orloj (Czech: Pražský orloj [praʃskiː orloj]), is a medieval astronomical clock located in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. The clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still working. Video about ceremony every hour. The Orloj is mounted on the southern wall of Old Town City Hall in the Old Town Square. The clock mechanism itself is composed of three main components: the astronomical dial, representing the position of the Sun and Moon in the sky and displaying various astronomical details; "The Walk of the Apostles", a clockwork hourly show of figures of the Apostles and other moving sculptures—notably a figure of Death (represented by a skeleton) striking the time; and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months. The oldest part of the Orloj, the mechanical clock and astronomical dial, dates back to 1410 when it was made by clockmaker Mikuláš of Kadaň and Jan Šindel, the latter a professor of mathematics and astronomy at Charles University.
Later, presumably around 1490, the calendar dial was added
and clock facade decorated with gothic sculptures. In 1552 it was repaired by
Jan Taborský, clock-master of Orloj, who also wrote a report on the clock where
he mentioned Hanuš as maker of the clock. The Orloj stopped working many times
in the centuries after 1552, and was repaired many times. In the 17th century
moving statues were added, and figures of the Apostles were added after major
repair in 1865-1866. The Orloj suffered heavy damage on May 7 and especially
May 8, 1945, during the Prague Uprising, when Germans directed incendiary fire
from several armored vehicles and an anti-aircraft gun to the south-west side
of the Old Town Square in an effort to silence the provocative broadcasting
initiated by the National Committee on May 5. The hall and nearby buildings
burned along with the wooden sculptures on the Orloj and the calendar dial face
made by Josef Mánes. The machinery was repaired, the wooden Apostles restored
by Vojtěch Sucharda, and the Orloj started working again in 1948, but only
after significant effort. Formerly, it was believed that the Orloj was
constructed in 1490 by clockmaster Jan Růže (also called Hanuš); this is now
known to be a historical mistake. A legend, recounted by Alois Jirásek, has it
that the clockmaker Hanuš was blinded on the order of the Prague Councillors so
that he could not repeat his work; in turn, he broke down the clock, and no one
was able to repair it for the next hundred years. According to local legend the
city will suffer if the clock is neglected and its good operation is placed in
jeopardy."
I walked around some more in the area near my hotel and had a quick snack of a Trdelnik which is a yummy pastry that you can buy from street vendors and there is one across from the Astrological clock. It was actually my mom and friend Melody who first found these pastries 4 years ago when they arrived for the river cruise a we all took from Prague to Budapest a day earlier than me and they pretty much just had one of these Trdelnik's for dinner that first night. "Trdelnik pastries can be found in cities like Prague and
other popular Czech destinations, as well as in Bratislava and other Slovakian
cities. Sometimes they are served with the traditional sugar-and-nut topping;
other times a variety of toppings will be offered. The trdelnik pastry is made
by wrapping dough around a stick (wooden or metal) and roasting it over an open
flame until it is golden brown and fully cooked. Usually, it is possible to
watch part of the process of trdelnik making when you purchase your treat - the
vendors often sell from open stalls along the street or in squares and make
these pastries fresh to meet the demand of passersby. The trdelnik pastry is
originally from Slovakia, but other countries, such as Lithuania and Romania,
have their own versions of a type of pastry baked upon a spit over a fire."
I'm very excited that the Tyn Church, information about this magnificent church below, has a 9:00pm Catholic mass tonight, Sunday. I knew I might miss mass today because I'd be getting in so late but I'm thrilled this particular church which is across the square from the Astrological Clock has a late mass. I've been in the church during one of my previous visits but I never got to go to mass there so this will be very nice and interesting that they have such a late service but I imagine it gives tourists the opportunity to see the city and still enjoy mass.
"Tyn Church, or The Church of Our Lady Before Tyn, dominates
one side of the Old Town Square. The two spires of this powerful looking,
Gothic church (with a Baroque interior) can be observed from all over Prague. Tyn
Church (Týnský Chrám) was founded in 1385, a tumultuous period when the
Hussites were being slaughtered by the ruling Roman Catholics. Indeed, in time
Catholic Jesuits took over the church, recasting the bell and replacing the
Hussites symbolic chalice with a large figure of Mary nailed between the
towers. Although the structure is not the same, legend has it that Tyn Church
gave Walt Disney the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty Castle. True or not, it is
certainly an awe-inspiring sight both during the day, and even more so at night
brightly lit against a dark sky. And take a close look at the two spires on the
church. They are not symmetrical. They represent the masculine and feminine
sides of the world. This is characteristic of Gothic architecture of the
period."
I even came across as I walked a Bar & Books which is a bar/restaurant that is on the corner of 50th and 1st Avenue just behind the apartment in New York. I've passed it a million times in NYC and never went in but here is one that looks just like it just on the first floor and with a few torches outside (NYC would never allow that.) It has on the red and yellow sign above the door the name as well as written below "Prague and New York City." So funny what you'll come across just wandering around.Mass was really nice and I just wish I understood what the priest was saying. He was so personable and engaging and his homely seemed like it would be very inspiring. He also had a phenomenal, he sung the Responsesorial Psalm.
The church is so magnificent in side with ceilings that look as if they may reach Heaven and all the Baroque artwork with a multitude of angels all around and lots of gold work and some magnificent Madonna and Child paintings and sculpture, in particular a large wooden one near the alter where both mother and child have a lovely quiet joy about them. "The Baroque (US /bəˈroʊk/ or UK /bəˈrɒk/) is a period of
artistic style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted
detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture,
painting, architecture, literature, dance and music. The style began around
1600 in Rome, Italy and spread to most of Europe. The popularity and success of
the Baroque style was encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church, which had
decided at the time of the Council of Trent, in response to the Protestant
Reformation, that the arts should communicate religious themes in direct and
emotional involvement. The aristocracy also saw the dramatic style of Baroque
architecture and art as a means of impressing visitors and expressing
triumphant power and control. Baroque palaces are built around an entrance of
courts, grand staircases and reception rooms of sequentially increasing
opulence."
As you can see by this picture although it's a bit blurry, there is a great deal of opulence here.
It was extremely cold in the church though and there was even small ice formations in the holy water font at the front of the church but it was still beautiful with the organ playing from the back balcony.
As I left the main church entrance which is actually through the covered walkway of two other buildings I could see in the distance that the square was now covered in a light blanket of snow and that the snow was still falling softly all around. I took a few pictures as I couldn't resist the Tyn Church with snowflakes in front and I even caught a few Czech flakes on my tongue for good measure.
It was much warmer outside than in the church so I took a 20 minute walk around and got a chicken in pita with salad for dinner and ate it in my room where it was nice and toasty warm.
What a truly incredible day it's been and to be back in this city is a dream, a wonderful, joyous, blessing of a dream!
