Thursday, August 13th -  Prague

I didn't get started too early today either but it seemed like a busy day.  I still hadn't found my alarm clock so that was on my agenda and everything else just kind of worked around that.

I was heading back to the place that had been suggested for the alarm clock and decided to go by tram to the dancing building and then walk from there.   The dancing building was built in 1996 so it's definitely modern architecture.  Vlado Milunic and Frank O. Gehry were the designers and the building was inspired by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers with Fred being the stone tower which is more upright and Ginger being the glass tower that seems to curve into him.  I only looked at it from the outside but inside there is a gallery and a restaurant and probably lots of other businesses.

From there I headed toward the New Town Hall but had a few stops along the way.  I looked in one church that looked nice and seemed to have people coming out of it.  In fact, all you could do was look inside through plexiglass but it was very simple with white walls and arches and ceiling, a carpet on the floor and some chairs leading to the front altar.  The altar was large and looked like carved wood with paintings on it - a lot of gold so it looked very rich.  It turned out to be the Orthodox Cathedral of Saints Cyril and Methodius, and the real story for the church was down below through another entrance to the crypt.  The whole display, with a lot of writing including English, took some time to read through but it was fascinating.

In September 1941, Heydrich was a high official with the Nazis and his job was suppressing any hint of resistance within the Czech nation.  He was named chief of police and declared criminal law and started rounding up and executing any one accused of resistance.  A group of Czech resistance fighters were being trained in England and knew a lot of those who were executed..  The Anthropoid Group was formed and were given the secret mission of returning to their homeland to carry out a mission to disrupt the Nazi control in whatever way posible.  Jan Kubis, Josef Gaabcik and Josef Valcik were three of the leaders in the group and, although they parachuted into the wrong area and had to change plans as they went, they managed to attack Heydrich's car on May 27, 1952.  He died in hospital shortly thereafter from his injuries.  The Nazis went on a rampage trying to find those who carried out the attack and they offered rewards for any information but no one came forward.  They knew the air drop had taken place near two small towns: Lidice and the other Lazacky.  Most inhabitants (over 500) were killed outright but some were sent away to camps.  Only a handful survived but in two separate nights the towns were totally razed and never rebuilt.

So what does all of this have to do with the church you might ask.  Well, one of the leaders of the church knew the men and decided to hide them in the crypt of the church.  They stayed there for two weeks before they were betrayed by one of their own members who got scared and decided he'd be better off if he told the Nazis who the assassins were and also named other people in the resistance movement.  He was right and he did end up living and working for the Nazis.  The others did not fare so well.   There were many arrests, executions and torture and eventually the Nazis found out where the assassins were hiding.  There was a shoot out in the church and in the crypt and all of the resistance fighters were dead in the end, mainly by shooting themselves at the last minute as they knew they were going to be killed anyway.

The church officials were tried, with no defence, and they were all found guilty and executed.  Anyone who had helped the assassins was also rounded up with their families and executed - 257 in one day in one location.  In total, over 5,000 people were executed in retaliation for the attack on Heydrich.  It was after all of this bloodshed that Great Britain and France finally denounced the terms of the Munich Agreement, that they had agreed to and signed, that gave Hitter control of Czechoslovakia in the first place.  That whole decision and all that happened to the people back in 1939 is another whole story that we don't have time for right now, and that I really don't know enough details about at this stage.  

The exhibition was so interesting and you could hardly wait to get to the next frame to read what happened next.  The bishop, when he was told that the church was harbouring the fugitives, said the church would be judged on how it behaved during the period and he was ready to take the risk to stand up for his country.  All of the church community paid for it with their lives but they died for their country.  It was a great exhibit and one that was not listed in any tourist brochure.  It's amazing what you find when you are on a shopping spree.

From there I went to the place where I was supposed to be able to buy my alarm clock but alas, they were still not open or didn't exist at all.  The address was closed up just like yesterday so that search has come to an end.  However, not to leave you in suspense, that night I e-mailed the company that I had bought my alarm clock from and asked for the contact in Moose Jaw.  They got back to me right away and said they had one in their store.  We then e-mailed Randy's sister and asked her if she could pick it up for me and bring it to Spain on the 28th, which is when we meet for a tour of Spain and Portugal.  She said yes, so all is well and by the end of the month I should have an alarm clock that will shake me awake.

So back to the touring, from there I went to the New Town Hall that I had seen the day before.  The tower has over 200 steps to get to the top but I went up it anyway.  Some of the steps were pretty narrow, made of wood and very old.  The railings weren't all that steady but I did make it to the top.  And the views were quite lovely over the whole city, the river and out to the countryside.  The New Town Hall and 70-meter tower were built in the early 15th century under Charles IV.   In 1419 it was the site of the first clash in the Hussite Revolution.  The demonstrators storming the Town Hall did not get what they wanted so they threw some of the officials out the windows where they were killed (if the fall didn't already kill them).  The things religious people do in the name of religion!  In 1609, it was the protestants protesting for religious freedom but I don't think they threw anyone out of the window.  The building later became a criminal court and included the prison and gallows.  It is now a national cultural monument for exhibitions, concerts, lectures and performances.

From there I headed down to the old city square and went to the Tyne Cathedral.  Along the way I passed St. Ignatius Church and stopped in for a look  It was beautiful with high white arches and ceilings and lots of gold trim and painted frescoes and decorations.  The pink marble column fronts and the matching carpet and other colours made it really attractive.  One of the side chapels was really nice too as a cave or grotto with statues in it.  My guess would be Mary and an angel depicting the annunciation, but it could have been something else.

As I wondered along I also came to an interesting piece of art.  I never found a name for it so let's just call it the head.  It was most definitely a head, a very large one, probably 30 feet high and it was shiny stainless steel or something very reflective.   The amazing part was that it was in layers and some of the layers were moving all the time. So the nose shape would change or the eyes or ears.  And I was only looking at it from one angle but as I walked away I discovered there was a face on a different side if you looked form a different angle.  It was very impressive and one could have stood there a long time watching it change form but I had to be on my way because the Tyne Cathedral closed at 5.

But alas, I had one more stop.  I came across the Estate Theatre so I had to stop and talk to the people there.  They were selling tickets to Don Giovani which I had no desire to sit through for 3 hours in a foreign language.  I asked about tours but they sad there were none in the summer, which seemed strange to me because I would think it would be a great time to be doing tours for all the tourists.  Oh well, I didn't have time any way.

I finally made it to the Tyne Cathedral and it was worth it  You can't see much of this building from the outside as it is hidden by the buildings all around it.  All you can see are the two large towers rising above.  The proper name is the Cathedral of Our Lady before Tyn, which doesn't mean a lot to me, but it is a beautiful church on the inside.  Built from the mid 14th to 16th centuries, it is Gothc in style on the outside but the inside is Baroque and quite plain but beautiful.  High white arches and columns and ceiling with tall narrow windows, and heavy ornate decorations all around - many with the familiar gold tones which make the churches look so rich in colour.  It was a quick tour but it was worth it.

From there I gook the tram to the other side of the river and then another tram up to the top castle entrance.  The main entrance is under construction so you have to go in the other way from the top.  Unfortunately, it was just at 5 p.m. and many things close at that point in the day so my sightseeing was limited.  I wandered around the grounds and admired the buildings from the outside but could not go in them.  I might have enjoyed another look at St. Vitus Cathedral but I had been there before so couldn't complain too much - especially since I was late.  I must say that the view of thee whole church from the garden on the way in was really good.  I'd forgotten that you could see that much of the church from the lower garden.  From almost any angle St. Vitus is impressive with all its Gothic trim and ornate decoration.

It was so quiet and peaceful all over the castle grounds that I really can't imagine why anyone goes during the rush of the day when thousands of tourists are there.  Well, I guess one reason would be to get into some of the buildings but other than that, I'll take the evening viewing.  I wandered through past all the main places in the various courtyards and even got to go down the Golden Lane of the 16th century.  Many of the stores and houses were closed but it's still a charming lane.  The houses are so small you wonder how people ever lived in them but they are also very cute.  At the bottom end where you would normally come out, the gates were closed for the Shakespeare play so we had too go back up to the top to get out but that was no great hardship.  Also at the bottom is the tower that was at one point used as a prison so along with the pretty houses on the lane you get to see some torture chambers but at least from a distance.  And of course while leaving the castle compound you get incredible views of the city of Prague from the castle walls.  It was a quick but good visit and a great way to end my time in Prague.

From there I took the metro home, got some peach ice tea and a piece of pizza as I walked the last block and sat in the park across from our hotel to eat it.  It was a lovely way to end the day before heading to the room to do some packing.