July 25

Winding down in Prague

The weather is heating up and we are winding down. Our long list of sights to see, whether they were opened or closed, is mostly ticked off and our bellies full of mostly good mostly non-Czech food ( Steve really likes the traditional food, but in cooler weather). We made it to the top of a couple of towers, to the depths of the 10th century and climbed up and down more hills than we knew Prague had. 

We mastered the trams and metros, explored the center and the 'hood. We have a few last chores like laundry and a hair touch up before we say goodbye.

Each day we seem to relax more and sit longer at our morning coffee at Cafe Jen just around the corner while the morning still has that hint of coolness and outdoors is delightful. Dominica, the young friendly owner who recently opened this adorable cafe, knows what we drink and that we don't take sugar so I guess we have almost gone native. 

Half of the nights we eat local where practically the only English we hear is from the waitstaff when speaking to us. I am sure as we venture into the countryside, we will lose that and miss that. 

Yesterday we headed back to Municipal House to catch the tour we missed the day before. We couldn't resist stopping first into the downstairs beer hall to cool off with a pivo and admire the decor again. 

Our tour guide took us through the history and architecture of this building created at the turn of the 20th century as a Czech cultural center, built to offset the large German influence at a time where fully a third of the population of Prague was Germanic. In perhaps an early sign of a later takeover, they built a large German cultural center, I presume to establish their place in the city. The Czechs wanted their own place and so the Municipal House was born and built by two architects, selected by competition, who disliked each other so much, they never spoke directly in the seven ensuing years it took to finish the House.

It has been fascinating to listen to guides share history. In the USA, I think we all feel like the Russians liberated Czechoslovakia from the Germans during WWII.  But in the retellings we have heard, the liberation is glossed over completely and overshadowed by the takeover of Communism.  As the tour guide struggled for words to describe the relationship of Czechs and Russians, I offered 'complicated' to which he nodded a slightly hesitant agreement. The most ironic thing about the Czech-German-Russian relationship is that it seems at least every other tourist here is either German or Russian! 

Since we had been lacking in evening culture, we decided to head to the ballet. It was Swan Lake. It was pretty bad. The theater was, no exaggeration, 85 degrees and the dancers were not on the A Team. How do I know these things are true? 

1) The heat -  the entire audience was fanning themselves and hardly moving or talking as we waited. When the curtain went up, there was a bit of heat relief because there were MISTERS enveloping the stage, I am guessing, to make it bearable for the dancers to dance.

2) The quality of the dance- of the eleven female dancers only ONE was flat-chested, which we all know is a sign of any prima ballerina. Of the eleven, at least five had almost comical bouncing boobs as they leapt and twirled across the stage totally barren of any scenery (in and of itself that is fine if the dancing is spectacular).

3) We left at the first intermission, but you probably guessed that.

 

  *****THIS IS NOT a real photo of that ballet.....But it is representive of what we saw....  :(   *******

Still a good day, because even a mildly interesting day touring a European capital is better than any day at work. And it is secen weeks and we atill have things to talk about over those glasses of wine and beer.