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| Tony and I started off at the Dancing House, a Frank Gehry office building I saw last time in November as well. Back then, I figured we weren't allowed inside the building and that were wasn't anything to see. But this time, before I could stop him, Tony strode across the street, into the lobby, and as I followed, he summoned an elevator all the way up to the top. Boom, free viewing platform! Awesome! Good find, Tony |
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| Prague Castle |
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| The telescope was awesome but not designed for tall people |
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| Next up was the St Cyril and St Methodius Cathedral. In 1942, this church was the scene of the last stand of some Czech and Slovak patriots who had earlier assassinated a Nazi SS official. Nazi troops cornered the Czechs and Slovaks in this church, but the assassins committed suicide to avoid capture by the Nazis. Today, they are still celebrated as national heroes |
The Clementium National Cultural Monument was up next. It was built over a period of 200 years between the 16th and 18th centuries, and today is one of Europe's biggest complexes of Baroque buildings. I took a tour of its highlights, which include the splendid National Library, but no pictures were allowed inside. Sigh.
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| I finally got my chance to take some photos once climbed out onto the balcony of the complex's Astronomical Tower, where astronomers once observed the skies and measured the precise moment at which high noon occurred. When their instruments indicated that high noon had arrived, they would wave a flag from this tower. That, in turn, would trigger a cannon boom on the other side of the river. I guess it was really important for the citizens of Prague to know exactly when noon was |
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| I love how colorful the city is |
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| Back in the streets of the old town |
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| This giant metronome high above the city replaced the world's largest Stalin statue in the 1990s |
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| We had a great view from the metronome's perch |
That did it for our time in Prague! But our mini vacation was not quite over. We made a stop in Dresden, another city I had already visited, to make a stop at the Striezelmarkt, Germany's oldest Christmas market.
But what we first encountered upon our arrival in Dresden was not Christmas cheer, but anti-Islamic protestors. It was a Monday, and every Monday a radical right-wing anti-Islamist group named PEGIDA holds rallies in several cities in Germany. Dresden, a city that leans right, always sees the largest numbers of demonstrators. This particular rally, it was later reported in the news, attracted 14,000 protestors. PEGIDA opposes the influx of Muslim refugees into Germany from war-torn regions like Syria, and has a fairly limited support base that also includes Neo-Nazis. The movement is widely denounced by German citizens and politicians alike as racist and xenophobic, and there are often (sometimes larger) counter-demonstrations held consecutively with PEGIDA's rallies.
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| I nabbed this picture because I knew the significance of the rally we were seeing - PEGIDA makes an appearance German headlines on a near daily basis and has sparked a national debate. I quickly left after nabbing this picture, as I was told the police don't take kindly to passers-by taking photos of them. Anything for the shot, as I say |
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| On to happier subjects - the Christmas market! |
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| A giant Christmas pyramid |
And with that, it was back off to Berlin! I have to thank Tony for inviting me and Tony's host family for allowing Tony and I to tag along on their family vacation. We had a great time exploring Prague and seeing contemporary societal debates play out in real time in Dresden! Oh, and the Christmas market, too.
That was trip 1 of 3 during my winter break. Next up - Munich!