Praha

Pounding the pavements of Prague feels like a crime - like wiping your dirty feet on someone’s artwork. The cobblestone pavements are a range of designs and a thing of beauty.  Andy pointed out on one of our walks the pavement designs vary building by building.

So I run, looking down at the ground in amazement thinking about the time, the care, the skills it would take to pave these streets.

And then I remember to look up and I am stunned by the beauty of Prague.

The buildings, churches and statues the variety in design - Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque, Renaissance - the beauty of the buildings is overwhelming. Even the Communist Era buildings are beautiful in their straight lines and hard surfaces. And then we have the whimsy of Ginger and Fred - the Dancing house. Prague is a museum of architecture.

I got lost twice in Prague both times for approximately 1 hour, and the second time it happened I had a MAP! Unfortunately my complete inability to speak Czech - even basic words - reduced my ability to ask for assistance to practically zero. A helpful person on the street offered to assist me - he could see I was confused but to no avail, he couldn’t read the map and I couldn’t explain to him where I wanted to go. Finally I tried a lady in a money exchange, her English was enough to let me know that she couldn’t speak English, but she could read the map and advised me by pointing, to walk in that direction and to ask people along the way ‘River?’ as a way of asking for directions.

There is nothing better than getting lost in a city to help understand how it works, but for the rest of our stay I had no trouble finding my way around.