Cobblestones

Really so glad I didn't bring my Danskos! Literally every street here - and sidewalk - is cobblestones. Big ones, little ones, smooth rounded ones, sharp edged ones. My feet are sore in the evening here as they haven't been anywhere else. Or maybe I'm just reaching the stauration point.

 Menu translation can be fun!

Today we took the hill up to Prague Castle. Bit of a misnomer, since "the castle" includes several buildings, squares, gardens, museums and churches. It is easily worth a day all on it's own, but we did an abbreviated version. We did have lunch up there on the terrace of a restaurant overlooking the city and river below. Pictures didn't really show it, but it was quite lovely.

On our way back down, we stopped in a little shop and bought a print of a watercolor painting that caught our eye. Further on we saw the same one being sold in a little street-side niche. I asked the young man there if he was the artist and he said yes, pointed to the signature and said that is my name. We told him we had just bought his painting up the street. He seemed less thrilled than we thought he'd be. Jerry is skeptical.

Also at the castle was yet another bride! Everywhere we go, people are tying the knot. Yesterday, we saw a couple in a public square, but we figured it was a magazine shoot because they didn't really look too smitten with each other between photos.

We went by the John Lennon Wall, where during the Velvet Revolution, people wrote words of freedom and against the government.Every time it was painted over, they came back and wrote more on it. Today, it is mostly standard grafitti, but it has become a symbol of freedom of expression.

Everywhere you go in Prague, there is public art, mostly outdoor sculptures. And it's not all Baroque. When you least expect it, a scupture pops up, many leaving you not sure what to make of them. I was especially taken with the juxtaposition of the swan boat being peddled by some Japanese tourists and the purple finger in the middle of the river - yes, it's that finger.  Hmmmm...

And to top off the day, we found these musicians in Old Town Square. Contrast these guys with the concert from last night (4 bands, went till midnight, we found out). Prague is full of surprises.