The Red Lamb

The Yellow Shoe

The Three Violins

The Blue Fox

The … Raven?

The Elephant

For more photos of Prague’s house signs, see Štefan Šimko’s site.

Malá Strana metro station

Upon leaving Charles Bridge, you’re thrust out into the street where tourists outnumber vehicles by a considerable margin.

Entering Malá Strana from the Charles Bridge

Most of the shops near the bridge sell tourist trinkets and should be skipped, but it’s fun to store- and people-watch nonetheless.

Malá Strana sidewalk

Just north of the bridge, in the courtyard to the Kafka Museum, stands an unusual fountain:

“Piss” by David Černý

It is difficult to conceive of anyone daring to create such a fountain in the states – not only do these figures pee, while swinging their hips to and fro, and their members up and down, but the pool they’re peeing into is shaped like a map of the Czech Republic (upside-down in the photo above)!

I didn’t notice at the time, but according to the artist’s website, the pee’ers spell out quotes from famous Czechs, and a text message can instruct them to write something else.

A typically-long metro escalator

Prague’s excellent Metro connects Malá Strana with Old Town and other points east, and features long escalators, like many of the city’s stations.  When they are out of service (which only happened once on my 2-week visit), you get a fairly good workout, especially if you’re rushing to transfer to another train!

Prague metro

I was impressed with Prague’s Metro system – it quickly and easily connects many points of interest, and above-ground, trams service the rest of Central Prague (buses are confined to the outer reaches of the city).

Prague Castle & St. Vitus Cathedral at night

Being just down the hill from Prague Castle, Malá Strana has great views up to the spires of St. Vitus Cathedral and the long buildings of the castle proper.

The hotel we stayed at – very nice

Our lodgings at Hotel Constans were delightful, located down a narrow cobbled street by the US embassy, and plenty near to the restaurants and shops of Malá Strana, but not too close.

Břetislavova, the narrow, cobbled street our hotel was on

Although bustling during the day, this area of Malá Strana was peaceful and quiet during the night, an ideal place to stay in my book.

Path into Malá Strana from Petrín Hill

Just up the hill from the US embassy is a path & stairs leading to Strahov Monastery and Petrín Hill.

Fill in the bubble

These silhouettes were apparently part of a larger exhibit – I wonder what they were thinking/saying?

US Embassy door detail

The US Embassy itself is a grand palace of a building, with beautiful carvings on its doors, but of course is not open for visiting unless one has business there.

Kafka sign

Apparently Franz Kafka spent some time here.  Since Kafka, although a German, not a Czech, spent so much time in Prague, I attempted to read a compendium of his works.  Sorry Franz, but you’re not for me.

Mmm, vino!

I quite enjoyed our time in Malá Strana, and would wholeheartedly recommend staying there, as opposed to the other districts in Central Prague.  It’s interesting, lively, yet there are plenty of places to get some peace and quiet.

Petrin Tower & Hill

A parallelogram in shape, the funicular soon filled up with schoolchildren and rumbled its way up the hill.

Petrin Funicular

Being on the same cable, the downhill funicular approached, then passed us on a short sweep-out, and we continued up slowly.

Funicular passing tracks

From the station at the top of the hill, a short walk through a little garden brought us to the tower.  Sarah’s no friend to high places, so I went on my own, paying the equivalent of a few dollars to enter the tower.

Petrin Tower

Around and up, around and up it went for quite some time, the views of central Prague opening up all the while.

Central Prague

The views to the northwest (above) were clear, although it was fairly hazy looking toward Old Town (below).

Charles Bridge

Once at the top, I enjoyed the view for a bit, then wound my way back down amid throngs of young ‘uns trying to race each other down the tower.

Prague Castle

Rejoining Sarah we walked along the top of the hill and picked up a path leading down to Malá Strana.

Great Tit / Parus major

Although this seemed like a good place to find urban birds, there were few to be seen other than a few Great Tits (LIFER!).

Hungry Wall

We followed the “Hunger Wall” (1360-1362),  rumored to be a public-works program by Charles IV that provided little or no defensive value to medieval Prague.

Strahov monastery’s tower

We walked past Strahov Monastery (the subject of a future post) and enjoyed more lovely views of Prague Castle and Malá Strana from this lovely green vantage point.

Prague Castle & Malá Strana district

It was un-crowded, and a nice mix of locals and tourists as we strolled downward.

Steps leading down to Malá Strana

We eventually came to the top of a flight of stairs leading down to the residences and embassies of Malá Strana, and soon found our way to our nearby hotel.

Like Kampa Island, Petrin Hill is worth a detour, and provided a welcome break from the more heavily-touristed sights in Malá Strana and Prague Castle.

“Poetry for walking”

Filed under: Art, Photography, Travel, Wordless Wednesday ]]> http://blog.adampaul.com/2010/02/24/prague-part-15-wordless-wednesday-mala-strana-street-art/feed/ 2 Adam R. Paul http://blog.adampaul.com/2010/02/22/announcing-adam-paul-photography-blog/ http://blog.adampaul.com/2010/02/22/announcing-adam-paul-photography-blog/#comments Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:00:48 +0000 Adam R. Paul http://blog.adampaul.com/?p=991 ]]> Hi blog-friends,

Much as I would like to update this blog several times a week, the reality of editing & posting photos and writing up at least semi-coherent narratives has me on a slower schedule than I would like.  Additionally I plan on launching a photography business in sometime in 2010, and so in support of that, I am happy to announce:

Adam Paul Photography blog

This blog will be entirely photography-oriented, with the vast majority of  posts being single photos with little or no commentary.  I may add my thoughts on gear and such as well if I’m inspired to do so.

Best regards,

Adam

Faceless baby

There’s a museum, which was not open when we went by, but we did enjoy the three disturbing faceless baby sculptures in their garden.

Lotsa locks

We were here first because it is a short walk from Malá Strana, and second because the “Lennon Wall” is located here.

Waterwheel

On the western shore of the island is a narrow channel, formerly studded with waterwheels to power various things that needed power.  Now only one (above) remains.

Imagine This Is Not Here

After a bit of searching, we finally found the Lennon Wall.   Lest one mistake this for a simple case of urban graffiti congregation, wikipedia notes that:

Once a normal wall, since the 1980s it has been filled with John Lennon-inspired graffiti and pieces of lyrics from Beatles songs.

[...]

Young Czechs would write grievances on the wall and in a report of the time this led to a clash between hundreds of students and security police on the nearby Charles Bridge. The movement these students followed was described ironically as “Lennonism” and Czech authorities described these people variously as alcoholics, mentally deranged, sociopathic, and agents of Western capitalism.

The wall continuously undergoes change and the original portrait of Lennon is long lost under layers of new paint. Even when the wall was repainted by some authorities, on the second day it was again full of poems and flowers. Today, the wall represents a symbol of youth ideals such as love and peace.

Red thing

“Love Behind”

Lennon

Joplin?

Lennon Wall

I admit to an admiration for many (non-tagging) types of urban graffiti, and we enjoyed walking the length of the wall and taking in the many images of peace, thinking of what it must have been like here when such messages were considered “subversive” and subjected one to arrest.

Across the Vltava

We finished our walk on the shores of the Vltava, refreshed by a light rain, and made our way back to our hotel.   This was a fun diversion from the typical tourist activities, and since it’s so close, I’d recommend it to anyone.

Filed under: Photography, Travel ]]> http://blog.adampaul.com/2010/02/21/prague-part-13-mala-strana-kampa-island/feed/ 1 Adam R. Paul http://blog.adampaul.com/2010/02/05/prague-part-12-wallenstein-palace-valdstejnsky-palac/ http://blog.adampaul.com/2010/02/05/prague-part-12-wallenstein-palace-valdstejnsky-palac/#comments Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:29:54 +0000 Adam R. Paul http://blog.adampaul.com/?p=951 ]]> Behind a fairly nondescript gate near the Mala Strana metro station is the entrance to Wallenstein Palace gardens

Fountain

This former residence, built  1632-1630, and in the Wallenstein family until 1945, now houses the Czech senate.

Common Moorhen

Upon entering from the metro, you first see a pretty pond with birds floating around.  Although I was hopeful of seeing some new-to-me birds here, I saw Mallards & Common Moorhens, both of which we have at home.

Mallard

A little farther down is an unusual wall, constructed to look like stalactites in a cave.  This large wall is visible from above, along Prague Castle, and ends in an aviary housing 4 or so large owls(!).  I was curious about the history of this oddity, but wasn’t able to dig up any information on the web as to its age or construction.

Grotto wall

An albino peacock strutted around the gardens, but despite our hopes that it would fan out its tail, it stubbornly refused.

Albino Peacock

More cooperative was a properly-pigmented peacock, which put on a great show of flaring its feathers, shaking them, and strutting its stuff.  The few nearby peahens looks impressed, as did we humans.

Peacock displaying

Due to the Czech senate’s sitting here, the buildings of Wallenstein Palace are not generally open to the public – too bad, as the wiki page hints at large and lovely murals inside.

Czech senate building

But we will have to make do with a view from the outside.

Although it takes just a few minutes to visit, we found Wallenstein Palace to be a nice respite from the hustle and bustle of Mala Strana.

St Nicholas’ dome and bell tower

Built between 1703 and 1752, the church is a great example of high Baroque decoration, which I personally find to be extremely gaudy, with every nook and cranny filled with a gilt or marble statue.

High Baroque altar

The cathedral is not free to visit, but if you purchase a ticket for a concert here, it includes the admission, a fair deal.

Dome fresco

The ceiling has a lovely, huge fresco, according to this site, it’s one of the largest ceiling frescoes in Europe at 1500 sq. meters.

Mmmmmm smiting….

The statues surprised me with their violence;  Most feature some Jesuit saint or another smiting, jabbing, stabbing, or prodding some hapless person.

Anti-zen interior

It’s a pretty large cathedral, about 120×180 feet, and the main dome is an impressive 210 feet high.

Altar of St. Nicholas

We saw a nice organ and voice recital here, although I was disappointed that they used a side concertina rather than the huge main organ, which Mozart played when he visited Prague.  Nonetheless, the acoustics are very good, and it wound up being the only concert we attended while in Prague.

Gilt and marble, anyone?

The interior is a little overwhelming with all of its decorations!

Door to the bell tower

Another way to experience the cathedral is to walk the 300 steps up its bell tower, which is the same height as its dome.

1980s communication tower

From the tower, an impressive view of central Prague is afforded.  During communist times, it’s rumored that the state police spied on western embassies from here, as it is just a couple of blocks from embassy row.  Here above the streets you get a unique perspective on the hustle and bustle of cars, trams, and pedestrians:

Tram #22, the tourist express

American embassy’s gazebo

Looking toward Charles Bridge

Tower bell

Don’t touch!

St. Nicholas from the end of the Charles Bridge

St. Nicholas, at least either the interior or the tower, if not both, should be on anyone’s itinerary, as it doesn’t take much time, and is an excellent example of its style, even if it is one that does not personally appeal to me.

The Vltava River, from Vyšehrad

Vltava pathway

On the east side, from roughly Vyšehrad to the National Theater, a low thoroughfare follows the river, and it is  a very pleasant stroll.

Fishermen on the Vltava

A nice blend of fishermen, locals, and tourists strolled this path on our visit, and an unused room under the street above had been turned into a temporary art gallery.

Mute Swans / Cygnus olor

Aside from the ubiquitous feral pigeons, many Mute Swans lined the shores, obviously accustomed to being hand-fed.  Although these are the same swans one often sees in city parks in the US, they are native to central and western Europe, but introduced in the US.

Common Pochard / Aythya ferina

I saw what I thought was a Redhead, an uncommon duck in the San Francisco area, but when I looked it up upon returning, it turned out I had seen a Common Pochard (LIFER!).  Although they look quite similar and are unsurprisingly in the same genus, their ranges do not overlap at all.

Climbing out of the shadows

In several places, funny statues were attached to the retaining wall.

Rest

Partway down the riverside roadway were several boats and cafes, serving snacks and beer.  This little walk was a pleasant find, with little hint of the hustle and bustle of cars and trams just 30 feet above it.  Definitely check it out if you’re there!

Old meets new, high-wheeler meets latex.

My first Sunday in Prague coincided with the Prague International Marathon.  I was amused to see one fellow, decked out in latex, riding a high-wheeler cycle down the road, enjoying its closure to traffic.

Prague International Marathon

As seems to be the case nearly everywhere, North Africans dominated the leaders group (above).

Askew windows

Tančící dům – The “Dancing House”

One of the landmark buildings on the Vltava’s edge is Tančící dům, the so-called “Dancing House,” designed by Vlado Milunić and Frank Gehry.  I liked its whimsical architecture, especially amid the myriad Nouveau, Gothic, & Baroque facades that Prague is famous for.

Bird over door

Many buildings here are adorned with pretty mosaics, and bird themes, especially owls, were common.

Socialist mural

One building had a lovely series of murals from the early 20th century, depicting happy workers and homemakers.

“Bubble-wrap” building

Next to the National Theater, however, is an obviously Soviet-era building that looks for all the world like a squat mushroom enrobed in plastic bubble-wrap.

Fountain decorations

A small park near the Theater has a lovely ornate fountain with Wenceslas and his horse (not upside-down this time), and the now-familiar bird motifs.

Jackdaw / Corvus monedula

In that park, I found a couple of cooperative Jackdaws (LIFER!) to photograph.  As I’m fond of Corvids generally, I enjoyed watching these alert birds, with their unusual light-colored eyes.

Prague Castle at night

At nighttime, the river has great views of Prague Castle, and plenty of shops (mostly selling tourist junk) and cafes (U Rudolphino was recommended by a colleague, and proved delightfully non-touristy).

It’s definitely worth spending some extra time lingering along the shores of this river that cuts right through central Prague, and except for right near the Charles Bridge, it is not too crowded with tourists.