a tale of two castles_

there hasn't been too much going on around here the past couple of days. i've just been working on some school work and what not, therefore i havent done anything exciting. so in that case, i'll just show you a picture i took about 2 weeks ago. it is a view of the vltava river and prague castle on the hill in the background, taken from vysehrad, prague's second castle. i really enjoyed this castle, prolly more than prague castle, because: 1. it had incredible views in every direction (such as this one), 2.it had thick stone walls which you can walk on top of, 3. it has a lovely cemetary right next to its beautiful gothic cathedral, 4. the rest of the inside of this castle is just green space, so it's pretty much just a huge park, 5. most of the people there were czechs just enjoying a sunny afternoon, taking the dog for a walk or their child for a stroll and so on, so there were few tourists (by few i mean me and a couple other people taking pictures). im no psychic, but i foresee many sunny days spent there sketching, in my future.

it's always better on holiday_

yesterday was easter monday, and here as well in many other european countries, it is a part of the easter weekend celebration. there were no classes, so again, i went to old town square to see the wooden hut shops and what have you. part of the tradition in the czech republic, or so i am told, is that on this day, everyone drinks all day and just enjoys the company of family and friends. the story is that the young men carry switches around and ask young women for schnapps, and if they don't get any, they give the girls a little whip on their bums. sometimes the girls retaliate and throw water at the men, or so the story goes, but i cannot completely verify the validity of this tradition because the story was told to me by some dude from milwaukee. also, the only people using switches were tourists, just trying to have some fun. but i know there is some truth to this tale because a czech girl said things of that nature do happen in smaller towns in the countryside, just not really in prague. later in the afternoon a group of us went to a small cafe to get champagne and honeycake. it was a delicious afternoon treat weighing in at just under 4 dollars (and that's 2, count 'em, 2 glasses of champagne). and the champagne was not only good, it was good enough, but i was definately not complaining. anyways, here is a shot of old town square on easter monday.

make graffiti, not war_

on an overcast easter afternoon, a group of us decided to go hang out in old town square for awhile, which was bustling with tourists. every easter, in old town square and numerous other squares around the city, dozens of little wooden shacks appear with vendors trying to sell their worthless crap to the tourists. needless to say, while i was there i bought some of it, and i can't wait to give it to my family back home. anyways, we made our way over charles bridge and into the mala strana area of town. there, for the first time i saw the john lennon wall. it's actually quite a famous landmark in prague, more than you would think. john lennon's face was first painted on this wall by young czechs soon after his death as a monument to him and his pacifist ideals. accompanying his image was the phrase, "give peace a chance." no matter how many times it was painted over by the secret police, a new image of lennon would always reappear. today, light weight graffiti is encouraged, especially if it carries a message of peace and love.

it's a castle thing, you wouldn't understand_

ok, so today, a few friends and i took the train to karlstejn, a town about 30 km away from prague. its pretty much just a bunch of shops selling the same crap along a winding road up to this castle. but i must say, the castle is impressive. it was built by charles IV and he lived here until he became the holy roman emperor and moved the capital to prague. this was by far the most castle-like castle that i have been to yet. perched on top of a rocky hill overlooking the surrounding areas, helped it defend itself from rival armies. it was attacked twice in it's history, but never taken. the views were incredible from the castle, and we werent even able to get up to the higher towers. it was pretty much just a totally sweet day being a typical tourist, but i was enjoying every second of it.

tunnel vision_

yesterday was a gorgeous day, so i went exploring for this brick tunnel that i had heard about. it was designed by some hip czech architect, so i had to see it for myself. it is located underneath a land bridge that leads to an entrance of prague castle. pretty much, this tunnel is where the moat would flow through, and actually there is a small stream that still flows through it. as you can see, the left side of the ground plane is stone with lighting integrated within it. what you can't really see is that the right side is steel grates so you can see the water right below your feet. i'd have to say it was prolly worth my toils to find it, prolly.

bones, silly_

ok, so how creepy is this photo. yesterday, i went to kutna hora, a town about 1 hr. away from prague. there you can find an old chapel dubbed "the bone church". the story behind this uber strange church is that like in the 1200s, a priest from there went to jerusalem on a pilgrimage of sorts. there, he collected a handful of sand to bring back and bless his church with it. because of this action, the church became very well known in the region. people from all over wanted to be buried there. they had to continually expand the cemetary surrounding the church to accomodate the need for graves, especially around the time of the plague. then much later, the cemetary was sized down and thousands of old graves were dug up. no one knew what to do with the bones, until some person decided to "decorate" the crypt area of the church with these bones. and just like that, you have a tourist attraction that is sure to please and/or horrify. also, it was really cold down in the crypt area, colder than outside......i claim it's because of the bones.

winter wonderland_

view of mala strana area from prague castle. this was taken almost a month ago, but i have some catching up to do. luckily, there is no more snow here.

must be an epidemic_

after staying up quite late to finish an assignment last night, i woke up pretty early to get ready and make it to my 9:00 computer graphics class this morning. last week it was cancelled, and from the note that was left on the door, the professor was sick all week (3/14-3/18. keep in mind, this is on monday). this doesn't surprise me too much, as i have had a couple other classes cancelled as well. i figure it might be a spot of the flu or maybe even a short vacation. but once i get to class this morning, there is the same note posted on the door. the professor is sick from 3/21-3/25. hmm. that bad, eh? i guess whatever it is, illness or holiday, the stakes have increased quite a bit. so now i have time to come back to my dorm and post a new blog. i guess we all win, kinda.

light and shadow_

IMGP0109-edit1, originally uploaded by pikopman.

window from svihov castle outside of prague. although i took this photo about a week into my trip here, it is still one of my favorites.

hello all_

well i have finally decided to set up a blog. i will be posting periodically, so if you care, check back every few days. enjoy!