Prague

Prague. For starters I'm just going to say it's amazing. 

 Prague Castle 

It was the perfect time to see the city. The fall colors were all around, but the weather still held so it was wonderful. Fog came in from somewhere and added to the mystere and enchantment of it all. With the castle, the fog, the autumnal colors, and Halloween just around the corner, it was a perfectly enchanting weekend.

 In the Gardens, the ground was carpeted with fallen leaves. There was a lot of ivy as well, so you had the dark cool green and the warm yellows and browns.

Down in the gully between the Gardens and the Castle. I could see the battlements and it seemed as though I had been transported back to the 15th century. I felt like I had popped in on the set of "Ever After" and was kind of hoping my prince charming would walk down the path with Da Vinci in his boat shoes. Alas, he forgot to make an appearance, but the city made up for any romantic disappointment.

 The Old Town Square

 The Municipal Building

Mucha designed a fair bit of this, including the stain glass, the mural, the light fixtures inside the restaurant, and a bunch of other stuff. This was all during the Art Deco era, where Prague had a revitalization.

 Here you can better see the stain glass, which I adore and somehow want to transfer into my future mansion.

 Some funny window display for a restaurant/club in honor of halloween. I appreciate the sentiment.

 Prague is apparently known for its crystal. You can buy it anywhere and everywhere. Here was a lovely art decor place that specialized in crystal chandeliers and vases. The things were amazing in beauty, artistry, and so ridiculously expensive you didn't dare breathe.

Some lovely fall flowers outside the alchemy shop. The alchemy shop distilled herbs and vinegars and spices to make various potions and cocktails for love, for memory, and other fantastical things that people thought of in the medieval ages. The recipes they used were found underneath the shop when the owners decided to extend the property and instead discovered the remains of an old apothecary, full of bottles, ingredients, and recipes. 

An interesting art exhibit. The artist created pieces, almost sculptures, with random objects and covered them in some sort of plastic. I don't know what he did to this purse but he made it see-through with all the stuff inside. It was a fun exhibit and very unique.

Outside the Castle again. The property is huge (as it should be, being a castle and all). I loved the changing color of the ivy. Very pretty.

The Cathedral Saint-Guy was spectacular. The stain glass there was incredible, so detailed. The colors were astonishingly vibrant, and particularly purple and pink in color.

The rose window here was very nice, but I was so distracted by the other windows I hardly noticed.

A mosaic lamb on the wall underneath another astonishing window.

The cathedral wasn't technically finished until Mucha came and painted this window in the 20th century. Most cathedrals of this grandeur and age let the unfinished remain unfinished but Prague thought that a couple hundreds years was enough of a break and they could finish the last window. It was spectacular. Mucha's renderings are very interesting because they are somewhat cartoon-like, but quite effusive and beautiful. They're perfect for the window. Totally gorgeous.

In the square of some saint, still at the palace. Cool buildings.

Depressing statue to remind everyone what happens when you do something bad. But I still liked it. So I took a picture.

FRIENDS! This whole trip was done with my childhood friend and her husband. The company absolutely made the trip and it was a blast to see this incredible place with incredible people. Here they are eating the odd cinnamon cylinder thing that they made in Prague. It's like the Eastern-European version of the churro. Delish.

We went to see the Strahov Cloister, where they have some amazing libraries with thousands of books. We saw this sign and it made us giggle. Tingle the bell! Go on, tingle it!

We found this unique store next to the Old Town Square. It was full of jewelry and a few clothes, but it was all made by local artists. They were art students who lived in Prague, and they created some incredible stuff. Those net-like pieces were made of wood. And there were others, like a rope necklace that had been soaked in salt water until salt crystals grew. Seriously cool stuff, but a bit steep for other struggling students. Still managed to buy a pair of earrings though. It's called DEBUT GALLERY if anyone is interested. Worth a visit. The owners walrus mustache is also a major bonus.

From the end of Charles bridge, a view of the castle at night. So lovely. So enchanting. 

Statue from the famous bridge. I'm glad we saw it at night when the crowd was low. Prague is a packed city and if you don't want some elderly Asian backing into you to take a photo and thus getting into your photo, then see the bridge either early or late.

We went to the Dali exhibit and it was way fun. The more I see of Dali the more I like. Some of his stuff is very bizarre, no denying it, but it's very specific, decided. He does exactly what he means to. At this exhibit there were a lot of smaller pieces I've never seen before, like the piece above. There was an entire room for all the paintings Dali did of the Divine Comedy. Apparently Dali was a little obsessed.

Favorite statue of the place. I mean, that is just the best. 

A litte Inception going on in front of the melting clocks. Smaller than you thought, right?  Also in the corner, which I thought a little rude, because no one puts baby (melting clocks) in the corner.

Another fun piece. 

Then on to Mucha! 

A wonderful rendition of Hamlet, for some theater poster. I wouldn't go Ophelia-mad for him, but pretty close.

I love Mucha's outfits. They are the bomb. And so regal. Don't mind the reflections.

I really really liked this one. I can't explain why, I just do.

Then we took a turn for the somber and headed off to the Old Jewish Cemetery and surrounding synagogues. 

The cemetery was perfect perfect for fall and Halloween. The cemetery wasn't as old as I thought, but apparently they've been stacking for several hundred years and the cemetery actually started about 20 feet below where the current one stands.

Pebbles and coins for good luck. 

The synagogue we started in was a building dedicated to all the Czech Jews that died in concentration camps. The walls were covered with names of the deceased and the numbers they bore. Walls and walls with small writing. It was an incredible piece of art and memory.

Prague is a city of some serious cobblestone. The sidewalks were cobblestoned, like this. And most of the inner-city streets. And different kinds of cobblestone, different eras. There were large cobbles, small cobbles, skinny cobbles, and square cobbles. Some cobbles in the oldest parts were incredibly uneven and thus could be quite dangerous to walk on. In some areas they were redoing the cobble, but they were just take out the old stones and relay them more evenly, which I love. No need to get new material, just refresh the old.

All in all it was an incredible trip and we saw and did so much. I love it, pretty sure it loved me. Good times man, good times.