A full day in Prague

We set out this morning for an efficient day of sightseeing, but some of our favorite things weren't on the original plan. We started out by walking to the “Eiffel” tower, a metal contraption on the hill above our hotel. I didn’t fully appreciate how large and how steep the hill would be, but we really enjoyed the walk. There are various paths criss-crossing each other all the way up the mountain, but as long as we kept going uphill we couldn’t get lost. The morning sun warmed us, and near the top we found several sheltered areas filled with early spring bulbs. We felt very fortunate to be there, especially since today’s weather forecast indicated snow in Minsk.

After exploring and playing at the top of the hill, we went across a valley and up another hill so Alla could see the inside of Saint Vitus’ cathedral. We walked through a meadow, traipsed down a lonely cobblestone road with walls on either side, took a false start across a monastery yard, and finally found our way up a spectacularly quaint little street leading up from the German embassy

After enjoying the inside of the church, we scurried back down the hill for lunch and on to the old Jewish district. Following our highbrow entertainment we moved ahead to shopping, the Museum of Chocolate and finally toward dinner. As we crossed the Charles Bridge we discovered a huge snarl of people carrying a wide variety of musical instruments, including drums, violins, bagpipe, various wind instruments, tubas and even an electric keyboard hung on a cord around the musician’s neck. We had found some sort of anarchic parade, with various groups of people playing together or taking turns, or competing with one another. The participants wore colorful clothes and reminded me a whole lot of the hippies I used to hang out with in college. Even though the music was really lousy, I loved the parade and we followed it all the way down to the island at the foot of the bridge, where we found them still playing as we walked home from dinner.

I read that Prague has historically tolerated nonconformity. Apparently it’s still true, and I love this city for that.