If You Ain't Got Culture ......

My plan was to arise before dawn and head out on the scarcely populated Charles Bridge for some photos of the bridge in the mist at sunrise.  Unfortunately it seems that the Czech weathermen are no more proficient than their Canadian counterparts.  It was pouring.  Oh well, a little sleep-in never hurt anyone.  

As it was raining we decided to do as many indoor activities as possible.  First stop Church of St. Nicholas, conveniently located just around the corner.   This church is the best example of High Baroque in the city.

As we arrived just at opening we had this most beautiful church to ourselves.  This is quite probably the most ornate church we have been in, and we have been in some bling-encrusted beauties.   

The only outstanding sight on our list was Alfons Mucha's "Slav Epic".  This being located some distance from the Old Town we decided to try the Prague tram system.  It was easy to figure out and very efficient but the real shocker was the price.  The cost for a 30 minute tram ride was an astonishing  12 cents Canadian.  Translink, you got some explaining to do.  Mucha is famous for his turn of the century posters of beautiful women (i.e. Sarah Bernhart).  You would recognize them if you saw them.  The Slav Epic was his magnum opus.  It is gigantic in theme and physical size.  20 enormous canvases depicting the history of the Slav people.

The detail and quality of these monstrous paintings is astonishing.  We were convinced by a museum worker that we had to see at least 3 of the 5 remaining floors of the vast modern art exhibit.  We complied.  I did find some modern art I liked.

It was after 1:00 o'clock when we exited the museum in bright sunlight.   We boarded the tram back into Old Town and decided to try the Art Deco Grand Cafe Orient for a very light lunch.  We found a nice table on the outside balcony and watched the world go by.  What a civilized way to live.

One last thing to see was the so-called "Fred and Ginger" building.

This interesting structure was designed by the famous American architect Frand Gehry.  The locals prefer to think of it as depicting the nation's 2 greatest 20th century heroes, Joseph Gabčík and Jan Kubiš.  These were the two British trained Czech commandos who assassinated Rudolph Heydrich in May of 1942.   We found out there was a memorial to them a few blocks up the street.  Walking up we found it in the basement of a non-descript church.   This small gem of a museum illustrated the background, preparation, execution and the aftermath of this event.   We were amazed to find that this was the actual church where these heroes died in a fire fight with the Gestapo and SS.  Very moving.

We ambled home along the riverbank.