Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Monday, May 01, 2006
Vlatva River
Winter feels close as a bleak afternoon light appears.
Across the water stands an exact replica of the Eiffel Tower atop Petrin Hill built to scale. With the hill, this one meets the real tower in the sky as a crow flies to Paris.
Vysehrad is where the original city of Praha began.
In the Czech language, Prague = Praha, which means "threshold".
The legend, now many centuries old, describes a queen and her people looking for a place to build a castle, and around it, a great city.
Soon Royal knights on horseback were dispatched by the court and queen to find a man, the queen had dreamed of. He was to be carving a threshold beside a river with his hands, proclaiming, "that is where our kingdom will lie".
The knights, after much riding, found him and that is where Praha was built.
(photo note: two figures on the cliff in the foreground for scale)****
The princess, whose busy subjects loved their queen, after a time, began also to desire a king. A man equal, yet complimentary to their kingdom. So, from her now beautiful castle the beloved queen sent her best knights into the forest seeking a man behind a plow pulled by one white horse whom she would marry to please her loyal subjects.
After several nights of search the black forests of Bohemia and Moravia the brave knights came upon such a horse and man. Tearing herself loose from the plow, the white horse galloped away leading the knights on a chase all the way back to the queens stables, the handsome king-to-be in tow.
Indeed, a smart Queen.
A group of strangers gathered together on the sidewalk near the bridge one day, talking excitedly with one another. All eyes fixed on a beautiful beam of light. Prague 1998.
Monday, April 24, 2006
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Saturday, April 22, 2006
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Mikulov Wine Cellar - Moravia
Moravian wine is considered the finest in the region. The beautiful rolling hills here produce a vintage of excellent table wines. In this Cellar (Vinny Sklep) are the traditional tools of the winemaster.
A taste of wine from the barrel is procured through this magic Bohemian crystal straw.
A drink fresh from the barrel may be quite strong.
A small glass is all that is needed, unless further tasting is required. Should you want to take some wine home with you, be sure to buy it while in Moravia. As the old Moravian saying goes, "The wine in Prague is never as good as it is in Moravia. Beacuse we keep the best wine for ourselves." Moravia
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The Vlatava River froze over the winter of 1996 for the first time in many years. A skate on the river in Prague's center is indeed a rare pleasure.
Modern Dance - Mass MOCA
Bennington College performers take over Mass MOCA for the day.
Cafe Slavia Door - Prague
This has always been a mystery to me: I walked by the front door of Kavárna Slavia many times a day before it was re-opened in 1999. This unusual orb disappeared after reconstruction.