A Crash Course in Prague
Church with the Czechs.
Last night went well. I had dinner at the restaurant downstairs and it was quite good.
But the translations of the menu, not so much.
One section of the menu read something to the effect of “If it’s not running thru the square, it”s swimming in the pond.”
Double quotes in it’s and everything. Believe it or not they are talking about fish and chicken. I opted for the “blacksmith pork.” It was a smoked pork chop that was grilled with peppers, onions, and chunks of ham. And to my surprise it was very good.
Closest thing to Chinese food here yet!
I made the decision to get up early and go to the 8:30 mass at one of the churches near the old town square. I have a feeling that I was one of the few that was not actually Czech.
There was about 50 or so in a church that could hold 400, so it was rather empty. Before the service a brother approached me and asked, in Czech, If I could read Czech. I responded in Czech that I did not understand Czech... Again in perfect Czech. He smiled and turned back toward the alter.
He was asking because he wanted me to do the second reading.
The mass began with an organ hymnal that shook the stone floors. It was absolutely overwhelming. Of course the whole mass was in Czech. I was able to understand the “Amen” and the Czech word for “Christ.” During the mass I did not recognize anything as the Our Father. There was a prayer that I believe to similar to the Apostles Creed. There was some sort of homily. The most interesting thing they did had to do with Communion. They dipped the wafter into the wine and then placed it on your tongue. It was the wafer into the wine that had me puzzled, but it was a pretty cool idea. They did to the “peace be with you” hand shakes. It’s one of the few times I have seen the Czech’s smile at each other. They must have known I was an American because they offered me “peace” instead of the Czech word for it... which of course I cannot remember.
As a whole it was a very unique experience. I will certainly go again.
After mass I walked over the bridge into Mala Strana, or Small Town. It was a very cool place. I liked the feel better than the Old Town, because it was less touristy, but was still old and had the historic feel to it. I found the lesser town square and purchased a ticket for the organ concert tonight at 6. I’m very excited to hear Ave Verum among other great works in the Church of Saint Nicholas.
I then wandered to the top of the hill, just below the gates to the castle. It was one of the most beautiful views of the city I have seen yet. Photos are posted on the photos page. I also saw one lone American Flag, at the top of a hill. So I wandered down a large flight of stairs and walked toward the hill with the flag on it.
I found the American Embassy at the bottom of the hill... a very important building to know its location. The street was lined with cameras, and secured by police. Any vehicle that was driving on this street was stopped before the embassy, and walked around with a mirror, looking for explosives in the undercarriage. There was also chemical swabs to check for explosive residue. I walked up the street and had to be on camera 60 or more times in the 1/4 mile stretch. There were a number of other embassies on the road as well.
I rounded the corner and began to walk through the park that is in the area. I wandered up the hill, traveling up numerous switch-backs. The top provided another great view of the city and a beautiful farm beneath me. To my left was “American Soil” and a guard tower. To my right was a tower with some sort of look-out. While I’m sure that the tower has many purposes I would not be surprised if I was in someone’s rifle scope.
I walked down some more stairs along the edge of the farm. before walking over the Charles Bridge and heading for breakfast. I stopped at the French place and had fresh squeezed orange juice and a croissant. The orange juice was quite the treat. The meal was 105 crowns, so it was a little more expensive than Friday, but still worth it... It’s only 6 bucks.
After breakfast it was time to head on home... after all it was almost noon time. So I’ll have lunch shortly, followed by a snack before I go to the concert this evening. I’ll have dinner afterwards, because it won’t be too late.
So I got a ton of walking in this morning and more to come later... so maybe my father won’t kick my butt next time we go hiking together...