What a city this Prague is.  Has to be one of the crown jewels of Europe.  Of course, we haven't been to the Eternal City yet, but Prague is beautiful! One has the interesting contrast of Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque architechture, some buildings incorporating two or three as different additions were made in different time periods.

Our personal guide, an acquaintane of Betty's family, shared how modern day Prague has really put its socialist past behind it.  Yet in the old parts of the city there radiates a curious morbid--dark--charm.  A lot of the buildings need sandblasting, paint, but refreshing the facades takes money, so the ones that get "scrubbed" are limited. These flaking facades contrast with the modern parts of the city looking toward a bright future.  This peculiar combination of old and new is one of the distinctive qualities that make Prague something special.

It is a city of spires, steeples (even though 60 to 70% of the people are not churched, due to two generations prior to the fall of communism where people were not taught the faith) towers and statues.  We visited the church where John Hus preached and stopped in the synod office of the Brethern Church today.

Going back to the architecture.  Our guide shared with us so many interesting insights about life in Prague, and what the buildings expressed during the various periods, but what struck me was the frequent use of caricatures, statues, faces, animals, as part of the decor on the exterior. Each face on a building has a different expression, and frequently there are "Atlas-type" figures who are shouldering the weight of a balcony or the bay-window that extrudes out of the building.  It doesn't matter how "dark" and "drab" a building appears, when you look at it and study it's appearance you marvel at its beauty. Literally any place you look, it's so picturesque, that it's worthy of a picture, and I've taken more than just a few of these magnificent buildings.

The Prague Castle is the largest in the world and has been under constrcuction, uninterrupted for the past eleven centuries. It is dominated by the huge cathedral. The castle served as a residence for princes and kings of Bohemia and since 1918 has been the seat of the President. Fortification, residential, office buildings represent all the architectural syles and periods. There is a famous street called Golden lane lined with little shops...and I mean little...certainly not designed for six footers!

St Nicholas Church, not far from the castle is a remarkable example of Baroque architecture with its dominant dome and belfry. The interior represents the peak of the Baroque period. So many beautiful cathedrals and churches, it's hard to beleive that more of the population do not confess the faith.

On the religious aspect, there is a section of town known as "the Jewish Ghetto". The latter word here does not have the negative connoation we associate with its usage, but rather a sense of community. I did not realize that Prague did not suffer from the effects of the war because Hitler wanted Prague to become the center of Jewish History, so he protected it. Ironic that one who was exterminating Jews, took such an interest that he wanted their history preserved. That explains too why so much detail on families were recorded.

On the family side of things, we walked down "Skorepka" street which is the maiden name of Betty's mother.  From our guide, we learned that this street was the "red light" district, though at the time we did not know the name of the street. It was my sharing with Betty that on walking back to the hotel we stumbled on to her mother's and grandparent's street that she returned an email from her brother that we were in the "red light" district. Today, again, we returned via "Skorepka" street, discovering a "Skorepka Restaurant" advertising Apple Strudel in the window!

Twice, now, I have seen a commercial advertizing Prague on CNN (world) as "living the experience" and that we have done, if but briefly.  It's been a beautiful experience!

We get up tomorrow morning (Wed) at 4 a.m. to be picked up for our ride to the airport to board a plane at 7:05 for Budapest where we will have a 4 or 5 hour lay over to catch a flight to Athens where we have to be by 6:00 pm to join the group that will be our community for the next week or so tracing the footsteps of St. Paul.  The airline that we were booked on to fly from Prague to Athens went bust, and thus cancelled their flights abruptly.

The weather here in Prague has been magnificent, and we've even turned on the air conditioning in the hotel.

Well, time to head to bed.  Four a.m. is just a little earlier than I'm accustomed to getting up.

Paul