We both are feeling much more invigorated and recharged. Vaclav is fighting a cold but endures as a great host. We walk back down the hill to catch the tram into town. I love getting a taste of “real life” and not just the insular tourist regimen. The suburbs have yet to fully recover from the neglect of Soviet management. An example is this local church that is a battered shell of its former self. With the length of Soviet rule, a resulting 90% of Czechs proclaim themselves to be atheists. So there is no one and little interest in repairing churches like this one.
The public transportation is excellent in town and the individual heating vents under each seat are a welcome supplement, except for Vaclav as his duct is blowing cold air.
Today, we head into the old town of Prague to see the “Bodies” exhibit. If this tour returns to the States, I highly recommend going. It is fascinating how they have been able to replace every major and minor system of the body with polymers. They are able to achieve this affect by replacing the water composition of the body with colored polymers via a vacuum chamber. The detail is incredible, right down to the capillary level. It may be a little rich for really young kids, but the middle school groups visiting the museum were intrigued. This exhibit may be a required curriculum for any anatomy student of the future, as more samples become available.
Then we went shopping for a replacement set of ear phones for my ipod, as the originals set fell victim to being in the wrong coat pocket, at the wrong time, during the many seated positions around Krakow two nights ago.
Shopping in Prague could be a replacement for any major upscale mall in America. There are multi-level complexes with a variety of stores.
In unbridled Czech style, there were even painted bust casts of celebrities in support of breast cancer awareness. I think something like this may have been limited to a museum in the States.
In the evening, Vaclav and I went to a state modern art gallery opening, complete with publicly funded hors devours and wine. His phone rang and it was his buddy in need of help. The friend’s wife was having a baby and he needed Vaclav to cover his concierge shift so that he wouldn’t be fired. In spite of the veneer of Western civility, developing rigidity remains. There are no “freebies” here, even if your wife is having a baby. So Vaclav ran off to cover the shift and I returned to the flat to pack for the train journey in the morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment