Babes in Bohemia

If our heads weren't so large, you'd see the beautiful view across the Vltava River that welcomed us in Prague, city of 370 spires and historically home to 11 centuries of Bohemian kings and princes.

Speaking of Bohemain royalty, here is a look at the Prague Castle (Prazsky hrad), by day and by night.

The castle complex inclues several churches, the royal palace, exquisite gardens, a "golden lane" of merchants, and, oh yeah, a torture chamber. It's heavily guarded by stern, armed, and dangerous men:
Can you see the fear and trembling in our faces? (or his?) Our futile efforts to distract him were nobly resisted. We even considered extreme measures (i.e. a kiss on the cheek), but in the end decided it un-ladylike to interfer with his royal palace duties (aside from taking this picture, of course).

The impressive Gothic cathedral, picutured above from the south-eastern side is the spiritual symbol of the Czech state.

Because of the upcoming Easter holiday, the castle grounds (and much of Prague for that matter) were filled with seasonal festivities, including traditional singing and dancing. We were delighted by the youngsters' enthusiasm and skills and ended up staying longer than expected to enjoy the sight. It got us thinking -- why don't we see males in the US in these outfits and displaying such dancing prowess?

After a full day at the Castle, we wandered across the famous Charles Bridge to the melodic tunes of string quartets and other musicians, including a three-man band from Mississippi.

The astonomical clock in the Old Town Square is just as famous and people flock to the site, especially on the hour when the 12 apostles (aka by Krystal as "the little men") peek out the windows and the skeleton does a little dance. (Just go see it yourself.)

The rich hisotry of Prague also has injections of modernism, including the "dancing buildings" by Frank Gehry. If you use your imagination, you can see Fred and Ginger waltzing along the water's edge.

To sign off, we'd like to say "deqhui" for reading. That's "thank you" in Czech, which we were only able to remember because it sounds like "dickweed." Glad us Americans have a phoenetic frame of reference that's so apropos.