Martina explaining the architecture to us.
Walking to our next destination, we passed a familiar landmark.
The facade of a building in the cubist architectural style, a rarity in Prague.
We came to an area in the Jewish quarter that contains several synagogues close to one another. The tower of this one has an ordinary clock at the top and a "Jewish clock" lower down, which runs counter-clockwise.
A violinist busking outside the synagogue.
An interesting mix of architectural styles among the synagogues.
We passed the Rudolfinum, the concert hall that is the home of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. It's right on the river, overlooking the Charles Bridge and Malá Strana (Lesser Town). Antonín Dvořák conducted the first performance in the concert hall, in 1896.
One of a pair of statues on tall columns in front of the concert hall.
Views of Prague Castle (top) and Malá Strana from the river bank near the concert hall.
As we walked to the Charles Bridge we passed this memorial to Jan Palach, a student who committed suicide by self-immolation in protest of the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia which ended the Prague Spring.
Three views of the Charles Bridge (Karlův Most). The bridge connects the Old Town to the Malá Strana section of Prague. It's a medieval structure, completed in the early 1400s. For several centuries it was the only bridge across the Vltava River in Prague. Now it carries pedestrian traffic only.
Statue of King Charles IV, for whom the bridge is named.
Padlocks adorn a railing next to the bridge.
On the bridge itself, many artists will draw your caricature in about 5 minutes, or an actual portrait in 25 or 30 minutes. Other artists offer landscapes and other kinds of art works.
Looking back toward the tower at the Old Town end of the bridge.
There are many statues on the bridge, including this crucifix.
A Jazz Quartet busking on the bridge. It must take a lot of coins to support four performers.
This young girl's caricature is almost complete.
We stopped for lunch near the Old Town end of the Charles Bridge. The buildings are built on what amounts to a pier, with the river flowing beneath them.
The restaurant was beautifully decorated, and had excellent food.
Each place setting included a menu just for our group, with the All Classical logo.
At the end of the meal, Matthew explained what we were going to see next.
This vintage streetcar pulled up as we walked along, and a group of Japanese tourists boarded. It seems that Prague keeps a few of the old cars up to date and uses them in special service like this.
Is woman in white a statue, or a real woman that looks like a statue, or a statue that looks like a woman that looks like a statue, or … Franz Kafka would approve.
We walked through an area containing very handsome buildings, including this one.
From the ground, one could believe that there's a "living statue" hanging by one hand overhead. On close inspection, though, it's truly a statue. An interesting work of art.
Our guide said that this building is one of the few as-yet-unrestored buildings in the Old Town. It shows the same sort of deterioration that almost all of the buildings in Venice show.
A pleasant square with an outdoor restaurant.
Our last stop for the day was the Estates Theatre, where Don Giovanni premiered in 1787 with Mozart conducting.
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| Wikimedia Commons photo |
The interior is very striking, with lots of blue.
Our guide for the theatre is also an opera singer. She used the same microphone and transmitter as Martina, so that we could all hear her easily.
The view from one of the boxes.
At the end of the tour, we were served a glass of champagne.
As we drank the champagne, we listened to a brief concert by several musicians from the theatre's orchestra.
Finally, our guide sang part of the Czech National Anthem for us. A very nice visit.
Tomorrow, a visit to Prague Castle in the morning, and Swan Lake in the evening.
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