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Prague
July 30th - 3:09pm
Old Town Square. Presumably it was pleasant once, with its giant plaza and gorgeous buildings, but it was so overrun with tourists when I arrived that it was impossible to take picture of anything but them. The three in front are almost certainly American, given the RIck Steves guidebook nestled in Khaki's backpack. (I took this while eating an overpriced, if serviceable, lunch of garlic soup and ham salad at one of the obnoxious plaza cafes.)
July 30th - 3:09pm
Old Town Square. Presumably it was pleasant once, with its giant plaza and gorgeous buildings, but it was so overrun with tourists when I arrived that it was impossible to take picture of anything but them. The three in front are almost certainly American, given the RIck Steves guidebook nestled in Khaki's backpack. (I took this while eating an overpriced, if serviceable, lunch of garlic soup and ham salad at one of the obnoxious plaza cafes.)
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Prague
July 30th - 3:13pm
My mythology is poor, but I identify with this knock-kneed narcissistic piscophile in any case.
July 30th - 3:13pm
My mythology is poor, but I identify with this knock-kneed narcissistic piscophile in any case.
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Prague
July 30th - 4:09pm
The problem with urban fruit trees is, who eats the fruit? Bugs, that's who. This was in a semi-private park attached to a school, where I took a break to read.
July 30th - 4:09pm
The problem with urban fruit trees is, who eats the fruit? Bugs, that's who. This was in a semi-private park attached to a school, where I took a break to read.
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Prague
July 30th - 4:35pm
You are being watched. By the camera.
July 30th - 4:35pm
You are being watched. By the camera.
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Prague
July 30th - 5:11pm
This color scheme of pinks, peaches and mauves with red shingled roofs is endemic to the former Austro-Hungarian empire. Pilsner Urquell, whose sign is visible under the eaves on the right, is endemic to the Czech Republic. Pretty and inviting, respectively.
July 30th - 5:11pm
This color scheme of pinks, peaches and mauves with red shingled roofs is endemic to the former Austro-Hungarian empire. Pilsner Urquell, whose sign is visible under the eaves on the right, is endemic to the Czech Republic. Pretty and inviting, respectively.
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Prague
July 30th - 5:20pm
It's hard to say exactly what variety of Eastern Bloc truck model this is, but the smart money's on Škoda, Czechoslovakia's national brand. (I later rented a Škoda in Bosnia with my friend Andrew, but it was late model and looked like any other car.) There's something profoundly Soviet about the tent-like symmetry (same forwards and backwards!) and the Klieg-style headlights.
July 30th - 5:20pm
It's hard to say exactly what variety of Eastern Bloc truck model this is, but the smart money's on Škoda, Czechoslovakia's national brand. (I later rented a Škoda in Bosnia with my friend Andrew, but it was late model and looked like any other car.) There's something profoundly Soviet about the tent-like symmetry (same forwards and backwards!) and the Klieg-style headlights.
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Prague
July 30th - 6:43pm
This lawn is in a pleasant park (see next photo), but Heavens help you if you actually want to use it. The need to reseed is certainly understandable, but this looks like a more permanent arrangement (and I received many such admonitions to avoid the grass in parks around the region). It seems as though this sign is advising us to...levitate just above the greenery, if possible?
July 30th - 6:43pm
This lawn is in a pleasant park (see next photo), but Heavens help you if you actually want to use it. The need to reseed is certainly understandable, but this looks like a more permanent arrangement (and I received many such admonitions to avoid the grass in parks around the region). It seems as though this sign is advising us to...levitate just above the greenery, if possible?
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Prague
July 30th - 6:44pm
In the same park, a classic industrial-Realist sculpture. "Let’s send millions of qualified worker cadres to the 518 new factories and production units," and so forth.
July 30th - 6:44pm
In the same park, a classic industrial-Realist sculpture. "Let’s send millions of qualified worker cadres to the 518 new factories and production units," and so forth.
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Prague
July 30th - 6:55pm
In a mini-castle (!) at the same park was a very nice restaurant with a sea of empty tables. The view of the city was exquisite (see next photo), so I sat down, ordered a beer and read a chapter of Hesse's Beneath the Wheel. The page I was on decried the perversities of a socially motivated academically-oriented perfectionist adolescence.
July 30th - 6:55pm
In a mini-castle (!) at the same park was a very nice restaurant with a sea of empty tables. The view of the city was exquisite (see next photo), so I sat down, ordered a beer and read a chapter of Hesse's Beneath the Wheel. The page I was on decried the perversities of a socially motivated academically-oriented perfectionist adolescence.
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Prague
July 30th - 6:59pm
The view from the restaurant. Prague is much prettier when you can't see the people (i.e. the tourists); from here, it almost looked like Praha.
July 30th - 6:59pm
The view from the restaurant. Prague is much prettier when you can't see the people (i.e. the tourists); from here, it almost looked like Praha.
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Prague
July 30th - 7:33pm
It is hard to object to this placid riparian scene. The famous Charles stone bridge is on the right. Cruising the Vltava River is one of the more quintessential Prague sightseeing experiences, but with only one day in the city, I was under no obligation to indulge. I usually find wandering around more rewarding anyway.
July 30th - 7:33pm
It is hard to object to this placid riparian scene. The famous Charles stone bridge is on the right. Cruising the Vltava River is one of the more quintessential Prague sightseeing experiences, but with only one day in the city, I was under no obligation to indulge. I usually find wandering around more rewarding anyway.
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Prague
July 30th - 7:35pm
Swans can be vicious creatures! I remember innocently calling to one in Drumnadrochit on the shores of Loch Ness in Scotland, and it swam over and snapped at me. They're nevertheless fetching in the evening light.
July 30th - 7:35pm
Swans can be vicious creatures! I remember innocently calling to one in Drumnadrochit on the shores of Loch Ness in Scotland, and it swam over and snapped at me. They're nevertheless fetching in the evening light.
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Prague
July 30th - 7:44pm
It's hard to say what this little waterfall is accomplishing aside from squeezing boat traffic and aiding photographic. But that's why I'm not an urban hydrodynamicist.
July 30th - 7:44pm
It's hard to say what this little waterfall is accomplishing aside from squeezing boat traffic and aiding photographic. But that's why I'm not an urban hydrodynamicist.
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Prague
July 31st - 7:51am
The Prague subway consists of three lines, and I took it for all of two stops with one transfer. Like many Central European subway systems, the cars resembled modish rectangular prisms; this one seems to have racing stripes!
July 31st - 7:51am
The Prague subway consists of three lines, and I took it for all of two stops with one transfer. Like many Central European subway systems, the cars resembled modish rectangular prisms; this one seems to have racing stripes!