Prague: Day 3

Not breaking our Sunday tradition, we woke up late today and took our time to eat breakfast and get ready. Unfortunately we missed Mass, but we are planning to attend one in Budapest. Around noonish, we stepped out to confront the cold and do some more exploring of Prague.

It was nice to just stroll around the city and see all the Christmas shoppers. We even saw some people carrying Christmas trees back to their homes. Getting a late start, I guess.

Our first stop was the Museum of Communism. It outlined a brief overview of the history of big communist leaders, but also communism in what was Czechoslovakia. Much of the museum focused on communist propaganda, either to promote the lifestyle or against capitalist states like America, and it was very interesting. Propaganda infiltrated even sports and such. They also had a short film of demonstrations against the communist regime in Prague, which was really moving. Alex really liked the museum and I would recommend it to anyone interested in history.

Next we passed by the Astronomical clock, which is a clock on the side of a church with significant historical significance. There are turks on the clock, and one the hour all these mechanical figures move and a Turk wags his head. The turk is supposed to represent the bad, it’s interesting to say the least. Supposedly the man who created the clock was blinded by the ruler at the time so he could never make another clock like it. There was a huge crowd to see the hourly ritual, so it was hard to see everything happening.

We sat down for some lunch at a cute little restaurant. The soup we ordered was great, but the cokes were $6 a glass. That was a bit of a shock.

Somewhere in between that and the Christmas concert we attended I bought a very warm wool hat, always a must. Anyway, the Christmas concert was a lovely find. It was in a small church with a pretty small crowd. The musicians, however, warranted a bigger audience. It was just a string quartet, three violinists and a man playing a big stringed instrument (maybe a cello, but I really have no idea). Despite my ignorance of the instruments used, the music was beautiful and moving. We heard some Handel, Mozart, and two versions of the Ave Maria.

We finished off the night with a visit to the Sex Machines Museum. We were on our way back to the hotel when we came across the reddest building I have ever seen, with an even more interesting title. This museum showcased toys and machines for sexual enhancement, devices for the opposite effect (including chastity belts and anti-rape devices) historical pornography, and much more.

Most of it was either interesting or funny, except for the third floor. That floor covered all things sadistic and masochist, and very disturbing things for the alternative lifestyle. I will leave it up to your imagination. This is a great stop for those who don’t take life too seriously!! But if you must choose between this one and the Museum of Communism, go with the latter.

We are really enjoying Prague! We forewent brats again tonight, but tomorrow it’s a must. The Jewish Quarter is on our agenda for tomorrow, as is a trip to the Charles Bridge (which, by the way, we bought a nice painting of today. It was exactly what we were looking for!).

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas Eve, and hope you enjoy the beginning of parties and celebrations!