My apologies for not posting for a week or so. We took a trip to the land of Joe's ancestors, the Czech Republic.
Today is Part 1: Prague.
We saw SO much:
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Charles Bridge |
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Statue for Czech author Franz Kafka |
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City observatory tower... |
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...selfie from the top. |
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And churches... |
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...lots... |
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...and lots... |
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...of churches. |
But a trip to Prague would not be complete without a visit to the castle, Praha Hrad:
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Complete with crown... |
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...and throne... |
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...and knights in armor. |
But the most interesting part of the castle for me was the guards:
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We thought they were mannequins... |
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...but they are real. |
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And quite popular for photo ops. |
First of all they stand perfectly still for an hour at a time - no matter the weather or who is taking a picture of them. Then, a few minutes before the top of the hour, they have the changing of the guards. A small troop of guards march through the plaza:
Then an army soldier with a real automatic weapon clears the tourist away from the guards on duty...
...so the guards can do their fancy 10 point turn:
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Meeting in the middle... |
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...to join the formation. |
Lots of pomp and circumstance (and large weapons).
My poetry skills are bit rusty because of our holiday so I am feeling a little 'guarded' about today's poem:
centuries of sentries
watch·men with a strong·hold
on their weapons
©2018, Bridget Magee. All Rights Reserved.
I always wonder, what if they need to scratch their noses! An hour is a long time. Clearly they do have a "strong-hold".
ReplyDeleteI've wondered that, too, Linda. Luckily these guys got to wear dark glasses so they could look around without being noticed. I think that would help make things easier/more interesting. =)
DeleteThey look great and are awesome for the tourists, but I can hardly imagine a more boring job. Prague looks like a great place to visit. I hope to see it someday too. Thanks for sharing it with us!
ReplyDeleteI agree, Chris, boring as all get out. Standing stock still, staring ahead for an hour at a time can not be fun. Hopefully it pays well. Yes, come visit Prague with us! =)
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