BLOGGING ABOUT PRAGUE

Flat Hawkster has spent the last week in Prague, Czech Republic.  After visiting a number of cities during the cruise, he was excited about staying in one place for while.  Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic and the largest city in the country with a population of 1.3 million people.  It has been invaded by many forces and empires over the last 1000 years because the Vitava river made it an attractive location for the transportation of goods.

Here is Flat Hawkster pointing out the Vitava river that has played such an
important role in Prague's history.

Flat Hawkster enjoyed learning about the history of Prague and some of its legendary stories.  You can see him below standing in front of the Astronomical Clock in the central square.  This clock not only tells the time but it also tells people the where the Sun and Moon are in the sky (the zodiac).  It was built in 1410 and the City Fathers (leaders) were extremely proud of having a clock that no other city could boast about.  They were so proud in fact that they actually blinded the man who designed this piece so that he would not build another one elsewhere.  As you can imagine,  the clockmaker was very upset and in order to get back at the City Fathers, he was guided into the clock one night with a plan to destroy it.  He succeeded but died while completing his mission.   He was the only man who knew how to fix the clock and it was not repaired for another 100 years.

The Astronomical Clock in Prague.

Flat Hawkster had to climb to the top of the Astronomical clock tower to see
the view of Prague.  You and see the stairs in the picture above and they were
a lot of work but it was worth it.  When he arrived at the top Flat Hawkster was
treated to a performance by a trumpet player who plays at the top of every hour
while people in the square below cheer and applaud.

The statue below honours a priest who worked closely with the Queen at the time (1500's).  One day the King asked the Priest to reveal all that he knew about the Queen but he refused to share any information despite the risk of harm.  The King responded by throwing the Priest off the King Charles bridge in an effort to drown him.   Bystanders then saw what they believed to be a miracle when 5 stars were seen around the Priest's body as he floated on the water.  From that point on the Priest became the saint of all bridges in the Czech Republic.

This is the St. John of  Nepomuk Statue that can be found
on most bridges in the Czech Republic.

Prague has a variety of architectural styles and in this picture they combine with the dark
clouds to make a pretty scary setting.  Flat Hawkster doesn't look too worried though.

Flat Hawkster visited a local college one day and stumbled upon a large building that looked bigger than anything he had ever seen before.  It turns out he was right.  It was Stradov Stadium, the biggest stadium in the world with seats for over 240,000 people.  That's almost 5 times the size of B.C. Place! It  holds up to 6 full soccer fields and 2 mini ones.  It was built in 1926 and has hosted soccer games, grand gymnastics displays and military processions.  Unfortunately, it is not in great condition right now and is used only for soccer training and occasional concerts.

This is a side view of Stradov stadium.  The overhead view below gives
you a better idea of just how big this facility is.