{"id":1121,"date":"2016-04-04T06:49:08","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T06:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/?p=1121"},"modified":"2016-08-21T01:56:28","modified_gmt":"2016-08-21T01:56:28","slug":"prague-day-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/?p=1121","title":{"rendered":"Prague, Day 5"},"content":{"rendered":"

Charles Bridge \u00a0<\/strong>Woke at six, slipped quietly into the shower and by seven was walking down the hill to the Charles Bridge. It was very pleasant at this time of day, not long after sunrise. Cool enough for a coat, but not for long. It’s a perfect perfect day \u2013 bright blue clear sky, warm sun, cool breeze. \u00a0April weather; from sleet to sweet.<\/p>\n

I ambled across past the age-blackened statues of Gods and Saints, and made an audiotape using John Cage 4:33. John Cage<\/a>. \u00a0A trio of swans flew over my head \u2013 a lifetime first for me. Three Czech soldiers\u00a0walked by, two of them women in full make up, with charmingly disarrayed versions of a French twist, and machine guns. There are a few photographers with tripods, and several couples sightseeing, and\u00a0groups of young adults, laughing and flirting, on their way to work.\u00a0I asked a nice woman passerby to take my photo by the statue of St John Nepomuk.\"va<\/a>
\n<\/a> His story: he served as the queen\u2019s confessor and when he wouldn\u2019t tell the king her secrets, the irate monarch had him pitched off the bridge, drowned in the Vltava, and five stars appeared over the water.<\/p>\n

\"5star\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Picked up toasted bagels at Bohemian Bagels and headed back to the room. We caffeined up and walked up the long stairs to the castle complex. Robin stopped to strike a pose in an arch.<\/p>\n

\"bink<\/a>I stopped to catch my breath long enough to thank Jessica Bowman<\/a>, trainer extraordinaire, who got me in good enough shape to make it to the top.<\/p>\n

Loreto Church \u00a0<\/strong>Strolled through the complex to the Loreto church, founded in 1626 by Baroness Benigna Katharina von Lobkowitz. In the center courtyard is copy of the Italian Santa Casa, where an\u00a0angel informed Mary of her status as mother-to-be. Decorated with statues and reliefs on the outside, it\u2019s surrounded by a storyed cloister with corner chapels. One chapel had what appeared to be Christ on the cross in a violet dress.<\/p>\n

St Wilgefortis story: \u00a0She didn\u2019t want to wed a heathen and prayed to be saved from marriage. Miraculously, she\u00a0grew a full beard\u00a0that left her hirsute and unwed. Her irritated father had her crucified for her disobedience. \u00a0Less heart-rending attractions for pilgrims are the \u00a0charming clarion bells and a staggering amount of bejeweled religious swag. From\u00a0gorgeous embroidered gloves,\"gloves\"<\/a><\/p>\n

to multiple monstrances dripping with jewels.<\/p>\n

\"coral<\/a><\/p>\n

The diamond monstrance, known as the Prague Sun, was bedazzled with 6,222 diamonds, made possible by Countess Ludmila Eva Frances Kolowrat, who donated the gems from her wedding dress. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.<\/p>\n

\"{"focusMode":1,"deviceTilt":0.005033536753382251,"whiteBalanceProgram":0,"macroEnabled":false,"qualityMode":3}\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"{"focusMode":1,"deviceTilt":-0.01174493233231111,"whiteBalanceProgram":0,"macroEnabled":false,"qualityMode":3}\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Church of the Nativity of Our Lord was Rococo eye candy\u00a0and\u00a0made me glad I remembered to look up.<\/p>\n

\"church<\/a><\/p>\n

Sternberg Palace<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just what I love\u00a0– excellent paintings. Favorites\u00a0include a painting of Luke, the painter\u2019s patron saint, and a \u00a0virgin with a basket of mending, or perhaps she is making diapers.<\/p>\n

\"mary<\/a> A still life of bread and oysters is supposed\u00a0to warn us against sin. I dunno, it looks more celebratory to me. I think the painter was winking at the viewer. Exhibit A:\u00a0that naughty loaf of bread.<\/p>\n

\"naughty<\/a><\/p>\n

Walked back down to the bridge, and lo and behold, there’s a film crew setting up shop. Wherever I go, there\u2019s Robert\u2019s world (and now RK and Parker.) Made feel right at home<\/p>\n

\"grip<\/a><\/p>\n

A great, late lunch at Pod Vezi, down by the bridge. I recommend the leek soup.<\/p>\n

Tomorrow, back to the complex to tour the Lobkowitz palace, and over to see the wardrobe of the Infant of Prague. Robin says it\u2019s not to be missed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Charles Bridge \u00a0Woke at six, slipped quietly into the shower and by seven was walking down the hill to the Charles Bridge. It was very pleasant at this time of day, not long after sunrise. Cool enough for a coat, but not for long. It’s a perfect perfect day \u2013 bright blue clear sky, warm […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1144,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[22,137],"tags":[79,78,80,82,81],"class_list":{"0":"post-1121","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-prague","8":"category-short-trips","9":"tag-charles-bridge","10":"tag-john-cage-433","11":"tag-loreto-church","12":"tag-monstrance","13":"tag-sternberg-palace","14":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/va-arch.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7OBxc-i5","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1121"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1121\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2159,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1121\/revisions\/2159"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}