Saturday, April 18, 2009

Rainy Days and Mondays Really Get Me Down

There is something about cold wet weather that just sucks the enthusiasm right out of my sense of adventure. Wandering around in weather that is just a few degrees shy of producing snow sends me to cafés to ponder what I am missing while I am toasty warm. One thing that Prague has going for it is that it is cheaper than Budapest. You can get a heaping platter of food, just like here, but with better beer and for half the cost. We were a pleasantly shocked at the cost of food, entrance fees, and other traveling expenses. Of course, we did the mandatory walk over the Charles Bridge, but half of it is under construction. Yet, the vendors are still there hawking their heavy plastic covered wares to protect them from the rain. We did go to the Museum of International Art. One of the exhibits was a functional glass elevator that only transports between the ground and fifth floors. The layout was spacious and extremely well coordinated. Ron wanted to visit the Cubist Museum, but I was holding back. I am a real square when it comes to that type of art work. I am a well rounded type of guy. At the last minute, he decided not to go in either. Walking through Old Town, there were gazillions of street markets set up ready to trap the unsuspecting tourist that wants some cheap piece of tourist crap that is bound to be tossed as soon as the romance of the city has worn off. Most likely it will happen minutes after unpacking at home. Of course, we had to see the astrological clock, but were too impatient to wait the fifteen minutes for it to do its thing. We bought tickets to another theater performance tonight. Don Giovanni performed by marionettes. Mozart composed the opera especially for Prague where he personally conducted the first performance in 1787. Prefacing this with "I hate opera", this was a spectacular performance. Marionettes mesmerize me. I could never really understand how they could train them in the first place. Seriously, this was a show to remember. Though you could see the puppeteers hands from above, their hand work was like an orchestra. The settings and costumes were superb. This is one show I would highly recommend, but get there early. It is open seating.

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