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handcuff > The guards were cool. I've heard from several people (mostly the women kind of people) that they were also cute. Go figure...
handcuff > This picture, while nice, really needs the story behind it for viewers to really understand why I like it so much. In the 14th century, there was a great hunger in Prague (doesn't that sound so story-esque..."hunger in the land..."). During that same time, invasions from foreign kingdoms was a regular threat. While the castle was somewhat fortified against such attacks, several of the outlying nobles, palaces, homes, churches, etc. were still in threat from being attacked. The nobility decided to resolve both problems by announcing that any people who were hungry could work on a wall to repel invading armies, and in return, they would receive food for their family. The wall was built along the fertile hills around the castle and, owing to the circumstances of its creation, was called the "Hunger Wall". Within the guarded area of the hunger wall, there are gardens. Following the completion of the hunger wall, one of the Kings declared that fruit trees would be planted and that any people could come and eat freely of the fruit they picked. That law has remained in effect from that time until now, with several fruit orchards growing various fruits. People can wander through the trees and pick those fruits they like, eating according to their desire and their labor. While most foreign embassies chose other areas to plant their gardens, the United States chose the location within the Hunger Wall, by the free gardens to plant their own gardens...as you walk through the garden, you can constantly see the flag representing the freedoms we Americans enjoy, flying on the US Embassy Gardens and overlooking the orchards. As I said before, while the picture is pretty in it's own regard, the story behind it gives it much more beauty than could be conveyed through the lens.
handcuff > Once I took the last photo, I figured this one would be a good one to have also...
handcuff > Specific Photo: Another shot, showing how closely packed the tombstones are within the cemetery. I believe the first person buried in the cemetery was buried in the 1400's, with the last person being buried in the 1780s or so. General History: The Jewish people were not treated very well in Prague during the last 7 centuries or so. Back in the 1300's, the church had a council wherein they decided that Christ's death was their responsibility (I guess they overlooked the fact that his birth was also partially because of them). Anyway, this gave them the opportunity to persecute the Jews with an official cause. They stuck them in the "slum" of Prague, forcing them to wear jewish identifying marks (Star of David, large pointed 'dunce' hats, etc). One of the consequences of forcing them to live in the slums was overpopulation. There was not enough land to go around for everyone, so they only had a small cemetery in which to bury their dead for 4-500 years. They did have a different cemetery initially, but the land proved to be so fertile and valuable that the king took it from them and created a public square with gardens on the spot. Anyway, burying their dead for so long in one spot caused a few issues...first, the tomb stones were packed too closely together to even be able to walk through (as seen above); second, the people had to be buried on top of each other. After a while they started having to import dirt, and eventually the ground became built up much higher than street level. Currently, ground level within the cemetery is about 12-14 ft about street level, with some areas being as high as 25 ft higher than it used to be.
handcuff > Kathryn and I in Old Town Square at night. She had just gotten her new Bohemian skirt, and several people commented on it (one French guy commented on it to the point where I was about to shove his head down his throat - I didn't have a lot of luck finding polite French men on this trip).
handcuff > This was the coat of arms for the primary family in Kutna Hora, at the time that the monks decided to decorate the church with human bones. The crow picking the eyes from the skull represents the family's victory in battle over the Turks. The whole thing just gives me the warm fuzzies. Someone, please hand me a tissue...
handcuff > The bridge and castle at night. We loved to look at the city at night...
handcuff > 2006 Prague (Scenic) photo
handcuff > 2006 Prague (Scenic) photo
The guards were cool. I've heard from several people (mostly the women kind of people) that they were also cute. Go figure...
handcuff > The guards were cool. I've heard from several people (mostly the women kind of people) that they were also cute. Go figure...
The guards were cool. I've heard from several people (mostly the women kind of people) that they were also cute. Go figure...
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