Czech Republic

Five Crazy Prague Sites

Ian

 

Prague is famous for its many historic landmarks and sites of cultural significance. But we’re not interested in those. Here are our top five trivial and bizarre things we spotted while walking between the actually famous stuff.

#1: Door Covered With Creepy Heads

Door with rows of creepy head protrusions in Prague

While it probably does deter burglars, I can’t say I’d feel safer living behind this door.

As far as we could tell this didn’t belong to any business or museum, it was just some random door.  I can only assume that behind this door is an onyx pedestal draped in black velvet holding the Necronomicon.

#2: Statue of a Giant Pixelated Pregnant Woman

Giant pixelated statue of pregnant woman in Prague

Careful observers may notice the empty beer can resting on her inner right thigh. Stay classy Prague!

This was on the walk from our AirBnB to Old Town, so we got quite familiar with it.

#3: Crane Tow Truck

Car being towed by vertical lift via crane in Prague

Need a lift?

 

If you’ve been to Europe you know it’s full of narrow streets and tight parking spaces. Maybe you’ve thought to yourself: “I can park here. How could they possibly tow me even if they wanted to?” And now you know the answer.

#4: Animated Statue of Peeing Men

I think this art piece speaks for itself.

Trdelník Making

This one is not as weird as the others. But it is impressive how quickly this lady was able to whip out Trdelník (pronounced “turtle-neck”, I assume).  Delicious.

Trdelnik being baked in Prague

Here’s the zoomed out shot showing the roasting station where the Trdelnik take on a lovely golden brown hue.

Honorary Mention: Anonymous Bar

anonymous_redux_4

This already got a full write-up. But… gah! So creepy.

The Bus Driver’s Song

Ian

We take a lot of buses. There are good companies, like Polski Bus in Poland, or Student Agency in the Czech Republic with modern, clean, wi-fi enabled buses. They also have bus stewards/stewardesses, kind of like an airplane. On one particular bus we were treated to an announcer who liked to deliver all of her lines in a sort of liturgical chant. I recorded a snippet, so you too can experience the joy of busridership. Enjoy.

 

Český Krumlov

Tiara

Český Krumlov looks like a town straight out of a fairy tale.  We spent three days relaxing there with my parents and uncle.  Ian went to Český Krumlov back in 2002 during record-setting rain and flooding, so he enjoyed seeing what the town looked like in the sunshine.

We explored the castle, climbed the bell tower, and visited the castle bears (!):

IMG_2792 (more…)

Sedlec Ossuary

Tiara

bone chandelier

Wut.

Crazy, right?  This is a chandelier made of 100% bona fide human femurs and scapulas and such (oh yes I did).

We took a day trip from Prague to the town of Kutna Hora for the primary purpose of visiting the creepy and amazing Sedlec Ossuary.  In the 1800s, Catholic monks “artfully” arranged the remains of between 40,000 and 70,000 people in the ossuary.  Most of the bones belonged to plague victims who died in the fourteenth and fifteenth century.

Make no bones about it – there were skulls everywhere.  My mom used to be an anatomy professor so she was super into it.  Honestly, we were too.  It was macabre but also beautiful.  Take a look: (more…)