Caryatids, Telamons, And Atlantes of Prague, So Far

A caryatid is one of those human figures--instead of a mere column or post--supporting a porch or balcony or whatever is overhead. The original and still best known is the Erectheion on the Acropolis in Athens. But caryatids are merely the female version. The male versions are termed Atlases or Atlantes, if they are styled on Atlas, or as telamons if they are merely male. From the Romans on, whenever a society had the means, these figures brighten the architectural landscape. 

We have seen the Erechtheion in Athens and the great Atlas in the Valley of Temples near Agrigento, and further instances in Rome and Paris and London and many other places. But never have we seen so many as in Prague. Nearly every street we have wandered in Old Town, New Town, and Lesser Town has caryatids or telamons. And we are only half way through our stay here. My pix of them is now at the limit for a reasonably-sized post, so, without further ado, here goes...

Original and still champeen, the Erechtheion, on the Acropolis

Marks and Spencers

And on and on, some classical, some Asian, some exotic...

OK, I'm not sure what to call them when they're dragons, especially
female dragons

Rams?

Eagles? Turkey vultures? Big Bird?

Maybe not caryatids/telamons strictly, but interesting depictions of WWI

To Mala Strana And Beyond, 2

We crossed the bridge finally and entered Mala Strana, loosely adhering to Rickie Stevie's Mala Strana Walk, but mostly just walking and gawking. We didn't get to the Wallenstein Palace Garden and some other things...but might next time.

Approaching the gate to Mala Strana

Looking toward St. Nicholas church, said to be
the best Baroque church north of the Alps; we
visited in 2010; possible origin of my expression
"If it ain't Baroque, don't fix it"

There are cash machines all over the city--a side-hustle
for every small retailer and trinket shoppe, with reputedly
exorbitant exchange rates--but few as well-adorned as
this one

We managed to find a restaurant we ate at twice in 2010, Beseda,
in the former city hall; but they weren't serving cream of garlic
soup that day--best I've ever had--so we demurred; maybe next week

Pretty, yes, but how well does it work at night?

Mala Strana burned in 1689 and was rebuilt largely by Italians
(the spaghetti crop had failed); hence the arcades in this part of
town

And Italian names on the palazzos

Prague Plague Monument...1348...The Big One;
2020-2022 plague monuments doubtlessly will
involve working from home, masks, and Zoom; and
BigPharma scientists developing vaccines at warp
speed

West facade of St. Nicholas

More beautiful buildings; here, however, you make
a hairpin right turn and walk further uphill to the
belvedere just outside Hardcandy Castle

And great views of the city

Nicely placed Starbucks

The "Dancing Building" in the distance across the river

More sic transit, Gloria (hemp, cannabis, CBD store)

Much of our stroll in Mala Strana was on Nerudova street, known
for the many house signs that adorn its buildings; back in the day,
people didn't use house numbers...just "meet me at the house
of the swan, at dawn, on the fifth day" or somesuch...Empress Maria
Theresa's finance ministers saw an opportunity for a new tax and
so required all houses to be numbered instead; and the expression
"taxation without representation" was thus born

Now the government requires house owners to keep
and maintain the signs; which can be very handy if
you can't think of a name for your new absinthe parlor
or chimney cake cafe

Over the "Three Fiddles" bar; seriously

And no end to the beautiful buildings

Happy King/Saint Wenceslas Day!

We interrupt our regularly scheduled blogposts to wish you and yours a very happy King/Saint Wenceslas Day, a national holiday here in the Czech Republic. Please do enjoy this rendition of "Good King Wenceslas." Vicki notes that the song is more properly associated with St. Stephen's Day, December 26th, which became, for the Brits and all Brit-kind, Boxing Day. Go figure. We are celebrating by staying indoors all day in a rather rainy and chilly Prague.

For a most entertaining history of the hymn, do watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYnCon4aME8&ab_channel=M.LaserHistory.

To Mala Strana And Beyond, 1

The next day, September 26, we finished the Prague Walk, taking a variant route to the Charles Bridge--Carlova street is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and so is the "astronomical" clock--crossing the bridge, venturing into Mala Strana, and then up the hill all the way to the belvedere just outside Hardcandy Castle. Mala Strana is the "Lesser Town" at the foot of the castle, across the river from Old Town and New Town. We have a couple favorite sites in Mala Strana, from previous visits.

Beautiful buildings all along the way

Jaroslav Rona's famous statue of Kafka near the
Spanish Synagogue

Serpent bench

Paris street and its who's-who of ultra-exclusive shoppes

Kafka Society offices--"don't step on that roach!"

Street scene in Josefov, the Jewish Quarter--most of
which was razed in the 19th century to make way for
these beautiful buildings; synagogues, cemeteries,
and a museum remain, however; we'll visit in due
course

Yes, Virginia, there are (neo?) Gothic synagogues

More gorgeous buildings

And ornaments

Occasionally there are ugly buildings; these we attribute to the
Warsaw Pact era

One of our firmest rules of travel is to stop and drop everything
on encountering a Flemish frites shop

It offered only a dozen or so sauces, but the ketchup
and garlic were just fine for us; note the brilliantly-designed
container with built-in sauce holder 

Now, finally, we are back on The Walk, crossing
the Charles Bridge, noting the assorted statues;
shouldn't the lettering be Aramaic and not Hebrew?

Room for more

This is the one you're supposed to rub certain
parts of in order to get your wish or prayer fulfilled;
we had left our hand sanitizer back at the apartment,
so it was not a good day for wish or prayer
fulfillment; in that regard

Looking back at one of Europe's most beautiful cities

And ahead to Mala Strana's skyline

Near the end of the bridge, a Christian totem pole

And my favorite, a whole gang of saints and
demi-gods; note the horny St. Eustache; imprisoned
are Christians captured by the nasty Moor on the left;
note bird nest in his head gear