Thinking of Ter tonight
For those who didn't know, ter369 died yesterday afternoon after a brave battle with uterine cancer. I count the day we met for a three-hour coffee as one of the most fun, most interesting, most memorable ever. She loved music, travel, theatre, reading, cheering on NaNoWriMo authors, fashion, book-publishing news, and bitching. And OPERA, OMG. Biggest opera fan ever!
Today I came across the "Teach Yourself Czech" CDs she sent me before my first trip 3 years ago, and I felt compelled to upload some Prague photos from this year that I thought she'd enjoy. Image heavy, not dial-up friendly unless by "friendly" you mean "My browser is going down like the Hindenburg." Also full of links, just the way she liked to see in entries.
Old Town at dawn.
Old Town with tourists - and it gets worse every hour.
Horse-drawn carriage waiting at the Astronomical Clock.
Church of Our Lady Before Tyn. Astronomer Tycho de Brahe is buried there, along with a non-consensual convert from Judaism, a young boy named Josef Abeles.
The memorial to Jan Hus in Old Town.
Turning around, this is the view toward the smaller square. The red building in the distance is U Kapra (Of the Carp - a monk holds a fish on a plate in an unphotographable part of the wall), where our apartment was 59 torturous steps up.
Wenceslas Square, photographed from the steps of the museum. It took some doing to escape the McDonalds and Coca-Cola signs that are everywhere.
The Estates Theatre, where Mozart's "Don Giovanni" was premiered. You can't see that place and NOT think of Ter.
The Old Jewish Cemetery is an astonishing place. Over 12,000 people were buried on that small tract of land, one layer of graves atop another with the stones brought up to the highest level. Chaos, plus it was raining like whoa the day I took these pictures.
The rain and the wind and the rain.
300 years of stones, in various colors.
The tomb of Rabbi Löw (Golem fame) with the Klausen Synagogue in the background.
The New Jewish Cemetery was founded in 1890. The original idea was to section the parcel of land off by decades. The area meant for Jewish graves in the 1940s is empty, never to be used. The rows of graves just...stop.
Some graves have "In Memoriam" plaques attached for family members killed in the Holocaust.
The most famous "resident" of the cemetery is Franz Kafka, and even he doesn't have his own stone.
Some of the Art Deco tombstones and decorations are quite fanciful.
St. Vitus' Cathedral is one of those buildings you can't photograph without a crane and specialized equipment. It'll be a nice building if they ever finish it...and they started in the 9th century...
I just freaking love gargoyles.
The Ball Court is the true highlight of the Castle Gardens. Half an acre of sgraffito, OMG.
The Castle area has a great view of the Charles Bridge. Notice how many PEOPLE are on it. Stupid tourists.
They even go on the bridge when it's pouring down rain!
This is what the bridge looks like in the very, very wee hours of the morning.
This is what a guy sitting alone on the bridge looks like. No, we didn't push him in, and we didn't pick him up, either.
The bridge, later in the day, from Lesser Town.
The bridge tower, outside and in.
Statues are everywhere on the bridge. This is St. John of Nepomuk. I freely admit having photoshopped a red beer cup out of this shot, so sue me.
The details on the bridge's statues amaze me. This is St. John of Nepomuk's dog (someday I will front a rock band by that name), and it's shiny because touching it brings good luck.
Emo Demon.
Skeletor.
Ouch.
I really don't know what to say about this base. It's SO unexpected.
Last Judgment.
Bring out your dead! (What? Ter would've laughed her ass off!)
Which brings me to the final pictures. Ter loved LIGHT, and you can't beat dawn in Prague for ethereal lighting.
Today I came across the "Teach Yourself Czech" CDs she sent me before my first trip 3 years ago, and I felt compelled to upload some Prague photos from this year that I thought she'd enjoy. Image heavy, not dial-up friendly unless by "friendly" you mean "My browser is going down like the Hindenburg." Also full of links, just the way she liked to see in entries.
Old Town at dawn.
Old Town with tourists - and it gets worse every hour.
Horse-drawn carriage waiting at the Astronomical Clock.
Church of Our Lady Before Tyn. Astronomer Tycho de Brahe is buried there, along with a non-consensual convert from Judaism, a young boy named Josef Abeles.
The memorial to Jan Hus in Old Town.
Turning around, this is the view toward the smaller square. The red building in the distance is U Kapra (Of the Carp - a monk holds a fish on a plate in an unphotographable part of the wall), where our apartment was 59 torturous steps up.
Wenceslas Square, photographed from the steps of the museum. It took some doing to escape the McDonalds and Coca-Cola signs that are everywhere.
The Estates Theatre, where Mozart's "Don Giovanni" was premiered. You can't see that place and NOT think of Ter.
The Old Jewish Cemetery is an astonishing place. Over 12,000 people were buried on that small tract of land, one layer of graves atop another with the stones brought up to the highest level. Chaos, plus it was raining like whoa the day I took these pictures.
The rain and the wind and the rain.
300 years of stones, in various colors.
The tomb of Rabbi Löw (Golem fame) with the Klausen Synagogue in the background.
The New Jewish Cemetery was founded in 1890. The original idea was to section the parcel of land off by decades. The area meant for Jewish graves in the 1940s is empty, never to be used. The rows of graves just...stop.
Some graves have "In Memoriam" plaques attached for family members killed in the Holocaust.
The most famous "resident" of the cemetery is Franz Kafka, and even he doesn't have his own stone.
Some of the Art Deco tombstones and decorations are quite fanciful.
St. Vitus' Cathedral is one of those buildings you can't photograph without a crane and specialized equipment. It'll be a nice building if they ever finish it...and they started in the 9th century...
I just freaking love gargoyles.
The Ball Court is the true highlight of the Castle Gardens. Half an acre of sgraffito, OMG.
The Castle area has a great view of the Charles Bridge. Notice how many PEOPLE are on it. Stupid tourists.
They even go on the bridge when it's pouring down rain!
This is what the bridge looks like in the very, very wee hours of the morning.
This is what a guy sitting alone on the bridge looks like. No, we didn't push him in, and we didn't pick him up, either.
The bridge, later in the day, from Lesser Town.
The bridge tower, outside and in.
Statues are everywhere on the bridge. This is St. John of Nepomuk. I freely admit having photoshopped a red beer cup out of this shot, so sue me.
The details on the bridge's statues amaze me. This is St. John of Nepomuk's dog (someday I will front a rock band by that name), and it's shiny because touching it brings good luck.
Emo Demon.
Skeletor.
Ouch.
I really don't know what to say about this base. It's SO unexpected.
Last Judgment.
Bring out your dead! (What? Ter would've laughed her ass off!)
Which brings me to the final pictures. Ter loved LIGHT, and you can't beat dawn in Prague for ethereal lighting.