|
~Prague~ Sunday, 25th June 2006
it all had started with snow in April. with dreams of warm places, of the architectural wonders of the Alhambra in Spain, and the breezy winds on the islands of Greece. “a short trip,” i had said. “in June,” Inge had suggested. a day later, i had sketched a little list of possible destinations and flight schedules, based on the website of Germanwings, a low budget carrier. “Ever been to Prague?” i inquired. “No,” Inge answered, “have you?” I smiled. “No,” I said, looking already forward to the next sentence. “So how about going there for 55 Euro?” and now, 2 months later, we are here. in Prague. in the sunshine.
arrived at Praha Airport at 2.30pm, took the city bus (number 119) to the end station, Dejvicka, which is the beginning station of the green metro (line A), changed to the red metro (line C) at the museum, got off at 'I.P. Pavlova' as advised, walked down the Katerinska Street and turned right into Melounova Strasse. checked in at Miss Sophie's, and took the lift to our home for the coming 2 days: apartment 5B. in front of the door, we stopped for a second. you never really know what you get, i said. then we opened the door. and stepped into a surprise. or rather: a loft, very modern, with a Kandinsky reprint above a white sofa, and angled walls.
“Wow,” i said, amazed. then i looked at the windows. “Do you think they can be opened?” it wasn't hard to figure this out. one move of the handle, and the window gave way to a view across the sea of roofs of Nove Mesto, the new quarter, and Stare Mesto, the old town. in the distance, above the sea of roofs, was the castle. just like that.
“if we had tried to arrange this, it would never have worked out,” i said. now, half an hour later, we sit.. not in a street café, but right there, in our little loft, high above the streets, freshly showered, cups of green tea and ginger biscuits in front of us, next to a variety of maps and leaflets that offer advice on where to go and what to see. the sky helps with the decision: it just started to throw drops of rain, a perfect excuse to keep arriving for another hour before stepping into the streets of Prague. ~~~ next: where the Vlatava flows smile. and an additional window moment - same view, different time.
|
|||
