EUROPE & DC '23 • Day 14: Prague, Czech Republic
- Bob Aron
- Sep 12, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 22, 2023
OLD TOWN - PRAGUE • CAPTAIN FINGERS
CHARLES BRIDGE
My friend Jeff Zias told me there was a lot of energy going on around the Charles Bridge and it's no lie. Lucky for us we are staying on the quieter west end of the bridge. We didn't have any specific plans for today, just a walk around and see what happens. Immediately upon the bridge, we're thinking to ourselves, this is a really beautiful city. It's pretty much a picture postcard in all directions. We crossed the historic bridge and at the other end saw the small door in the east side tower that Jeff had mentioned to me. You can climb up to the top and get some even more spectacular views of the city and the bridge.
As you continue on into Old Town, the tourist area becomes evident. Tons of souvenir stores, ice cream shops (more on that in a bit), bars, etc. Right away we kept noticing many ice cream places that make these 'chimney cones'. They're everywhere and we know it must be tried before we leave. Finally we make it into the old town square and there are many people all taking photos of the astronomical clock (dating back to the 1400s!) I mentioned in the Strasbourg blog post. It was like the Mona Lisa, there were so many people taking photos, tour guides all jabbering away in different languages and no clear photo shots to be had. Maybe later when we meet up with yet another friend on this trip.
ASTRONOMICAL CLOCK
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While walking around we happened across the John Lennon wall. The history of the wall is more interesting than the actual wall. As there didnt seem much in the way of Lennon images or lyrics and poetry. For more info:
MEETING LORENZO & CORINA
At a septet rehearsal at my house this summer I mentioned that I would pretty much be away all of September, so no rehearsals. "I'm going to Prague", to which Lorenzo replies, "Hey, I'll be in Prague in September". "Then I'm going to Vienna", and he replies "Me too!". Turns out we have a similar itinerary that also included Oktoberfest in Munich, but Prague had the only overlapping days on our trip schedules. So we planned on meeting up with Lorenzo and Corina for beers near the Astronomical Clock to see it do it's thing while we hung out.
After dinner (beware, the cafe restaurants near the clock are overpriced for tourists), we walked around the old square, in search of both some soft serve ice cream Lorenzo was after, then one of those chimney cones I was after.
Fun but I would prefer the gelato we've been eating in France, instead of a soft serve with strawberries and chocolate sauce. Lorenzo had one though after already having his other soft serve cone. Sin Verguenza!
CAPTAIN FINGERS
The four of us capped off the evening at the AghaRTA Jazz Club. A great little club down in the basement in old town. Stone walls, high ceiling, a nice stage and a good band; Captain Fingers (local players). You Lee Ritenour fans would recognize the name as one of his tunes. I don't really know Lee Ritenour's music that well, but they pretty much stuck to the 80's fusion repertoire; Jeff Lorber, Yellowjackets, Steps Ahead and a lot of Pat Metheny and Lee Ritenour, of course. The band was really good, particularly the guitar and keyboard players. Really good soloist, they knew the material really well. I'm giving this a total thumbs up! And would recommend the club to anyone visiting Prague, Hopefully you'll be there on a night with a great band too!
Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) it was getting late so Yvette and I skipped out on the last coupe tunes. Apparently, a guy sitting in front of us tried to take the mike from the drummer to encourage an encore or something. He was young, had Peter Frampton hair and was wearing dark glasses in the dark club throughout. A couple too many beers I think!
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