Prague Journal

Sunday, February 13, 2005.

It is interesting to wander around the castle at night, because there is no one there except the guards. Everything is dark except the lights illuminating the castle. The castle guards stand rigidly at attention and make no eye contact. In this ceremonial post, military bearing is everything. The guards are decked out in wonderful uniforms, with every button glistening and every fold of every fabric crisp. When they march in threes to change the guard, every step is in perfect unison and the coordinated slap of their shoe leather on the cobblestones resounds throughout the castle grounds. The short drill which changes the guard is done with such precision and snap that it makes you draw in your breath.

We were trying to get to a concert which I had mistakenly thought was to take place in Vladislav Hall, so we spent ten minutes at the opposite end of St. Vitus Cathedral before we returned to the front (west) portal of the castle complex. Only the distant sound of the music prevented us from abandoning the search, but it still took another ten minutes of trying many doors before we found the entrance that leads to the Spanish Hall. Despite the fact that we were sorely underdressed—we in jeans (appropriate for Vladislav Hall, but not for the elegant Spanish Hall, which is part of the “New Palace”) and 90% of the audience in black eveningwear, including President Klaus—we were glad that we found the concert. The music was performed by Russian sax player Alexel Kozlov and his “progressive jazz rock band” Arsenal, who have been playing together since 1973.
The streets are slippery today, since the cooler temperature has turned the rain to ice. Colder temperatures are predicted this week. We made our way carefully to the tram, arriving home just minutes before Matt’s call. It was great to hear his voice. Allegedly, after much fuss and many phone calls, he has plane tickets awaiting him at the JFK (New York) airport for his visit here in two weeks. If anyone from Czech Airlines reads this blog, they should fire Andrea.

posted by JWinn @ 11:07 PM