惊艳的布拉格 (Beautiful Prague, Part I)

Cross the bridge to English inline below…

7月18日 星期三

老城广场

傍晚在民宿安顿好后，我俩就散步去老城广场。来布拉格之前，我对布拉格基本一无所知，只是听过蔡依林的布拉格广场的那首歌，知道有这么一个地方，所以不知道对这个地方应该有什么期待，进入老城广场以后，除了拥挤的游客外，真的被这个地方的美惊艳到了。

被弯弯曲曲的小巷围绕的老城广场已经拥有900多年的历史，也曾是11到12世纪中欧贸易最重要的集市之一。站在广场中心，可以看到周边的风格多种多样的建筑，包括哥特式的泰恩教堂、巴洛克风格的圣尼古拉教堂，有600多年历史的哥特式老市政厅及古天文钟楼，捷克宗教改革先驱扬胡斯纪念碑，以及各种土色系风格的彩色建筑，使老城广场成为独一无二的美景。广场上还有各种街头艺人表演，被熙攘的来自世界各地的游客包围着，又给这里增添了一道活跃的气氛。

Wednesday, July 18

Old Town Square

After we settled into our apartment, we walked in the early evening to the Old Town Square.  Before coming to Prague, I really didn’t know anything about this place. I had heard the song by Jolin Tsai, called Prague Square so although I knew of the name of this place, I had no idea what to expect. After entering the Old Town Square, with the exception of the crowds of people, I was truly amazed by the beauty.

The Old Town Square, surrounded by crooked alleys, has a history of more than 900 years and was once one of the most important markets for Sino-European trade in the 11th and 12th centuries. Standing in the center of the square, you can see a variety of building styles, including the gothic Tyne Church, the baroque St. Nicholas Church, the gothic Old Town Hall and the Ancient Astronomical Clock Tower with more than 600 years of history. The huge monument to the religious pioneer, Jan Hus, and the various colorful buildings give the Old Town Square it’s unique beauty. As with many squares, there are also a variety of street performers here, surrounded by busy tourists from all over the world, adding an active atmosphere to the place.

“我就站在布拉格黄昏的广场，在许愿池投下了希望，那群白鸽背对着夕阳，那画面太美我不敢看。”  蔡依林的歌唱到黄昏广场的美，我觉得黄昏的查理大桥更美。

Jolin Tsai’s Prague Square lyrics translate roughly to,

“I stood in the square at dusk in Prague, and cast hope in the wishing pool. The white pigeons facing the sunset. The view is too beautiful, to see I must look away .”

She is singing to the beauty of the twilight square, and the Charles Bridge at dusk. More beautiful than her words convey.

查理大桥

顺着夕阳映照下的闪闪发光的石板路，穿过两侧各式美丽的彩色古建筑，随着熙攘的人群，朝伏尔塔瓦河走去，就可以到达布拉格的充满历史的美丽浪漫的查理大桥。 大桥已经有660多年历史，是典型的哥特式桥梁艺术和巴洛克雕塑艺术的完美结合，在1992年就被列入世界遗产名录。

当时正好夕阳西下，整个大桥以及远处的山上的布拉格城堡和布拉格典型的红砖屋顶，伏尔塔瓦河和河上的游船都被笼罩在橘黄色的光晕下，桥上的街头艺人拉着小提琴曲“禁不住爱上你”， 整个空气都弥漫着浪漫气息 😀

Charles Bridge

Follow the gleaming stone road under the setting sun, through the beautiful colored ancient buildings towering on both sides, and walk along the Vltava River with the crowds, and you will soon encounter the historical and true romance of Prague, the  Charles Bridge. The bridge has a history of more than 660 years and is a wondrous combination of typical gothic bridge art and baroque sculpture art. It has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1992.

We reached the bridge just as the sun was setting behind the beautiful Prague Castle floating in the distant mountains lighting up the bridge and red brick roofs of Prague. The cruise boats on the Vltava River and the light river waves reflected the orange halo, and the street performers on the bridge came bursting to life. A violinist was playing a beautiful rendition of Elvis Presley’s, “Can’t help falling in love with you”, as the whole atmosphere was filled with romance 😀

大桥两侧的石栏杆上有30座巴洛克式圣者的雕塑， 都是出自捷克的艺术家之手，这些雕塑被誉为“欧洲的露天巴洛克塑像美术馆”。 现在桥上的雕塑基本都是复制品，原品都被保存在布拉格国家博物馆中。

There are 30 sculptures of Baroque saints on the stone railings on both sides of the bridge, all created by the hands of Czech artists. These sculptures are known as the “European Open Baroque Statue Gallery”. The sculptures on the bridge are now mostly replicas with the originals kept in the Prague National Museum.

在大桥上看着周围的景色真的是太美了，照片根本无法表现出那些细节。我俩坐了地铁回到民宿后，打算明天早起，趁着早上没有很多游客的时候再去查理大桥。

We were overwhelmed by the beautiful scenery around the bridge, and the photos simply cannot convey its impact. After we got back to our apartment by subway, we decided to get up early tomorrow and go back to the Charles Bridge when there will not be as many tourists and the suns glow will cast a different shadow.