Stunning pictures and descriptions in English below …
7月19日 星期四
早上不到6点,我俩就起床坐地铁去了查理大桥,欣赏一下太阳升起下的美景。我俩买了两张24小时的公共交通卡,在24小时内无限使用公共交通。在第一次使用的时候,要在进站前在打卡机上打上时间,这样就开始24小时的记录。这里也是诚信制度,车上没有人检票,进站时也没有任何检票设施或人员。
到了大桥后,发现没有了游客的嘈杂和街头艺人的音乐相伴,早上的大桥安静很多。可是意外的发现这时候有很多来桥上拍婚纱照的情侣,而且大部分都是中国人。
Thursday, July 19
We got up before six and took the subway to the Charles Bridge to enjoy the beauty of a sunrise over Prague. We bought 24-hour public transportation cards giving us unlimited transportation for the day. Like in Berlin, on the first use, you need to use the time puncher before entering the station to start the 24-hour clock. Also, like Berlin, this system relies on good faith. No one checks the ticket, nor are there any check-in facilities or personnel when entering the station.
On arriving we found a very peaceful bridge, free from tourists and the music of the street performers. Although the bridge was much quieter in the early morning, it was not empty, as we came across couples taking wedding photos on the bridge; and most of them were Chinese.
大桥上的雕塑基本是黑色的,应该是因为雕塑的某个材料因为氧化造成的。 The sculptures on the bridge are basically black due to oxidation of the type of stone that is used for the sculptures.
出生在布拉格的著名作家弗朗茨·卡夫卡曾临终前对他的好友表示过他的伟大的查理大桥对他的写作及生命的影响。我没有读过卡夫卡的书,来到这里后,使我产生了读一下他的书想法,领会一下这座大桥是如何给他灵感的。
漫步过查理大桥,我俩又一路走到了老城广场,广场里也非常安静,可以更好的欣赏广场周围的各式建筑。
The famous writer Franz Kafka, who was born in Prague, said something like this to his good friend before his death. “My life and inspiration are all from the great Charles Bridge.” I had not read any of Kafka’s books before coming here but now I will to gain an understanding of how and why the bridge inspired him.
Making our way across the Charles Bridge, we walked through the Old Town Square again – the square was very quiet, and we could better appreciate the various surrounding buildings.
布拉格天文钟是一座中世纪天文钟,位于老城市政厅的南面墙上,已经拥有600多年的历史了。天文钟是一种机械式的星盘,在中世纪也是一种天文学的设备。可惜现在天文钟在进行维修,所以我俩是没缘看到真身了。
The medieval era Prague Astronomical Clock is located on the south wall of the Old Town City Hall and has endured more than 600 years of history. The astronomical clock is a mechanical device capable of tracking the positions of the moon and stars and astronomy in the Middle Ages. Unfortunately, the astronomical clock was undergoing maintenance so we didn’t have a chance to see it in operation. They put a large monitor in front that shows a video of the clock instead.
清晨在查理大桥和老城广场间穿梭完,拍完照片后,我俩就回到民宿休息了一下,中午出发先去了布拉格小城那边的山上,希望能看一下布拉格的全景。路过卡夫卡博物馆,门前的两个雕像喷泉很有个性 😅 是两个男人站着对着尿尿,而且身体的臀部还会旋转 ,这个喷泉雕塑叫“ Proudy”,是捷克艺术家 David Černý的作品。 水池的外形是捷克的国家地图的形状。
In our morning walk, we shuttled between the Charles Bridge and the Old Town Square. After taking photos, we went back to the apartment and took a break. Before lunch we walked up the hill where the Prague Castle stands hoping to see a panorama of Prague. Passing through the Kafka Museum, we found these two statue fountains in the courtyard of the museum. The two men stand facing each other peeing, and the hips of their bodies rotate. The fountain sculpture is called, “Proudy” and is the work of Czech artist David Černý. The pool is in the shape of the map of the Czech Republic.
去山上也就是通往城堡的路上,还要走一段新城堡阶梯,再向上走一段就看到靠墙边排的很长的队伍,我俩以为是去城堡买票的队伍,没想到竟然是过安检的队伍,不知道城堡还有多远,但是我俩可真没兴趣站在大太阳下排队过安检。而且我俩上去只是去看全景, 并不是要参观城堡,所以在旁边的一个平台上就可以完全欣赏到一部分美丽的布拉格全景。
We climbed the steps up the side of the mountain leading to the castle. As we reached the top we see a long queue of people standing against the wall for, what we thought was the ticket line. It turns out, this was just the security check and we were really not interested in standing in the hot sun probably to find another line inside to buy tickets. And, as we had gone up to see the panorama and not to visit the castle we found a perfectly good viewing area outside of the castle.
下了山,我俩再次去了查理大桥,看看白天中一个又不一样的大桥。
Back down the mountain, we returned to the Charles Bridge to again see a different version during the day.
强烈的太阳下的雕塑们更显的轮廓明确,庄严肃穆,映衬在蓝天之中,更能让人聆听他们代表的故事。
The sculptures under the strong afternoon sun are more clearly defined, solemn, against the blue sky, and they let people listen to the stories they represent.
各式乐器的街头艺人为大桥增添了浪漫的气息。
Street performers with all kinds of musical instruments add a romantic atmosphere to the bridge.
老城广场上也又布满了游客,开始变得吵杂。
The Old Town Square was also full of tourists and had began to get noisy again.
PJG在网上买了两张登上老城市政厅的门票,那里可以观赏老城广场全景。今天的日落时间是9点01,我俩在8点40多分钟的时候上了塔顶,美丽的老城广场和标志性的红瓦屋顶尽收眼底,真的是太美了!
PJG bought two tickets for the tower city hall on the Internet, where you can enjoy panoramic views of the Old Town Square. Today’s sunset time is at 9:01pm. We went to the top of the tower at 8:40, and the beautiful Old Town Square and the iconic red tile roofs are really beautiful!
我俩在这次旅行中登上过伦敦的碎片大厦,巴黎的埃菲尔塔,柏林的电视塔, 我觉得这应该是看到的城市全景最美的地方,红红的屋顶在夕阳温暖余晖的映照下,显得更加强烈和浓郁,为布拉格增添了一绪更加迷人的色彩。
So far on this trip, we have taken in the views from the Shard Building in London, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and the TV Tower in Berlin. Without a doubt, I think this is the most beautiful panorama we have seen yet. The red roofs reflecting the warmth of the setting sun. The roof colors appear more intense and rich, adding a more fascinating feeling to Prague.