PragueBuzz!

Czech’s greatest ruler, Emperor Charles IV, threw the first foundation stone for this late-Gothic cathedral in1344. Further Renaissance and Baroque decorations and constructions were added later on until its completion in 1929, making it the largest and most important church in the Czech Republic. The “Good King” Wenceslas was laid to rest here in Chapel of St Wenceslas. Upon entering the church, you will be greeted by massive stained glass arts depicting historical and religious events.

This alley at the end of Prague Castle complex provides a surprisingly pleasant escape from the typical grandeur of the Prague Castle. Dotting along the small street are small, colorful houses built right into the arches of the Castle walls. They were built in the 16th century for the King’s castle guards. Then when goldsmiths arrived and lived there in the 17th century, the alley was called “Golden Lane.”

Franz Kafka
The street is now largely occupied by souvenir and book shops. Czech’s famous writer Franz Kafka (house 22) stayed here at his sister’s house between 1916 and 1917. Nobel-laureate poet Jaroslaf Seifert lived here who lived in the 1930s in a now demolished building.

Souvenir shops

Museum

Admission
You can’t visit just Golden Lane (I tried.) You have to buy a ticket for either a long or short tour.

Click here for a list of attractions at Prague Castle.

Tags: PragueBuzz, prague, czech, sights, prague castle

A review for Milan Kundera’s “Unbearable Lightness of Being” is added to the section “Famous Films Made in the Czech Republic.”

Tags: czech, film, praguebuzz, milan kundera

I watched in disbelief as Serbia started racking up high points (8, 10, 12), competing neck-to-neck the first slot with Ukraine before solidifying the number one spot. It was Eurovision history all over again. In 2004, Ukrainian Rustlana’s exotic and electrifying Wild Dancer inched above talented Serbian Zeljko Joksimovic’s beautiful ballads “Lane Moje” to snatch the first prize. Only three years later, the Serbs got their revenge. Sweet!

I guess Marija Serifovic’s “Molitva” was a song about homosexuals or promoting homosexuals because in the end, the Marija held hand with one of her female backup singers, completing a full red heart from each’s half. Coincidentally, Ukraine’s entry exploded the stage and cracked the audience up with its silly act and the singer’s transvestite costume.

Serbia “Molitva”

I’ve re-watched Marija’s performance and think her win was deserving. However, I think the song, the voice and the music though excellent would not guarantee the 1st place without the dramatic stage performance with the additional female backup singers.

Ukraine’s “Dancing Lasha Tumbai”

The two top winners prompted me to think if this year voters wanted to send a message to the world.

Once again, my Eurovision taste seemed to be out-of-sync with the rest. My favorites are not even in the top ten:

1. France’s “L’amour À La Française” - A ear-catching atypical French song.
2. Romania’s “Liubi, Liubi, I Love You” - This vote-buying romantic ballad is simple but very sweet. It’s sung in five or six language (to attract voters).
3. Slovenia’s “Cvet Z Juga” - A mixed of classical and pop vocals. Very interesting.
4. Latvia’s “Questa Notte” - This performance resembles Italian’s Four Tenors Concert.

However, I voted for Bulgaria’s folk entry Water. I did not like the song much; I simply voted because I thought that it was the freshest and unique entry in the entire cheesy, pop-oriented competition. This Bulgarian sorceress sang some sort of a chant and impressed me with her percussion’s playing skills.

As for the Czech Republic. It sent the country’s BEST rock group and couldn’t fare worse than its 28th place. (Out of 28 participants in the semi-final.)

Once again, this year voting flagrantly reflected political and geographical connections among countries. I will do another analysis of the voting pattern once the result available on the Eurovision’s website.

For more scoop, visit Eurovision’s official website.