The Slav Epic Was In Storage, So I Rode a Funicular Instead

Strossmayerovo náměstí, in Prague 7

One of the things I wanted to do on my return trip to Prague was to see "The Slav Epic." This is the masterwork of Czech artist Alfons Mucha (1860-1939), depicting the history of the Slavic people, distilled into 20 enormous mural-sized canvases that he painted between 1910 and 1928. For decades they were on display in a small town of Moravský Krumlov in eastern Czech Republic. In 2012 they were moved to Prague, where they were put on display at the Czech National Gallery's Veletržní Palace, the Fair Trade Palace:

Until 2016.

It is an ugly modern brutalist building in northern Prague. I walked up to the building, asked the woman at the desk if this is where "The Slav Epic" was on display and I was told "The Slav Epic" is in there no more. The masterwork of the preeminent Czech artist is on display nowhere. It is locked in warehouse until they figure out what to do. Which they have not been able to do in the three years.

So I went under a bridge. The famous Charles Bridge. To Kampa Island.

Right along the Vltava. Yes, an island is found along the waterside.

I was searching for one of the more famous works by a contemporary Czech artist, David Cerny.

Babies!

David Cerny is the whimsical Czech artist who did the peeing men fountain outside the Kafka Museum, or the statute of Good Ling Wenceslas riding an upside down horse.

These are his babies. Or, to use the Czech, "Miminka."

Some people think the heads looks like TV screens from the old cathode ray tube era.

They look like rotting fruit to me. Whatever. They're awesome. See I don't hate all modern art.

Just when its mediocre.

Time to cross the river and leave Kampa Island.

It's not much of a river on the west side of the island. Anyway, cross the river, get to the Újezd tram stop and I see ...

Lanovka!  And Lanovka is the Czech word for ...

Fun? Close. It's the Czech word for ...

Funicular! Lanovka = Funicular.

There is nothing better on a gloomy, rainy Wednesday in a foreign capital than to ride a funicular.

This one goes up Petrin Hill.

Petrin Hill is known for its Tower.

The Petrin Tower is a "replica" of the Eiffel Tower. It is smaller than the Eiffel Tower, but taller, if you start counting its height from the bottom of Petrin Hill.

Which, truth be told -- and I like Prague -- is something that only a boastful Praguer would say to justify why there is an Eiffel Tower copy in their city.

I saw four stations of the cross up here.

The last four, Stations XI, XII, XIII and XIV, I believe. I'm not sure where you go for Stations I through X, or if they even still exist -- the communists could have done something unspeakable to them -- but I only saw four stations here.

And an Orthodox Church.

And I tiny chapel. Not sure of its religion. We'll call it "interfaith" and be very 21st Century about it. Or maybe merely "ecumenical."

And then there was this ...

The Mirror Maze. Put atop Petrin Hill for an international exposition in, I believe, 1891. Normally, I wouldn't go for a funhouse mirror room, but (a) it's historic, from 1891, and (b) I'm on vacation. So I paid my 90 Czech crowns, about four bucks, and in I went. For the history.

And the Mirror Maze most definitely was a period piece, looking very much from the late 19th Century. Although, truth be told, the maze was not very difficult.

The middle section was a mural of an important event in Prague history from 1648:

And the last section was the beauty mirrors:

This mirror distorted my physique to make me look fat. 'Cuz I am.

I had a friend in law school who was built like this:

Even though he had little short legs, he was the same height as me because he was all torso.

And in this one, my face looks fat:

'Cuz it is. It is.

Anyway, to paraphrase that fantastic awesome incredible disco song from 1979, "Boogie Oogie Ooogie": If you're thinking you're too cool for the Mirror Maze / Boy oh boy have I got news for you. I'm never too cool. For anything. So I end up getting to do cool things like the 1891 Mirror Maze.

The rains were starting to fall harder, so time to end the day's mozying for photos. Well, one last photo set.  The Czech national theater.

And the newer national theater. And people wonder why I hate modern architecture so much,

One last look at the two together.

This is the last day in Prague. Tomorrow I catch some sort of transportation to the spa town of Karlovy Vary.

The Third Floor of the Eiffel Tower Is High Enough

Paris street scene and, oh, hey, there's the Eiffel Tower

We had tickets for 10:00PM for the Eiffel Tower because that was all that were available during our four days in Paris.  And we only had tickets to go as high as Level 3 because there were no "summit" tickets available until sometime in July.

They do not have a Metro stop right at the Eiffel Tower.  They don't even have a Metro stop anywhere near it.  The closest stop is Champs de Mars-Eiffel Tour, which is an "RER" stop, which is like the Metro, but it's not (e.g., it runs on regular gauge railroad tracks).  This monument was close to the station:

This is a monument honoring the WWI Christmas Truce between the Germans and the French in 1914.  I think that's the truce that, according to legend, began when one French soldier starting singing the French carol "O Holy Night" and a German soldier responded with "Stille Nacht," or vice versa.  But while you're pondering that, here comes the Eiffel Tower into view.

It's close to 10:00PM in Paris, but the sky is still in daylight mode.  Paris is far north.  49th parallel north.  And here's a heart-warming scene of the brotherhood of man:  Croatian and Irish football fans drinking on the side of the road next to the Eiffel Tower.

Let's have a look at the under-carriage of the Eiffel Tower:

I'm headed for Level 3, which is the last main platform before the tower starts getting "rock star on heroin" skinny.  And who's with me waiting to ascend?

A bunch of Croatian football fans.  The Eiffel Tower was lousy with Croatian football fans.  And, that, that was a wonderful thing.

Finally having ascended to the third level, I am absolutely certain that the third floor was high enough.  There was no need to go to the summit.  The views from here are plenty fine.  Speaking of which, first, the view facing northwest:

This is the view across the Pont d'Iena to the Jardins du Trocadero and Palais de Chaillot. The interesting thing that I learned is that Paris has a modern "downtown" of skyscrapers, which they intelligently located far away from the tourist core.  The Champs-Elysees, the Left Bank, and the area around Tour Eiffel remain free of the curses of modernism, Bauhaus, and the skyscraper.  Thank God Le Corbusier failed in his vision to destroy the historic architecture of Paris and replace it with butt-ugly socialist-realism buildings.

Next, looking northeasterly.

If you enlarge the picture, you should see the giant Ferris Wheel at the end of the Champs-Elysees.  I think the Grand Palais, along the Seine, also is visible, but I don't know the Paris skyline enough to be visible.  And I think that high point be Montmatre, topped with the distinctive Sacre-Coeur cathedral.

Then there's the southwesterly view.

This is the Paris "fan fest" site, on the Champs de Mars in front of the Eiffel Tower.  I visited the World Cup Fan Fest site in Natal at the Praia do Forte (Fort Beach) in Natal.  You can see the giant TV screen and the huge crowd behind that.

It was finally getting dark.  One last look at the Eiffel Tower lit up for the Paris night.

City of lights, indeed.  This is the second Eiffel Tower I have visited now, after the one in Las Vegas.  This one is much bigger.  I hope one day to have ascended all the Eiffel Towers in the world, although not necessarily to the top.