Secret-ish path revealed

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Proximity to lots of other countries. Learning a second language. Going car-less. Dirt-cheap healthcare. Gaining a new perspective on the world... There are a lot of rad things about living abroad.

Of course, there are a lot of crap things, too, but that's for another post!

One of the benefits I cherish most about living in a foreign place is getting intimate with it. Your city is not a fleeting acquaintance, not a sort-of friend you always intend on asking out to coffee but never do. No, your city is something that gradually bears it's heart to you - emotive passion and thumping valves and all. You get to know what makes it pulse and all the little locked-away compartments of history and stories and secrets.

BW discovered a path behind Prague Castle recently that had nary a tourist on it, and he took me there after school. A walk along it revealed sublime castle views, overgrown trees that looked like they were exploding green, a hidden mini-palace and the royal greenhouse, which I certainly never knew existed.

How many times have we walked near the castle and never noticed the innocuous little path before? Too many to count.

BW in front of Belvedere, the summer palace Ferdinand I built for his wife Anne in 1538

Feeling like a queen in Prague Castle's shadow. Between me and the castle is the "Deer Moat," a plunging ravine that kept attackers at bay.
Standing under the colonnades at Belvedere, overlooking the city
This is the Royal Orangery - Emperor Rudolf II had a greenhouse on this spot starting back in 1590, but it was completely destroyed by the Swedes following the Thirty Years' War. Now, this modern structure houses plants that are used to decorate the inside of Prague Castle.

J-dog relishing the views





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