Every hour in the main square of Prague, the astronomical clock put on a show - or this is how it was sold to us anyway. Come the hour, we dutifully stood gazing up at the ornate clock, ignoring the seething masses rife with selfie sticks. The bell tolled (and that was the most dramatic part) what followed was a rather dull procession of little figures stiffly moving along their track. I would recommend seeing the clock, as it's rather beautiful - however make sure you avoid going on the hour so as to avoid the unpleasant crowds.
We arrived early for Market day and wandered around enjoying the atmosphere. It was far too early for lunch, so we decided we would find wifi and a drink for a few hours, and then go back to the market for something delicous. We found a restaurant with air conditioning (a welcome relief from the blazing heat) and wifi, however it wasn't quite open yet. While waiting on a nearby bench, I witnessed this magical box. It seemed to be a little library, as people would come up, open the door (no key needed) and place a stack of books in their bag and wander off! I assume it was on some kind of lending system as it was very popular, in the short time we sat there I witnessed three people taking out books! Very strange, but very cool.
Back to the market we went, only to discover to our dismay many of the stalls were already gone! Luckily the one we had scoped out that morning was still there, and we were soon tucking in to Banh Mi, one Yannick and Necia's recommendation. It was my first taste of Vietnamese food and extremely nice, involving baguette, pâté, delicous pork and fresh greens.
Our next stop the Minature museum - an oddity I had read about in Lonely Planet, I wasn't sure what to expect. Based solely on the work of Anatolij Konenko, a Siberian who works with miniatures as a form of art. His first work involved putting horseshoes on a flea which took him a staggering seven and a half years. Armed only with this knowledge, we entered the museum. A simple room, full of microscopes - and beneath each one a piece of art, magnified so the human eye can appreciate such tiny detail. It was strangely beautiful.
My favourite were these camels in the desert, held in the eye of the needle. The extremes gone to for this meticulous work is just mind blowing. Tools often used for eye surgery are used, and the artist can only work between heartbeats to keep a steady hand. His micro-paintings were perhaps the most impressive. Konenko spent twelve years developing this technique, creating handmade brushes made up of individual fibres under a microscope. Not only this, but when applying the actual paint, as it is in such minute amounts each stroke must take not more than half a second, or else it dries.
Coming out the museum, blinking in the daylight and my mind blown, we wandered past this church which Yannick tried in vain to get in to (twice!). I noticed a wedding had left pretty pink petals in its wake, strewn across the cobblestones.
On the same square was the Strahov library, although the beatiful book halls were closed off to visitors to preserve the ceiling frescos, it was possible to peer in. This however was not the highlight. In the foyer a collection of oddities resided, mementos kept by sailors from back in the day who would prepare sea creatures in such a way as to convince landlubbers that sea monsters really existed. My favourite was what we decided was a splayed stingray gruesomely combined with a dried chicken's head. Unfortunately photos cost extra so no wonderful photo of the aforementioned 'sea monster' can be produced.
Tired from our day's escapades, we stopped at a bar for a much needed drink. I tried the Czech beer Pilsner Urquell on tap, and found it very much to my liking.
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