Wednesday, January 20, 2010

the sound of a dream...

I know I had written about my journey in Prague on my blog, The Lotus Sutra Chronicles. I took so many images, that I just simply wanted to share more of the experience here. Music is so important to a lot of people. It is amazing how effective music is. It can evoke a memory, change a mood, or simply put you in a place or time you have never been before when you hear it for the first time.
The surroundings seem to be everywhere and anywhere, with music pumped into the streets. Prague is full of magic, a magic I seemed to tap into as a complete stranger here. It is fascinating to me to see how much Prague has changed since the revolution. It has retained the beauty of its identity, but the Western influences has come in the forms of cuisine and increased shops that cater to those that are addicted to their labels. Money and things have crept into the frequency of conversations of a generation that had not and is slowly transforming them into haves.
The signs of the old sculptures are integrated into the new cafes and restaurants. I find it interesting to see how this world is ever changing. You are dining where the ancients once roamed. Watching the waves of power and influence shift around the globe has been interesting to see first hand. The Czech Republic was a very poor country, under the control of Russia. It is the people that forced the change and cried out for new ways when old systems were breaking down. Revolution is apart of history, a history that many governments fear.
I looked at the adornments of the Municipal House and found it difficult not to fall in love with the atmosphere. You saw the jaded eyes of those who were used to seeing it all. There was a loss for the magic. I love those moments, where eyes light up and you want to carve a moment in time and hold on to it. However, time moves and the only way to freeze those moments are through these images and words. It makes it last longer by sharing them with the attitude of a wondrous child.
It was amazing. It still is.
From the Municipal House in Prague, The Prague Royal Orchestra - Vivaldi's The Four Seasons - Row 1, Seat 12.