So my family and I have been traveling the last couple of weeks, and I got a chance to see my good friend, the astronomical clock in Prague. I was here by myself about seven or so years ago doing some training for work at the university, and on my evenings I’d wander to the Old Town Square to do some sight seeing and take a look at this wonder. When it rings on the hour, it plays a bell tune and the figures around the clock animate. It was under renovations the last time I was here, and I could see that they really brightened the colors and cleaned up the stonework surrounding the clock. Look at the Wikipedia link and compare the images there with mine, and to get more information about this beautiful wonder.
Anyway, after my first trip here, I promised myself I’d bring my family to Prague, not just for the clock, but to experience the city in general. It’s an incredible medieval city that has really (really!) cool museums all around the old sections of the city. This second experience of the city gave me some fresh story ideas to experiment around with.
But, as of the writing of this quick post, we are not in Prague anymore. We traveled to Germany (where I lived for two years in another life) and spent several days in Munich where we saw the big mechanical clock at the Marienplatz. This clock, called the Rathouse-Glockenspiel, like the astronomical clock in Prague, also has clockwork figures moving around on it; but instead of putting on a show every hour, this clock only animates twice a day (three times in the summer). However, the animated figures are much more elaborate and tell part of the city’s history. Here’s a short excerpt (25-seconds) from the video I shot on my phone of one scene from the 12-minute (!) story the clock tells:
We’re in Italy now doing the Rome thing. Toured the Colosseum, but didn’t find any clocks of note there. Disappointing.
(Not really…)
Today, we’re off to see Vatican City—will there be cool clocks there, too? Stand by for updates!