I'm a teacher. Last time I visited an exhibition with my class and photographed Prague from the dome of the museum and wrote an article about it.
Today I visited the Prague Congress Centre with my class, where the Prague High School Fair was held.
I am a 9th grade class teacher and my students are choosing where to go after they graduate from elementary school.
The Congress Centre is located in Prague on an elevated site. So it will surprise no one that I photographed Prague from there again.
The previous photo was taken from the top floor of the building. This photo was taken from the first floor. But in both cases, you can see that I'm shooting through large glass windows.
Both photos show the Vyšehrad fortress, or rather its cathedral, on the left. Then you can see the Petřín hill with the lookout tower and the typical silhouette of Prague Castle on the horizon.
I'll turn a little to the right and edit the photo a bit, cutting off the bottom part. Now you can clearly see the so-called Emmaus Monastery almost in the middle.
I took this photo on the way out. It's not taken through glass. You can see the monastery a little better. Of course, it's across the valley from me.
The monastery was built in the 14th century. It's been destroyed several times and rebuilt several times. It's now the Police and Crime Museum. I thought I might go there with the kids sometime. You can take interesting pictures from there too.
The bridge was visible in the previous photos. Here I focused on the bridge. What is interesting about it?
Few will be interested to know that the bridge is almost half a kilometre long, 26.5 metres wide and up to 42.5 metres high. Metro trains run in its tube. More interestingly, the bridge has the unofficial name of Suicide Bridge.
The bridge was completed in 1973. From then until 2007, about 300 people committed suicide by jumping down here.
All the while, the bridge operator has been trying to build ever-improving barriers against suicide. Only since 2007 have they been truly insurmountable. (They were tested by a team of specially-equipped climbers, but even they failed. Still, I don't recommend trying to overcome them.)
If I'm showing views from the building, I should probably show the building too. But I can't get it all in the frame. I'd have to cross that bridge. I don't have time for that, I have 25 kids with me and we have to be on time for afternoon classes.
Just one figure to give you an idea of the size of the centre. On the roof of the building there is a 7000 m2 solar power plant.
The building was completed and opened in 1981 under the name Palace of Culture. It was built by the then ruling Communist Party for its congresses. That is why this neo-functionalist building was unpopular among Prague citizens. It was given many nicknames. For example, "Moby Dick".
If I were to turn around from the Centre to the other side, I would find a number of modern buildings. But I don't want to write about them today. I have to hurry to school to teach.
For the Czech reader I am enclosing a short summary in Czech. They know Prague, so I will write something a little different, which will hopefully also interest them.
Takže česky...
Nevím, jestli jste přetrpěli moji "deeplcom" angličtinu, nebo čtete až tyto řádky... Prostě jsem s deváťaky vyrazil na Schola Pragensis, veletrh pražských středních škol.
Také jsem se prošel mezi výstavními stanovošti, byly jich vyšší desítky. Skoro jistě přes sto... Ale já už studovat nebudu. Tak atˇsi vybírají žáci. Pokud už tedy nemají vybráno. A zhusta nemají. Je jim to tak nějak jedno, co bude. Co bude, to bude... Ale zpět.
Neusadil jsem se v odpočinkové místnosti pro pedagogy, jen jsem si tam dal kávu a koláček a letěl jsem fotografovat. Co jsem fotil a co jsem k tomu dopsal, to je vidět výše. Těch fotek bylo samozřejmě víc...
Útočily na mě vzpomínky. Jako mladičký svazák jsem tam trapně statoval na nějakém sjezdu. Už nevím kdy a nevím jakého. Bylo mi něco přes patnáct. Už tenkrát jsem se za to styděl. Ale přeci jsem rozdával soudružkám květiny... Musel to být nějaký sjezd Svazu žen.
Už nikdy mě na podobnou akci nedostali. Ale přeci už nemám právo kritizovat dětské vojáky, ani třeba kluky z Hitlerjugend. Kdyby mi tenkrát místo kytek dali pušku...
O rok (nebo dva?) později jsem do Pakulu (Paláce kultury) začal chodit do tanečních. Blbé místo, no. Ale bylo tam volno. Jinde asi ne. Nepamatuju si už přesně.
Ale zpátky do současnosti. Akce se vydařila. To znamená, že jsem dětí do školy nepřivedl ani míň, ani víc. Tak akorát. A přišli jsme včas.
Ono se to nemá... Ale poslouchal jsem také cizí rozhovory. Zajímalo mě, co říkají studenti našim žákům, když je zrovna neposlouchá profesorský sbor. Případ od případu.
Taky jsem se psal ve stáncích soukromých institucí, jaké mají roční školné. Tak cirka 65.000,- za studium v češtině.
Taky mě napadlo ptát se, jestli na nějaké střední škole neshánějí profesora češtiny a dějepisu. Ale jenom mě to napadlo, nápad jsem nerealizoval.
A to by bylo pro dnešek asi tak všechno... Jo! První fotku přihlašuji do #aroundtheworld, málem bych zapomněl.
