Falling in love with the city: “NucKids” are in Prague

04.08.2013

“We’re changing rivers, countries, cities”,- this summer “Nuclear Kids” are living in accordance with the famous lines by Omar Khayyam. So instead of Danube and the Balaton – Vltava, we can see the majestic Prague, instead of festive Budapest and cosy Keszthely, through the window, that the participants of the project were going to get acquainted with and fall in love forever.

Not having lost our way, but still happy

“To enjoy Prague, you should get lost there”,- the guide gave a piece of advice. The children decided not to check this statement, they thought they could enjoy the Prague streets without making the team-leader’s hearts sank.

The excursion began with the visiting of the Prague Castle, where the Czech aristocrats and bourgeois’ve been living for many centuries. The Saint Vitus Cathedral, the Royal Palace, “Czech Vatican” – the pontifical palace…And then  – Mala Strana with the Charles Bridge and the Wenceslas Square. The children were reading the history of the Czech Republic about the buildings in its beautiful capital together with the guide.

This is the house of the rich aristocrats – the Schwarzenbergs, with the unique graffiti from the middle of the 16th century,- the guide said.

-I like this graffiti,- Andrei Korchukov said, who learnt with other children, that the ancestor of the happy-go-lucky street style is the fine art style, that we can translate as “scratching out”. 

It wasn’t the end of the wonderful revelations for the “nuclear” tourists. During the excursion in the St. Vitus Cathedral the guide drew the children’s attention to the fact, that all chimeras on the front have only woman faces. 

-There is the opinion, that the builders portray…

-Their wives!- Sergei Merzlyakov guessed.

-No, the wife is the most beautiful and special one. But we don’t choose our mother-in-law,- the guide said while the others were laughing.

Then the children examined the surroundings of the Royal palace, now it’s the Presidential Palace, and they got to learn the secret of the cursed Czech crown. In the Middle Ages everyone, who dared to put on the royal crown, soon died. But this mysterious story is easy to understand: the needle with a poison was hidden in the crown; but during the coronation it was taken out of it. That’s why this curse wasn’t dangerous for the legitimate pretenders to the throne.

The crown curse and the precepts by Mozart

The children made the wish on the Charles Bridge, looked at the “reviving” of the clock at the Wenceslas Square and saw the historical trams, that are considered to be one of the most important sights in Prague.

“Is this tram really a historical one? – Sasha Pishchugina was surprised. – All trams in Tver look like these ones”…

The important object for the participants of the project was the Estates Theater, where the Mozart’s opera “Don Giovanni” was performed for the first time. According to the guide, the composer had to lead the musicians himself, because Mozart had finished the scores just before the premiere. The Czech capital can’t be surprised by the tradition of putting on grand performances for a very short period of time.

But the children are going to amaze everyone with their talents in a few hours. “NucKids” promise to do everything in their power during the performance for the city, that everyone falls in love with.