KJ's Travelog #1 - Museum of Medieval Torture - Prague 2005

in #travel7 years ago

Ships Log: Scared
Star date: 26/11/2005

Hi peeps,

Thought i would share some of my memories whilst visiting this fabulous European city that at the time was straddling the modern world and yet still kept medieval jewels close to its arctic heart.

In the best possible way it was stepping into a world riddled with ancient culture and mythology, and still proudly displayed the artifacts of its own civilization from the very beginning.

Living in London (from Australia) at the time it made sense to be the parasitic tourist and suck deeply from foreign experiences.

The Charles Bridge is a historic bridge crossing Vltava river. Construction started in 1357 under the direction of King Charles IV, and was completed around the beginning of the 15th century.

Wenceslas Square from my hotel balcony

i PROMISE santa i WAS good

I took this photo overlooking St Vitus Cathedral - it was romantic and perhaps slightly creepy that i took a picture of another lover's scrawl in the frigid snow - yet on closer inspection i cant help but chuckle at the geese tracks next to it

I felt the irresistible urge to bend the knee to the Karol Quarto Statue (Charles IV the roman emperor in Křižovnické Square). The sheer level of detail and artwork in Prague literally left me breathless on so many occasions, this statue was my favourite.

St Vitus Cathedral - astounding and the amount of real gold filigree in the structure was epic, to say the least.

As intrigued and morbidly fascinated as i was, the plan to visit the torture museum was equal parts excited sprinkled with flakes of dread. I truly wasn't prepared for the proclivity of any human being to inflict such pain upon another human being. I tried to be objective, but couldn't help real horror permeating my soul as i came across each instrument of torture, each one crueler than the one that preceded it.

Masks they would affix to the victims

Suspended Rack

Chair speaks for itself

No comment

This particular device was as sinister as it gets - a person enters the chamber and the instruments inside puncture ALL non-fatal areas but still keep the victim alive for days

For any tourists there are some AMAZING restaurants to dine in. People reading this post may question why i would follow the museum of pain to then focus on food in any way, but im just following the timeline of my own experience in regurgitating this tale (pun intended) as it happened. So many great places to try - but my two highlights were.........

Triton Restaurant - Wenceslas Square
Harkening back to cave dwelling - literally this is what it was. A restaurant carved out of the mountain. Stalactites hovering from the rocky canopy above the diners, it was mystical, tranquil and outer-worldly. The chef's skills only contributed to this ethereal meal!!!

The second was a tavern that you could only relate to a warrior placing halberd, shield and sword at the door to feast on the platters available. I swear reading one platter from the menu was a paragraph in itself. I felt like Richard of Lionheart, with a bib.

In conclusion, a wonderful place of charm and history equalled only by its welcoming citizens. Its not hard to identify why the natives are so happy with such rich culture at their very own doorstep.

I leave with an image of me in holiday mode - adopting the local ideals. Ps their pewter stein mugs are of the greatest quality and bath water utopian.

Sort:  

Just when I think you humans are getting weirder by the day, it turns out you were even weirder in centuries past. I am following you, and in fact have peered deeply into your soul (don't worry about that momentary gap in your memory). I think I will need more context before I can properly interpret what I just saw in there, so please carry on with your regularly scheduled posting and I will assimilate it.

Much love - Carl "Totally Not A Bot" Gnash / @carlgnash



Click the badge to learn more about
Human Certified Original Works

Hi carl,

never underestimate the human capacity for weird beings becoming weirder. I am honoured by your reply to my post and never fear, there is much more content to follow. KJ

Haha torture museum looks like the place to visit. err...some of the equipment sure looks playful. Just curious, which do you think would be the most effective for extracting info...not that I'm looking

Also Nice hat! evil smurf

The first and only evil smurf in existence that was edited from the original show, thanks again sir lordnigel

Welp, I guess I need to go to Prague. Got to go to that cave restaurant. I am disturbed by the torture museum but will probably have to go to that too. Thanks for sharing!

hi amanda,

im thrilled you enjoyed this particular slice of my past, and i can assure you that this restaurant is so utterly amazing mere words cannot do any justice to the experience! Watch out Prague, amanda is ready so dont disappoint and make me the fool ;)

I'll put it on the top of my travel list.

Congratulations @khagen8te! You have completed some achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :

Award for the number of upvotes received

Click on any badge to view your own Board of Honor on SteemitBoard.

To support your work, I also upvoted your post!
For more information about SteemitBoard, click here

If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word STOP

Upvote this notification to help all Steemit users. Learn why here!

Do not miss the last announcement from @steemitboard!

Resteemed by @resteembot! Good Luck!
The resteem was paid by @lordnigel
Curious? Read @resteembot's introduction post
Check out the great posts I already resteemed.

ResteemBot's Maker is Looking for Work

Resteemed by @resteembot! Good Luck!
The resteem was paid by @lordnigel
Curious? Read @resteembot's introduction post
Check out the great posts I already resteemed.

ResteemBot's Maker is Looking for Work

Hiya, your mate lordnigel told me about you and that you're Aussie. We have a pretty strong Team Australia community going here on steemit to support each other. If you'd like to be part of it, then please check out this link for the instructions on how to join https://steemit.com/teamaustralia/@choogirl/team-australia-new-recruits-28-03-18-and-what-is-mattclarke-up-to-now

hey there,

it would be great to be part of a larger,local community. Thanks for the invite, ill follow the link accordingly :)