My hotel is well placed for the normal tourist areas, though this also means it can be hard to move off the track and make back street discoveries.  One of these in the past, and still often ignored, is a statue of Sigmund Fraud hanging off a laundry poll 3 stories up.  I’m not sure if this is a permanent installation, a final resting place, as it has been displayed else where in the world.  Also, apparently to the guides, it has been mistaken before by passers by thinking it was a person trying to commit suicide.  It is easy to miss, especially if you’re looking round for it while directly underneath, but once one person spots it a small group will form then disperse.  This really is just off the beaten path.

From there, I set off down the back streets in the direction of the Old Town Square, approaching from near the famous Astronomical Clock, and with just a few minutes to go before 10:00.  Even with all the tour groups (more on my views on those in another post) and other tourist crowds, it was still easy to see the automatons at work.  Alas I tried to video it with my phone and I do not need to review the footage to know it was shaky.  The event finished, various shouts erupted and flags moved off in different directions taking the crowds with them, at which point it became relatively easy to take some decent photos.

Proceeding on in to the square itself and I was impressed by the size of it.  There were a few things going on, but there was still plenty of space.  There are food stands along one side (West), though as a result there were some obvious tramps hanging round and inspecting bins (but not hassling passers by).  Moving across the square there were more photo opportunities with the height of the buildings making any crowds in front look small in height.

Wandering onward and in a slightly wider ark than the guides would suggest, I reached the statue of Kafka.  It’s on the edge of the Jewish Quarter and by the Sephardic synagogue and Catholic church and by where Franz Kafka lived most of his life.  It’s location means most groups ignore or miss it, which is a good job as even with about a dozen people there it was busy.  Patience prevailed though as I did manage a photo with no others in it – hard to do as everyone wants to be photoed either next to it or touching his feet (Kafka is sitting on the shoulders of a giant headless man).

Moving on I went round the various sites in the area, though I did not purchase a ticket to go inside (which covers all the buildings and the famous cemetery), so I may remedy that at a later stage.  The area is busy, again with groups following flag bearers.  It was then time to wander back and grab lunch on the way.  I wanted something light and also not a tourist trap, so a hard combination to avoid in the area.  I found a small friendly coffee shop, Ecocoffee, which suited my purpose, not the cheapest, but it was quiet and relaxing and I was the only tourist in there.

I’m now back at the hotel to move the photos off my camera, relax, and do this write up.   I’ll then either head back out for an hour or two, else will plan my evening.