Prague Town Hall Astronomical Clock
Every hour on the hour, crowds of tourists gather by the Town Hall in the Old Town Square in Prague, eager to witness the mechanical movements of the medieval astronomical clock, Orloj.
The astronomical clock was the creation of Hanus in the 15th century. Because it was so fantastic, the city council blinded Hanus so that he could not make another one of the same clock somewhere else. Such cruelty! Such Selfishness! If Hanus had known that his talent would cause him so much suffering, would he have created this magnificent and awe-inspiring clock? The Orloj not only shows time, it also displays the positions of the sun and the moon as they circled around the earth (based on the astronomical concept of those days). The lower part of the clock is a Zodiac Ring with markings symbolizing the twelve months of the year.
As the clock announced the time with its intricate display of movements, two young boys walked by. Looking up, they said in English with disdain that it was not a big deal, as they had seen much more exciting clocks. I had the urge to ask them, “Were the other clocks you saw also made in the 15th century?” I grumbled unhappily to myself about the conceitedness of so many young people today. A world traveler is not just someone who has been to many countries. A true world traveler is someone who has the humbleness to appreciate history of the world. A person who has travelled all over the world,with narrow-mindedness, is no different from a frog sitting at the bottom of a well thinking that the sky is only as large as the round piece of light up above.
Epilogue
I often feel that visiting different places is a good way to test one’s adaptability and to train one to think outside the box. If there is language barrier, follow the map. If customs are different, observe and try to fit in.
For example, I ordered a Beef Goulash with Dumplings at the airport out of curiosity, wondering what Central European dumplingswere like. When the dish arrived, I was dumbfounded. Instead of something that looked like the Chinese dumplings, what I got looked like slices of bread! Later research told me that in Europe, “dumpling” meant steamed or boiled dough. It was actually not bad at all, much better than the airline meals I later had. Traveling broke down many of my preconceived ideas, and that’s why the Chinese say that “traveling 10,000 miles is better than reading 10,000 books!”
The Prague trip was a big breakthrough in my self-help travel history: complete language barrier with little knowledge of its culture. But it was the most enjoyable of all my European trips. In four days and four nights, I got to be so friendly with the grocery store owner, who after a while wouldn’t charge me for the plastic shopping bags. I freely got on and off street cars, going from district to district sightseeing. I discovered that, on single-lane highways, slower cars would move over to the shoulder to let faster cars go by first. Public transportation was punctual and efficient. What surprised me the most was the smart airport security system: there was a security checkpoint in front of every boarding gate, after which there was only one vending machine selling water or juice. Without long lines of impatient passengers or confusion, this system effectively reduced the chance of anyone trying to board the plane with criminal intent.
My only regret is that I underestimated Prague’s potential and planned too few days there. It rained two out of four days, further dampening my original plan. But, such is life, and we can’t expect everything to go our way. As long as there are unexpected wonders around each corner, I was happy. |
