Sonia Prina sings Cara sposa from Handel's Rinaldo
Sometimes Scrooges don't know when to
leave the counting house I fear.
Since Prague is such a walkable city we
had become accustomed to getting around town either on foot (mostly)
or using the trams and the metro for a very reasonable monthly pass
fee. Of course that was before I broke my leg. Old habits die hard,
however, and unrealistic expectations about the rapidity of recovery
from a broken leg cloud your judgement I reckon.
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techie explaining the mysteries of a smart phone |
I had been stuck in our apartment due
to a string of bad weather days that left the streets treacherously
slippery with ice and snow. Our son came down for the weekend from
London in the midst of this. I had planned to go out for dinner, at
least, since I couldn't possibly walk enough to see the sights, which
he and road buddy would do together. But the conditions on the
streets were too dangerous for me to go out at all and we all ended
up doing take out here at the apartment. Something of a lost weekend
for me, although it was good to spend some time with my son.
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Rudofinum auditorium |
The streets and sidewalks were finally
safe enough for me to try walking on them. I also wanted to try
getting on a tram. There are different kinds and vintages of trams
here in Prague. The newest ones are handicapped friendly in that they
are low to the ground and an easy step up to the car. The older ones
have three steep steps getting to the floor of the tram—very
challenging for a recent broken leg. We were planning to go to a
Baroque Ensemble concert at the Rudolfinum concert hall and took the
tram for a practice run in the early afternoon. In the end I decided it would be better to
go by taxi at night.
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Sonia Prina singing an encore |
We called a taxi for 6:30 p.m. which picked us up at
the front door and drove us to the Rudolfinum. The concert was excellent and
the Italian alto soloist, Sonia Prina, was spectacular doing the
agitata (agitated) style typical of Baroque composers such as Handel
and Vivaldi. She sang a beautiful rendition of Cara sposa (Beloved
wife) from Handel's Rinaldo. I found a
recording of it on YouTube. [See link above]
We had planned to take a taxi back to
our apartment, but there was only one unmetered taxi which tend to
cost two to three times as much as a metered one. I felt confident
enough to try a tram, so we walked to the tram stop. There were no
handicapped trams listed on the board and I was too impatient to wait
for the next one so I stupidly decided to climb the three steps on an
older car. Halfway up, the door that I was holding on to started to
close and I lost my step and balance but managed to grab onto a pole
for support, when a couple of very kind and concerned gentlemen
helped me get back on my feet and to a seat, but I was rather shaken
and still had to alight from the tram on the same high steps at our
destination stop. I stood with with some trepidation and moved over
to the door when the tram stopped. One of the same gentlemen, clearly
concerned, helped me down the steps. People can still be good
Samaritans it seems, although, if you go by the latest crop of
Hollywood flicks since 911, the whole messed up world is in revenge
mode. I guess it brings in big box office.
2 comments:
YOU are a 'legend in your own mind'. CUT IT OUT
-R
Why, whatever do you mean? I may be an "idiot in my own time" but 'legend in my own mind'? More'n likely 'out of my mind' I think. Capisce?
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