I'm a huge fan of classic cathedrals.
I don't necessarily like taking pictures of and in them, but I love walking through them. I love experiencing them. From the moment you walk in you know you're in a special place. At the threshold there is this almost intangible barrier between inside and out. With a step you're through and into a whole different world.
With a cathedral like St. Barbara's in Kutná Hora, it's an almost ancient world. Begun in 1388 this wonder of architecture wasn't finished until 1905. Talk about not making your deadlines. But, when you've got wars that interrupt construction for 60 years at a time, money drying up, and management changing, you shouldn't be too surprised.
The air was cooler inside, still and reverent.
People milling about admiring the art filled the wide open space with a dull murmur. Clear light streamed in from high above while color poured in through stained glass. What I found most interesting about the church were the quiet places.
People in ones and twos, sometimes threes, would sit in the pews far off to the side. Some were praying, others just sitting and taking it all in. It was a strange transformation, moving from the main area to the walls. A switch from awe to reverence. Sound was further muted, both by the forms of the stone, and by the people themselves as the feeling to look inwards became overwhelming.
In some ways I wish I had more images
but a majority of my shooting that day was on my phone, which got reset accidentally and lost all my photos. And so it goes. But I still have my memories and the images that are important to me.
Travel is about the experience. I've been doing it pretty much my entire life, starting from 3 months old. My feet have walked through countless countries. Yet, I'm still baffled by the pictures people take. Maybe it's the amount, or what they shoot. And the digital age has only exacerbated it.
snap snap snap snap move, snap snap move snap snap
It's a persons choice to shoot, don't get me wrong.
But why are they shooting? Will they ever look at those shots again? Will anyone else ever want to see those pictures? Is it really important to me to get this picture? Will I create a stronger memory by not taking this photo? I try and ask myself those questions every time I bring my camera to my eye. Just something to think about, I guess, as you travel and take pictures. There's no right answer. Just a personal opinion :)
If you're ever in Prague and are looking for an amazing day trip, do check out Kutná Hora. It's only an hour away by train and you can fill an entire day with sightseeing, wandering, and eating good food. I'll have to continue to search my archives for more photos from this amazing trip. I guess when you have literally hundreds of thousands of pictures between work and play things can get lost :\
Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear about your experiences in Prague and the cities around it :)
Michael
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