Some things I learned in the Czech Republic

This is the last post on the Czech Republic (unless I randomly decide to add another one). 

What did I learn in the Czech Republic? I was struck with how spiritually dead of the Czechs. There are hundreds of beautiful churches in Prague and Brno, all of which are empty. Many of which are barred.

Notice the barred gates across the doors and lower windows.

The churches of a country can reflect the spiritual state of the citizens of the country. This is especially true in the Czech Republic. The churches are dead and empty. They are completely devoid of the spirit of God. The real church isn't in the buildings, but in small gatherings of devout Christians, many of which are led by mission teams like Mr. and Mrs. Y. The beautiful countryside and rich cultural heritage also reflect the Czechs' infatuation with monetary wealth, their focus is entirely temporal and they seek temporal pleasure.

Which brings me to the second thing I noticed; in a culture where God isn't prevalent and being fought for by any significant portion of the population there will be depravity, beyond what I thought even existed in western society.

I learned to be flexible, while having a plan. I always either like to have a plan and stick to it, or fly by the seat of my pants. We did both a lot on this trip. Everything worked out for the best, even when we almost got on the wrong plane. 

We take for granted the blessing of being less than ten miles from a church in almost any town in America. In the Czech Republic, there were about two churches in Brno, the second largest city in the Czech Republic. 

If I could only share one thing from my trip I would point to Christ. The two things that struck me most were the lack of Christ in the churches, and the seeing, and hearing stories about, Christ come into the lives of the Czechs. Slowly, but with surety.

Prague, our final stop... not via airplane

Last post full of pics for the Czech Trip. And I like going out with bang. After Mr. Y dropped us off in Prague we did a little sightseeing.

On the road to Prague

This is the place we had both lunch and dinner
at, it was within walking distance of our hotel.

A closer look at the side of the building.

At lunch;
From the left; Mr. J, Mrs. J, Mrs. L, Mr. L and Leefish. 

I'm in the center. 

This was lunch, it was a very traditional Czech meal, very
heavy goulash and dumplings. It definitely wasn't my favorite
meal on the trip.

A lot of these pictures are just random old
buildings and churches scattered throughout
the streets of Prague.

This was a market we walked through.

This was a pretty big square, the focal point of which was the
Astronomical Clock.

This is the Astronomical Clock (on the left). It is extremely old
and tells the time, day, month, season and tons of other stuff.

There was a jazz band playing across the plaza. I like

Prague.

This is the Rudolfinum. It is a premier concert hall in Prague.

This is the Vltava river, and I believe that is the famous
Charles Bridge, which we used to cross back in the evening.

This is our first look at the St. Vitus Cathedral.

A couple over looks of Prague.

Mrs. L pointing out the sights.

The back of the St. Vitus Cathedral. The
St. Vitus Cathedral is the largest and most
important cathedral in the Czech Republic.
But it is locked up.

The Cathedral is mostly in the Gothic style of
Architecture, but there are portions of it that contain
Baroque and Renaissance elements as well.

This picture shows two main things; the first is the detailed
mosaics that tell the story of the history of Christianity. The
second is the bars across the doors. The church is closed. It is
only a symbol of the Czech's past, it doesn't have anything to
do with its present or future.

The Front of the Cathedral.

The Prague nightline.

The next few pictures are all on the famous Charles Bridge.

A look back across the river.

Mrs. L got to meet up with one of her friends from her last trip
to the Czech Republic, we had dinner with him and learned quite
a bit about Czech culture.

My dinner; a very nontraditional Czech meal

Crepes and blueberries for dessert.

That is all my pictures! (well, all the good ones anyway ;) ). I should have one more post to tell you guys about our trip home and what I learned from the trip.

All the best,

The Tall One