Light it up!

I was able to time this picture of Prague Castle and the Charles Bridge just right yesterday evening, my last night in Prague, before heading to Vienna for a couple of days. It reminded me of a funny story I heard.

In 1989, the Iron Curtain fell here in the Czech Republic. This brought about many wonderful changes, especially concerning the arts. It had been 40 years since anyone from outside the country came to Prague to play any music concerts here. There were many clamoring to get in first and the winner was the Rolling Stones. It is said that EVERYONE in Prague came to that concert, young and old, as it was very exciting.

The story hours that after the concert, Mick Jaeger and the Velvet Revolution-now-Czech-President, Václav Haval, were having a beer together when Mick told Haval that the Prague Castle was beautiful but it's a shame it's not lit up to be seen at night. Haval should remedy that in Mick Jaeger's opinion. Haval looked at Mick and said hey, man, we just got rid of 40 years of communism and I've got bigger priorities that lighting up Prague Castle. Mick downed his beer, clapped Haval on the shoulder and said, no worries, I've got ya covered. The next morning Mick sent his lighting and engineering crew up to the Castle to install lighting so it can be seen at night, using funds out of his own pocket (about £86,000).Read more