Astronomy and promises

I've made a promise to myself. I am the hermit  kind of person who doesn't enjoy going out and being social. I'd rather just go directly home after work and spend the evening doing ordinary stuff like cleaning, cooking and surfing the internet. So I made a rule that I have to do something at least four nights a week. It doesn't matter so much what that something is, it can be just going to the mall (and I guess it will be that quite often) or for a coffee but I have to do something. Why? Because life cannot be just going to the office and coming back to the apartment. It gets very boring. Even if I am tired after the day, I still have to do something. So I guess I will enroll to a language course and yoga to kill time.

Yesterday I was living up to the expectation and went for a free walking tour around Prague. The tour covered the Old City, Jewish Quarters, Charles Bridge, Astronomical Clock and what not. There is an interesting legend related to the Astronomical Clock. The clock states back to 1410, being the oldest still functioning astronomical clock in the world. It was built by Mikulas of Kadan and Jan Sindel but the story has it that the idea of the clock was conceived by Jan Ruze, alias Hanus. At that time the clock was a sensation, it had parts that moved automatically, and its beautiful design appealed to people. Tourists came to see the clock and the Prague Councillors grew worried. What if clockmaker Hanus succumbed to greed and agreed to build another astronomical clock in another city? That would mean all the tourists that flocked to Prague to see the clock and spend their money in the shopping streets of the city would go to that another city to see that another clock. It could not be so.

So, the councillors decided to eliminate clockmaker Hanus, just in case. They got him drunk as a skunk and cut his tongue and blinded his eyes so he could never build another clock nor could he teach anybody else the secrets of the clock. And because all the  medieval stories must be repulsive, the story ends with clockmaker Hanus committing suicide by falling inside the clock. The wheels of the clock broke his body but his body broke the fine mechanics of the clock. It took a hundred years before the city of Prague was able to find a clockmaker clever enough to repair it. It's the revenge of clockmaker Hanus. As I said, the clock is still working perfectly. Every hour during the day the clock is set in motion. A set of Apostoles appear from a small door, and the skeleton decorating the clock starts hammering something. The show is a disappointment to modern people accustomed to modern technology, but we have to keep in mind that 600 years ago the standards were totally different.

Tourists gather to see the clock show

The walking tour lasted two and a half hours. It was an extremely warm day and after the tour I slept two hours. I never take a nap unless I'm sick. A bit worried now.. Prague has a strange effect on my body. Well, that's enough of my health. Today I went to an outlet store with my friend but luckily didn't buy anything. Tomorrow I will go for a coffee, on Tuesday there will be a team building event and, on Wednesday there is a possibility to visit a Tibetan evening, on Thursday Latin American food and culture festival begins, on Friday I am moving to my new room and on Saturday I will go to Ikea to buy all the stuff I need for the room. So, the week looks well planned. Great!