Kafka’s head is near the building where Kafka worked as a clerk for an insurance company. Individual plates in the sculpture  rotate, and the head comes apart and together. It is opposite City Hall,  and the sculptor has said that he loves the idea of people who have been dealing with the frustrations of city government coming out and seeing “the huge head of Kafka” looking at them.

Along with monuments to Czech artists and patriots, Prague has many random art installations. I particularly like this guy.

The biggest sculptural work of all is the Dancing House designed by Frank Gehry.

We went up to the top for tea and views.

Then, a stroll through town.

We arrived for dinner at Cafe Slavia.        A Prague institution, it has been home to Czech artists and intellectuals since 1881. Looking out over all, the equally revered “Absinthe Drinker” painted in 1901 by Viktor Oliva.

This image also graces the cover of the menu, which includes the following poem in Czech and in English. I’m not saying I can make any sense of it, but it is undeniably atmospheric.

The view from our window at dinner

. . . and of the dining room.

Look to the back of the room and you can see someone playing the piano. He is the same gentleman we heard when we first ate at the Cafe Slavia ten years ago. And he still plays “As Time Goes By.”

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