HPA and GSMS Grade Eight LA

       Snapshot Exemplar 6 and 7

It was December 17th 2012 in Prague, Czech Republic. Even though the icy wind was savagely biting at the few areas of exposed skin on my person, the climate was relatively mild in comparison with its Canadian counterpart. I enjoyed the weather here, it wasn’t too cold, allowing you to do almost anything you desired outside, but the snow still gave the ancient streets a yuletide feeling. I stood at the gate of the historic Charles Bridge. Because of its sheer greatness, it seemed as if it loomed ominously over me. Its arches and intricate details carved out by skilled artisans projected the beauty of medieval architecture. Christmas garlands and red and yellow twinkling lights garnished it adding to my amazement.  I strode through the gate and onto the cobblestones covered in a layer of flour-like snow, almost losing my footing in the process. Sebi stood beside me, admiring a statue of some historical figure, and Christina’s head was barely visible over the wave of tourists and disgruntled locals trying to get past them. Where were we going? At this time I hoped that she really knew the city as well as Sebi’s dad had said. It was almost dark and we were heading opposite to Wenceslas Square, but this did not bother me. I was still happy. The Christmas feeling was in the air, you could smell it as much as the roasting chestnuts wafting from the colorful vendor stalls that lined the bridge. There was also another feeling too: awe.  It was like being in a fairy tale, the lights, the ancient buildings, and that old world elegance and charm that cannot be found in North America. I was astonished, it was the happiest I had ever been, I felt like I belonged here. I set my glance upon the icy waters of the Vltava, I gazed around, and eventually as If I was pulled by some unknown force, both my head and body turned towards the shore. Suddenly it was like I had been plunged into the climax of a James Bond movie. The only way to describe it was pure astonishment. It was also something else though, something a bit less superficial. A mix of the most raw form of amazement, the purest happiness, but tainted with a bit of guilt and a taste of something that identifies with fear.   Prague’s riverside façade was lit up like a golden candle; the tourists had vanished into thin air, eliminating the tourist trap. Trams and cars sped down the street behind us like they had somewhere important to go, but nowhere at all. The night sky was not black but a dark shade of blue. The blue you get when it’s just the night trying to take a different approach to its color scheme. The thing that really got me though, the thing that suddenly kicked my view of the world as a whole into a different gear, was what I then looked up at to see.  In the distance Prague castle was visible on its hilltop throne, almost like it sat in that sky, looking down upon everyone, like it had for hundreds of years. It had seen the Holy Roman Empire, The Austrian Empire, the Germans, the Soviets and Americanisation. It sat there daring all that saw it, like them, to challenge the glory of Prague..