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Visit to Iceland by Ida Pfeiffer
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a building particularly favoured with windows, of which it has one
for every day in the year. I was there in an ordinary year, and saw
365; how they manage in leap-year I do not know. The view from the
belvedere of this palace well repays the observer. It takes in the
old and new town, the noble river with its two bridges (the ancient
venerable-looking stone structure, and the graceful suspension-
bridge, six hundred paces long), and the hills round about, clothed
with gardens, among which appear neat country-houses.

The streets of the "Kleinseite" are not particularly attractive,
being mostly tortuous, steep, and narrow. They contain, however,
several remarkable palaces, among which that of Wallenstein Duke of
Friedland stands pre-eminent. {8}

After visiting St. Nicholas' Church, remarkable for the height of
its spire and its beautifully arched cupola, I betook myself to
Wimmer's gardens, and thence to the "Bastei," a place of public
resort with the citizens of Prague.

I could now observe the devastation caused by the rising of the
water shortly before my arrival. The Moldau had overstepped its
banks in so turbulent a manner, as to carry along with it several
small houses, and even a little village not far from Prague, besides
damaging all the dwellings upon its banks. The water had indeed
already fallen, but the walls of the houses were soaked through and
through; the doors had been carried away, and from the broken
windows no faces looked out upon the passers-by. The water had
risen two feet more than in 1784, in which year the Moldau had also
attained an unusual height.

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