Czechs and Balances

A small group of us stood huddled against the cold and rain on a street corner on Pariska, the elegant boulevard that slices through Prague's old town. Olga, our guide, directed our attention away from the airline offices and glitzy boutiques at street level to the buildings above, a riot of turn-of-the-century sculpture, spikes and turrets. Even on that gray morning they sparkled. Some were swathed in scaffolding. Olga told us about the program of painstaking restoration that was under way.