When I was in Prague in February, one of my top priorities was to ride the paternoster in Pasáž Lucerna. The general idea behind a paternoster is that it’s an open perpetual lift that can also double as a do-it-yourself amputation machine. Paternosters are few and far between these days due to safety regulations, but there are still a handful dotted around Prague as well as other cities in Europe.
If I’d left my foot there, my toes would have been history.
The sign warning passengers to disembark. Theoretically one should be able to ride over the top gear (or under the bottom gear) safely, so I’m not sure why this particular paternoster had warning signs, but I didn’t stay on to find out.
I took a short video to demonstrate how it works:
Given increasing legal issues regarding safety, I think it won’t be that many more years before paternosters are extinct (or at least not available for public use), so if you want to ride, it’s probably best not to wait too much longer.
If I ever make it to Prague, definitely on the to do list.
Prague is a must-see, I had such a great time there.
I was there shortly after the Soviets left. Very beautiful city. Took a few black and whites with an old Cannon that I acquired for 5 dollars. It had a basic 50mm lens and much to my amazement, no light leaks! I had 2 days to explore and only 2 rolls of film dedicated to that stop. 60 shots were not enough!
You talk about light leaks as if they’re a bad thing. 🙂
I’d love to see those shots – are they online anywhere? I spent a lot of my time in Prague hunting down what few signs remain of the Soviets, most of it has been buried now.
I’ll dig around. I know I transferred all my black and white negatives to digital. I may have some color too. I’ll look and see.