Prague Old Town Spires Countdown Timer

Prague is called the city of a hundred spires and from this height, framed by two blurry leaves in the foreground, you can see why. The Old Town Hall tower stands on the left with its astronomical clock and its dark pointed roof, and then the spires start: the green copper domes of St Nicholas, the smaller towers and turrets scattered across the roofs, each one a different shade of verdigris, each one doing its own thing. The rooftops are a sea of red tile and grey and terracotta, and they go on until they dissolve into the haze, which on a summer afternoon is thick enough to make the distance look painted. I shot this from a hill above the city with a long lens, which is why the leaves are so out of focus and the buildings behind them are so sharp. A bird landed on the parapet next to me and stayed for a while, and I did not move, and we watched the city together. Then it flew off and I took the picture. The spires stayed exactly where they were, which is the whole point of spires, I suppose.