Getting in, to the Museum of Communism
Brno had been pleasant but it was really a pleasant diversion, on the way to the Czech capital. Prague is a city that I had heard so much about as a tourist place and I was looking forward to it greatly.
First of all, I had to get there which I did by coach as it was a little quicker than the train and seemed to be easier. The ride was alright actually with seat back entertainment although not quite the legroom of course. There are benefits to coach travel compared to rail sometimes and the views were interesting once I got nearer to the city. One thing I found interesting (other than little snippets of pixel “street” art) was that the architecture on the outskirts was a little shinier and glassier than I had seen in the rest of the week[1].
The bus station is in Florenc which is not too far from the city centre so I walked down there to go to the Museum of Communism. This is an interesting museum that has been set up for showing the life under communism which it does with a fairly small set of exhibits but it does tell a decent story. There is also a very good video there about the Velvet Revolution which saw the overthrow of the communist government in 1989 as the winds of change swept through Eastern Europe. It had quite a strange view of the history which could be explained by the fact that the founder is an American businessman [link] and so I can't help but feel it is a little exploitative and possibly disingenuous. The museums is rather strangely based in the same building as a casino and, comically, opposite a McDonald's which, according to TripAdvisor reviews, is hilarious and “ironic”. Another apparently “ironic” thing is that the museum has a gift shop.
Extravaganza Tour
In the museum, I had seen a few leaflets and so I wanted to join a free walking tour that was setting off from the Old Town Square at 3 (Staroměstské náměstí - corner with Pařížská Street in front of Cartier shop) so I made my way there after a spot of lunch. I had never been on a walking tour at all, let alone a “free” one so I was not exactly sure what to expect. When I got to the Old Town Square, I noticed it was rammed full of people but I did eventually find a tour guide with a blue umbrella – and she was not exactly surrounded by people. After my experience of being unpopular in Brno (link), I was wary but when we spoke, she was very pleasant and said that she would start, and do, the tour even if I was the only one on it. Her name was Klara and she was very interesting and informative so I can thoroughly recommend her tours [link]. She asked me where I was from before the tour and I said “London” as I am now wont to do[2] but without the mulling over of that question as I had previously done. She said that she liked London and had lived and worked there for a few years (near Wimbledon if I recall correctly) which was good for me as she was able to relate things to London (and GBP) as we walked around. We were joined, before the tour, by another tourist (henceforth rz1) who was from France but was living in Bratislava, which I had visited a few days earlier. As there were just the two of us on this tour, we spoke a fair amount too so it was pretty interesting to get the perspectives of different people. Klara had a spiel to go through as well as her normal conversation which was quite nice actually as you could see that she knew her stuff and she was also able to bring her own personality, and experience, into it. She explained the route would go through the Old Town[3], Jewish Quarter, Charles Bridge, Lesser Town and Prague Castle. The Charles Bridge was a halfway point so we could split off then or continue but it was also a point where more people could join the tour if they so wished.
Touring
Klara was able to explain a little of the history of Prague and the religious backdrop to much of it. The Old Town Square has many features but the one that caught my eye was the Astronomical Clock (Prague orloj). It is absurdly complicated and detailed and can (accurately, it seems) tell the time, the date, sun position and times of sunrise and sunset.
The Old Town is also closely connected with the Jewish Quarter which is by the river. The reason for this is that this used to be one of the worst places to be in Prague in the past due to floods and poor ground and so the Jewish community were essentially banished here. As defences increased and the area was built upon (especially after it was supposedly remodelled in the style of Paris up to 1913), it has now become one of the more sought after areas of Prague. The Jewish community had been pretty poorly treated and were forced, as later in Nazi Germany, to wear the star of David on their clothing. When the Nazis did occupy, they didn't destroy the area but bizarrely preserved the area. The reason? It was to be retained as a historical artefact – it was to be museum of an extinct race. This meant that many Jewish items from around Europe were collected here to be exhibited later. The idea is quite ghoulish but the number of Jews in Prague, and many of the other cities in Central Europe with Jewish histories is pretty low actually.
In order to get to the Lesser Town and castle, we would have to cross the river and we did so across the Charles Bridge – a pedestrianised tourist attraction like no other I have seen. We also picked up some more tourists – a couple from Denmark.
Lesser Town is really just the outer part of the Castle area and there was not a huge amount to see there but the Castle was excellent. There was not time to look around it with much depth but Klara did explain some of the history and relevance of certain things there so it was interesting. The Cathedrals within the castle walls were stunning and I would return later, I vowed.
Tour's End
The tour finished and as the Danish couple went away (they lived in Prague but had done part of the tour before and so just joined for the second half – I was very impressed that Klara remembered them from a few weeks back.) I chatted with rz1. He was a nice guy and it was interesting to hear his perspectives on Bratislava and Prague, amongst other things. We were heading the same way – back to the Old Town so we did so together. I forget what we talked about, but as we got to the Old Town, it was close to “the hour” and so we waited by the astronomical clock, with about hundred other people, to see the clock putting on a show. Klara had been quite opinionated about the quality, or lack of, of some of the things we had seen so she was not the kind of guide that just said everything was amazing. Which is why we were both pretty shocked at what a non-event the chimes were. There were plenty of camera flashes and lots of filming but there was not much to see – just a little bit of statue movement. It was a massive anti-climax.
The two of us then went on to find something to eat which was made easier by the TripAdvisor website/mobile phone application and the fact that rz1 spoke a little Slovak. We ended up in a pub of sorts after finding that some of the places we thought looked good were a little too busy. I felt it was an interesting dinner but one conversation that I remember was a lament of sorts. We spoke about different countries we had been to and I mentioned that I had taught in Japan [link] many years ago when I was looking for work and something to do. He mentioned that it was easier for us native English speakers in that situation as whereas someone like Klara, our guide, in that situation had travelled to London and worked in bars and cafes for the experience, I was able to go to a totally different continent and secure a relatively well-paid job doing something that gave me skills. I had not really thought of it before but it really wrung true and I felt very fortunate. It is not that often I feel fortunate, although I know I should, so it was kind of eye-opening. He did not say it with any bitterness, at all, rz1 was working in Bratislava and was using English on a daily basis himself. It was just an interesting point.
I was then invited, bizarrely, to a Salsa club which I said I'd go to for a drink but I was obviously not going to dance. And I still had my bags so I had a decent enough excuse – I had been walking all day basically. The directions to the Salsa “bar” were not exactly clear but we eventually worked out where it was and made our way there with a few lost detours. It was actually a salsa class so when we walked in, a lesson was going on but it eventually became a normal bar with dancing. I spoke to a few other people – one of whom became very quickly a trip favourite. She said, without any real prompting, that she loved London and felt very comfortable there. That she would choose to go there compared to anywhere else and that she always felt very welcome there with the cultures and that the British people were friendly, warm and welcoming. It was pretty funny and I explained that people outside London in the UK think of us as rude[4], cold and unwelcoming but she was adamant. I wasn't going to complain too hard...
After a while, I left as I did want to sleep a little before my last day. I was pretty tired, but I only had one more day so I just needed to push myself a bit more. A little bit more – it wasn't even going to be a full day as I had to be at the airport by about 7pm.
1. In hindsight, as much as I loved Budapest, as I left it did strike me that there was not much that could be considered new – or at least designed new rather than heritage. I think that is fine for a smaller city but the lack of variety would detract from the overall experience in a longer trip I think.↩
2. As explained in Budapest [link], I now feel a lot more comfortable saying London rather then the UK.↩
3. The Old Town is obviously genuinely old but I did like the way that the “New Town” (or Nové Město) was founded in 1348 and so was not what we would necessarily consider new. I guess it is all relative.↩
4. One of my genuine annoyances is people telling me, knowing I am from London, that people from London are really unfriendly and rude. As if telling other people that they are not nice is showing the social skills of a friendly person. This is either from people living elsewhere trying to justify that where they live is better than where I live or from people living in London explaining why they won't live here forever. I find this intensely annoying.↩
Brno had been pleasant but it was really a pleasant diversion, on the way to the Czech capital. Prague is a city that I had heard so much about as a tourist place and I was looking forward to it greatly.
First of all, I had to get there which I did by coach as it was a little quicker than the train and seemed to be easier. The ride was alright actually with seat back entertainment although not quite the legroom of course. There are benefits to coach travel compared to rail sometimes and the views were interesting once I got nearer to the city. One thing I found interesting (other than little snippets of pixel “street” art) was that the architecture on the outskirts was a little shinier and glassier than I had seen in the rest of the week[1].
Extravaganza Tour
In the museum, I had seen a few leaflets and so I wanted to join a free walking tour that was setting off from the Old Town Square at 3 (Staroměstské náměstí - corner with Pařížská Street in front of Cartier shop) so I made my way there after a spot of lunch. I had never been on a walking tour at all, let alone a “free” one so I was not exactly sure what to expect. When I got to the Old Town Square, I noticed it was rammed full of people but I did eventually find a tour guide with a blue umbrella – and she was not exactly surrounded by people. After my experience of being unpopular in Brno (link), I was wary but when we spoke, she was very pleasant and said that she would start, and do, the tour even if I was the only one on it. Her name was Klara and she was very interesting and informative so I can thoroughly recommend her tours [link]. She asked me where I was from before the tour and I said “London” as I am now wont to do[2] but without the mulling over of that question as I had previously done. She said that she liked London and had lived and worked there for a few years (near Wimbledon if I recall correctly) which was good for me as she was able to relate things to London (and GBP) as we walked around. We were joined, before the tour, by another tourist (henceforth rz1) who was from France but was living in Bratislava, which I had visited a few days earlier. As there were just the two of us on this tour, we spoke a fair amount too so it was pretty interesting to get the perspectives of different people. Klara had a spiel to go through as well as her normal conversation which was quite nice actually as you could see that she knew her stuff and she was also able to bring her own personality, and experience, into it. She explained the route would go through the Old Town[3], Jewish Quarter, Charles Bridge, Lesser Town and Prague Castle. The Charles Bridge was a halfway point so we could split off then or continue but it was also a point where more people could join the tour if they so wished.
Touring
Klara was able to explain a little of the history of Prague and the religious backdrop to much of it. The Old Town Square has many features but the one that caught my eye was the Astronomical Clock (Prague orloj). It is absurdly complicated and detailed and can (accurately, it seems) tell the time, the date, sun position and times of sunrise and sunset.
In order to get to the Lesser Town and castle, we would have to cross the river and we did so across the Charles Bridge – a pedestrianised tourist attraction like no other I have seen. We also picked up some more tourists – a couple from Denmark.
Lesser Town is really just the outer part of the Castle area and there was not a huge amount to see there but the Castle was excellent. There was not time to look around it with much depth but Klara did explain some of the history and relevance of certain things there so it was interesting. The Cathedrals within the castle walls were stunning and I would return later, I vowed.
Tour's End
The tour finished and as the Danish couple went away (they lived in Prague but had done part of the tour before and so just joined for the second half – I was very impressed that Klara remembered them from a few weeks back.) I chatted with rz1. He was a nice guy and it was interesting to hear his perspectives on Bratislava and Prague, amongst other things. We were heading the same way – back to the Old Town so we did so together. I forget what we talked about, but as we got to the Old Town, it was close to “the hour” and so we waited by the astronomical clock, with about hundred other people, to see the clock putting on a show. Klara had been quite opinionated about the quality, or lack of, of some of the things we had seen so she was not the kind of guide that just said everything was amazing. Which is why we were both pretty shocked at what a non-event the chimes were. There were plenty of camera flashes and lots of filming but there was not much to see – just a little bit of statue movement. It was a massive anti-climax.
I was then invited, bizarrely, to a Salsa club which I said I'd go to for a drink but I was obviously not going to dance. And I still had my bags so I had a decent enough excuse – I had been walking all day basically. The directions to the Salsa “bar” were not exactly clear but we eventually worked out where it was and made our way there with a few lost detours. It was actually a salsa class so when we walked in, a lesson was going on but it eventually became a normal bar with dancing. I spoke to a few other people – one of whom became very quickly a trip favourite. She said, without any real prompting, that she loved London and felt very comfortable there. That she would choose to go there compared to anywhere else and that she always felt very welcome there with the cultures and that the British people were friendly, warm and welcoming. It was pretty funny and I explained that people outside London in the UK think of us as rude[4], cold and unwelcoming but she was adamant. I wasn't going to complain too hard...
After a while, I left as I did want to sleep a little before my last day. I was pretty tired, but I only had one more day so I just needed to push myself a bit more. A little bit more – it wasn't even going to be a full day as I had to be at the airport by about 7pm.
 |
| Prague 2013 day 1 - click for photo album |
1. In hindsight, as much as I loved Budapest, as I left it did strike me that there was not much that could be considered new – or at least designed new rather than heritage. I think that is fine for a smaller city but the lack of variety would detract from the overall experience in a longer trip I think.↩
2. As explained in Budapest [link], I now feel a lot more comfortable saying London rather then the UK.↩
3. The Old Town is obviously genuinely old but I did like the way that the “New Town” (or Nové Město) was founded in 1348 and so was not what we would necessarily consider new. I guess it is all relative.↩
4. One of my genuine annoyances is people telling me, knowing I am from London, that people from London are really unfriendly and rude. As if telling other people that they are not nice is showing the social skills of a friendly person. This is either from people living elsewhere trying to justify that where they live is better than where I live or from people living in London explaining why they won't live here forever. I find this intensely annoying.↩
No comments:
Post a Comment