I have, in a previous act, brought reference to the stereotype of Eastern Europe - backward and generally depressing. So now, on our way into this region, albeit perhaps the most successfull Eastern European country, these stereotypes keep playing on.
As we pass the German Czech border, Larsson proclaims that we're now into Czech republic. Gobi agrees. Lase was looking at his handphone getting reception from a Czech station, while Gobi was looking at the fact that there just happened to be no more buildings.
And then they all get excited when they see a train station without any platforms. Just a chair.
Considering that Germany and the Czech Republic share a border, one would almost expect the two to share similarities in language. Or at least a gradual change in the linguistics. However, the change in language is amazing. I mean, the amount understandable has now dropped to close to 0%. Considering that I can actually understand about 5% of written Swedish, we see that 0% is actually way too low.
We share our cabin with a couple of Wisconsin-American girls. We were actually originally split up into two cabins because there weren't any more empty cabins. However, when people alighted at subsequent stops, we could re-form. Anyway, they were on interail passes too and were on a tour like ours around Europe.
They can now safely say they have learnt something along the trip; cos we teach them how to play Dai Di. They quickly understood, but Daidi, perhaps, is a game where you probably need a fair bit of experience before you can understand or win.
I too learn something on the trip. I learn where is Wisconsin. And I learn that its actually very high up north.
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Why the Czech Republic do not use the Euro, I have no idea. Why they do not ACCEPT the Euro, like they do in Switzerland I have no idea. But both these I excuse. What I do not excuse is the fact that the only money-changer in the train station is closed. Urgh..
Lase goes to find an ATM to withdraw Czech money. Apparently, there are many people like us without any Czech money on them, so he only comes back like a half hour later with some money for transport to our hostel.
When we do reach our hostel, though, everything is forgiven. Such is the quality of the hostel that Lase, as he sits down on his bed, plugs in his laptop into the power socket, and accesses the WiFi in the room, says "Heaven".
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There is this graffiti outside our hostel room. I'm beginning to doubt that it is in fact graffiti. I, for one, find it highly symbolic - representing the eternal cycle of war and reconstruction.
Gobi, on the other hand, isn't in a mood to figure it out because he just wants to eat.
I want to put this photo as proof that we have eaten Czech food, and so my high opinion of Czech food can be justified. I mean, how often can you put a beef steak and jam in the same dish and it still tastes nice. Yummy.
After this we go walking around the city for a bit. Probably the most famous sights of Prague is the Charles Bridge, so we go there first. I only know its famous because, like the Eiffel Tower of Paris and the Big Ben of London, its the monument that film-makers film in order to shout out "Hey! You're in Prague!".
However, the shot by sunset, is really nice.
Honestly, at this time, we do not really no much about Prague to make it worth it to see all the sights. I mean, sights are just buildings unless you know the story behind them. So, where else to go for a story than the Sandeman's Tours! Tomorrow then! This time, its unanimous.
Scene 21 - 10th July
If you recall from the Munich adventure, Marcin had brought us to see the second most overrated tourist attraction in Europe. Today, Colin, our Sandeman's tour guide from Scotland, brings us to see the first. Only that, according to him, the Glockenspiel is the first, and Prague's Observatory Clock is the second. Minor technicality. He doesn't bring us to watch it though, because he suggests its a waste of time.
It seems that Sandeman's tours always start with the most overrated tourist attraction of the place.
Anyway just as in Munich, things got better from there. It gets, occasionally, a bit hard to understand Colin - he's got a thick Scottish accent. Apparently not as thick as it gets because apparently he's spent six years in the US.
We first walk to a building that Colin introduces to us as a Theater. He then goes on to explain that the great Mozart used to love performing here, mainly because the Czech people appreciated his music moreso that the people of the other major cities in Europe that were Paris, London, and even Vienna. So much so that when Mozart died, he was mourned more here than in anywhere else. I expect to see a shrine of some sorts to Mozart but there's none here. Perhaps even if there were, the communists would have torn it out.
Which would then bring us to another very important aspect of Prague's History - Communism.
We see many aspects of the old dictatorship that was the Soviet Union. Colin explains to us that, although the war ended in Europe in 1945 with an allied victory, it didn't end until 1989 for the Czech people.
1945 marked the end of the reign of one mad man. And the start of the reign of another. So Czech moved from the hands of one dictator to another.
Colin points out interesting stuff about the old Kings of Prague, for which I (and Lase especially) zone out completely. Kings of old are so predictable - they're either really good, really bad, or just plain anonymous. And once you know one of each category you know them all.
Basically it was a couple of Good Kings that allowed the formation of the Hussites, probably one of the first Protestant denominations, according to Colin. And then a Bad King came along and introduced Anti-Hussite Laws.
Along came a defenestration; some bad people were embedded onto a stake; and then there was peace.
Defenestration. My new favourite word. It means to throw someone out of a window. And the Czechs love it.
In fact, just a couple of years later, a second defenestration took place. Only this time, they forgot to put the stake there to impale the falling 'defenestratees'. So the defenestratees feel into a pile of poo and survived. Unfortunately they then went on to thank the Lord for surviving a defenestration by starting the 30 years war.
The 30-years war created many nations in Europe. So one could almost say that most of Europe was actually created in Prague. So perhaps if you turn the EU flag around, you'll probably find "Made in Prague" behind it.
Flash Back: True story from Munich.Germany was in fact created in Versailles, France. Because the treaty signed to unite the 3 nations was signed in France. So Marcin actually did tell us that Germany was made in France. So behind the German flag there should be a "Made in France" sign.
Perhaps that's why Germany and France have been so close allies for so long. Hehx.
Back to the Present, snapping out of the memory: where am I?
Oh yes. The 30-year war was fought between the Catholics and the Protestants for God knows what reason, and it is quite funny because that war split Europe up nicely. Anyway, that's all ancient history.
Defenestration. Word for the trip.
I tell my travel mates that Prague, which has already seen 5 defenestrations, will witness another one before we're through with it.
DEFENESTRATION!
Anyway, away from the windows which strangely don't have grills as if they're inviting the 6th defenestration, and we talk about communism. There's a memorial in Prague dedicated to a student who set himself alight in protest to the Communist rule of the Czech Republic. Jan Polak, if I'm not mistaken.
He set himself alight in front of this building,
and there is still a remembrance of the spot where he gave his life for freedom.
Another memorial; this time dating back further, is at the Old Jewish sector. The madman who we were introduced to in Munich, well, he rears his ugly face again. Obviously, many Czech Jews lost their lives. Men, women, children alike. All members of the deemed inferior race exterminated.
However, Hitler kept the Synagogue.
For the sole purpose of it, together with the whole Jewish Sector which was left untouched, to be a 'museum' about the soon-to-be-extinct Jewish race.
Today, by the way, is a Saturday, so while the rest of Prague is up and running, the Jewish Sector is completely closed. Strange, because we have no prior experience of the Sabbath day not being on Sunday.
Next up, the tour of Prague Castle.
But a quick intermittent random break before we head up to that castle.
Remember how I said the Czech Language is unreadable?
At least I understand one word.
The Castle Tour is a paying one. But we get back our same Tour Guide - Colin. So thats a plus point.
We first visit the Senate house, which is only about a hundred times better than our Senate house. Which perhaps is purely due to the fact that it was actually a palais of one of the royalty of Prague - and Prague had had a lot of royalty in their day. I mean before Hitler and Stalin.
And to add to that, we are allowed to walk in on the grounds of the garden and chase peacocks and peahens and peachicks; and admire the many fountains available. However, for us, Sentosa is abound with peacocks for some absurd reason, and if you were with us at Tivoli in Rome you would know that we have seen probably more fountains in this one month than in the rest of our lives put together. Even if, perhaps you double count the fountains that we visited more than once in Singapore together.
So basically its another garden to walk around in. However, whats quite strange about this garden is that it has this.
As to what this strange wall is made of, I have no idea; apart from the fact that I know they're not real stalagmites and are in fact man made. It probably was some seriously artistic i.e. idiosyncratic and/or highly drunk designer who made this.
Yes, and if you look closely you would actually see there are faces in the wall. So add 'disturbed' to the list of adjectives I used to describe the designer.
After this we actually go up the hill to see the Castle proper. However, climbing a hill in the Summer Sun is not the smartest thing to do, so, included in the tour package was a tram ticket. So we go up all the way to the top of the hill and enter the Castle grounds.
One church later (once more, remember the Vatican), and we are at a terrace over looking the whole of Prague. There will be a few more terraces along the way, but since this is the highest one, I shall just use this photo.
One additional note about the Churches. Prague is a mainly atheist city, despite the many churches and statues of Christ that you would find around the City. Thank you communism. Urgh.
Colin points out the old secret police headquarters; and tells us that secrets are not part of ancient history in this government.
He tells us the story of how he was telling this story to his tour group and a couple of officials from inside the building come out and say "no no no that's not what happened!".
I actually wonder if perhaps that would have been arranged to illustrate the point.
I think open government is slightly overrated, although perhaps the alternative would be worse.
Along the way there is a water fountain.
And we see this guy pumping the lever back and forth as if drawing water from a fountain. Colin helps out. Turns out that you don't actually have to pump it up and down; rather, you just push it back. It works the same, if not better. I reckon Colin will have a good laugh later.
Finally we reach Prague Castle proper. Turns out we can't really go inside every building because its more like the Istana in Singapore than the Chateau de Chillon in Switzerland. AND disappointingly its a palace, not a castle. There is a difference. Castles are way way cooler, with their medieval turrets and tiny slit like windows to fire arrows out from. And moats. Who can forget the moat.
Anyway, Prague Castle is a scam and has none of these. There isn't really that much to see of the Castle that we haven't seen in other Palaces in say, France. There is, also (surprise surprise...) a church!
While its not the most boring church we've been to so far, its also not the most exciting one. So I kind of switch off again.
Thankfully; or your eyes would start burning out by now due to my excessive verboseness today.
We make our way down from the Castle now; the views from each successive terrace are getting bigger and closer - duh. As I mentioned before, I shall not put up these pictures because, well, you've seen the biggest picture and the power of digital zoom allows one to zoom in on a picture and get a different, closer one.
Anyway, we have dinner at an Asian joint - cheapest meal in Europe so far - before walking around to see Lase's dancing house.
Thankfully, this is not like his Venetian Square and we find it in no time.
It is quite unique, I'd agree.
The sun is setting now, so we hurry to the main town square to buy souvenirs because its already our last day in Prague. Tomorrow we're back to Germany.
Overall, its safe to say that our impression of Eastern Europe has changed. Its amazing that the Czechs have come so far in such a short while since democracy finally reached their doorstep. I reckon the rest of Eastern Europe wasn't that lucky, though.
Anyway, technically we're still of to East Germany. Dresden tomorrow, then.
