Day 9. Back to the relatively civilised world - Prague.
Fri 28 Aug 09 - Fri 28 Aug 09
View
Chasing the Dragon to Prague
on andertonz's travel map.
Friday 28th. Well back to being a tourist again, and back to keep Ruth company (although Gary had still been showing her around).
Ruth and I decided we needed to have a good introduction to Prague, to understand the place a bit better. While Gary was very familiar with the layout, the history and most of the more obvious highlights, these were all new to us. So we took the "Ultimate Tour of Prague" that our hotel (Castle Steps) had recommended - I think they had a deal with them.
So we met our tour guide in Wenceslas Square (Vaclavske Namesti) at about 10:30 in the morning. This was to be our first time in one of the Tour Groups. Now when you are in one, they are great value, very informative and fun, and very good value. However when you are just showing yourself around a place they seem to be a kitschy, touristy, PITA. Funny how your view varies with different perspectives, eh?
Anyway, this tour was very well organised and (seemingly) complete and professional and all. But what made it a bit special was our tour guide - let's call him "Dave", because we couldn't recall (or pronounce) his real name. He was a native Czech who spoke perfect English. Actually he told us how, when he was young, he struggled to speak proper Czech. When he was growing up in Prague, kids had speech lessons to learn how to make their particular language sounds - all those guttural throaty consonants! His mother paid for the lessons but also gave the lady teacher chocolates, which were a real treat in Cold War Czechoslovakia. So the teacher had no real interest in Dave passing the course, so taught him the wrong pronunciation. Mum eventually caught on, sacked the lady and took Dave to another teacher, who had his speech sorted out in a mere year! No wonder visitors seldom make the effort to learn the language...
So Dave's commentary through his tour (which included the Old Town Square, the Astronomical Clock, the Jewish Quarter (Josefov), river boat tour on the Vltava (Muldau) river incl Charles Bridge and up to Prague Castle) was interlaced with social and political commentary and humour. He was particularly passionate about the Velvet Revolution, the disappointment of the Czech people with the aftermath, and the current government.
So while the buildings of Prague sometimes seem a little dull and dirty, the city itself is full of colour. And it's the Czech people that make it colourful. For example, the way the Czechs reacted to the invasion by the Russians, the martyrdom of a couple of students, the huge crowds that gathered in Wenceslas Square in 1989 to protest the Communist Government. And the way the government works; blowing up Stalin's statue under cover of night
After the tour finished, and we dispersed, Ruth and I went back to the rooms (Castle Steps, RIGHT by the castle) for a breather, then took the short walk back to the castle, where we had a closer look at the Cathedral, and some other points of interest like the lane of tiny houses.
-- more on this in later ---
Posted by andertonz Sat 19 Sep 09 20:13 Archived in Czech Republic
