A Side Note: Prague: Prague

Cities like London, Paris and Rome are often cited as the most beautiful cities in Europe (or in their own minds: the world.) Prague is able to elevate itself above these by still retaining its mystique. It has modern amenities, swarms of youths, and an influx of attention, but this old imperial capital still calls back to history with its architecture.

The Old Town Square from the Prague Astronomical Clock.

The Opera House where Mozart's Don Giovanni was first performed.

The Powder Tower at night with a full moon.

One thing was a mind-boggling amount of tour groups. Tours from France, Russia, Germany, and England. Tour guides strode about hold aloft various objects like umbrellas, rods with colorful balls or small figurines perched on top.

There is tons of history in Prague, from the Thirty Years War (and before) to Franz Kafka (a house where he lived is there on the Old Town Square. There's a delightful little restaurant underneath it called U Minuty, which I guess is also the name of the house itself.) There's also much more, but I'm just giving you an idea.

Prague from the Astronomical Clock.

The day I arrived, New Years Eve, was a very sunny day. It was perfect for discovering a new city. The day I left was an extended day, and I was frantically trying to escape the city.

The Charles Bridge (Karluv Most) is a central sight in the city. It serves as the main pedestrian link between the two halves of Prague. It's adorned by many fantastic statues and has plenty of entertainment, from street musicians to caricature artists. Most disappear at night, but that didn't stop some American neo-bohemian to sit below the bridge tower, strumming a six-string and repeating the end of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" over and over. "How I wish… How I wish you were here…" Artisans and hawkers also line the sides of the bridge.

The National Museum is a grand sight. It stands, imposingly, over Wenceslas Square. It's interior is rich and majestic. The entrance hall feels more like a theater than a museum (they actually have classical music concerts in it sometimes.) As for the actual museum collection, don't bother. It's rather dry and boring. Go visit some other natural history museums for their exhibits; visit this one for the structure itself.

Wenceslas Square from the New Yorker store, looking up at the National Museum.

Prague is also home to an exciting-looking sex toy museum as well as a pretty decent torture device museum. (As I say: The torture device of today is the sex toy of tomorrow.) I say "exciting-looking" because I've never actually been in it, but the entrance was pretty interesting. The torture museum, near the Charles Bridge, was pretty interesting and pretty extensive.

One museum, which is a must, is the Museum of Communism. It's above a big McDonald's, and it mixes humor and history. Much of the exhibits are tongue-in- cheek, but that doesn't mean the museum doesn't mean business: it does. I wish I could actually compare it to the Museum of Communism in Warsaw (in the Palac Kultury i Nauki), but I haven't actually been to that one yet. When I have, I'll certainly tell all.

The Museum of Communism deals mostly with communism in Czechoslovakia (primarily the Prague Spring), with a little bit about it's Eastern Bloc neighbors. It's pretty damning of communism in general by making points to show how oppressive the regime was as a satellite state.

And some people still believe in Communism.

Cafe Ebel, which has several locations throughout Prague, is a terrific coffee spot. The 'Jumbo Lattes' are just that: enough coffee to bathe a small elephant. (Seriously, they're fucking huge.) Breakfast there was good, cheap, and fast.

Restaurace Achát was pretty good with a pleasant atmosphere and the expected traditional Czech dishes.

The Prague Castle, which is apparently the largest ancient castle in the world, is, as all castles should be, magnificent. It sits atop a hill, and overlooks all of the Old City in Prague. From the Charles Bridge, one runs into St. Nicholas Church (be careful, there's another St. Nicholas in Prague in the Old Town Square, but I believe it's a Hussite church.) Inside, it's as you would expect: beautiful. There is, however, much to explore. Not just within the castle and the St. Vitius Cathedral, which has a very rewarding view from it's spire, but also further back where not many tourists go.

The Monument in front of St. Nicholas.

Different views of the Prague Castle.

The Stahov Monastery is pretty nice. I didn't notice tons of tourists walking about, so I don't think it's a main attraction of Prague. The Loreta and Loretanske Namesti, are both worthy places and not too far from the Prague Castle. The Loretta is a must-see. It holds a wonderful treasury (I don't think pictures were allowed to be taken) and a nice cloister-esque courtyard. I visited it when it was rather drizzly and dreary, but they seemed to be devoid of most tourists.

The Old Town Square in Prague is pretty much what you would think it is, central to the whole city. There's a gigantic statue to Jan Huss, and for the time I was there, a large Christmas Market (Weihnachtmarkt in German.) They sell all sorts of crafts and food (winter food: candied nuts, sausages, mulled wine.) In the summer, I'm sure it's full of restaurants' patios and such. Famous sites like the Astronomical Clock and Kafka's house are there.

St. Nicholas at night, with the Weihnachstmarkt.

I had read about the Vysehrad, which promised to be impressive. I walked along the river towards the south, running into several sights such as the modernistic "Fred and Ginger", the Prague National Theater, and the Emauzy Monastery. Emauzy actually is in a rather seedy neighborhood, quite to my surprise.

Fred and Ginger.

Emauzry.

My first attempt to visit the Vysehrad ended after I walked along the Vltava for a ways and decided to turn back. My second, and successful, visit occurred rather late at night while waiting for my bus.

I was supposed to leave on the fourth of January, at midnight. I packed up all my stuff; I checked out of the hostel and went to the seedy bus station. The bus was supposed to leave at midnight (how convenient is that?) But I waited and waited and waited some more. It never came! I asked another bus driver if I could get on her bus, but she said no and told me to wait for my own. Finally, I just gave up and went back to the hostel, where that old guy was still awake. The next evening, I did the same thing. I left my baggage at the hostel and went out into the city for one last time. I decided to actually walk all the way to Vysehrad.

The walk along the river was quite nice. It's true that it borders a busy road with cars ripping by, but during the sunset it can be quite peaceful (almost romantic—but by this time I was alone.) The setting sun shimmers off the Vltava, and it's winter (yet it was warm) so there aren't crowds of couples walking hand-in-hand.

I finally made it to Vysehrad. It's hard to miss, being a fortress on a hill, but it's not clearly marked out. The Prague Castle has signs everywhere pointing the way to it in both Czech and English, I can't remember a single one for the Vysehrad. It's a up a long flight of stairs, and one is immediately rewarded with a view over Prague.

It was quite dark, so my impression of Vysehrad is that it's mostly parks and ramparts. There were a scattering for people going about for evening strolls. At the center, there's the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, which pretty much dominates over the whole thing. St. Peter and St. Paul has beautiful, colorful doorways with mosaics above them. They seem a little odd on a gothic church, but compliment it well. I spent a while wandering around on the ramparts. If I had, had more time (I had to take a bus later) and had gotten there in the daylight, I would probably have more to say.

I walked back to the center of the city and spent the rest of the time at one of the Cafe Ebels. This time, when I went to the bus station, I caught the bus for another long ride to Karlsruhe.

St. Peter and St. Paul. I took this while lying down in the parking lot.

A gate to the Vysehrad. There is some famous gate there, and I thought this was it, but it wasn't.

The Prague Castle from Vysehrad. One can see the double-spire of Emauzy.

A Side Note: Prague: New Years

New Years was like one giant party (with its center in Vaclavske Square) and everyone was invited.  There were tons of fireworks, but they weren't set off by city officials, but rather by revelers.  The blare of sirens was constant, and sparkling wine was flowing aplenty.  It was one of the most fun and memorable times in my life.  I actually met someone from Mass there, I think he was teaching English in Prague.

There were twelve beds in the room, which was actually rather small.  I didn't get chummy with any of the roommates, but apparently several of them were friends (I think they were from Italy.)  Two lesbians came in late in the evening on New Years Eve and went straight to bed.  The water for the showers was a little colder than lukewarm, which didn't make for a thrilling shower.

After a quick nap after my long bus ride, I hit the streets of Prague.  A large stage was set up in Vaclavske Square and things were beginning to look festive.  A group of dancers were dancing (including numbers like the Can-Can) on stage, warding off the chilly air with tight sweat pants.  The weather wasn't freezing (there was no snow) but there was a nippiness to it.

Dancers on the stage in Prague.

There was an Albert supermarket on Vaclavske Square, where we were able to purchase a bottle of sparkling wine to pop at midnight.  This was of not really necessary, since every kiosk was selling either Sekt or Prosecco; although, the prices were far higher.  Fireworks were more common than booze, but I wasn't able to get my paws on any of them.

These people are out of control when it comes to partying for New Years.  I've never seen anything like it!  Groups of people firing off roman candles, people dancing and singing, explosions in the street.   It was a grand 'ol time, and everyone seemed to be friends.  It wasn't just young hooligans who were partying and causing a ruckus, there were tons of older people out on the streets enjoying themselves in the same way.

Various clips of fireworks.

Walking about, I tried to make kissy lips at every passing female.  I think about nine or so women took me up on my offer (the number gets higher every time I tell the story.  I say women because they ranged from late teens to women over sixty.)

Along the way, we met groups of people.  Some were from Russia, some were from the US, and all were friendly.  We talked, laughed and chatted, then parted ways.

We made our way up to the stage, threading through the crowds, buying another bottle of wine, draining it and refilling it from a group of people we met, and found a lady with the softest coat ever.  We ran our hands all over the coat, delighted by its silky quality.  She just laughed and probably enjoyed all the attention.

The luxurious coat.

To get past the stage we had to give up our empty bottle (no bottles of alcohol were allowed.)  We circled around the back of it, near the National Museum, and went back again.  By this time, the crowd was beginning to thin and the amount of fireworks was petering out a bit.  We made our way to Old Town Square but most everyone was gone from there and all that was left was trash (there was no snow, but it looked like a blizzard of garbage came through.)  The next morning, the streets were sparkling clean.

A Side Note: Prague

Prague is one of the most beautiful, awe-inspiring cities I've ever seen. It's old city is gigantic, covering both sides of the river. It's a city where one can easily imagine the times of old.

I was fortunate enough to spend New Years 2006-2007 in Prague. I was living in Karlsruhe, Germany at the time and wanted a little adventure. A classmate, who had been to Prague for New Years the previous year, found out my plans and suggested the Hostel AZ, but warned that I ought to book a room soon because the beds filled up fast. AZ was full, but their sister hostel, Aldivia, wasn't. I booked a bed in the dorm and got my bus ticket: KA-PR.

Now, my bus left Karlsruhe at around six, and I was thinking it would roll into Prague around 11:00 PM that same night or midnight, on what would be New Years Eve. I was extremely close to missing the bus (the bus driver said, "Arrive one minute later and you would not be on here.") I got a seat to myself and settled in for a nice ride to Prague. There were stops in Stuttgart, in München at the Allianz Stadium (we stopped for a pee break there. The bathrooms were a ways away from the bus station) and and the Czech border (pre-Schengen) for ninety minutes because some loaf forget his passport.

Eleven hours after departing Karlsruhe we rolled into Prague, not at the Hauptbahnhof (which I was expecting) but in some bus station in the seediest part of the city. Getting off the bus in the very early morning, being very dark, and trying to find my way to the train station, of which I had no idea where it was, was going to be a challenge. Luckily, a homeless looking fellow also got off the bus and started to talk to me. I tried to tell him I was trying to go to the train station, and he pointed in some direction. I walked a little ways down the street, and was thinking, "You… are… fucked." The man, who turned out to be rather nice, suggested that I come with him. He too was going in the direction. Not knowing anything better to do, I agreed.

This guy kept on repeating how he had been up for three days straight. He was heading home after spending a lot of time in Frankfurt or something like that, I kind of forget. Anyway, he wasn't staying in Prague, but going even further south. We went into the subway, which had no turnstiles, and caught the next train. The subway in Prague is the best I have ever ridden, hands down. We took one stop, walked up to the train station where we parted ways, but not before the inevitable asking of money (I think I gave him five Euros. Hey, he kept his word and lead me to the Hauptbahnhof and hadn't tried to rob me of all my possessions.)

I finally made my way to the hostel, which is right in the middle of the city. There was a fussy old man there, who didn't speak any English but apparently understood Polish (not that he had learned Polish, but that the languages are so similar that he understood.) I collapsed on my bed while dawn was beginning to break on New Years Eve.