Finally,
after a rotten 20th Century, the Czechs are getting a chance to determine their
own fate. After getting occupied by the Nazis and the Russians only to have a
brief period of freedom yanked away in 1968, leading to 20 years of more
repression, Prague is finally coming into its own. Although there are still
occasional reminders of Communist rule, such as the Russian built metro trains
and Russian Ladas on the streets, Prague is now embracing the West with a
vengeance. It now seems closer in spirit to Vienna than Moscow or Bucharest.
As one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Prague is a fascinating collection of architectural styles straddling the Vltava River. The largest landmark is the 1,100 year old Prague Castle, located on top of the largest hill in the city. The views from the castle are an outstanding collection of hills, church domes and the ever-present spires. The castle itself is fascinating. Right past the odd looking wooden spiked flag poles with huge flags and the stern looking ceremonial guards, the castle opens up into a series of classical courtyards which house the offices of the Czech Republic's playwright President, Vaclav Havel. Beyond this is the massive St Vitus cathedral which took 600 years to complete (evidently, they are not in a hurry). St Vitus has beautiful art nouveau stained glass and the tombs of saints, including the silvery extravaganza built for St Wenceslas. Under the main cathedral, St Vitus houses the tombs of Czech kings in a heavily restored crypt. The castle also boasts of a medieval royal palace with a huge ballroom, the 1,000-year-old St George's Romanesque church and the Powder Tower museum which comes complete with medieval tools, some fading displays and hyper-vigilant babushkas.
Being part of the new mainstream European tourism route means that there are
things to
buy. The Golden Alley consists of shops converted from minute houses crammed
with everything, from old maps to 'I luv Prague' stickers to comics based on -
guess what - Franz Kafka.
Other than the castle, the most famous feature of Prague is its gothic architecture, especially the narrow and unique 14th Century towers topped with little metal flags and whimsical metal balls. From above, Prague is a forest of spires. The gothic architecture spans both sides of the Vltava, centering on the Charles Bridge (Karlov Most), which separates the Little City (Malostrana) and the Old City (Stare Strana). Lined with statues of saints who may well be unhappy with all the odd goings-on, the 500-year-old bridge is a weird collection of street musicians, street artists, strange drunks and gawking tourists. Sometimes, you can even catch them filming a TV show near the Charles Bridge: we saw a murder scene where the victim got dumped into the river.
At
ground level, Prague is full of many little ancient winding streets with
fascinating shops to explore. Amongst the winding streets of the Little and Old
Cities are beautiful plazas, an amazing collection of shops which sell anything
from Russian matrioshka dolls to Franz Kafka T-shirts (everyone will remind you
that he lived here) to clothing from Sri Lanka. Also popular are the famous
glockenspiel and clock at the old City Hall of which the Nazis blew up half in
the closing days of World War II. Every hour, death pulls a rope and a parade of
saints zips by. A cute mechanism, but I was befuddled trying to figure out all
the functions of the clock and its 12-odd arms. There are two arms for time,
another for the day and yet another for the zodiac. The rest are a mystery.
After asking numerous locals, I concluded this would remain one of the 'Great
Unknowns', at least in my lifetime! Anyway, the climb up old City Hall clock
tower to see the skyline and the marionettes from the back is well worth the
effort.
Amazingly, classical music concerts are so plentiful that people almost force
you to take
flyers. The concert fare is mostly pretty traditional and held in small halls.
There is a lot of Mozart and the Baroque masters like Bach and Vivaldi, but do
not expect Shostakovich or Schoenberg (the cut-off date for musical selections
seems to be around 1790). Some of these concerts are amazing. Imagine listening
to a Bach cantata while sitting in a 300-year-old Baroque church - where else
can you listen to great music while looking at a 20m high golden altar filled
with golden angels and statues of saints?
Prague also had some unexpected surprises, such as a large Jewish Museum. It provided a history of the Jews and a lot of unique silver and gold items. The Jewish Museum has a cemetery where people are buried several deep and a memorial to those killed by the Nazis. Ironically, Hitler gave the museum a boost by collecting Judaica in Prague for a planned Museum of an Extinct People.
One
highlight of the city is the beautiful white and gold Loreta, a monastery which
is home to a series of bizarre shrines to various versions of the Virgin Mary
and some incredible treasures in the armoury. The armoury is filled with
treasures, including a diamond encrusted altarpiece shaped like the sun, of
which every millimeter is covered with precious stones.
Eating out is mostly very pleasant. Some favourites are restaurants filled with historical objects and paintings of Bohemian Kings who were also considered the Caesars of the Holy Roman Empire! Others which stand out include a little white-walled and wood-panelled Vienna-type restaurant with great food and a Gemutlichkeit atmosphere at low prices. In November and December, it is possible to buy roasted walnuts and hot, cinnamon-flavoured wine called Gluewien, which always chases away the chills.
Shopping is decidedly a mixed affair. Local glass is often of very good
quality and cheap. Of special note are the Czech puppets. While cheaper ones
made of porcelain only cost
between $10 to $50, others made of wood can easily cost hundreds. At these
prices, the puppets will be unique and of outstanding quality. At the other end
of the shopping scale is Prague's main ex-state store. The building is a dark
and drab, geometrically shaped, socialist style modern metal structure, which
appears to be an escapee from a bad science fiction film! The store is bare
inside, but is valiantly trying to upgrade itself to western standards. At least
there are western consumer items and bright displays - under bare florescent
bulbs. On the bright side, the Soviet 'three stop shopping' of 'wait to look, go
elsewhere to pay and wait to pick up' is gone. This truly is progress!
The nightlife is varied. When I was there, it included a black light version of Dr Faust, which took place in a crowded theatre but had many strange lighting effects, very imaginative (and often very creative) puppetry and a bilingual Czech-English script (not to mention bizarrely eclectic music). The ironic twist in the end is that the Devil finds today's people an easy catch.
Alas
there is some bad news. There is the occasional cheating on restaurant tabs and
ever-present dishonesty by taxi drivers. There are too many tourists and an
appropriately Kafkasque hotel situation, especially in summer. This means early
reservations are not only a good idea, but the only way to stay sane in the peak
season. The old town's atmosphere is a little dented by some very touristy shops
and attractions, including a very disturbing torture museum (not recommended for
the squeamish). In addition, much of the city is disfigured by graffiti and
there are, late at night, heroin addicts shooting up right in the streets.
However, Prague continues to move forward. It is becoming cleaner and more efficient, and it can be very cheap. Everyone speaks English and everything has a translation. Reflecting an almost Germanic efficiency, the bus schedules are even specific down to the minute (will the bus really get here at 1057?). The cars are mostly Czech Skodas, but the company is now owned by Volkswagen, which means cars break down less often. The city is filled with beautiful spires, friendly people and excellent food. After surviving some of the worst ugliness in history, Prague is thriving again. The Nazis and the Communists have come and gone, but one of the loveliest places in the world is better than ever - and is free at last.
Eric Trachtenberg