End of Central Europe trip in Prague

Prague!
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The next stop on our trip around Eastern Europe was Prague. I had heard really good things about it, for instance that it’s the up and coming top tourist destination in Europe, etc. Well, as soon as we arrived and walked on the streets we found that out for sure. By this point, in February, we had not been anywhere where we would have heard anyone else speaking English on the streets, and to hear British and American tourists chatting as they walked by us was really disorienting to say the least. Our brains were used to never being able to understand the language in which we were immersed, especially in the eastern and central European countries where we had NO idea what people were saying.

First dinner in Prague
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The first night we arrived, we just started walking away from our hotel towards downtown to try to find somewhere to eat. We walked past a few places where men were standing outside telling us things and we finally figured out that they were full (or they didn’t want to seat 8 Americans). Finally we found a hole in the wall restaurant with one other couple eating in it and a man nice enough to seat us. After we all ordered our drinks and meals and were waiting for about an hour, we realized that the one man was running the whole restaurant by himself. Seating, taking orders, cooking, and taking the bills, etc. It was pretty impressive, especially with the big order we gave him. Taylor and I were the only adventurous ones that night. Everyone stuck to penne pasta except for us. We ordered pork (which they serve A LOT of in central Europe) and vegetable skewers that were served to us on giant metal skewers hanging from some sort of contraption with a plate at the bottom. It was a sight to look at, and all of it was soo good!

Astronomical Clock
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The next day we got to explore more of Prague, instead of just searching for food. As for the city itself, we got to see a lot of Prague through a walking tour as with the other cities, but Prague was significantly bigger than the other two so it took much longer. It also had more of a modern feel to it. Even though I’ve said that I noticed Budapest and Krakow were not stuck in communism (at least the architecture), Prague was even more not at all what I expected in terms of showing the effects of communism. I’m realizing more and more that that makes sense because these countries were only occupied and not actually constructed (or reconstructed) with the ideals of communism so it isn’t reflected in the architecture. So actually, as you can see in my pictures, I found out that the architecture in Prague was really gorgeous. One thing that was interesting was that a lot of the older stone buildings were not restored. The gold was always well kept but the stone was usually black from the pollution. You hardly ever see pollution blackened stone in Western Europe because so much time and money has been put into the restoration and preservation of many castles and cathedrals. We went into a small cathedral in Prague and you could smell the mold in the ari. I suppose it makes sense that the Czech Republic probably does not have the capital or organization to provide such a service yet though.

Church with pollution blackened stone
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Despite the beautiful architecture, Prague had more of a big city feel to me - especially the downtown area, which turned into one huge redlight district at night. Apparently human trafficking (women specifically) is a huge thing in Prague, and they work under the cover of Chinese restaurants. Odd.

On the city tour we got to see a lot of interesting things. There were a lot of crucifix statues, showing the strength of Catholicism in Prague, as well. Downtown we also saw a lot of old theaters, which used to be the center of entertainment in society and are still one of the things that Prague is most famous for. Another part of entertainment that is famous among young tourists in Prague is the five story club, Karlovy Lazne, which actually has written on the outside” The Biggest Nightclub in Central Europe”.

Prague castle
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Another cool sight was the astronomical clock. This clock is by far no ordinary clock. The dial represents the position of the Sun and Moon in the sky and shows many different astronomical details. Also, "the Walk of the Apostles", is an hourly show of statues of the Apostles and other moving sculptures. The clock also shows the months with a calendar dial. Our tour guide informed us that the clockmaker who designed this clock was blinded once it was finished so that he could never create another one like it, and Prague would have the only one.

Cathedral at the castle
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Prague also had a few museums. We visited the National Museum of Science and something else, which had A LOT of bones and fossils and a pretty interesting “Feet” exhibit, which showed kind of a walk through history with a theme of feet and shoes and things. It was interesting. I got really excited that that had an anthropology section, but really it just turned out to be one room with a bunch of old skulls.

One of the most impressive things about Prague is the castle. It is the biggest building in Prague and sits on top of a hill across the river from the old town. I actually just read something that says that it’s the largest castle in area in the world, covering 18 acres of land. The castle was founded in 880AD. The Prague Castle experienced one of its greatest periods during the reign of Charles IV (1346-1378) when it became the seat of the Holy Roman Emperor. The castle was passed down through different rules and reigns, welcome the first president in 1918 and was first opened to the public in 1989 with Czech’s independence from the Soviet Union. There is a really impressive cathedral in the middle of the castle walls as well.

Oldest theater in Prague
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I loved the markets that were around Wencelas square. I didn’t take any pictures of them because I was afraid to take out my camera in them, but they sold everything from vegetables, to wooden toys, to jewelry. I bought some pretty handmade earrings there and my friend Hannah bought a little wooden toy for her niece.

By the end of our three and a half days in Prague, we were all ready to head back to Freiburg. We almost didn’t make it back because our bus forgot about us, so we had to organize other means of transportation. On top of that, while standing in the airport, we thought our flight was delayed one minute, and then 10 minutes later it was undelayed, so we all had to scramble for the gate. Security wasn’t a top priority either, as I easily got through with a whole bottle of contact solution. So before I end, here’s a little bit of more deep thought on Prague J

crucifix
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Brief Critical Analysis of Prague

Although we spent the most time of the trip in Prague, this city was the most difficult for me to critically analyze. We had extremely thorough lectures that were very informational from educated professionals who believed to be relatively reliable because they were academics and not government officials. However, there were some points on which the first and second lectures conflicted, such as the Czech Republic’s perspective on which Eastern European countries it is important to draw in for possible accession to the European Union. One stated that Belarus was crucial and the other claimed that there is more Czech focus on Ukraine.

Wencelas Square
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The primary reason that I believe I had a difficult time taking a critical perspective on Prague and the remnants of Soviet or communist influence was that I saw none remaining. At least in Krakow we had visited the House of Terror, and leaving Poland we visited Auschwitz, but in Prague I felt no immediate presence of residual communist influence. The modern architecture, materialism, and extraordinary amount of tourism, even in February, all contributed to my comprehension of Czech Republic being much better off than Poland and Hungary. As far as GDP is concerned, however, Czech Republic’s GDP is significantly lower than that of Poland and just a few places above Hungary. I have heard that tourism in Prague, while it is currently booming, only just recently started becoming immensely popular, which might explain why the Czech Republic is still behind Poland. I would hypothesize, however, that such increasing success in the tourist industry will help the economy immensely in the years to come.

National Gallery
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This trip was definitely one of the most influential and educational trips that I have taken, and my only regret was not speaking to more of the local people. I found myself watching and comparing old and young people and how they interacted amongst themselves and their environments and wondering what their perspectives on their home countries were, but I could not work up the courage or find the opportunity to ask. Despite this one regret, I learned a great deal about the current problems and prospects for Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic, and I am confident that this has given me even better insight into the greater issues concerning their involvement in the European Union, as well as their relations with the United States and Russia.

Main Street in front of the National Gallery
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