The Promise of Prague

I had heard the rumours that in the 1400’s the Bohemians made love in the street so with great excitement we booked a trip to Prague to see if anything had changed. I must admit to being a bit of a philistine before I left not knowing much about the City. Many people at work (well the 2 who had actually travelled outside the UK) told me that it was a beautiful place.

Like the rest of Europe, it seems to have spent much of its early history in continuous religious battle which was then replaced with a bit of German cleansing followed by a good dose of red army repression. Just like an amicable divorce, Ms Czechoslovakia took back her maiden name and became the Czech Republic leaving Mr Slovakia to go his own way.

It is amazing that in only a few short years, the onslaught of capitalism has made Prague a highly cosmopolitan place. While it has unfortunately got a reputation for English stag and hen nights it still retains its magical charm.

We stayed in a fantastic apartment just outside the old town. I think the kids were more impressed with the apartment than anything else at it had a kids play area. The Czech owners were extremely friendly and couldn’t do enough to help us. Even better was the pub next door. At 25 p a beer I was speaking Czech in no time. Czech food is not exactly diet food. Dinner at the pub consisted of a plate the size of the table with meat skewers and potatoes in a sauce made from what appeared to be 3500 cloves of garlic. Very nice but I am sure I am still smelling like an over ripe garlic.

Venturing into the old town (staré mêstro) you are confronted with a jig-saw of pastel facades and cobble stoned alley ways. The jumble of gothic, baroque and rococo architecture compete with each other for attention but somehow mange to meld together nicely. Many of these buildings are now filled with 10,000 Russian dolls, Bohemian crystal and puppets sprawling out of the tourist shops.

At the centre of the town is the old square which was the scene for many strange events including the worlds first public human dissection in front of a 1000 onlookers. While the macabre show may have changed there is still the 1000 tourists, all looking at the 500 year old astronomical clock that chimes away on the hour.

We spent the afternoon wandering around the old town then a quick stop at the large department store to pick up some winter gear – I think I forgot to mention that it was bloody COLD!!! With darkness arriving (despite it onlt being 4pm) it was time to head back and plan tomorrows adventure.

To be continued…….