Prague: Part II

We've already arrived in Munich and eaten in a Biergarten for dinner so my second post on Prague couldn't come soon enough. I have put up my first post on Prague a couple hours ago before dinner, so be sure not to miss it below and read that one first! Since our trip to Prague is over I will start by giving my overall impression of Prague.



The last time I was here was about six years ago (I feel really old now because that trip with my family feels like yesterday) and I do not remember it being this commercial or packed full of tourists. I did read in the book that May is a big tourist month, but this city is beyond a normal amount of tourists. There are big tour groups that people go around in, following a red umbrella or fishing pole with tassels at the end like mindless sardines. They take up so much room when they stop to "learn" about whatever they're standing in front of, blocking the way of other people. I figured that the only people who actually care what the guide has to say are the ones in the front while the other ones just trail behind and obviously don't give a shit (then why do you succumb yourself to such nonsense?!) Some groups even give you a headphone set so you can hear the guide better, but that is not at all what touring is to me. When you have headphones in listening to someone blabber you are closing yourself off from the city and what's around you and you never get a real sense of what the city is about. Our main complaint about Prague is that it isn't a living city. There are no locals around getting to work or going out for lunch. The employees of whatever tower or monument they always make you pay for (which is anything and everything they can get away with) dressed in silly outfits makes it feel just like Disneyland and the beauty of the city is really masked by commercialism and mindless people. You only really get refuge at night or if you get away from the main sights. The architecture and historic buildings and bridges really are beautiful to come across (though they could use a good wash) so not all is lost for the city, but with 60% of their money coming from tourists it's obvious that the Czech are in a make-money-quick-the-easiest-way-possible mindset.

Enough ranting. We really did enjoy ourselves and we did get to take in a lot from the city, but suffice to say, this isn't exactly my kind of town. It is beyond beautiful and the Czech are all very friendly people but until the hordes of tourists are exterminated (I kid, I kid) go away I'm not jumping to come back.

Our last two days were full of museums and long walks. On Saturday we visited their Public Transport Museum which houses many old trams, buses, etc. going back to a horse-drawn tram from the late-1800s all the way to the 70s and everything in between. As you can imagine Mark was pretty much in heaven and I also loved seeing the old trams and buses in such impeccable condition (they restore them at the museum) but understandably was all trammed out by the end. The museum also runs a historic tram on the tracks all the through the city on the weekends so we took it about two stops to catch the existing tram up to where my parent's always stay and hang out in that area of town.


















We then wandered our way down the hill to some park where I followed signs which wiggled me all around the park such that I thought I was being directed to an organ-harvesting station, but ended up being a blacklight-bathroom. Weird. We enjoyed ourselves in the park for a little before then wandering our way to Marksmen's Island and appreciated the quiet refuge before checking out the little beach at the tip of the island.








Finally, we visited the John Lennon Wall before calling it a day. Behind some of the mundane, cliché tags there are messages with deeper meanings.


Can you spot his face?





Our final day we visited the Communist Museum and the Lego Museum. The Communist Museum was very eye-opening and made me realize how little I know about WWII and communism (and how little reading/learning I did in high school). The museum takes you through time from the very beginning of the Communist Party all the way to the end with boards that tell you information about the time and what happened. The boards have pretty poor translations to English, but a quick talk with Ginger later that evening helped to clarify some points we were confused about. The most bone-chilling thing was a picture of Hitler standing in Prague Castle looking down on the city. I may be putting my foot in my mouth here, but I have learned to a large extent about Marx and his theory, and the communism that was implemented was by no means what he had philosophized so I hate to constantly see him blamed or hated for it. Lenin was basically a lonely man who hated everyone in Russia so he studied Marx's communist theories but used it to his advantage. It seems to me as if the idea of communism was taken and manipulated to use it as an excuse for a dictatorship. Regardless, it clearly didn't work and it is sad so many people had to live repressed for no reason. It is also crazy to think that people were not even liberated until a year after I was born.

The Lego Museum was also very cool because they had some older pieces as well as very large models of the Taj Mahal, Tower Bridge, Star Wars Death Stars and the Millenium Falcon all made with Legos (of course). They also had these really cool houses that were something I would definitely want to build. It was very nostalgic for Mark because he saw a Lego train and space shuttle he used to play with all the time as a kid. That is always fun to come across, especially when you think you would never see it all put together again.

By the time we had finished with these museums we hadn't realized at all the time so we were starving and got some lunch before resting for a bit and heading out again to the castle area. We were wanting to go to the Toy Museum but it was closed so we walked down a garden (which of course you have to pay for) before finding dinner at this place where we got my most delicious meal in Prague (and maybe the whole trip). It was roast pork with red and white stewed cabbage, and two kinds of dumplings.






Making fun of tourists posing all the time for pictures.








Ciao Prague!