I love Prague. It is a beautiful city that is steeped in history and culture, and I adore almost everything there is about it. That being said, it is easy to start running out of things to do as a tourist after a certain number of days, so we have started to clutch at straws for things to see. Thankfully there were a few, more niche options out there.
This morning we did a walk that looked at some important aspects of the Velvet Revolution, which to me is a very important and fascinating event in recent history. A communist regime overthrown not by militants or an armed struggle, but a peaceful takeover by intellectuals and students. It is also impressive enough that Vaclav Havel became first president of the Czech Republic, a far cry from his previous role as a playwright! So needless to say I was looking forward to this walk, because it was short, alternative and best of all, completely free.
There were a few decent little memorials, such as the student memorial and the Jan Palach one, but for the most part the buildings, beautiful though they were, were unassuming and not really depicted as important places. It was more of an implied history, and if you have a good imagination it is easy to see the weight of these momentous events occurring, such as the theatre where Havel and his group planned demonstrations, or the long walk down Wenceslas square where 400,000 people waited to hear the declaration of the downfall of the communist regime. If there isn’t a film made about the revolution then there definitely deserves to be!
After the walk we had a beer in a dated but beautiful theatre cafe, originally built in the 1920s. The decor would make even the most indifferent person question the design choice but once again the atmosphere of history was easy to feel, and it was a lovely experience drinking where so many had before. Maybe it’s just because I am a massive history geek, but sitting in a place where so much has happened and so much more could happen fills me with a sense of wonder and delight.
Our next stop filled me more with amusement and in many ways terror. We were going to do the tour of the underground of the old city, but since we had to wait a couple of hours we quickly went into the Sex Machines museum. This is definitely not for the faint of heart or those not easily amused, and it certainly was expensive for what it was, but it was very entertaining. The high point was a very odd Spanish pornography film made in the 1920s. It was hilarious more than it was arousing, but it was an interesting piece of cinema in it’s own right. The exhibits of the more niche sexual tendencies both of yesteryear and of today ranged from the interesting to things that will haunt my nightmares for a while, but it was still enlightening in many ways.
The final part of our day after a quick drink in a small cafe was the underground tour. Despite the quiet and mumbled English of our guide it was a nice little romp through the town hall and the cellars underneath it that used to be the street level of old Prague. The history lessons ranged from the changing nature of the city crest to how England learnt the Christmas carol of Good King Wenceslas (through the marriage of Richard II Plantagenet to the daughter of Charles IV, King of Bohemia). If I was able to understand the guide more I’m sure there would have been more interesting titbits of history but it was a pleasant experience nevertheless, and for only 100 crowns (£3.35 more or less) it was worth it.
And so ends our last proper day in Prague. Tomorrow is likely to be more of a relaxed day before we pack our bags and go to the airport, but if anything noteworthy happens it will make it’s way to this blog. So until next time!
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