Cruising Europe: Prague Day 2

Up early again and after a quick breakfast in the hotel we were out and going. The night wasn’t so great as the AC clearly couldn’t keep up, the beds were small and the duvet wasn’t even as wide as the bed! Local standards are clearly different depending on where you travel. I thought the CEC had the slowest elevator in existence but clearly I was wrong. David and I have discovered the servant’s stairs and as long as we are not completely overcome with the heat that is the preferable option. As my kids would say, first world problems! Discussing with our fellow travellers at breakfast we discovered that everyone had pretty much the same kind of night but all were in good humour to start the day. Everyone exchanged stories about their Prague “finds” and we ended up with several tips on good local places to eat. I am reminded again of why I LOVE digital photography! Everyone had cameras out to show pictures of the restaurants so we had spellings and addresses and didn’t have to rely on anyone’s Czech! Before we leave we will be dining at Kolkovna on Siroka with the blue awning and the Black Kat at the corner by the old Jewish cemetery. Knowing where our next meal is coming from is very important!

Our city tour this morning was fabulous with a very knowledgeable older Czech woman. She knew the city and the history well, was very thoughtful in her pacing given the heat, and perhaps most interesting had lived through the journey from communism and willingly shared a personal perspective. Crossing one of the ten bridges on our way to Prague Castle, we learned about the reference to the Old Town and the New Town. Seems quite easy to understand until you realize that “new town” refers to the section built in the 14^th century – it’s all about perspective. We had some great views of Charles Bridge, built by Charles IV in 1357 and richly decorated with 30 statues of various saints. The Gothic entrance gate is incredible and gives a hint of just how spectacular the bridge really is. The world’s largest metronome that appears high above the city on the other side of the Vltava River, opposite from our hotel room, also has an interesting story. When yet another statue of Stalin was toppled, the people of Prague were left with a giant empty platform that was costly and far too difficult to move. They set about deciding what should be erected in the statue’s place and they struggled with consensus. As a temporary measure, until they could agree, they decided to create the world’s largest metronome, representing the city of music and the changing times for the people of the Czech Republic as they moved from communism into capitalism! The working sculpture keeps time with the rhythm of the city!

Prague is called the city of 100 spires and looking down from Prague Castle it is easy to see why. In fact, there are far more than that! Here we revisited the story of the Habsburgs, those folks certainly got around. Of course when you have 16 children and set out to marry all of them off to the rulers of countries throughout Europe you are bound to show up in a couple of stories about castles! The first Habsburg to sit on the throne here was Ferdinand in the 5^th century. The castle grounds are spectacular, and still very much in use as the seat of government and the residence of the current leader. We watched the changing of the guard, visited St. Vitas Gothic Cathedral where three of the Habsburgs are buried, saw beautiful views of Prague and wished that we had more time to spend in the many museums and displays throughout the castle grounds. There were familiar sights as well since Les Miserables was filmed at Prague Castle, as was Amadeus. Interesting story there since the director was Czech and hired locals including the costume designer. The army uniforms for the movie were so popular that he then had new uniforms made for the actual Czech army! They are the ones we saw today during the changing of the guards. We learned about Good King Wenceslas, considered by many the Patron Saint of Prague, and visited the church that bears his name. We learned about the customary way of dealing with dissenters of the past, as we looked out on courtyards where people were thrown from castle windows high above! Oh the good ol’ days!

As we moved on our bus from one location to another we were fascinated on hearing about the move from communism. According to our guide, they were more fortunate that many people at the time as travel from Prague, while not common, was not impossible. She, however, had always wanted to study history and that wasn’t an option. Women were allowed to attend university in the 60s but were only allowed to study economics (??). Strange ideas to us that seem to be without reason yet that was the Czech reality. We learned that there were of course many formal laws and rules but the unwritten laws were perhaps the most fascinating. For example, it was not necessary that everyone join the communist party. The need to belong was intimately linked to your influence in the community. For example, teachers were not mandated to be a card carrying communist but principals were! And we thought no longer being part of OECTA was a big deal!!! Our guide admitted that there have been struggles that have come with greater freedom. The graffiti that is unfortunately very common on most public buildings here was not present during communist rule, nor were the beggars that are now common in the Square and along city streets. While artifacts that can be proven to have been taken during communist rule (not including during the war) have been returned to individual owners, thefts from churches, graveyards and other public sites has increased significantly. Every freedom has a price. The Communist Party still receives about 10% of the democratic vote (interesting notion in itself!) and always forms part of the opposition.

Back on the other side of the river we passed the oldest Orthodox Jewish synagogue in Europe. In use since 1270, it sits on the corner across from the town hall of the Jewish Quarter that has two clocks in the tower, one with Roman numbers and one marked in Hebrew. We passed a statue of J.M. Hus who dared to challenge the Church on its middle-aged understanding of indulgences. He was called to Constance (Germany) to defend his position where he was in fact, burned as a heretic. We were pointed to the site of the crosses woven into the Old Town Square cobblestones, marking the public execution of town leaders during the Thirty Years’ War. Once again I say, the good ol’ days! Despite their somewhat brutal history, the administrators of Prague clearly have a sense of humour. Where else would you find a building that has been zoned to contain a Museum of Communism, a casino and a McDonalds?!!

To our delight, after a very quick turn around with lunch at Kolkovna, our afternoon tour bus arrived with the same guide! We travelled about an hour into the Czech countryside, through the central volcanic highlands, to the little town of Terezín. Terezín has both a large fortress (complete with moat!) and small fortress and is the site of a former Nazi concentration camp in the large fortress and a Nazi prison in the smaller one. One of the first sights to demand attention as we approached this little town was the huge graveyard with 10,000 graves marked under an enormous Christian cross and an equally large Star of David. This was the former small fortress and the site of the Nazi prison. Where the concentration camp held Jews waiting for transfer to the not yet completed extermination camp at Auschwitz, the Gestapo prison for resistors held all those who dared to challenge the Third Reich. Those who died during the prison torture were buried together, Gentile and Jew, in the yard outside the fort. Following the war, the cross and star were erected and grave markers were placed to recognize those who died. When ancient Jewish people perished in the desert, stones were placed on the grave to mark the site. It has remained a Jewish custom to this day for visitors to mark graves with a small rock placed on the tombstone, much as a Christian might adorn a graveside with flowers. This graveyard, in a striking tribute to both traditions, maintains rosebushes between the graves and the flat nameplates that mark the graves are peppered with small stones. It causes goosebumps to remember as I write this; you can only imagine the feeling as we stood in this incredible testament to the human fight for what is right and just.

The concentration camp visit was somber and fascinating. As we wandered through the stark and ugly shell I was very much aware of my freedom in wandering wherever I chose. I actually wondered about the lack of direction within the site where we could just wander at will. More accustomed to museum sites that controlled traffic flow, has signs that directs you not to touch and velvet ropes that prevent you from entering certain areas; this was very different. Perhaps in opening the site for tourists someone thought of that and realized what a powerful sense that it might create. Perhaps not, and that is just my flight of fancy, but I was certainly acutely aware that my experience was heighted as a result. The more formal museum display that was also contained within the walls is a tribute to the almost 100,000 Jewish people who died there. People captured and killed, judged because of the religious beliefs of their grandparents! Interestingly, many artists were interred at Terezín. There were enough accomplished musicians there to create two full symphony orchestras. The stairs leading to a second storey were lined with children’s art work like you might see in any primary school hallway. The dark nature of many of the drawings was the only hint to kids with childhood experiences not like our own. Many of the displays were evidence of this talent, including a poem written by a 14 year old boy who later died at Auschwitz.

A little garden

Fragrant and full of roses.

The path is narrow

And a little boy walks along it.

A little boy, a sweet boy

Like that growing blossom.

When the blossom comes to bloom

The little boy will be no more.

Frantísek Bass (1930-1944)

Our trip back to Prague was, without a doubt the quietest we experienced on the entire vacation.

Back at the hotel with only time to freshen up I jokingly asked our guide if she was bringing the group to the dinner and folklore show that evening and she confirmed that indeed she was! What luck for us to have this wonderful lady to guide us from morning til night. With few exceptions, the local guides that Avalon provided have been outstanding. The two who were not outstanding were very good! This lady was a good as it gets! Just as we started to board the bus the rain began. By the time we had driven through the city and were halfway to our destination the rain had turned to a torrential downpour and rapids of water were rushing down the hill toward us. In the more level spots flash flooding had happened and cars were stranded in water covering the bumper. Storm sewers were lifted and the rain continued to fall in heavy sheets. Given the recent news of the devastation of flood waters in Europe, Alberta and even at home in the GTA, we were beginning to become a little nervous. Our driver jokingly told us to hold our feet up and continued through the newly created lakes arriving at our destination without incident. However, Mother Nature did provide quite a show for the trip!

That wasn’t the only show we were to see this night! The Folklore Dinner and Show was amazing. We spent the evening eating traditional Czech food (lots of potatoes, cabbage and bacon), drinking beer and wine poured from a wine pipette! The wine actually wasn’t very good but watching the steward release his finger from the bottom of the pipette and shoot the wine from across the table, flowing from the globe resting on his shoulder, was worth drinking so-so wine! Oh and did I mention he had red in one hand and white in the other? A traditional band played Czech folksongs and universal sing-a-long numbers from all over the globe, a marvelous vocalist led the singing, and dancers in traditional costume added to the celebration. It was a grand evening and a perfect end to a perfect day.

Building with architectural features like this are very common in Prague. First we thought they were painted. In fact they have two layers of plaster, a dark coat below and a lighter one on top. When the plaster hardens the pattern is etched into the building. Talk about labour intensive, artistic work! The results are stunning.