Prague...living up to expectations

I was expecting to be completely let down when I reached Prague. To illustrate, not a single person had said a negative thing about the place (with the exception of a lot of tourists) up until I arrived. I am now happy to say that the rumours are true.


While lacking the sophistication of Vienna, Prague is a medival playground with narrow streets, huge squares, city gates, churches and a castle to top it all off. Added to the mix is a mini Eiffle tower on one of the hills. You can even find left overs of the communist era at the ugly concreate sports university and stadium (which is conveniently hidden behind a hill). In the distance are lots of concrete mass housing complexes.

However, word has got around that Prague is a pretty nice place and now it has been overtaken by a sea of tourists. You might as well be in London or Paris considering the numbers. The English have taken to hosting their legendary stag and hen parties in this town. 30 rowdy guys with a funny accent wearing the same shirt with the grooms name on it is not uncommon.

In regard to historical background, I was hoping to see even more remnats of communism (yes, a weird desire). However, it seems that hyper capitalism has gripped the city. Ever chain store known to man is here and there are signs advertising products every where. If you are in a group of four or more people, expect guys to come to you and urge you to go to there bar. Nevertheless, I did see what was left of a momument to Stalin. His huge statue was blown up and now the base it has been taken over by skateboarders.

I did go to the Museum of Communism which was started by an American and next to the McDonalds. While it gave a nice overview of Czech life under communism, it seemed to have a very one sided view. Ok, I am not a big believer in communism but I am sure there are some positive aspects like good health care, education, jobs, or something.

One interesting evening was spent on a pub crawl that ended up going till 8 am. I hung out with 3 poles and 2 americans. The Poles had arrived in Prague that evening from Krakow via hitch hiking and planned to return that morning. Crazy! I guess there jobs in Krakow are also running around the city trying to get people to their bar.

Oh, and I have decided that Mucha is one of my favorite artists based on my visit to his museum.