While we were in Prague we wandered around the old part of the city, also crossing over the Charles Bridge and walking up to Prague Castle. We checked out the Astronomical Clock. We marveled at the interesting architecture, a mix from many years. We paid a fascinating visit to the Czech Museum of Music where we were able to see some amazing musical instruments. I think my favorite was the quarter-tone piano. I'd never even heard of such a thing! Fascinating.
When I was in Scotland a few years ago while studying abroad, I went on a ghost tour and it was a fascinating, though touristy, way to learn a bit about the history of the city. Being a bit of a nerd, we took a ghost tour in Prague. It was a bit silly, but we took the 9 pm tour and it was just Bob and I. We had a fun time and the tour guide was really neat. We learned about a few of the bloody events in Prague's history and got a neat little tour of the oldest area of the city. We also learned that the majority of the towers and spires in Prague actually come in pairs, and one is slightly larger than the other, symbolizing the balance of male and female. Not sure if it's true, but certainly interesting. Also slightly gruesome, but the man who designed the Astronomical Clock in the 1400s had his eyes gouged out by the city of Prague so he couldn't build a similar clock for any other city.
The next day we took a hike up to the former site of a giant Stalin monument. It was demolished in the 1960's, and the world's largest metronome was erected there in the 1990's. It really was HUGE, up on top a hill that overlooked the city. It was a beautiful and warm day, perfect for a nice walk. As we approached the top, there were two teenage kids sitting next to the monument smoking right out in the open out of a big bong. I'm certainly not uptight about this sort of thing, as I live in the Netherlands, but it was pretty funny to see them right out in daylight with a bong. Drugs are technically illegal, but they seem to be tolerated in the Czech Republic in small amounts.
We also visited the Museum of Communism, which was a really interesting small museum that was assembled to examine communism in the Czech Republic. The Museum of Communism, next to McDonald's and above a casino, I might add, covered the years when the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia began to take over the country in the late 1940's and the subsequent 50 years of history and government. We also got to watch a really cool short film about the Velvet Revolution in 1989, a nonviolent revolution where Czechoslovakia overthrew their authoritarian government. It was amazing to think that all happened within my conscious lifetime, and just down the street from where we were staying.
Overall, I liked Prague very much. Cool architecture, interesting language, cheap beer, and fascinating history. Prague is much different from any place I've been to. Amazing, after living in Rotterdam for nearly 9 months now, to spend time in a city spared by Hitler in WW2 because he liked it. We definitely hope to go back some day.
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