The Prague Coup

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What a coup! What coup? The Velvet Revolution? No, the mere fact of gathering all three girls and us together on one continent, in one country, in one city and even in one apartment. So it happened in Prague. Engineered; not by happenstance, I might add.



So who did we choose to show us around this wonderfully photogenic city? Who would show us some different things and give us some quirky information about this jewel of the Czech Republic? Filip was his name. He was the irrepressible, bouncy, pogo person who we were hoping we would not have as we waited with the Sandeman's free tours group. Enthusiasm I like, effervescence in a guide I was not sure of. But young Filip, born in 1989, the year of the aforementioned Velvet Revolution proved himself to be entertaining and informative, politically informative with an offbeat sense of humour and a near native way with the English language.



'Segways,' he opined,'are a lot like sex. Fine in your own home but extremely embarassing in public.'



This said as a Segway tour rolled past. A group of healthy young men in matching shorts and t-shirts who really should have been walking. He was right. It was pretty embarassing.



In the Old Town Square we gathered to talk about the astronomical clock.



Filip had strong opinions on this too. 'The second most disappointing tourist attraction after the Mona Lisa,' he said. And to demonstrate he mimed the apostles appearing from behind the opening doors and the figure of Death waggling his hourglass. He explained how the Prague city fathers decided to add the cockerel crowing to make it more exciting and the recent introduction of the trumpeters from the top of the tower extended the experience. 'But that's it,' he said and when we ran across the square later to view the hour striking, indeed it was. The dials are magnificent though. But for sheer medieval timekeeping ingenuity I recommend you see the clock inside Wells Cathedral which I talk about in a previous post.



Standing inside a glass mall (could this have been the Melantrich building itself?) off Wenceslas square Filip recounted in his deadpan manner the spine-tingling events of 1989 when 200,000 people gathered in the square shaking their keys in peaceful protest against the excesses of the communist regime. Havel himself appeared on the building balcony shaking his keys as demonstration of the end of this regime.



He told us of the layered burials in the old Jewish quarter, about the swampy mire which now housed some of the most expensive real estate in Prague. He encouraged us to view the Jewish museum with its heart wrenching tales of Nazi atrocities. We were tempted but maybe shallowly decided that we did not want to break the sunny mood of optimism that the complete family was engendering. Sober was not our intention.



I say this tongue in cheek as this was obviously not the intention of many groups who come to Prague. We tried to avoid the trailing gaggles of girls in heels and silly hats, the men in matching t-shirts as they attempted to assist the Czechs with their annual consumption of 160L of beer per capita. They should have been told that they did not need to drink it all in one night.



Of course we pushed our way through the crowds gawking at St Charles Bridge with its buskers and stalls. Does anyone go to Prague to have their cartoon portrait drawn? Obviously so with the plethora of cartoonists touting for business. Meandering and wandering our way through the Mala Strana up to Prague castle we ogled and laughed at the peeing statues in the Kafka Museum. We marvelled at the Mucha stained glass windows in the cathedral and emerged to find a meringue dressed wedding couple who then seemed to pop up every time we wanted to take a photo. They pushed and shoved people out of their way. My, anyone would think it was her special day or something!



Boat trips looked good in the heat and peering into one of the smaller canals off the river Graeme looked for trout.



'Any in there?' asked the middle daughter.

'No, but I can see a boat.'

'Yes and that's full of old trouts!'



A decision the next day to take a bike ride proved excellent and we pedalled leisurely through the gardens on the North side of the river back through the Mala Strana following a disappearing and reappearing bike lane down to Vysehrad. We passed restaurant boats which we thought might be a tad expensive and touristy but the Matylda proved to be excellent. Not much more expensive than other food we had sampled in Prague but with impeccable service and warm blankets to ward off the chill which was coming off the water in the late afternoon.



So that was the coup. Seeing it hadn't been done before in ten years, we will have to look to the next decade to have a repeat performance of the 'family holiday.'

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Photos

Reflections
Old Town Square

Fred and Ginger
The building viewed from the Matylda

Comments

[TRISH]

Greetings from Aus...........
Hi Meryl lovely to see you Graham and the girls all together..........great pics.........

[Renee]

I am enjoying reading about adventures. The girls are beautiful, I see your smile in them.

[Mert]

So glad!
I didn't know you were reading, so glad you are enjoying it. One day we will meet again...I am sure!