Tales from a Broad #1
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Stumble It!Czech It Out!!
Friday, September 29, 2000
Prague, Czech Republic
Greetings from Prague. I'm not quite in Asia yet, but am going soon. In the meantime, a little detour through the Czech Republic was in order.
I was flown to Prague by Newsforce, who needed a producer on the ground during the IMF/World Bank conference that was happening here. The story wasn't the conference, instead it was the violence that would inevitably erupt. Remember the riots in Seattle last year? Much the same thing.
So, it's me, two camera guys, two engineers and the BBC contingent. We were parked in the conference grounds, and protected by some serious security let me tell you. The protests were supposed to last three days and there were rumours of a sit-in around the conference centre, and the Czechs were not about to let them upset the conference. This conference was suppose to showcase Prague to the world, and they weren't going to let anyone get in the way of that good image.
In the end there were protests, but fewer than imagined. There were significantly fewer protesters than originally estimated as well. However, the ones that did show up were pretty militant. Molotov cocktails were thrown. I watched protesters smash the cobblestoned roads to use the bricks as missiles. Pretty intense stuff, and dangerous as I was covering the back of one of our cameramen, Steve, but all turned out in the end. The truck was situated close to the perimeter of the centre, so we were within 50 meters of the protesters, but Allah was on our side and no one was hurt. Our Beeb journo, Russel Hayes, did five minutes live with the protesters going full force behind him, and he didn't skip a beat. Quality stuff.
The rest of the time here has been quite quiet and so we've had some time to see the city, and what a city it is. Prague is gorgeous. For some reason the communists didn't kill all the buildings in favour of bunker-style architecture, so the detail on the buildings are breathtaking. Really fabulous. And the weather has been superb. The air, probably from pollution, has a lovely hazy quality to it, softening up the air for great photos. And I can't get enough of the food. Using Canadian currency, comparatively with the rest of Europe, the Czech Republic is cheap. On the Pound it's just downright funny so my tummy has had a bit of a treat. The BBC fixers (locals who help out on the ground) know some great restaurants, one involving a cellar and a strip tease, so I feel I've seen beyond the tourist Prague.
Last night was a scream. The BBC crew and us went out on the piss. After a nice dinner beside of the river and with a view of downtown Prague, we headed to the clubs. I tell you, you haven't seen entertainment until you've seen a BBC business journalist dance to Korn. What a hoot.
As a swan-song thank-you, Newsforce has allowed me to stay an extra day. I've just seen the guys off (sniff sniff, my association with Newsforce is officially over) and have 24 hours to poke around. Maybe a concert, maybe not. Who knows? I now officially go with the flow. Three days and I'm in Bangkok. Screw the Olympics, the games are just beginning.
