RTW Honeymoon #4: Prague: Absynth-Minded Capitalism - Prague, Czech Republic

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Prague: Absynth-Minded Capitalism
May 17th, 2002

Ahoy from Prague!

View from our apartment

Completely by luck, we are situated in a private apartment on the river with a great view of the Charles Bridge (and cheap cheap cheap!). Our friends Miguel and Linda met us here and the four of us have been exploring the city together. After navigating many non-English-speaking countries over the last few months, Miguel and Linda say it's a relief to have someone to talk to. However, we've discovered that everyone here speaks English anyway. Coming recently from Russia, it's a shock to see SO MANY American tourists everywhere ("here a tourist, there a tourist, everywhere a tourist-tourist...").

Prague is quite a place to walk around, it's the only European city that avoided shelling during WWII and so its cobblestone streets, Baroque and Renaissance architecture are completely intact. Be that as it may, this place was under Soviet control for quite a number of years and when communism fell the city reacted with, how can we put this, an explosive acceptance of capitalism and all things western, collectively gorging itself on commercial opportunities and marketing. You've all seen the Volkswagen commercials on Prague's back cobblestone alleys. McDonald's, Gap - you name it - have set up glass storefronts all along the new town square.

So the city has a bit of a psychotic air about it, older parts looking pretty much as they have for centuries (despite the supermarkets and ATMs behind their stone facades), and new parts looking COMPLETELY modern. During a walking tour it was made clear to us that Praguers haven't forgotten that the Allies COULD have liberated Prague at the end of WWII, but chose not to - leaving the job to their Soviet allies who then imposed a totalitarian brand of communism on the city for decades (Would you like a little guilt trip to go with your vacation, sir? No? Then perhaps you would consider our beautiful array of tacky plastic hammer-and-sickle souvenir hood ornaments...)

One really terrific thing about this city is its love for music. Unlike many other major cities in Europe, Prague is NOT a clubbing town ("clubbing" refers to techo music & DJs, for those who don't get around much any more, *wink*) Jazz and blues, rock and lots and lots of classical music. Concerts are held nightly in the local halls and cathedrals and LIVE jazz and blues can be found in every bar and cafe (San Francisco, eat your heart out). Love it. Art? Sketch artists and aspiring painters line the streets, private galleries abound. There's no Hermitage Museum around here, but just walking around the old parts of the city would be sufficient for any art lover.

Prague is a superstitious city, with many ghost stories and legends. How about a mystical Jewish robot named Golem who was made from clay 300 years ago and destroyed the Jewish quarter when his Rabbi neglected to let him rest on the Sabbath? I gotcher legends right here, Ishmael...

Actually, there is one thing here in Prague that we did not appreciate at all: "Star Wars 2, Revenge of the Clones." Well, watching Yoda kick some bad-guy butt ALMOST made it worth it...okay, okay, so Kim liked it. But Kim signed a contract at 10 years of age to love all things Lucas for the rest of her natural life.

Sean's first 1 litre beer

Now I have to talk about the beer (I always have to talk about the beer). It's good. It's light. You've probably heard of it - Pilsner Urquell. Yum. There is also the original Budweiser here (there was a lawsuit against some American company that ripped off their product, but those Americans took their big, corn-fed muscular lawyers from New York and slapped that pitiful little Prague brewery down like yesterday's wet garbage) and a few other local brews. They are all good, but there's not much variety to them - they are all light and very drinkable (as evidenced by the fact that Praguers outdrink the Germans AND the Irish...combined). Oh, there's also Absynth. Prague is the birthplace of this emerald-green hallucinagenic drink that tastes like liquorice. We, uh, have never tried the stuff. The stuff here might taste better here than some other stuff purchased in London last year, with a smoother, caramel-y finish to it, but we wouldn't know.

While cheap for a European city, Prague is no longer the 25-cent-a-beer town it used to be. Viva la capitalism. *sigh* Well, we're in Prague for the rest of the weekend and then we'll be exploring the Czech countryside for a few days before heading off to Austria.

p.s. - Thank you, Irish team, for turning my Irish soccer jersey into a huge "Kick-Me!" sign last night. Well, at least you didn't get humiliated by Korea like Scotland did. Just goes to show you that whiskey should be spelled with an "e," doesn't it?


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