Prague’s Old Town – benmurphy.org

The tourist throngs are definitely on to something. Prague is spectacular. (Admittedly, my love for Prague was probably influenced by the six solid days of perfect sunny weather I enjoyed here following that first gray, rainy day on 28 June.) As the only one of Europe’s great, historic cities on my itinerary (although Kraków probably earns an honorable mention in this category), I was suitably impressed. I gawked along with the rest of the tourists in Prague’s Old Town and Castle Quarter, and I’m going to devote a blog post to each, starting with the Old Town.

But, since I stayed in the New Town, I would be remiss to omit the one must-see sight there: Wenceslas Square, the heart of the “modern” (i.e. the last 400 years) city of Prague. This is where Czechoslovakia’s independence was proclaimed in 1918. Twenty years later in 1938, Nazi storm troopers paraded through here after British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and the other Western European leaders sacrificed Czechoslovakian independence to appease Hitler and, they vainly hoped, to secure a lasting peace. (Sorry for the history lesson, but I’m in the zone. I just finished the audiobook The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.) Prague was one of the few great central European cities to survive World War II intact, only to have Soviet tanks roll into Wenceslas Square and kick off 40+ years of communism. And this square was where, in 1989, the “Velvet Revolution” took place, ending communist rule.

A view of Wenceslas Square looking southeast (30 June 2018).

A closer view from the same direction, showing the statue of St. Wenceslas, the patron saint of Bohemia (which, along with Moravia, is one of the two historical regions that make up most of present-day Czechia), and behind him, the Czech National Museum. In the foreground is a memorial to two young men who self-immolated (burned themselves alive) here to protest communist misrule (28 June 2018).

The view in the opposite direction, from the St. Wenceslas Statue looking northwest (28 June 2018).

The northwest terminus of Wenceslas Square. One thing that I really like about Prague is how the city harmoniously incorporates both old and modern architecture, with some outstanding examples of each (such as the Dancing House). It’s a real, living, breathing city, not a museum piece (28 June 2018).

Naturally, with all the hustle and bustle, I had to eat at least one meal in the center of Wenceslas Square (3 July 2018).

But I did say that this blog post would be about the Old Town, right? Let’s go there next.

I really like the pastel colors on Habsburg-era buildings, both here in Prague and elsewhere (Croatia, Slovenia, Romania) where I’ve encountered them (30 June 2018).

Prague is full of little decorative flourishes like this coat of arms. It’s supposed to be a double-headed eagle, but it looks more like a three-headed Monty Python-esque radioactive chicken to me (30 June 2018).

Except for Wenceslas Square, Prague’s New Town is primarily a local affair. In most of the Old Town, however, the tourist hordes greatly outnumber the locals. Again, I acknowledge that I am part of the problem.

Havelská Market is the tourist’s one-stop shop for tacky Prague souvenirs. I bought three postcards here (30 June 2018).

This is a pretty universal sight in touristy areas throughout Europe: A large, all-male group of drunken, rowdy Brits. I spotted (or, rather, heard) them in València, Porto, and Split as well. Some of them, like this one I suspect given their attire, are bachelor parties, but that can’t account for all of them, and many of these bands of Anglo-Saxons, prone to breaking into off-key song at the slightest provocation, look to be college-age and thus a little young to be getting married. Besides sitting at bars (or, appropriately, at one of multiple Hooters locations in Prague), these young louts can also be found pedaling away on many of the beer-bikes (bars-on-wheels powered by pedals under each patron’s barstool and steered by a hopefully sober local) in Prague, although this is also the preferred method of transit for rowdy Germans. Even without hearing them speak, you know this group is British because one of them is named “Callum” (30 June 2018).

As I search for a new home (or homes) overseas, I generally look for places that are as different as possible from my last home, Washington, D.C. Our nation’s capital is very touristy, so cities with few tourists tend to appeal to me. But Prague is so gorgeous, so chock-full of activities, and teeming with so many beautiful women, that I’m tempted to overlook the tourist throngs. I just have to keep in the back of my mind the question, “would this get on my nerves if I lived here long-term?” I don’t know. Maybe.

Prague’s Old Town Square is the most spectacular urban plaza I’ve ever seen. I can understand why it’s a tourist magnet.

I was here (30 June 2018).

Much to my disappointment, the elaborate astronomical clock on Prague’s Old Town Hall was covered up for repairs when I visited (30 June 2018).

Walking into the square, the twin spires of Týn Church tower above the tourist hordes, and the armored man painted gold, and the giant panda (30 June 2018).

Turning right, there’s a man with a crazy bubble wand and a kiddie pool full of suds, and behind him the statue of Jan Hus, the 15th-century Czech religious revolutionary who founded the Hussite movement that so devastated Kutná Hora and many other places (30 June 2018).

A closer look at Jan Hus and the beautiful buildings behind him (30 June 2018).

30 June 2018

This is the most fun scene ever! Naturally I had to find an outdoor café right away, even though I knew I’d pay a premium for it. At 3:30pm, I sat down for my first meal of the day. What do you call it? Breakfast, since it’s the first meal of the day? Lunch or dinner, since it’s midway between them? Who knows? I’m on Ben Time on this trip, which means I don’t do mornings, and I eat and drink wherever and whenever I feel like it.

I spent a blissful two and a half hours at this table, with some of the best people (and beer-bike and antique car and horse-drawn carriage and tour bus) watching in Europe (30 June 2018).

The menu was all in Czech, so I just ordered my entrée based on the price per gram. It turned out to be a pizza. Pizza is a great value throughout Europe. Still, the soup, the pizza, and three pints of authentic Czech pilsner beer (Plzeň, the birthplace of pilsner, is just down the road), plus tip, cost me 690 koruna ($31.11). Once again, I blew my entire daily food budget on one meal. Clearly I’d have to intersperse some grocery store picnic lunches with my sit-down restaurant meals to stay under budget here (30 June 2018).

The many pedestrian lanes radiating out from Old Town Square are atmospheric, but are just as crowded with tourists as 15th and 17th Streets Northwest in Washington D.C. (which connect the Washington Monument with the White House) this time of year. And all of the shops along here are fishing for tourist wallets.

30 June 2018

Beautiful day, though (30 June 2018).

The Powder Tower, at the eastern edge of the Old Town, was once part of the city wall (3 July 2018).

Even with a full week in Prague, there were several sights I would have liked to visit but either passed on or only briefly visited. Prague’s Jewish Quarter was one.

Klaus (or Vysoká) Synagogue, and the Jewish Cemetery behind it, were both restored after being severely damaged during the Nazi occupation (3 July 2018).

The fun, brightly painted Jerusalem Synagogue is actually outside the Jewish Quarter (3 July 2018).

I did, however, thoroughly explore Prague’s three biggest sights. Besides Old Town Square, these include Prague Castle (the subject of my next post), and, spanning the Vltava River and connecting the Old Town to the Castle Quarter, Charles Bridge.

Charles Bridge is only traffic-free in the sense of being off-limits to motor vehicles. Taking foot traffic into consideration, it’s by far Prague’s most congested bridge (1 July 2018).