prague
As you can imagine I was quite happy to leave Bratislava. At the train station, I bought a cheeseburger from one of the stalls. In keeping with the general theme of my visit to the city, there wasn't a burger in the bun. Just cheese and cabbage. I realised this while sitting on the train. The stall had pictures of its various offerings. It was a cheeseburger and it's a fairly international type of food. The mind boggles about this place.
I spent the 4 hour journey talking to a pleasant chap called Ivan who originally came from Prague. He left just prior to the invasion of the Russia/Warsaw Pact countries in 1968. They were unhappy with the manner in which the Czech's were becoming too politically liberal. Not communist enough to them. He ended up in Norway where he lives now. His choice of Norway was canny. Stalin made no territorial demands on the country after the war. therefore, there was little chance of him falling under the communist yoke again, as he saw it. He was lucky. After the invasion, the borders were sealed. It was his 60th birthday the day we met. We were greeted at the station by his sister who he was visiting. His sister bought me a tram ticket and she wouldn't accept any money from me. The nephew was instructed to take me to my hotel. He showed me a few sights en route and best of all, the most perfect site to view Prague in its entirety. My faith in humanity was being restored.
The Hotel I choose to stay at was a former convent, then became a centre used by the secret police as a prison. It is located in the old city. I kinda fancied sleeping in a cell. Vaclav Havel was banged up there during the 1989 velvet revolution. I swear it is still run by the secret police. Even the walls are adorned with larged, painted written rules - 100% no smoking, lose pass; 500 czk fine, lose key 2500 czk fine,no visits, silence after 22.00 and so on. The room was probably bugged too. Hope they enjoyed the farting symphony, a favourite of mine, the beer movement. They allow you to use the internet for free but for no more than 15 minutes. Strict rules govern it, no online games, only email, etc. What a palava! All this for 37 euros a night.
The city itself is incredibly pretty. I was quite surprised to see so many tourists. After all, it's December and getting acutely cold. I experimented with the chill by timing how long I can keep my bare hands exposed to the cold before they start to sting; daytime 7 mins and night 3 mins. I reckon once I reach Russia, my hand will permit no more than a few seconds exposure. Anyway, swarms of tourists crawl the streets. Generally en mass in tour groups. Half of China was there. You can forget about getting across the Charles bridge at anything other than snail pace. But I can see the attraction. This was once a very wealthly city and it has all the trappings that come with such wealth. Splendour, wide boulevards, superb buildings. The centre of the city is well policed but then they do not want to bite the hand that feeds them.
My time in Prague was low key but pleasant. Nice strolls, soup with wine, all so quaint. Did the usual thing by visiting two Irish pubs and a number of Czech pubs. The price differentials for beer is 50% between them. Guess which one is the more expensive? One of the Irish pubs is called Rocky O'Reilly's. All of the waitresses have enormous breasts and they struggle to fit inside tight fitting tops. These tops are adorned with hand prints over said breasts! No doubt, the selection process for a job there is pretty straightforward. The nightlife is pretty active, lots of people milling around in the cold and the Czech beer deserves its reputation. There are lots of touts trying to direct you to brothels but they aren't too much in your face. Once you dismiss them, they go away politely. My only brush with criminality was the night before last when a girl came up to me, gyrated her pelvis, started knocking her pelvis against my hip. This little manoeuvre was accompanied by kissing noises and a repetitious chant of 'f*cky, f*cky'.
I told her I had a headache!
I spent the 4 hour journey talking to a pleasant chap called Ivan who originally came from Prague. He left just prior to the invasion of the Russia/Warsaw Pact countries in 1968. They were unhappy with the manner in which the Czech's were becoming too politically liberal. Not communist enough to them. He ended up in Norway where he lives now. His choice of Norway was canny. Stalin made no territorial demands on the country after the war. therefore, there was little chance of him falling under the communist yoke again, as he saw it. He was lucky. After the invasion, the borders were sealed. It was his 60th birthday the day we met. We were greeted at the station by his sister who he was visiting. His sister bought me a tram ticket and she wouldn't accept any money from me. The nephew was instructed to take me to my hotel. He showed me a few sights en route and best of all, the most perfect site to view Prague in its entirety. My faith in humanity was being restored.
The Hotel I choose to stay at was a former convent, then became a centre used by the secret police as a prison. It is located in the old city. I kinda fancied sleeping in a cell. Vaclav Havel was banged up there during the 1989 velvet revolution. I swear it is still run by the secret police. Even the walls are adorned with larged, painted written rules - 100% no smoking, lose pass; 500 czk fine, lose key 2500 czk fine,no visits, silence after 22.00 and so on. The room was probably bugged too. Hope they enjoyed the farting symphony, a favourite of mine, the beer movement. They allow you to use the internet for free but for no more than 15 minutes. Strict rules govern it, no online games, only email, etc. What a palava! All this for 37 euros a night.
The city itself is incredibly pretty. I was quite surprised to see so many tourists. After all, it's December and getting acutely cold. I experimented with the chill by timing how long I can keep my bare hands exposed to the cold before they start to sting; daytime 7 mins and night 3 mins. I reckon once I reach Russia, my hand will permit no more than a few seconds exposure. Anyway, swarms of tourists crawl the streets. Generally en mass in tour groups. Half of China was there. You can forget about getting across the Charles bridge at anything other than snail pace. But I can see the attraction. This was once a very wealthly city and it has all the trappings that come with such wealth. Splendour, wide boulevards, superb buildings. The centre of the city is well policed but then they do not want to bite the hand that feeds them.
My time in Prague was low key but pleasant. Nice strolls, soup with wine, all so quaint. Did the usual thing by visiting two Irish pubs and a number of Czech pubs. The price differentials for beer is 50% between them. Guess which one is the more expensive? One of the Irish pubs is called Rocky O'Reilly's. All of the waitresses have enormous breasts and they struggle to fit inside tight fitting tops. These tops are adorned with hand prints over said breasts! No doubt, the selection process for a job there is pretty straightforward. The nightlife is pretty active, lots of people milling around in the cold and the Czech beer deserves its reputation. There are lots of touts trying to direct you to brothels but they aren't too much in your face. Once you dismiss them, they go away politely. My only brush with criminality was the night before last when a girl came up to me, gyrated her pelvis, started knocking her pelvis against my hip. This little manoeuvre was accompanied by kissing noises and a repetitious chant of 'f*cky, f*cky'.
I told her I had a headache!
posted by Ciarán at 12:36 a.m.
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