Recently Val and I found a good deal on a trip to Prague, Czech Republic. On first thought it may seem like an odd tourist destination. However, I have always wanted to see the Bohemian area, especially for its nature. The city of Prague also comes up time and again in my history textbooks, going through centuries of violence, then communism and WW2. It is a city weathered by the winds of time, grey and drab to the outward appearance but inside there lives a people that have learned to survive despite all this.
We arrived at our hotel (an old school for the children of the head officials in the communism system) after a 10 hour drive through Germany and the Netherlands. Val and I couldn't wait to explore, so we couldn't help going out and walking down a nature trail to the lake at night, especially after seeing the beauty of this land through the bus windows. We were not disappointed!
On the tourism website this trip was advertised as 'Stedent trip'. I assumed this meant there would be a lot of students and young people. I was in for a bit of a suprise when our bus tour contained 122 pairs of eyes, all of whom were over 50 and retired. As we walked down the bus aisle to the back we kept hearing the words 'twee meisches!' We were quite popular, in any case!
Early the next morning we took a bus trip to a small town nearby. This fortress was along our way. Notice that the only way up to this fortress is in between the two rocks, but the middle area is also blockaded by a barrier making the fortress pretty much impenetrable.
A typical Czech breakfast (plus American granola and yogurt!)
We saw so many statues everywhere. Quite typical of communism I think. As it has only been a short time since the communism system has been abolished in this area, many of the old statues still remain, giving voice to the people at that time. Most of the statues include symbols of violence, and many show people/animals being stabbed.
A typical town in this area. Many colorful homes line the streets. The average wage in Czech Republic is 250 euros per month (about 325 dollars or so). It is an area that is segregated in striking colors between rich and poor. One thing that really amazed me is that there was almost nobody outside. We could drive for 15 minutes through these towns without seeing a single person (it was 9:00 am).
They use brick, covered in a type of plaster, in order to make their homes. This building together with many others, burned down perhaps even several years ago. They still sit like this in the middle of the town.
I tried to get a picture of a certain man who was very striking in appearance. I didn't want to be rude, and the picture I did get was quite blurry, so I will have to describe him to you instead. He was slighty stooped as he leaned against the crumbling brick wall, smoking his cigar. His thick brown hair draped down the sides of his face, mingling with his beard which reached his waist. He was not old in years, although he seemed so by how slowly he walked. He was wearing camo pants and shirt, and stood in front of an faded sign marked 'Museum'. I think this is such a perfect picture of the place. Tired and weary of struggle, they have learned to simply exist to survive. But at the same time they love their nature, and small trails can be seen absolutely everywhere along the roadside. They are a quiet and withdrawn people, liking tourists for the money they bring into the country but not smiling or talking to tourists unless they must. The lawns are untendended, the window shutters moan downwardes over grey tiles, tiles which are engraved in elaborate rich designs, now barely discernible beneath the moss.
And they make the most beautiful things. We went to a glass factory, where glass is hand-blown. This old wheelbarrow carries a wealth of beauty in the factory's wasted glass.
First a small drop of glass is put on the end of a hollow stick. The ball is heated to a bright orange, then blown a little to expand. It is turned into this mould to give a circular shape.
Then it is blown some more until it is the desired size. It is once again put into the mould, then it is is finished. The two young girls in the old people tour group were pretty popular also with the men at the factory, so we kept getting asked to blow the glass!
It is put in this area to cool off and harden. The entire process takes about 2 minutes.
Here are some examples of glass jugs.
It was so warm in there! The guys working would go through huge amounts of beer. The average person in Czech Republic drinks 6 glasses a day (this is also taking into account small children and old people!) But how many work places do you come across where you can drink beer (and smoke) while you work?! I don't know why this isn't a cross-cultural thing...
For Easter, we saw these sponge cakes in the shape of sheep everywhere! This poor guy became a hungry student's dinner. Yep, back to typical student dinners!
For the afternoon we went to the Bohemian paradise. Huge chunks of granite rose sharply out of the ground. A trial led to and through them, sometimes through very narrow channels in the wall.
We were supposed to take the ýellow trail' but these two girls were a little more adventurous and agile than the old people. This is the highest point of the area, ahem on the 'red trail' I must say, but with incredible views! The only view from up here on my camera is of my face for some reason. But its pretty much the only view that matters right...? ;)
Striking natural beauty everywhere
On the bus, writing about the day.
Our bus drivers were a few years older than us, and a ton of fun. We spent a lot of time with them. This night there was a dance with live Dutch music. We drank 65% alcohol (kind of rummish tasting), and watched the old people. I think this picture was taken by one of them at some point... at least I definitley did not take it! These two were pretty popular as well with the old folks, so at some point they were hauled off thier chairs to join the dance. We also joined in this crazy dance. Basically the Dutch way of dancing is to put your hands on the person's shoulders who is in front of you, and walk around the room a few times singing loudly along with the music. We joined the old people who sang in Dutch, laughing pretty hard at the whole experience!
On our last night we decided to light a fire on the beach and roast some hot dogs. However, just before we were going to head off some of the old people were complaining that they didn't get desert. They were a few minutes late for their desert, and the Czech way is to simply toss the desert in the garbage promptly at 8:00 if there is no one around. The people who arrived two minutes late were simply out of luck. Very interesting culture. So of course everyone had to call the bus drivers who tried to appease everyone. It wasn't working, so they decided it was time to 'fix the bus'. Aka run to the bus, grab some gasoline, beer and chips and escape behind the bus to the beach :) I do hope none of the old folks read this... Anyway, it was a really fun night. I saw the Milky way for the first time since leaving Canada, and a campfire on the sandy beach with good company was pretty much the perfect evening.
Stay tuned for part 2!
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