Reflections on Prague

Franz Kafka Statue


Typical Sidewalk In Prague

I've written much about the places we've been to and things we've seen in Prague, but have only hinted at the impression the city made on me. The first, and indeed, lasting impression is positive. Prague seems to be a vibrant, lively city. It is a bit touristy. Well, let's face it, a LOT touristy. Aside from the numerous souvenir (souvenyry in czech) shops there are scads of shops selling Bohemian Crystal, marionnettes, Russian stacking dolls or garnets ... the top Czech exports. There is a lot of junk out there and you must be a discriminating shopper to find the goods of real quality. There are also many antique stores and rare used book stores. We browsed in a couple of those and saw many lovely things but the prices were a bit too steep for our budget.

But who wants to waste their time going from one souvenir shop to another? We relied on our guide book to steer us to the best garnet shop. We browsed a couple of Bohemian crystal shops but found it was not to our taste. We preferred to spend our time meandering through the crooked streets of the Old Town. There is such a fascinating mix of architecture in Prague. We also came across some interesting modern statues; at least three featured headless, or bodiless, figures draped in cloaks.

I was amazed at all the cobblestones in Prague. They were not limited to just a small area but were everywhere we went from the Old Town to the Lesser Quarter; from the New Town to the Jewish Quarter. Even the sidewalks were composed of square stones of varying colors (predominately grey, black, red) arranged mosaic-like in different patterns throughout the entire city. It was pretty to look at but hard on the feet.

The city is very clean. Even the subway stations that we visited were clean and tidy. We saw lots of dogs being walked in the city and, with a few exceptions, people clean up after their pooches. We felt safe everywhere we went, though we were warned numerous times about pickpockets. Language does not seem to be a problem for the English-speaking visitor. All of the Czech people we encountered in shops, museums, restaurants, etc. spoke English. Nearly every menu we were handed was tri-lingual: Czech, English and German. I imagine the language thing would change the further from the city center you venture. If we ever do return to Prague, I would definitely want to venture away from the tourist hot spots.

I learned one thing about the Czech people that surprised me. Our guide for the walking tour we took stated that 80% of the Czech people are atheists. (This statistic was later corroborated by another source.) Prior to WWII about 56,000 Jews lived in Prague; today only a couple thousand remain. I find these statistics rather chilling. Especially when you consider the many physical reminders of the religious nature of Praguers. There are countless churches, cathedrals and synagogues of all architectural styles: medieval, romanesque, gothic, baroque, Moorish. The Charles Bridge is lined with statues of saints. The Jewish Quarter boasts one of the oldest synagogues in Europe. It's as if the war, and subsequent years of communist rule, ripped the soul out of Prague. But I don't mean to imply that Praguers are desolate, gloomy people. We encountered friendly practical people who seem intent upon reinvorating their city with culture, music and, above all, tourism.