Prague - Goodbye to Communism

The Graffiti Wall known as John Lennon wall.

We actually stumbled upon the John Lennon wall accidently. We had crossed over the Charles Bridge and were exploring the lesser town (Mala Strana) area. We had stopped at Kampa island area when we had taken a round on hop on hop off bus so now tried reaching it through narrow cobbled lanes when we saw this beautifully painted wall. The vibrant colors and the images of John Lennon makes it an immediate attraction where you want to stop and click a few snaps.

Prague had been under Communist rule for several decades so in 80's students found an outlet by using this wall as a graffiti wall inspired by the lyrics of Beatles songs. The wall became symbol of freedom and rebellion. So much so that in 1988 there was a major clash on and around Charles Bridge between the students and Government over the graffiti messages. Not much of the original wall remains as it has been painted over, but the colorful Lennon wall is still quite popular with artists and tourists.

It is a long privately owned wall. The owners don't mind it being used as Graffiti. 

The period from 1948 to 1989 was a very dark and dismal era for Czechoslovakia. Under a totalitarian rule there was no freedom of speech; there were purges; executions were common; there were shortages of essential commodities; religion was considered to be enemy; raids were conducted at homes for illegal literature; and interrogations, spying on citizens and harsh punishments for any kind of rebellion activity was a norm. It is difficult to imagine a lively and colorful city such as Prague being home to lakhs of suffering people in those gloomy days where overnight, the rich  became poor and artists were made to do menial work.
 I asked a friendly taxi driver about that era and he said that he was too young at that time but he said that his family had suffered a lot and they are thankful that the nightmare had come to an end. He suggested that I visit the museum of communism to get a first hand experience of the life and time of those days. For some reason I did not have the courage to go there. Maybe I would do it the next time. 

This was a good taxi driver who was friendly and honest. Unfortunately on the first day itself we had got rooked by a taxi driver and made sure that then onward we fixed the price in advance before we boarded a taxi.

Mala Strana (The Little Quarters)

The Mala Strana area is very lovely. Many tourists who come for a short visit often miss out spending time here as they are concentration on Old Town square.The ancient houses are really nice and most hotels are set in ancient buildings.Many people prefer staying here as it is quieter and more beautiful than other parts of the town. The side roads are cobbled and I was told that a visit at night will make you feel as if you are in ancient Prague as these cobbled lanes are lantern lit. The churches, the cafes, the pubs and the atmosphere make this side of Prague a lovely area to take a stroll and have a meal.

Once you are at the Mala Strana square you can walk on the delightful Nerudova Street up which you can walk to reach the castle district, the Church of St. Nicholas, Petrin Hill, and the Wallenstein Gardens.

The residential area is not very far as you walk in this area of Mala Strana. The houses are lovely and one would be much better off coming here to the restaurants for nice meals. The Old town is a tourist trap and though the atmosphere is good, the food is very mediocre at a very hefty price. Here, you would get great food at half the price !

Visiting the Castle 

How can you go to Prague and not visit the castle ? The castle is omnipresent in Prague. It stands out from whatever direction you look. It stands tall on a hill. From Mala Strana square many people climb up on foot. We decided to go by tram. It was very convenient as you can buy a ticket anywhere, validate it on the tram and depending on the price you have paid, you get the number of hours for which you can use any tram in city. The castle is beautiful . It looks stunning at night. 

 We took one of the gates and soon could see the kind of carvings and paintings that had gone into the castle. It had beautiful courtyards, intricately carved buildings and a very pretty chapel inside the St Vitus cathedral. 

We did not take a full castle tour. We have seen too many castles to spend a few hours exploring another one. The kids would have protested had we decided to explore the full castle ! In fact we did not buy any ticket at all. Many people had gathered outside for the change of guard ceremony and the courtyard was full of people. Most people were tourists who travel in groups with a guide. Entry into the chapel was free and fortunately there wasn't a very big line to enter the chapel so it was a good idea to go inside and admire the beautiful work inside the chapel.

At the Chapel inside the St Vitus Cathedral

Birds of Prey

As we walked towards the Royal Gardens we stumbled across the birds of Prey. There were exotic birds of this region and we were told that they were being looked after by an organisation here. The kids loved these birds and this size of owl was unheard of anywhere in India. For the photographs we paid some donation and we ended up spending almost half an hour here being fascinated by these birds.

Have you seen Owl of this size ?

Winceslas Square and the clubs

Wenseslas square with National Museum and if you look carefully, the statue of St Wenselas on a horse.

Wenceslas square is the 2nd most popular square of Prague and I would say it is more of a boulevard rather than square. This vibrant boulevard is a shopping and entertainment area more like other shopping areas of Europe. Once you are in Wenceslas square it is difficult to imagine that communists did not allow free enterprise here as this place is what defines the free enterprise as it has all the big names of retail , cafes, banks and restaurants. For 2 days we kept visiting Wenceslas square by cabs and paying a hefty amount . Then we realised the square was walking distance from our apartment through the Old Town square. This shows how compact the old town actually is. Though the square is next to the Old Town square, the area is referred to as 'New Town.' .

People come to Wenceslas square for the National Museum and and shopping. The Prague Opera house is also located here. The entire day the restaurants and the pubs are busy selling the famous beers of Czech Republic. The Czechs take pride that they make the best beer in the world. I liked the Staropramen Beer the best followed by Krusovice. I didn't much care for the popular Pilsner Urquell. Czechs are indeed crazy about beer. Many would be sitting and having beer when we would be having our breakfast !

Wenceslas square also has a busy nightlife with a few famous strip clubs located here. The most popular being the Red Pepper , Darling Cabaret and The Goldfinger. These are pretty safe places to go with no cover charge. Special deals are given for Bachelor's night for which youngsters from all all the Europe troop in to celebrate their friends' bachelor nights. The package includes stay and good time !

Before I conclude my marathon series on this beautiful city I must say the Old Town has some of the most exquisite Crystal shops. Carry a lot of money if you want to bring back some.