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| Prague,
Czech Republic Sep 15, 2001 |
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Rating
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Prague, Czech Republic
Sep 15, 2001
Pros:
Prague is an amazing place, but don't forget to arrive off-season,
and for godsake remember to bring your shoulder pads and crash helmet.
Cons: some areas are a haven for
pick-pockets
Oh my God, it's a bloody warm one!!!!!!
After a week of high drama, it was time again to throw the backpack
over the shoulder and kick myself out of another town. This town
is not for the faint hearted, as you will soon discover, here is
the account of my last day in Prague....
Well it was certainly the day to make the most of it, the inclement
weather that had hampered efforts to get around town without a soaking
over the past week had long disappeared.
Transport tickets last for 90 minutes on the weekend, so i decided
to grab some late breakfast at my favourite corner store just west
of the Charle's Bridge before i launched myself into a day of mayhem.
Caught the underground metro over to the suburb of Andel to visit
the Mozart Museum, where the man himself finished composing Don
Giovanni in 1787.
Still out on the lookout for a decent book, back into the city to
no avail, so it wasn't before long that i find myself back in Andel
purchasing Salman Rushdie's controversial book, SATANIC VERSES.
Hopefully it should provide interesting reading over the coming
week as i make my way back into the tranquil old town's in the Czech
Republic for some much needed R & R.
Climb the tower of Charle's Bridge to get a better view of the throng
below, i can't believe it's now mid-September and supposedly shoulder
season, there is no way you will find this little puppy in this
city in the midst of summer.
As i make my way over to the old town square, i hear an southern
American accent pop out from the crowd, "I tell ya, he is DEAD".
As i wake from my peaceful little world i notice a crowd gathered
beside the roadside, paramedic's hunched over a middle-aged man
on a stretcher, his brown eyes wide open on a expressionless face.
Without haste they shove him into the back of the ambulance, to
add to the confusion a siren can be heard in the distance as the
police hurriedly make their way to the scene. So much is happening
around me, i'm trying to absorb what has taken place, but all that
i can draw from the situation is, "Gawd, my first sighting
of a warm one!".
No time for contemplation as the relentless hustle and bustle continues,
this place is not for the faint hearted is all i can say. The way
the officers go about their business, it becomes obvious that death
on the streets of Prague occurs with monotonous regularity.
It's mid-afternoon by the time i finally make it to the epi-centre
of the old town, swarming with American package tourists, eagerly
waiting the hourly performance of the gothic astronomical clock
that has been performing the same old task since the early 13th
century. The place is a haven for pick-pocketers, so having suffered
a financial loss in this country already, i avoid the masses by
making my way to the top of the town hall tower and to my delight,
an exquisite view of the city. Catch a glimpse of nakedness in a
photography exhibit as i make my way downstairs, worth a look i
say, before i retreat for what's left of the day to one of the three
known "tea-houses" in Prague.
Finally get back to the hostel some time before nine, a Finnish
guy in the hostel is celebrating his 24th birthday, so i partake
in the nocturnal activities of a night on the town. We venture out
around 11pm, over the Charles Bridge to the underground Joe's Bar
before we hit the clubs, oh boy it's going to be another late one!!!!!!!
Prague is an amazing place, but don't forget to arrive off-season,
and for godsake remember to bring your shoulder pads and crash helmet.
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