Ber Lin Has His First Big Day Out

Saturday August 28th

Today the little kiwis thought it was time Ber Lin had a turn at going out for the day so Mary popped him in her bag and took him for a tram ride into Prague. He was very surprised by all the tourists and very shy but he did have his photo taken looking out of her bag in the old town. His English is not good enough yet for him to do the reporting so he going to let Mary do it again today.

This morning we got up bright and early so we could be in town in time to join the tour about communism and a visit to a nuclear bunker. (Yes another one)
We met the tour guide under a rainbow umbrella near the astronomical clock. The clock, dating from 1410 is fantastic and crowds gather around it every hour. On the hour the 12 apostles parade through open doors near the top. According to the tour guide it is the second most visited tourist attraction in Europe, the first being the Mona Lisa.
The tour was a walk around the streets of Prague giving the political history since the end of the WW1. He was a bright young lad, studying psychology at uni, who knew his history well and was able to answer all the tricky questions. The Czechs certainly had a very bad time of it over the years and the time under Soviet rule was not pleasant. John says his grandparents just can’t understand how capitalism works. When he told them he was a tour guide they asked him if the state paid for the tours and when he said no the tourists paid they were puzzled.

The tour took us to Wencelas Square and john showed us the balcony where the speeches were made when communism finally ended. There were thousands of people crammed into the square on 17th November 1989 to wittiness the velvet revolution. The building now houses Marks and Spencer a fine example of the transfer from Communism to Capitalism. Over the road is Debenhams. There are stores from all over Europe in this part of time and you can buy virtually anything. Only 21 years ago the people had the choice of 4 styles of winter coats. Bananas were a luxury item and you had to wait 5 to 10 years to get the phone on or get a car. Apparently a lot of the older folk still have the furniture from those days and it was all the same, very plain with no choice.
We went on a tram ride out to a dingy suburb and into a derelict area where there was a well locked up nuclear bunker built in the 1950s. It was nothing like the one we seen in Berlin. It had been well kitted out with beds, kitchens, hospital etc. This was really just a concrete shell. There was a huge lead door to stop the radiation getting in but nothing as sophisticated as the one in Berlin. There would have been nowhere to sleep in this one. It is now used for parties, film sets and Microsoft launched an Xbox game in there at one stage. There would not have been room for many people. Originally they had said it would provide shelter for 4000 but they later cut that back to 2000. Apparently there are bunkers all over the city but they are all in bad repair and condemned. During the cold war there was a frenzy of bunker building behind the Iron curtain, but only 30% of people would have been able to be sheltered in Prague and then only for a week after which time they would have had to come out and head for the wooded areas if there were any left. They had the theory that the trees would clean the atmosphere and make the air safe. This bunker is kept in working order so that the local radio station could use it to broadcast out of in an emergency, but even so is starting to show signs of cracks and the water is getting in. Rats were discovered in the ventilation system not so long ago. The trip ended with an opportunity to try on a series of gas masks and enjoy a beer in the bunker.

Coming back through the old town we saw the old guy with the megaphone who stands outside the astronomical clock directing traffic for all the weddings that are constantly taking place. He is self appointed director of traffic. He is basically an old tramp, but part of the fabric of the place so no one tries to remove him. He had been there in the morning when we first arrived for the tour. Apparently he is at his best in the mornings. As the day progresses apparently he becomes increasingly drunk and doesn’t perform as well. He tells people where they can stand and where they can take photos, all in Czech of course. He also tires to organise all the parking for the limos. And there are a lot of weddings going on all the time everyday of the week. Apparently it is the place to have a civil ceremony and bookings are heavy. They seem to be in and out quite quickly. Being Saturday it was really busy from before 10am, but they were taking place all through the week as well.

The afternoon was our only opportunity to visit The Municipal House. This is a stunning Art Nouveau building with a large concert hall in the centre of it known as the Smetana Hall. You can only see through the upstairs rooms with a guide and you pay dearly for it. Even with the discount on Prague card it was over priced as you had to buy a special token for the American bar. You could trade it for a drink or keep it as a souvenir. We took the drink but that was over priced as well considering what they charged for the token. They certainly know how to make the money out the tourists in Prague. The interior of the building was pure style all the way through. It is Art nouveau at it’s peak and all the leading exponents of this style contributed the building of this. Mucha got to decorate the centre front piece and the Mayor’s Hall behind it and it is the jewel in the crown. The light fittings, door handles, furniture etc id all in keeping with the style and it is a visual feast. Of course you had to pay to take photos as well and no video was allowed so we paid and took photos.
The woman tour guide was quite bossy and told a couple of guys off for going to the toilet on the way. She basically said, this tour is for one hour and you knew that so you should have gone to the toilet first. She obviously had no concept about tourist and finding free toilets! She was locking doors behind herself all the time, so I guess it was a bit inconvenient.

After this we did the one last visit “free” with Prague card that we had missed which was to the Old town hall. It was 14th century and the main hall was beautifully preserved with rich decoration.

As we were staying in town for Carmen, we had old Prague ham carved off the spit roast in the Town square. This is cooked over a wood fire and smelt delicious and it tasted great as well. Because we had unbooked seats in a block we went and waited at the head of the queue for getting into the theatre. We needn’t have worried as they were n where near booked out. There is so much on in the evenings I guess they all have to compete. Unfortunately the show did not live up to our expectations. The concept was excellent and it had some clever touches but it didn’t really ever come together with the wow factor. The stage was divide into three sections, one for the orchestra, one for the singers and one for the dancers. They had a screen to project images onto behind the dancers but this really didn’t work. The singers were in exactly the same outfits as the dancers but in black and white, and the dancers mirrored the words of the arias. But it was an experience and we didn’t regret going as it was different.