Prague

I knew that Bratislava was really only ever going to be like an apertif to the main course that is Prague.. I had always wanted to see Prague all my life. It was the one city that really caught my imagination. Don't get me wrong, Paris, London, Barcelona all caught my imagination in some way or another, but have to admit places like Turin, Vienna weren't quite flickers in my mind but i'm certainly glad i saw Vienna, now one of my favourite cities.. people i meet on tour have been asking me abt where i'm going and I have said that I'm not going to places like Amsterdam and Berlin. This American girl who was with her boyfriend I presume in the Slovak bar last night gasped when I said I wasn't going to Berlin and told me to skip Prague and continue on the same train to Berlin - in Europe they have these Eurocity trains which run for miles, and there's a few which ply the route between Budapest and Berlin. a) No way i'm ever going to flag Prague cold and snowy it may be - the snow adds the magic, b) she was a bit on the salsa wild side i reckon, c) have and will see too many big cities, i.e. London, Paris, Barcelona, Milan, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart on this trip, d) there's always a next time where I do a bit more of a northern route through Brussels, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Berlin, Krakow, and e) there's always a next time as i just said..

but this trip I knew I had to see Prague.. it was one of the cities I had definitely highlighted right from the start and from the moment I got off the train, walked around searching for my hostel, I knew that this was going to be one city I would really enjoy, cold and wet as it was.. imagine if the Soviets hadn't marched into Wencelas Square - a wonderful place I might add, going downhill from the beautiful and accoustically-sound-for-string-ensembles National Museum towards the start of the Old Town, and now definitely in the full swing of capitalism with the likes of Debenham, Nike, McDonald's and C&A lining both sides.. the Old Town is just a totally different place.. and then there's the castle across the bridge and the town under it..i've set 130 pictures on my card for Prague.. i probably may need more.. it's not just the landmarks, there are buildings u see which u wouldn't find anywhere else in the world..

and then there's the recent history of Prague as a city where the people aren't afraid to express themselves.. why the whole Czech Republic could easily pass off as a colder, Slavic version of France with such freedom of expression, whether it's having a Sex Machines Museum right in the touristy Old Town or a demonstration between the Nazi reformists and the anti-fascists - guess which group is bigger in this country, or having too many policemen on the street, it's scary but somehow comforting.. hey their flags have the same colours too.. which is probably why the Czech Republic with its wonderful Pilsners may be about to find my heart behind France.. but then again it's only day 1 and there's still 3 more to go..

and a good thing it is that way.. Prague has just so much to see that i decided today i was just going to orient myself around the hostel - nice one too, in an old house, u get those normal beds rather than the bunks that u see in most hostels, and actually got the same type of beds in Budapest so it may be a Central Europe thing - Wencelas Square, Old Town, Charles Bridge and the Castle.. tomorrow will try and do mass at a church and then do the Castle and maybe catch another concert.. unlike Austria which despite having produced the likes of Mozart, Strauss, etc. seems to have abandoned classical music and almost consigned its violin makers to hidden obscurity, the Czechs are still embracing their classical music heritage and Dvorak and Smetana are national heroes obviously alongside the likes of NHL and football stars like Hacik, Nedved, etc. concerts are still held almost at most churches, even the museum which i attended tonight and of coz the usual halls and opera houses.. and it's certainyl cheaper than Vienna too with the use of the Czech koruna rather than the euro..

i could go on but yeah as i said it's only day 1 of my foray into Prague.. there will be plenty to say.. and plus someone else wants to use the internet so i better go.. it's cold and snowing outside too..