Prague Day 2

After eating another hearty breakfast at the hostel café, we withdrew our entire daily limit from the ATM (so as not to cut our day short again by running out of cash) and set out to find our way downtown. Along the way we ran into a helpful Canadian kid, who showed us which tram station headed toward downtown rather than away from it (apparently he had gotten on the wrong direction the previous day).

Our itinerary for the day was to hit three museums – the Mucha Museum, the Museum of Communism, and the Kafka Museum. First, we found what we thought was the Kafka Museum, but it turned out to be a small gallery located in the building he was born in. We found this out after we had already paid, but luckily the price was only 50Kc. Eventually we located the real museum on the map, but it was farther away than the other two museums, so we saved it for last.

First we found the Mucha Museum, which is dedicated to the work of Alphons Mucha, the founder of the art nouveau style. He is one of Natasha’s favorite artists. We watched a short video biography and checked out some of his original works, including the poster that made him famous.

Next we found the Museum of Communism, detailing the history of Communism in general but especially the history of Soviet influence on the Czechs. What sets this museum apart from others I’ve been to is that they don’t hesitate to use charged language in the exhibit descriptions – they are extremely derisive of Marx, Lenin, and especially the Czech leaders who cooperated with the Soviets during the occupation. Clearly those involved in assembling the exhibits suffered during the occupation. The museum gives a glimpse into a world of poisoning, lies, terror and captivity that is unknowable to us Westerners.

From there we crossed the famous bridge connecting the old town to the castle. This bridge boasts some elaborate statues and a great view of not only the river but the city on the one side and the castle on the other.

On the way we saw the famous astronomical clock do its chime at 13:00. There was a huge crowd of Greeks (from what we could tell it was a few sports teams and their entourages) drumming and chanting and celebrating in the city square, ostensibly because they had won a match. One of them lit a flare which caused a brief rumble with a policeman. The entire crowd of Greeks rushed to the center and looked like they were going to beat the policeman to death – it was a stark reminder of the primal human instinct to defend one’s own.

Then we visited the Kafka Museum proper. This museum is an elaborate attempt to bring to life the alienation, terror, and loneliness of Kafka’s books. There are light and sound effects, and the exhibits are arranged creatively, with pictures underwater and in shadowboxes hanging from the ceiling, notebook pages arrayed in the bottom of open filing cabinet drawers, and much more.

After this we ate a local specialty, starts with soup, then pork over sauerkraut with gravy, dumplings, and bread, and finally a crepe with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. I didn’t enjoy this meal very much but for three courses and a beer the price was right.

During dinner there was a protest march starting from the bridge and going past the restaurant we were eating at. This was apparently a precursor to the main protest to happen the following day after or during Obama’s speech. One of the protesters was waving a Che flag. After an hour or so at the Museum of Communism I was wondering how anyone could be brave enough to be openly socialist anywhere in the Czech Republic.