PRAGUE NOVEMBER 2004

Text by Pink Oboe.

In practically the last paragraph of my journal for our May 2000 trip to Prague, I said that we would go back and see how the Czechs were getting on with a free society after the passage of a few years. So we just have.

In 2000, we went at short notice at half term and I was somewhat appalled at what it cost to get there. We paid £550 each for our four day, three night stay plus flights. We still managed to spend a fair bit more on two concerts and dining at the top end of the market but we were earning good money then.

This trip started with me noticing a flyer in the window of Thomas Cook's in Tunbridge Wells. This seemed to offer a three night, four day stay for £67 with a rider saying the flight was £58. When I enquired, the young lady said that she would have to book it on the Internet and that the £67 was per person and per night which was a little disingenuous. By the time that was all added up and the flights, which were with Easyjet, were added on, the deal did not look so attractive. What was more, if the lady at Thomas Cook's was booking it over the Internet then why could not I and save their fee? So I had a play early one morning and found that I could get all three of us there, as James wished to come too, a day earlier than the Thomas Cook's supposed deal, for £140 including all taxes and other additions. What was more, I found a hotel through Easyjet's website a bit further out of town than our previous plush four star place near the centre but it was still three star and would cost us £130 for all three for three nights! So effectively I had a similar duration holiday to the last time for £90 in total for each person instead of £550. Slight difference! But was there a catch?

I had chosen to leave early to give us some time in Prague on our first day other than travelling time so it was an appallingly early start that we set out for Gatwick. The weather was rainy and about ten degrees Celsius.

We made the transition to Prague in a new Easyjet Airbus, which was mostly crammed full of youngsters. From conversations overhead, it seemed that most were going for the cheap beer and easy life style. The flight passed uneventfully despite some Air Traffic Control delays at the Gatwick end. We arrived within minutes of our advertised time, which was around 1115hrs. However, the Czech airport authorities could not find a set of steps to fit the new aircraft and then could not organize buses to take us to the terminal. For a country noted for its beer and breweries, I am inclined to comment about organization and piss ups but there you go! It took us another half an hour of hanging around much to the stated annoyance of the Easyjet crew who normally aim to turn around the aircraft in eight minutes. Still, what the hell!

We made our way through Immigration noting the new signs for EU residents, the Czech Republic having joined in July 2004. Hoorah, as we could therefore bring home unlimited alcohol, bought duty paid. I decided to change our English money at a Travelex Kiosk in the first available hall. I should have read our Lonely Planet guide which recommended using an ATM. I changed our £200 at a rate of 42.80 Crowns to the pound and got charged commission. James and I both used an ATM later and got 45.80 with no commission.

We toyed with the idea of taking a bus but then saw that there was a door to door offer for all of us for 480 Crowns so we went for that. It is a good 17 km from the Airport to the City centre and we again experienced the delights of Czech driving, which is appalling. At least no one worries about the stigma of driving a Skoda.

Our driver dropped us outside our hotel, the Bily Lev, in Prague 3. We had located this on our map and confirmed what it said in their blurb on the Easyjet website that it was not a great distance to the centre: they said one kilometre to Wenceslas Square but I would reckon a mile. To our pleasant surprise our three bedded room was a suite with a twin bedded room and a single room with an intermediate adjoining bathroom. All was suitable for a three star hotel with a separate sitting area, over-powerful central heating and modern double-glazing.

The forecast for the next few days was not good - rain and temperatures of about three degrees. Still, bags dropped, we forayed out to see whether we could find our way to the centre. We stopped soon at the top of our local hill at a local bar/restaurant rejoicing in the name of Einstein: pleasant smells emanated from this, which enticed us inside. It purported to sell Pizzas but also had a simply printed lunchtime menu with Czech food. We chose three different meals, which cost scarcely £1 to £2 each. We also ordered beers. The food was good and generously served. James had the best meal with dumplings stuffed with minced bacon served with sauerkraut but we will learn. Four half litres of good Czech beer cost us 100 Crowns or about £2.20, the cost of a single UK pint.Suitably full and warmed, we walked downhill with full two carriage trams thundering past. I had forgotten to bring a hat and the three degrees temperature was beginning to bite. We found our way to the top end of Wenceslas Square without difficulty. I commented last time in the journal that this is not a square at all, it is a long tree lined boulevard but what the hell! At the top of the square is an imposing building which is a National Museum containing a rather dry collection of natural history and other such items. The façade is scarred with hundreds of little marks which is where the Soviet tanks sprayed the frontage with machine gun fire thinking that the museum was a seat of government: nice of them.

Seeing a shop selling hats, I decided to buy one to keep my baldness from freezing me to death. There seemed to be many more fast food franchises operating than last time but everyone looked well-fed and warmly dressed so things are obviously on the up. Last time we had noticed people carrying Tesco bags but had not tracked down the store. This time James had asked the attractive ladies at our lunchtime hostelry and they had marked it on our map. We found it and dived into the supermarket basement as its Czech manifestation is a departmental store. The first point of note was that there were no baskets: you had to hover near the checkouts and grab one when it was emptied! This we did receiving ours from a Czech local who wanted us to go first a further indication of native Czech courtesy which we saw many times. The shelves of the store were well stocked and I bought a bottle of the local brandy for 99 crowns, which is scarcely more than £2. Rosemary bought some Celtic spirit, which was presumably some form of Irish Whiskey for a little over a pound. I acquired a lemon and some sugar to make toddies. With the acquisition of some bottled water at the cheapest I have ever seen it, 1.80 crowns for one and half litres, we had achieved our objective.

On we went to find ourselves by the Vltava, the main river. I could see our next objective, the Charles Bridge to our right beneath the spires and bulk of Prague Castle and the Cathedral of St Vitus.

It was already growing dark as we walked out on to the bridge with its fine views and statuary. It is one of the most noted bridges in Europe with a history going back to the fourteenth century. We found the statue of St John Nepomuk, the Patron Saint of the Czechs, and ceremoniously rubbed his suspended body being dropped off the bridge. Rubbing the statue is supposed to ensure that you come back to Prague - it must be true as I rubbed it last time. A Japanese lady enquired what it was all about and I was able to enlighten her.

Then back to follow the crowds through the narrow streets of the Old Town to the Old Town Square - which is really a square and the main heart of Prague. It was into this that the Russian Tanks rolled in 1968 - a world of time away in the changing politics of recent years.

We were getting tired after our long day and the walking so sat at a pavement café and had some mulled wine. The three wines cost us as much as the whole of our lunch and drinks at the Pizza place. Location, location, location! It was a bit like having a coffee in St Mark's Square in Venice at one of the prestigious cafés, so serves us right. Onward we went admiring and occasionally not admiring the jewellery. The two Czech specialities are Garnets known as Granat and Amber. Some of the latter looked like Duck Eggs rather than the delicate material it can be.

On to the Obecni Dum, a beautiful Art Nouveau Concert Hall and cultural centre to book ourselves seats at a concert of Czech music for tonight. Let the plastic take the strain at 790 Crowns a seat - must be for tourists!

Then on to the Metro more to discover how it worked than out of necessity as we were only one stop away from our hotel. We read the automatic machines, which had instructions in English as well as Czech but it still seemed complicated. Rosemary attempted to buy three 8 crown tickets from the ticket office but came away with six 4 crown tickets - something lost in the translation somewhere! We were struggling to validate our tickets when a youngish man came to our aid. He was partially crippled and toting a crutch - we think because he had been injured while a soldier. He showed us how to time and date stamp the tickets and then directed us to the train. He said that he was "an old boy" and showed Rosemary his dog tag explaining that he rode the Metro free. He led her hand to feel a hole in his forehead - hence the injury story. Still, he wanted to help and did, so bless him.

We got off at Florenc, and then walked to our hotel by a different route to this morning. We all had a rest to recover from our early start and ventured out to dine locally at a bar. The food was again plentiful and cheap. I had spicy Czech sausage and chips washed down with a beer. Total cost about £2.50. And so to bed.

Another day but overcast and rainy: the forecasters had been right although it was more sleet than rain. Breakfast at our hotel was advertised as hot. In fact most of it was a sumptuous display of cheese and cold meats but there was a hot dish: broccoli with cheese! A trifle strange for breakfast but apparently delicious according to those that partook.

Suitably breakfasted, we made our way down to Obecni Dum on foot. Then on to find the Estates, an ornamented theatre called after the German Nobles who patronised the place. The first performance of Don Giovanni had been staged there and much of the film of Amadeus. Then on the Havelska market which had primarily been fruit and veg when we came in 2000 but now seems more to do with touristy things. On the way we passed a window containing Russian dolls - but with variations. One set were modern Politicians: Bush, Blair, Putin, Sharon, etc. Another set were Pop Stars: Elvis, Lennon, Madonna, etc.On and into Old Town Square and along the lanes passing museums of sex machines and medieval tortures - all tastes catered for apparently. We walked over the Charles Bridge again, deserted by its usual stalls and street performers and with the sleet blowing briskly and horizontally over it. We looked for a piece of Gothic porn which is supposed to be on the Eastern tower, a man feeling up (or down, depends on the source) the skirt of a nun but we could not find it. We did later on our guided walk.

Up the hill towards the castle pausing to warm and refresh ourselves: coffee and beer for me: hot wine and chocolate for Rosemary and James: a strange cocktail. A continuation up and up a thousand steps had us puffing by the top with misty rain soaked views over the spires and onion domes of Prague city. Into the castle past the battling giants knocking seven bells out of one another - there must be some connection between the Czechs and the Irish! We went into St Vitus Cathedral but not for a dance. We admired the stained glass as we had last time - nearly all of it is modern. The window by Alphonse Mucha is particularly beautiful.

Out to look for lunch, which was taken in a small restaurant: Goulash was ordered but it was more cuts of cold meats scarcely rewarmed with the ubiquitous dumplings served with enormous beers. Somehow that crept up to £26 for three, which is a rip off by Prague standards. Teach us to dine in tourist hotspots!

We went down the hill on the other side of the castle pausing to buy some garnets from a stall and then jumping the Metro. This time we took the A line if not the A train and James navigated us home very accurately. I am glad that one of my sons has inherited my map reading skills and sense of direction. It was time to dry out and get warm, which we did by retiring to bed for an hour. We intended to go to our concert and then dine late. We walked down to the Obecni Dum and Old Town, which takes about half an hour at a brisk stroll. On our previous evening stroll we had seen a poster advertising a cricket series between the Czech, Polish and Slovak teams. Our civilizing influence is obviously spreading!

Prior to the concert, Rosemary and I invested some time in looking for a Garnet broach for her birthday and investigated several shops without buying. James bought an Andean hat with pigtails to keep his head and ears warm.

Into the Obecni Dum and its Art Nouveau Hall to listen to our concert. A chamber orchestra provided the music with a solo trumpeter and a lady Soprano. They were more than competent and tears rolled down my cheeks when the lady sang Dvorak's "Song to the Moon". Lovely and one of my favourites.

Back up the hill determined to dine locally again but a little anxious in case everywhere was closed: still operating fortunately. The Pizza place we had patronized first was open until eleven with the same three girls we had seen yesterday: open at 11 and close at 23 hours--a long day! We ordered our pizzas and drank Czech red wine, which was delicious, a variant called Alexandr: at £4 a bottle, a steal. The other two ate 400g pizzas and enormous sweets while I contented myself with a 250g pizza and the wine. The bill came to 950 Crowns even with the 100 Crown tip as the ladies were helpful and pretty. Back to our adjacent hotel to collapse for the night.

Today has not been a good day for expensive pieces of equipment. First I discovered that my mobile phone had got knocked, squeezed or otherwise damaged as the screen had a large multi-coloured mark obscuring it. Damn! Then the digital camera refused to open, close or take pictures despite being given new batteries yesterday. Sounds expensive on both counts.

Despite these set backs, we ventured out early and headed to the Metro stop at Florenc. Then to ride to Vyzehrad, an unpronounceable hill cum fortress that houses the Czech National Cemetery. This is the resting place of both Dvorak and Smetana. As Dvorak in particular has given me much pleasure with his music, I wished to pay my respects. The Fortress looks very Vaubanesque and some poor soul was endeavouring to repoint some of the brickwork. As there were about 5 million bricks, he is going to be at it for some time! The views from the battlements were quite spectacular particularly as the day had dawned bright and sunny for a change.

As we progressed around the battlements towards the twin spires of St Peter and Paul's church, so I saw a red squirrel enjoying the sunshine too. Either he did not fancy hibernating or had learnt from his grey cousins not to bother. We walked back to the Metro station and hence back to Wenceslas Square. The Czech for Wenceslas is Vaclav, which is strangely enough the first name of the First President of the Czech Republic to take them from Communism to Democracy: Vaclav Havel.

Rosemary had requested that we take a guided walk in the afternoon, which started at the statue of Wenceslas in the Square. We had time to continue our search for a Garnet broach and also to buy some Christmas presents for other female members of the family. Eventually Rosemary decided she liked the broach we had seen in the Old Town best and so we headed there to acquire it. That mission accomplished, we headed back to dine near the statue of King (Prince really) Wenceslas, in a Chinese place. It was a bit basic but was at least cheap: lunch for three with beers for James and me and fizzy water for Rosemary cost about 450 crowns.

At 1330hrs we joined the walk and paid our money - 300 crowns apiece. The young Czech lady guide had a heavy accent that kept us informed for the next two hours, which included visits to the Jewish area and the Old Town Square. By the time we had crossed the Charles Bridge for the third time this trip, it was time to say goodbye and hurry to the loo.

Emergency over, we walked to the nearest Metro stop. All of our change had been exhausted so I brandished a 100 Crown note at the man in the ticket office. He ignored me. I tried again and he pointed to a sign: no change: no tickets. A novel idea for a ticket office as he had no other obvious function. None of the automatic machines take notes so I asked loudly how the blue blazes we were supposed to buy tickets. He just shrugged and pointed back up the escalator. There was nothing up there but a café so we had a drink to get some change. Bloody stupid system, which only encourages people to fare dodge as there is absolutely no check made (pun intended).However, we did acquire our tickets and resolutely rode back to our Metro station near the enormous futuristic Telecommunications tower, which dominates our suburb of Prague 3.

With burnt out feet, we relaxed before dining locally again. Rosemary had found a place in our Lonely Planet guide that seemed quite close and to serve Czech food. I undertook to get us there, misread the map and led us at least half a mile out of our way. So much for my sense of direction! James got us back on course and we arrived with the place announcing that it sold Budweiser - but only because the US firm has recently bought Budvar which was the original brewer.

The lady hostess was most welcoming and we had our beers and perused the menu. I chose garlic soup, which had been the only redeeming feature of our meal near Prague Castle and Goulash made with Budweiser to follow. Somehow the Garlic soup was not. I think it was the cheese soup, which was the other option but it was watery and full of gristle. The Goulash was over-cooked and the beef as tough as old boots. James and Rosemary ate up all of theirs I gave up halfway through. Our hostess looked distressed and I did not disguise the fact that it was not to my taste. You cannot win them all and at least it cost a quarter of our dodgy meal near the Castle. We returned somewhat early to our nearby hotel.

On the hill between us and the next valley is a statue of a national hero and an enormous concrete monolith. There does not seem to be much interest in the place as far as tourism is concerned. Today I learned why. The statue is of the Czech liberator Jan Zizkov but he was apparently hi-jacked by the Communists, although his name is given to the area of Prague 3 in which we found ourselves. The monolith was the tomb and mausoleum of the first Czech Communist President, Gottwald. He was embalmed and semi-frozen and entombed rather like Lenin in Red Square. Unfortunately the embalmers did a bum job and he started to decay rather alarmingly. As the tomb was a standard day out for Czech schoolchildren, this was a trifle unfortunate. The whole place was closed and is still awaiting a new role.

Talking of new relics of the Communist past, last visit we noticed a peculiar piece of dynamic sculpture called the Metronome. This swings back and forth rather in the nature of a 40mm Bofors gun to my warlike mind high on a hill overlooking the Vlatava. We had seen it several times this trip but it seems to have seized up. I discovered that the site once housed the largest statue of Stalin then in existence. The 30 metre high figure was surrounded by a row of statues of Czech communists on one side and Russian communists on the other. The cynical Czechs referred to the double row of statues as "the Meat Queue". In 1962, Khrushchev ordered it blown up - quietly. Not an easy job, which the demolition team failed in spectacularly - the whole farce being recorded on film. They should have employed an expert.

Our final day and we were out reasonably early having arranged with the hotel to leave our bags and recover them at the late hour we were leaving on our Easyjet flight home, at about 2130hrs. We wandered back down the hill to the Obecni Dum and then to find the Museum of Cubism, at the House of the Black Madonna. After the flurry of artistic enthusiasm associated with the Czech revival in the early 1900s, there arose an offshoot of Cubism in Prague, which foreshadowed the arrival of Art Deco. Several buildings were designed based upon the Cubist principles and the House of the Black Madonna, a statue on the side of the building, was the principal one. Inside was a detailed account of the rise of the Cubist movement in Prague which all occurred around 1915 and fizzled out before Art Deco caught on elsewhere.

Out again into the cold sunshine, to wander towards the bottom end of Wenceslas Square and then to re-explore the roads to the west, which contained the amazing Art Nouveau architecture that we had seen last time. After subjecting James to this for a time, I found a bar selling dark beer, a local variant with caramel overtones which is quite delicious. These again cost about 30 crowns a time for nearly a pint, which is not bad at 45 crowns to the pound. It was nearly lunchtime but we had learnt that food was much cheaper at our Prague 3 suburb and so headed back via the Metro to our base. However we first paused to buy inordinate amounts of cheap liquor at Tescos. More cheap brandy, slivovich, flavoured vodkas and some strange Czech brew which supposedly tastes like cough medicine.

On the Metro we met a Sikh gentleman who was a ticket inspector on the London Underground. He was on holiday and regaled us with tales of support for Ken Livingstone, his boss as far as London Transport is concerned. Being told that he did at least back his promises with action, slightly changed my views of the gentleman. We bought our tickets and got on the train with our loquacious Sikh friend. There we were bounced by a ticket inspector, having announced that no one ever Czeched. He seemed satisfied by our tickets, which shows that we had sussed the system. At 8 crowns a trip of four stops that is a cheap system. Our ticket Inspector (UK style) would not stop talking and the Czech inspector seemed less than amused. A friendly Czech interpreted for our Sikh friend, which was basically "Shut up. You are rocking the boat".

Out again at our Metro stop with the Telecommunications tower dominating our trip home, we headed back to the hotel. We noted the incongruity of aliens crawling up and down the legs of the tower, an afterthought added to amuse. Carrying our clinking Tesco bags, we paused at the Pizza parlour to fill up on Czech food and say goodbye. This time I indulged in the enormous plate of the dumplings filled with minced bacon with associated saurkraut, and although it defeated me as far as quantity was concerned, it was good.

Back to the hotel to dump our purchases and then to return again down the hill. We had reached that pleasant time in even a short holiday when all targets had been hit, all objectives achieved. We wandered down to the Obecni Dum and I took the party around to the area of our old hotel, and then through the streets associated with the Jewish Quarter to enter the Old Town Square from a different direction. We sat near the statue of Jan Huss and watched the passing scene.

I bought mulled wine from a stall and demonstrated that it was possible to drink the wine, enjoy the scene and not get inflicted with large bills. Our wine on this occasion cost 30 crowns a time. We ear-wigged a conversation between an American teacher at the Charles University who had lived in the city for nine years. He was speaking to a Polish girl student. He recounted how he had lived in the town for a considerable period. He said that although he was a US citizen, his grandmother came from nearby Poland and his Grandfather from not far away too: and all this scarcely 100 years ago. Makes you realise that even the US have links back into the less than ancient past of the Czech Republic.It was time to go. We wandered back to the Metro stop and rode back to the area of the Telecom tower. Then we went to pick up our bags and wait somewhat anxiously for our pick up for the airport. He eventually turned up nearly a quarter of an hour late, but I had allowed for this. At the airport, we booked in, spent our last Czech crowns on booze as the indications were that they would be using Euros soon, as any sensible European country would be (UK to note). We made it back without problems on Easyjet and recovered the car. We arrived back at Gatwick twenty minutes before schedule and got home before midnight. A very pleasant trip and we will return to Prague and the Czech republic, all being well.