Prague: Part 2
“One is the Church of sheep and the other of billy-goats, one is the Church of saints and the other of reprobated.”
“Therefore I say that having hope in Christ Jesus I am determined, when hearing the proposal to withdraw, to persevere in truth till death…”~John Hus
I left my first hostel on the east side of the city to go to my new hostel on the southwest end of Prague. The two hostels were about equal in quality, only the one I am currently at did not offer me a beer upon entering.
I checked in before 10:00 and was out the door by 11:00 eagerly anticipating the delights of the city that lay before me.
I was able to secure a metro pass that allows me limitless public transport for three days and after taking care of transportation business I arrived at Malostranka metro stop just north of the Charles Bridge.
I like Charles Bridge. It’s about 600 years old and crowded with tourists, odd jazz bands, and artists offering to sketch your portrait. I have the brilliant idea of joining these artists some day and offering to sketch an absolutely horrible portrait for pay. I would have sketches of the typical Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Nicholas Cage lined up for people to look at, only they would be unbelievably awful. People would ask, “whose that?” And I would say “Matt Damon.” It would look nothing like him. It would probably be some sort of crappy stick figure. I think eventually it might catch on just because of uniqueness, but it would take me several months of sitting on a bridge, so I’m going to pass.
Enough stupid ideas, on with my travels. You can rub a little brass relief of St. John Nepomuk on the bridge for good luck. I believe in fore-ordination, so I refrain from those things. Apparently, all the statues on the bridge are replicas. The originals are housed in a museum somewhere.
I followed the bridge from Mala Strana, Little Quarter, to Stare Mesto, Old Town. My next stop was Bethlehem Chapel, the church where John Hus once preached. I love the Protestant churches I come across on my travels because they are so plain, so lackluster, so few tourists crowding the aisles. This church was no exception. John Hus was an old school reformer keeping it real long before Luther, Calvin, and Knox came on the scene. He basically began the Bohemian Reformation and Luther once credited much of Hus’ influence on his own life. He was condemned as a heretic and burnt at the stake 6 July 1415 by the Romanist church and his death day is still a national holiday in the Czech Republic. There is a small museum about Hus in the same building as the chapel, so I brushed up on my Czech Reformation trivia.
From the chapel, I went to Wenceslas Square which is just basically a really long, busy street southeast of Old Town Square. There you can see a huge monument to St. Wenceslas in front of the National Museum, whose staircases, I believe, were used in the filming of Mission Impossible (see for yourself, I’ll add the picture below). There is also a small memorial to the victims of Communism towards the southern end of the square.
From there I went to Old Town Square. It’s a huge attraction for tourists, but it led to another major disappointment to add to my book of European disappointments. The massive John Hus memorial in the center of the square was, yep, you guessed it, completely under reconstruction. I am starting to think that the Reformation never really happened. First, the Luther monument, now this. If the Church at Wittenberg is under reconstruction, then I will never again set foot on European soil, Scout’s honor.
I really don’t want to talk about Old Town Square because of this. I saw the churches. I saw the Astronomical Clock. It is a major disappointment. If you happen to be there on the hour, then I suppose you should stay and see it, but don’t wait longer than 5 minutes for it. It is just little bells and dancing Apostles, not very thrilling for a clock of its stature.
I walked up to the Old Jewish cemetery. I wouldn’t have minded going in, but it was about $12 and you had to go through a Jewish museum first, I don’t know. I didn’t really know any of the names on the tombstones. I caught a glimpse of the cemetery through a gate. It is just an old cemetery for Jews. I’m no anti-Semite, but I just wasn’t interested in paying to see Rabbi Mordecai’s tombstone. First, because I don’t know who he is. Second, because I really don’t care. I walked up to St. Agnes convent which is home to some art galleries. Interesting, nothing spectacular.
I stopped and got a Gambrinus, the best-selling beer in the country and then had to defend the menu price of the beer after the waiter told me it was $1 more expensive. I am really sick of that kind of treatment, this two-tiered pricing crap. You come to America and our restaurants charge everyone the same price, regardless of whether you are from America, France, Czech Republic, or Nepal. Most of these European countries just try and scam the unsuspecting tourist. Yeah, well I ain’t buying it. I’m getting my beer for the said price and I’m sticking to it. I ain’t Dutch, but they have taught me well.
Exhausted, I headed back to my hostel to get some rest before my night out. I got back to my hostel to find two, middle-aged men in my room as my only roommates. Within three minutes of meeting me, one of them asked if I wanted to go to a strip club.
Who are these people and where do they come from and why are they staying in my hostel? Let’s just say that when I came back this afternoon and they were gone, it was a massive relief.
That evening, I had purchased tickets at the Laterna Magika which is one of the biggest black light theatre venues in the town. I read about these theaters before and on the recommendation of a former European traveler associated with Aslan and Dordt college, I purchased a ticket to “The Wonderful Circus.”
It was an experience. I suppose that’s the best way to put it. I don’t know if it would have been better if I was seeing it at age 5 or after smoking crack, but it definitely was like nothing I had ever seen. Imagine black lights, clowns, a plot-less performance, and no dialogue and you have “The Wonderful Circus.” Anyway, it was funny and I wouldn’t have done anything different, except maybe lace the McDonald’s sundae I had before with some type of hallucinogen.
Even more exhausted and confused by the chaos I had just witnessed, I made my way back to my hostel and hoped that the two men living with me wouldn’t be staring at me in my sleep.
End of day two in Prague. Success? I think so.
On Charles Bridge, looking at Prague Castle
the pulpit where Hus preached
Bethlehem Chapel
Wenceslas Square
National Museum
Wenceslas and his square
staircase in MI
impressive theater, next to it sits Laterna Magika and black light clowns
Charles Bridge
Old Town Square
Astronomical Clock
Me becoming angry
some alley somewhere in Prague
“Therefore I say that having hope in Christ Jesus I am determined, when hearing the proposal to withdraw, to persevere in truth till death…”~John Hus
I left my first hostel on the east side of the city to go to my new hostel on the southwest end of Prague. The two hostels were about equal in quality, only the one I am currently at did not offer me a beer upon entering.
I checked in before 10:00 and was out the door by 11:00 eagerly anticipating the delights of the city that lay before me.
I was able to secure a metro pass that allows me limitless public transport for three days and after taking care of transportation business I arrived at Malostranka metro stop just north of the Charles Bridge.
I like Charles Bridge. It’s about 600 years old and crowded with tourists, odd jazz bands, and artists offering to sketch your portrait. I have the brilliant idea of joining these artists some day and offering to sketch an absolutely horrible portrait for pay. I would have sketches of the typical Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Nicholas Cage lined up for people to look at, only they would be unbelievably awful. People would ask, “whose that?” And I would say “Matt Damon.” It would look nothing like him. It would probably be some sort of crappy stick figure. I think eventually it might catch on just because of uniqueness, but it would take me several months of sitting on a bridge, so I’m going to pass.
Enough stupid ideas, on with my travels. You can rub a little brass relief of St. John Nepomuk on the bridge for good luck. I believe in fore-ordination, so I refrain from those things. Apparently, all the statues on the bridge are replicas. The originals are housed in a museum somewhere.
I followed the bridge from Mala Strana, Little Quarter, to Stare Mesto, Old Town. My next stop was Bethlehem Chapel, the church where John Hus once preached. I love the Protestant churches I come across on my travels because they are so plain, so lackluster, so few tourists crowding the aisles. This church was no exception. John Hus was an old school reformer keeping it real long before Luther, Calvin, and Knox came on the scene. He basically began the Bohemian Reformation and Luther once credited much of Hus’ influence on his own life. He was condemned as a heretic and burnt at the stake 6 July 1415 by the Romanist church and his death day is still a national holiday in the Czech Republic. There is a small museum about Hus in the same building as the chapel, so I brushed up on my Czech Reformation trivia.
From the chapel, I went to Wenceslas Square which is just basically a really long, busy street southeast of Old Town Square. There you can see a huge monument to St. Wenceslas in front of the National Museum, whose staircases, I believe, were used in the filming of Mission Impossible (see for yourself, I’ll add the picture below). There is also a small memorial to the victims of Communism towards the southern end of the square.
From there I went to Old Town Square. It’s a huge attraction for tourists, but it led to another major disappointment to add to my book of European disappointments. The massive John Hus memorial in the center of the square was, yep, you guessed it, completely under reconstruction. I am starting to think that the Reformation never really happened. First, the Luther monument, now this. If the Church at Wittenberg is under reconstruction, then I will never again set foot on European soil, Scout’s honor.
I really don’t want to talk about Old Town Square because of this. I saw the churches. I saw the Astronomical Clock. It is a major disappointment. If you happen to be there on the hour, then I suppose you should stay and see it, but don’t wait longer than 5 minutes for it. It is just little bells and dancing Apostles, not very thrilling for a clock of its stature.
I walked up to the Old Jewish cemetery. I wouldn’t have minded going in, but it was about $12 and you had to go through a Jewish museum first, I don’t know. I didn’t really know any of the names on the tombstones. I caught a glimpse of the cemetery through a gate. It is just an old cemetery for Jews. I’m no anti-Semite, but I just wasn’t interested in paying to see Rabbi Mordecai’s tombstone. First, because I don’t know who he is. Second, because I really don’t care. I walked up to St. Agnes convent which is home to some art galleries. Interesting, nothing spectacular.
I stopped and got a Gambrinus, the best-selling beer in the country and then had to defend the menu price of the beer after the waiter told me it was $1 more expensive. I am really sick of that kind of treatment, this two-tiered pricing crap. You come to America and our restaurants charge everyone the same price, regardless of whether you are from America, France, Czech Republic, or Nepal. Most of these European countries just try and scam the unsuspecting tourist. Yeah, well I ain’t buying it. I’m getting my beer for the said price and I’m sticking to it. I ain’t Dutch, but they have taught me well.
Exhausted, I headed back to my hostel to get some rest before my night out. I got back to my hostel to find two, middle-aged men in my room as my only roommates. Within three minutes of meeting me, one of them asked if I wanted to go to a strip club.
Who are these people and where do they come from and why are they staying in my hostel? Let’s just say that when I came back this afternoon and they were gone, it was a massive relief.
That evening, I had purchased tickets at the Laterna Magika which is one of the biggest black light theatre venues in the town. I read about these theaters before and on the recommendation of a former European traveler associated with Aslan and Dordt college, I purchased a ticket to “The Wonderful Circus.”
It was an experience. I suppose that’s the best way to put it. I don’t know if it would have been better if I was seeing it at age 5 or after smoking crack, but it definitely was like nothing I had ever seen. Imagine black lights, clowns, a plot-less performance, and no dialogue and you have “The Wonderful Circus.” Anyway, it was funny and I wouldn’t have done anything different, except maybe lace the McDonald’s sundae I had before with some type of hallucinogen.
Even more exhausted and confused by the chaos I had just witnessed, I made my way back to my hostel and hoped that the two men living with me wouldn’t be staring at me in my sleep.
End of day two in Prague. Success? I think so.
On Charles Bridge, looking at Prague Castle
the pulpit where Hus preached
Bethlehem Chapel
Wenceslas Square
National Museum
Wenceslas and his square
staircase in MI
impressive theater, next to it sits Laterna Magika and black light clowns
Charles Bridge
Old Town Square
Astronomical Clock
Me becoming angry
some alley somewhere in Prague
3 Comments:
YES! You have now witnessed European art at it's finest. It's how I imagine the Blue Man Group, on crack, with Tobias Funke as lead choreographer. You leave the theatre a little bit dumber, but totally worth it.
You should go see Kafka's house at Prague Castle... (it's no. 22). And you'd fit in well on Charles Bridge
Hannah, pull the shades...
He´s in the pocket on the stairway...
Jack... cut the power Jack...
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