Deep thoughts
Prague is, just as promised, completely fascinating. The main reason it is so, I believe, is not just because it has beautiful Baroque architecture still intact, or because it has an old bridge crossing a river with charming views of a castle. Nor is it because it has modern conveniences or places with fun and funky atmospheres. No, it is not even because it has delicious, delicious beer. I think it is because the Czech Republic, and Prague in particular, have such a recent history, which put all of those other attributes in perspective.
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| From Prague Part 1 |
Significant events shaping the country have occurred within our lifetimes and within the lifetimes of those we know. I was 10 years old when the Velvet Revolution occurred. All I really remember about the fall of communism is President Reagan making some sort of remark about Michel Gorbechav tearing down the Berlin Wall, but the specifics are fuzzy. I knew that Czechoslovakia was no longer a country, but I didn’t know how or why that happened. The most I could relate to the Czech Republic before I came was that Jaromir Jagr, one of my favorite Pittsburgh Penguin hockey players in the early 90s, was from this area.
Somehow, just being alive when all of these important events happened made it all the more interesting to learn more about the role this region played in the World Wars and the rise and fall of communism. To help us brush up on history, and to learn even more, we visited the Museum of Communism. The museum takes you through the “the Dream, the Reality, and the Nightmare.”
I knew a little bit about the “Dream” from my Marxism class in college, but I didn’t know much about the practical aspects of communism or socialism other than the general sentiment that they were bad. The museum seeks to show you a little bit what life was like, such as the indoctrination of school children, the barter system that was created between those who had anything of value, the alternate currency that was created for foreign luxury goods, and the spying on potential dissenters. It is unconceivable to me that a government regulate even something as intimate as the creation of art, but that’s what happened – as recent as the 70s and 80s.
The musuem also featured the ardent dissenters of communism, such as the student who lit himself on fire in response to the Soviet occupation of Prague in 1969 to control Czechoslovakia’s President’s efforts at softening communism. One group of dissenters were the banned rock’n’roll group the Plastic People of the Universe. To look at them, they look like the long-haired hippies that were protesting different problems in the United States. In a society where information was banned, it is interesting that similarities exist in two totally different worlds.
It is weird to think that at a time when I was sitting through history classes in the United States, learning about things that happened years before my time, Czechoslovakia changed its entire form of government and its economy. Over the course of several weeks in November 1989, Czechoslovakians protested their communist government, culminating in the surrender of the communist government and appointment of a new government (i.e., the Velvet Revolution). Four years later, Czechoslovakia split into two separate countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Looking around today, it is hard to tell that the Czech Republic used to be a communist society. The irony that the museum is located next to a casino and above a McDonalds is not lost on the creators of the museum, who created posters mentioning that fact. The area around Wencelas Square, the site of many protests, including one where the protesting student set himself on fire, is now home to every international chain you can think of. The streets are filled with tourists from all around the globe.
Some people put down Prague because it does attract so many tourists. There is no doubt that Prague receives an amazing amount of tourists – in fact, we have encountered more people from the United States here than anywhere else on our trip.
But I think the tourism, itself, is an important part of Prague. The fact that Prague is an international travel destination participating in the world economy just over 20 years after fall of communism is precisely what makes Prague such a fascinating place to visit.
I would put the museum of communism in the last place of things to see in Prague. Maybe because I had to live through it in a more strict version even than what they had in Chechoslovakia as it was called then. In fact when I visited Prague in 10-th grade (late 70-ies) I thought I was almost in Western Europe. Now Eastern Europe is moving west fast in every way and this feeling is almost in every country from this region. I always liked the people from the region (Chechs and Slovacs). There is a spa resort near Prague called Karlovy Vary which I liked a lot and is worth a trip.
Anton, it is nice to hear your perspective, since you experienced communism firsthand.
By the way, I wanted to go to Karlovy Vary, but Sean nixed the idea. Probably because I mentioned a spa.
Anton, Matt has told me of your struggles in the midst of Communism. I can’t even imagine. I’m sure most of us Americans can’t imagine…. which is why, I am pretty sure, most of us would put the communism museum on the top of our list of things to do. Just to have a glimpse into the atrocities and see what is so foreign to us. That being said, I remember being a teen in the era of Gorby and the wall. I remember the pictures of the wall coming down and the people running joyously through the streets to meet family they hadn’t seen in years, possibly decades, or even worse, hadn’t ever met. Again, what a foreign concept it is for Americans.
In college I had a professor and his wife who Kristen and I had become chummy with. They would invite us over for dinner and tell us about their hippie voyages over seas…. They both backpacked Europe, however, not together. In fact, I think they met “on the road”. Anyway, they always spoke so highly of Prague. He LOVED that city. Since speaking with him about it, I have added it to my “must see before I die” list. I’m glad you got to experience part of Eastern Europe.
Where you off to next??!!??
This was such an interesting post. Amy, I remember getting a book out of the library on Czechloslovakia when I was a little kid (pre-Jagr and wall), and Mom being confused as to why, commenting that it was a bad place. I remember that I just liked the sound of the name. But I’ve always been fascinated with its history. Glad you got a chance to see it, even though it’s tourist-filled.
Well, since my first real knowledge of Czechoslovakia is what I’m reading here I don’t know why she thought I would have said it was a bad place! I’ve always liked the challenge of spelling it more than anything. 🙂 It’s much more beautiful, of course, but like I said before, there are some aspects of it that remind me of Pittsburgh. I love the architecture.