6.18 Prague

Prague

Gathering in New York City for the flight to Prague that many of us were on. There were several flights from Minneapolis to New York that morning, so some had hours to wait, some had to dash to get to this connection. But we all made it.

Mark's jet-lag instructions included a 2-hour maximum nap in the afternoon at the hotel, followed by a walk around Prague and dinner. The hotel was fairly near Václavské náměstí (Wenceslaus Square), so that is where our walk began.

Národní muzeum (National Museum)

Socha sv. Václava (St. Wenceslas statue)

Reminders of the Russian invasion - the damage on the front of the National Museum has been left.

Not far below the statue of Wenceslaus in the square is this memorial to Jan Palach and Jan Zajic.

Jan Palach (11 August 1948 – 19 January 1969) was a Czech student of history and political economy at Charles University. He committed suicide by self-immolation as a political protest, a symbolic event often taken to be central to events which led to the fall of the Iron Curtain.

The funeral of Palach turned into a major protest against the occupation, and a month later (on 25 February 1969) another student, Jan Zajíc, burned himself to death in the same place.

After the Velvet Revolution, Palach (along with Zajíc) was commemorated in Prague by a bronze cross embedded at the spot where he fell outside the National Museum.

Offering that would be less typical in a mainline US bookstore.

A shop off the square offering traditional Czech items, as well as general souvenirs. I bought eggs with ribbon hangers at this shop on a return visit at the end of my stay.

In old Slavic mythology, the linden (lipa, as called in all Slavic languages) was considered a sacred tree. To this day, the tree is a national emblem of Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, and the Sorbs.

Staroměstské náměstí (Old Town Square)

Shopping Center with unusual men's urinal decorations - a good example of Czech humor.

Pomník Jana Husa (the statue of Jan Hus)

Pivnice U Pivrnice (our spot for dinner)

The walls were covered in cartoons which were beyond the language abilities of everyone in the group, but we were very curious.

Svečkova (my dinner choice)

Plzeň z tanku, or (Pilsner from a tank)

The beer in a tank pub is often surprisingly fresh, with a much fuller, rounder malt body than the pasteurized version. An even greater difference lies in the unpasteurized beer's peppery hop aroma and bittersweet finish. The flavors are noticeably more dynamic and bright than those of the pasteurized version.

Info from "Good Beer Guide: Prague and the Czech Republic" by Evan Rail