Why Must the Bridge be Half Full?
It's simply not done in the US. Bridges in US towns aren't full of people selling things. I assume that this has more to do with the US's rather single-purpose approach to bridges, as opposed to the historical aspect of bridges in Europe that were often the focal point and reason for being of a great many towns. For example, Mostar owes not only its existence to the bridge in the center of town, but also its name, 'most' meaning 'bridge' in Slavic languages. Then of course there is London which came in to being because it was the widest spot down the Thames where the Romans could span a bridge.
I bring up this history because it's the only reason I can find for filling bridges with all kinds of things to buy. The Charles Bridge in Prague is one of the more egregious offenders I've seen lately with the bridge only open to pedestrian traffic which gets to meander through countless bouts of touristic ephemera to reach one side or the other. But while in Budapest, I saw the same thing on the Chain Bridge. The one big difference being that the goods for sale didn't have that tacky tourist element to them that I saw in Prague. They seemed to be more handmade products of the local vicinity. The reason that it is apparently a bit better in Budapest is the fact that the bridge is only closed on Sunday to traffic and only during the summer. The intermittent closures seem to stem the tide of tourist wares from washing up along the sides of this particular bridge.
So, while I find these examples less than fantastic, I refer back to the history of bridges in Europe again and when looking at a bridge like the Rialto Bridge in Venice, you see that having small stores on a bridge is actually quite historical, so it seems it would be only natural for this to continue. From an American standpoint, this is hard to get used to. Our bridges are just for spanning something, not for selling something upon. But this is all tied in to the fact that for the most part we lack town centers. So, naturally, even if an American town grew up around a wide spot in the river where a bridge was built, the bridge was never a focal and thusly, commercial point. The town just kept spreading in the way that only our towns could. In the end, I suppose it comes down to the perception of things and while it would be nice to have more normal, authentic things being sold on bridges in Europe, there is a rhyme and a reason for things being sold on them in the first place.
14 07 2008 0 comments
Tags: budapest, prague, the europe
The Voice of Radiohead
For those familiar with the song, "A Reminder" by Radiohead (it's on the Airbag EP) there is a lilting, ethereal woman's voice that comes on at the beginning of the song. It turns out that voice is a sample from the Metro in Prague warning about the closing doors at the Jiřího z Poděbrad stop.
A the story goes, one or more of the members of Radiohead were struck by this seductive voice that comes on speaking a Slavic language. It pierces through all the din of the trams and Metro cars to just float above the hustle and bustle. Thusly, they felt like incorporation it in to one of their songs, as Radiohead does.
Now that I've actually heard the voice in person, I can understand why they made this choice. Truth be told, I find the voice (I believe it's the same woman) to be sexier in the tram messages than in the Metro messages, where she sounds a bit more matronly. But, it just goes to show that despite the stereotype presented in Cold War Era movies with Russian and other Slavic languages being portrayed as these brusque, hard languages, they can sound really sexy if they want to. It all just depends on who is speaking them.
That being the case, there is also a man's voice, which you hear on the red line Metro. I've included a clip of it below. Obviously, I'm not digging on it as much as the woman's voice, but it could easily be said that those who run the Prague transport system are striving for a good deal of creaminess for the riders to enjoy.
On a side note with these clip, I might be imagining things, but the beginning tones sound just like the first bit to the song Kid A. Maybe someone else will agree or maybe not...
04 07 2008 0 comments
Tags: czech republic, music, prague, the europe, trains
The Pravs of Prague
Naturally, when one starts heading in to the Slavic countries, the praving starts to rise. Again, I don't know why the Slavs love to prav. Maybe it's the communist period that brought it about, or maybe it's just a hot-tempered people who find that the best fix to a problem always involves breaking something, which is oddly very similar to the Bush administration's foreign policy.
There must be something of a Germanic, cool-headed approach to fixing things in the Czech Republic though as most of the fixes are quite good. I don't see wires punched through windows or holes dug in surreptitious places to allow pipes to pass. But then again, the Slavic mentality does rise here and there and you see things like the shot below. I have no idea what that is doing, but I have a good idea how it came about:
"Honza, we need this red pipe here, now. No, don't ask why, we just need it."
"Okay, Miro, that's going to require a 2 kilo smashing hammer, a 300 gram pounding hammer, as well as my shaping knife/screwdriver/belt buckle, and to finish it up, we'll need the 5 kilo chisel hammer, and... bailing wire. Lots of bailing wire."
Thusly, you end up with a corner of an old building that ends up looking like a drunk plumber went berserk one night.
02 07 2008 0 comments
Tags: czech republic, prague, praving, the europe
Get the Czech Look
For the average non-Czech, you might be thinking, "Oh, but how can I look Czech for an outing?" The answer my friend is to head to your nearest REI and let them clothe you from head to toe. The Czechs love their outdoor clothing and they love potential utility as much if not more than Americans. The big difference is that while Americans want to have the ability to "climb any mountain", the Czechs actually do it.
Czechs love adventure and thusly, this is the reason that they sometimes die in the pursuit of said adventure. Regardless, they're ready for it. Just toss on a sporty backpack, some hiking shoes, or the ubiquitous padded-strap sport sandals and you've got yourself the Czech look. If the day is moving a little slow, then maybe toss on a pair of inline skates and whiz around town.
A lot of this stems from seemingly everyone having a cottage out of town that they all go to on the weekend for hiking and general outdoors business. But, they don't limit it at that. While sitting in a beer garden, I saw guys pulling out their mountain climbing picks and either comparing the length or the use with each other. I mean, why do you bring a climbing pick to a beer garden? Because you Czech and you never know when a mountain is going to come your way, that's why.
30 06 2008 0 comments
Tags: clothing, czech republic, potential utility, prague, the europe
In Dobra vs. Dobra, we all Win
For a tea drinker, Prague is a veritable heaven. It was most likely due to the Russian influence (Russians love tea) during the communist years that got the Czech Republic at large started on tea. Of course what they had then were probably "brands" like "Victory Black" or "Benign Autocracy Breakfast Tea" which were most likely the same damned thing and not so amazing.
Apparently a group started to meet in secret and worked to smuggle tea in to the Czech Republic where they would then drink it in secret, stealthy groups. This was daunting and exciting for these folks and after The Wall fell, things opened up a great deal. Suddenly, importing any myriad of teas was a much easier order to carry out and people started to truly enjoy tea as opposed to it just being something to have because there was no choice in breakfast beverages.
Out of all of this sprang, Dobrá Čajovna, which is a tea house that has grown to be a chain across the Czech Republic as well as other countries including the US. This was the original tea house in Prague from which all others copied the model of having a relaxed, "salon" setting in which is enjoy a massive selection of teas from all over the world. Several locations of theirs started up in Prague, but ultimately it's the one at Václavské Náměstí 14 that has hung on to be their main and only location.
Another tea house started up as well in the same model as Dobrá Čajovna, but with a bit of a twist. They're called Dobrá Trafika and they have two locations in Prague. The main thing that's very cool about them is that they've chosen this speakeasy format for their cafes. A 'trafika' is a place where you buy tobacco, newspapers, metro passes, and the like. Thusly, the front of their establishments look just like a typical, slightly rundown trafika. But, when you make a turn past the counter and down a rather non-obvious hall, you come to the actual cafe in the back. If I hadn't know that there was a cafe in the back of the first one of these I went to, I probably would have just left, which is great, because I'm sure a very many, non-curious tourists do this.
So, as to which one might be the better one? Really, they're both great. The advantage of Dobrá Čajovna is that the tea selection is ungodly huge and detailed. You can order just about anything at their place. They have outdoor seating, but as we found out, they are often burning incense out there to cover up the pot fumes the staff are creating in the passageway to the place. The other downside is that it's rather expensive at 3€ a pot or so.
Dobrá Trafika on the other hand is a bit cheaper, but has a much smaller selection. I think I might prefer their outdoor seating a tad more as it's usually a bit more quiet and the speakeasy, in-the-know quality to the place is quite appealing. That and while you will get expats there, you'll get virtually no tourists.
But, these aren't the only two places in Prague for tea. There are countless more that have copied this tea house model and have a good selection. Some have got more grungy hippie funk than others and some are more trendy than others, but they're all cool in some way. There are no uppity joints like Samovar in San Francisco, which is a welcome change.
29 06 2008 1 comment
Tags: czech republic, prague, tea, the europe
Banksy is Good, but has Competition
For those not familiar with Banksy, first take a moment to check out his graffiti artist style he mainly plies around England. You'll see that his work has depth, humor and a good deal of social commentary to it. The guy really is a smart guy and has a great deal of artistic gift. There are those who even go so far as to worship him, but they're, for lack of a better word, wankers.
Whatever the case and no matter how great a collection, Wall and Piece may be, Banksy has others who are on his tail. We saw a great number of them around Prague who used his style of stencil technique and commentary to make a message. Maybe they predate when he was doing, but probably not. At any rate, they are really everywhere and I'll get together a gallery when I get a chance, since it's cool stuff. I just hope that Banksy continues to morph and evolve as I like what he does a great deal and I'd hate to see him wash up so fast.
28 06 2008 0 comments
Tags: czech republic, prague, the europe
Enter the Prague, Cross Off Another City
Prague always seemed to be a lovely city to visit. While my mind wasn't full of the grandeur that so many other Americans attributed to this capital of the Czech Republic, it seemed like a nice place to go. Telling friends in Barcelona we were heading there for a couple of days before heading on to Budapest got a lot of the same responses such as, "Oh, well, enjoy I guess." or "Have fun with the Americans!"
I was wondering what they were getting at. I've been to Venice in August and I've seen the glut of tourists in Barcelona in the high months as well. How bad could it be? Surely they were exaggerating. As it turns out, once setting out for a full day or two of exploration, they weren't exaggerating all that much. While places like Barcelona are shielded from a great deal of the assiest of tourists because they all go to the beach, there is no beach in Prague, so every last speck of tourist booty is parked right in the center. So, if you go anywhere in the center, you are greeted by Marge from Oklahoma calling back home while on the old Charles's Bridge (about 650 years old) to ya know, check on the kids and stuff. Yes, I actually witnessed this, take a listen below.
The examples of crap, mostly American tourists are quite endless and there is little reason to go in to them other than to say, stay out of Prague during the warm months. It appears to me that Prague tourism has done the exact same thing that Croatia tourism has done, in that they built too fast with little regard to much else than profit which has created a town center that is just jam packed with every crap tourist knickknack one could ever want, but little else.
It's quite sad to see, because if you swipe this away, Prague is quite a nice city. It has an absolutely fantastic Metro and tram system that takes you anywhere you could want to go for very little money. The food, while heavy and Central European is very good and priced such that it makes buying your own food to cook pointless. The beer is very affordable as well, costing about 1€ for a half liter and it's damned good beer too. The buildings are impressive, unique, and beautiful, and the layout of the town is cozy and meandering allowing one to enjoy all the twisting streets while wending through the slow tourists in countless groups of course. And then there is Nakládaný Hermelín which is without a doubt the "bee's knees" (whatever the hell that phrase means, but you mostly likely get the point.) Additionally, if you know how to read a map well, you can go see sites and stroll through the parks just outside the immediate center which most tourists never go to. Spots such as Vyšehrad are a great day out in Prague.
Overall, I would say that Prague is a worthwhile visit if one comes outside of summer (although I hear the crowds are still strong even then and there is a stable base of 20,000 American expats hanging out, attempting to write, who live in the city) and haven't been to a Habsburg-era city before. If you've been to Vienna, the capital of all things Hapbsburg, I think it's still worth a visit since I like Prague a great deal more than Vienna due to Vienna being far too oppressive and palatial. But, for someone like me who has been to Zagreb, Ljubljana, Maribor, Varaždin, Belgrade, Sarajevo, Vienna, Graz, Brno, and Budapest, it's a tad, well... "normal". Yeah, I know, I need to slow down a bit someday.
Obviously, I have a great many more things to follow on Prague, after staying here for five days with #1 Fan. But the one thing that I've realized here and it seems to be another universal truth of life is that whatever Habsburg-era city you see first is ultimately the one you'll love for the rest of your life. For me, this means loving Zagreb despite the fact that few do actually love it, including the great majority of the people who live there. For others this means Prague and so be it. It's a perfect place to start a love affair. Just choose wisely when choosing your first Habsburg entry point.
26 06 2008 0 comments
Tags: czech republic, prague, the europe
