Prague

Prague – the city made famous by the 1996 film Mission Impossible. Before this film, Prague was not well known world-wide, and the tourism industry boomed post-release. I had images of a dark foggy place, where statues, gothic buildings and shadowy figures would loom out of the dark. As I still had daylight hours to fill, I headed towards the royal palace first. A long walk down by the river led me past many beautiful old buildings, dull pastel colours matching the grey skies. Walking alongside the waters, signs of autumn were apparent as orange leaves drifted down around me. Past the Dancing House, I headed across the river and beside some metallic artwork that stood silhouetted against the sky. At the base of the hill, I saw the memorial statues to victims of communism. Zombie like figures with missing body parts and scars made for a disturbing sight, even in bright sunlight, and I was incensed to see tourists take smiling photos in front of them.

At the base of the hill, I found a gelato shop and had a great fig and mascarpone. Up on the hill, a large garden terrace wrapped around the palace walls, overlooking the city roofs and spires and contained many fascinating ornaments and sights. I stalked a couple of monks (or at least dudes wearing white robes) for a while before investigating some interesting twisting stairs down alleyways. The St. Vitus Cathedral was an impressive Gothic structure which towered over the courtyard.

Ben and I also checked out the Karel Zeman Museum, an early pioneer of film special effects, much like Georges Melies before him. The museum showed us many interesting early film techniques and steampunk-esque props from Zeman’s work, including a ridable flying contraption. That evening, Ben convinced Tara and I to go the theatre and see a Czech play – Brezina’s 1914. We were seated at the very top of a six storied theatre, looking down on the stage far below. What followed was a bizzare series of stories and scenes set around and during WWI. The actors, all in black and white and facepaint, would often burst into dance, resembling broken marionettes. A woman with a death-like visage would stalk the stage and one memorable scene involved the whole cast marching out of smoke menacingly, all in gas masks. I would like to tell you more about the story, but I have no idea what happened. Nonetheless, it was a worthwhile unique experience.

Among checking out the usual touristy sights and wandering the streets, I checked out the lego museum. While the collection was solid, the building it was housed in left a lot to be desired. It often felt like you were in a cramped submarine. We had a pub dinner in the evening, which led to this great exchange between Ben and the waiter:

Ben: “Could I have a small beer?”
Waiter: “No. Small beer for girls.”
(Waiter leaves)
Ben: “I’m not sure I have the patience to explain how to use gender normative English to him.”

I had some pretty good food in Prague, including goulash with gluten free dumplings to mop up the sauce. We also found GF Italian and had chocolate fondant and tiramisu. However, I made a huge mistake in listening to Ben. He was recommended hot chocolate and absinthe, so we headed out to a cafe for some. Tara sensibly got an amazing hot pear juice with cinnamon. Ben and I got the absinthe chocolate and immediately regretted it after one sip.

Other adventures including retracing Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible steps in Prague, as he watched his team get shot, stabbed and blown up. I was excited to find the bridge, stairs and doors where scenes were shot, but alas couldn’t find the large gate where Sarah was killed. I asked a local if he knew where the gate from Mission Impossible was and got a weird look in response. As I excitedly repeated “Tom Cruise? Tom Cruise?” at him, realised he probably had little English and thought I was a crazy person.

That night, I finally got time to wander the city at random. I find the best way to experience a new city at night (or alternatively, get robbed) is to wander down alleyways until you are lost. Disappointingly, the weather was crisp and clear – no fog in sight. After getting lost, I ended up at a small intersection in front of a pub. A group of guys were milling around with brass instruments, and before long, they started playing. A large crowd gathered, and it was a great spontaneous street party. I found an interesting alleyway, and watching a eclectic collection of people walk down it, including a figure dressed as death. As I walked back, I mused that Prague is a city best experienced at night.