GRAHAM CALDWELL takes advantage of the new direct air service between
Scotland the beautiful city of Prague.
OLD Vladimir Ilyich stands in typical hailing-a-taxi pose under the
words: "Museum of Communism: Opposite Benetton, above McDonalds
- Long Live Capitalism". And who says political satire is dead?
The citizens of Prague can laugh now, but they haven't forgotten their
40-odd years under the Russian yoke. And nowhere is the escape from
it better celebrated than in this first-floor warren of rooms off Na
Prikope, close to Wenseslas Square, where a million people famously
gathered in 1989 to celebrate the imminent fall of Lenin's fond dream.
The museum charts the Czech Republic's unhappy relationship with its
fanatical near neighbours, from Marxist dream to terrible reality to
precious freedom. There are recreations of empty grocery shops, examples
of (irony alert) cutting-edge Soviet technology and even a squalidly
sterile KGB interview room, all thronged w ith visitors; curiously,
few of them Russian.
Ten years after the Velvet Revolution, Prague has embraced capitalism
with a passion: taxi drivers have already learned how to be creative
with their meters, while cafe owners have adopted the Paris model in
steadily inflating their prices the closer they are to a tourist landmark.
It has even learned how to profit from its previous Soviet masters:
souvenir shops are filled with Russian-style fur hats emblazoned with
hammer and sickle, busts of Stalin and KGB Tshirts - all hugely popular
with American visitors. But then, any place as breathtaking as Prague
deserves to cash in. This is, without a doubt, the most beautiful city
in Europe and, thanks to new direct flights from Edinburgh, it's now
just two hours away from Scotland.
Preserved, if neglected, by the comrades, Prague's astonishing architecture
has stood in for Paris in Maigret and Vienna in Amadeus. More recently,
Tom Cruise embarked on a Mission:
Impossible and Sean Connery has only just left town after shooting The
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
Prague is also a magnet for "adult" film makers who, perhaps
fortunately, are more keen on interior shots than location work.
In short, the world is beating a path to Prague's door ... and, boy,
does it show.
Most weekends between May and October, the Old Town and Castle area
especially, are engulfed by tour groups, their guides clearly identified
by raised umbrellas. Oddly, this doesn't harm the Prague experience,
rather there is an atmosphere of shared enjoyment that this remarkable
city is finally able to be enjoyed by so many. That said, if you don't
like the crowds, go midweek. Prague, at least the bits that interest
visitors, is fairly small. The main attractions - Wenceslas Square,
Old Town Square, Jewish Quarter, Charles Bridge, Lesser Quarter and
Castle - are within easy strolling distance of each other. However,
like Rome - and, indeed, Glasgow - Prague is built on seven hills and
its cobbled streets are hard on the feet, so you may prefer to take
one of the many guided tours on offer. While the city's outskirts have
their fair share of brutalist architecture, the centre is a delight.
Walk round any corner and you'll be awestruck by the detail and styling
of the buildings. Art Nouveau is much in evidence and, incidentally,
there is virtually no sign of the flooding which virtually closed Prague
to visitors a few months ago.
The Czechs do not take kindly to being described as "eastern Europeans",
especially these days, and the locals are almost Belgian-like in their
ability to converse in virtually any language, although you may find
an English query is answered in German!
Restaurants are plentiful and inexpensive: eat in the tourist centre
and you'll be pleasantly surprised by the prices, off the beaten track
you may have to suppress a chuckle.
Those of you who are not committed carnivores, however, might do better
to explore Prague's burgeoning number of "international" restaurants;
the local cuisine leans heavily on pork and duck, invariably accompanied
by dumplings. Some are lighter than others, but none could be fairly
described as fluffy. This, of course, is because their main purpose
is to soak up the huge quantities of the superb local beer.
Czechs drink more beer than even the Germans, hardly surprising considering
how good it is; it's remarkably pure, too, so you won't even suffer
unduly the morning after (see below).
Hotel-wise, Prague has got its act together to deal with the tourist
hordes. Even so, the bigger "luxury" hotels remain expensive
and the smaller, more affordable ones, a little rough around the edges.
A good compromise may be to travel 10 minutes out from the centre via
the clean, fast metro system to somewhere such as the Corinthia Panorama.
Part of a small, European-based chain, in terms of comfort and amenities,
it stands comparison with the kind of hotel you'd find in any US city.
There's a choice of two bars and two restaurants - the Italian-style
Piazza and more formal Mezzo - a top-floor health club, offering stunning
views across the city, and even a small casino.
Christophe Voyeau, the Panorama's charming reservations manager, is
particularly looking forward to welcoming more Scottish guests thanks
to the new Edinburgh service and points visitors towards the company's
website (see right), where there is usually a range of special packages
on offer. From the hotel, just five stops on the metro will bring you
to Wenceslas Square.
As you may have read, it's hardly the Place de la Concorde, more Prague's
version of the Champs Elysees, yet not to be despised for that.
Lined with shops, bars, restaurants and hotels - among them the striking
art nouveau Hotel Europa - it bustles with human life, much of it making
its way down to the narrow, cobbled streets of the Old Town and its
square - a real one, this time.
Invariably packed with visitors, it is lined with bars and cafes, none
busier than the ones in front of the astronomical clock, a copy of the
15th century original, where crowds gather to see the succession of
eerie apparitions which appear to mark each hour.
From the Old Town Square, follow the crowds down to the Charles Bridge.
Begun in 1357 by Charles IV, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, in imitation
of the Caesars, it is lined with ornate statuary and provides the city's
best view of the huge, eerie and awesome Castle.
A maze of buildings - each grander and more ornate than the next - the
Castle area surrounds the immense brooding St Vitus Cathedral. This
is the area alluded to by local boy Franz Kafka in his novel The Castle;
if you've ever read it and wondered what he was banging on about it,
one sight of this place and you'll soon know.
Then again, even if you've never read Kafka - and how I envy you! -
pay it a visit anyway. It's better than just reading about it.
TRAVEL FACTS
Graham Caldwell travelled as a guest of Czech Airlines, CSA Airtours
and Corinthia Hotels. Czech Airlines operates flights daily from Edinburgh
at 07.20 except Wednesdays and Sundays and from Prague daily except
Tuesdays and Saturdays. For details, contact www.csa.cz and/or www.airtours.cz
In Prague, Corinthia Hotels operate both the Panorama and five-star
Towers. Rack rate for the four-star Panorama is 180euros a night, inc
buffet breakfast, but attractively priced packages are often available
on www.corinthiahotels.com, or call (+420) 261 161 111
EDINBURGH-BASED Gordon Howell runs czechbeertours. com, offering visitors
an insider's view of the Czechs' great brewing tradition. The Prague
Beer Crawl is a great way to combine sightseeing with beer sampling.
Centred largely in the Hradcany area around the castle, it visits the
bars other tourists don't.
Many of these are kept a closely guarded secret, but you may start
off in u Cernehovola (The Black Bull) opposite Loretto Church.
American-born Gordon and his Prague associate, Jiri Hollan, will explain
the ceremony of Prague beer drinking - it keeps coming until you beg
for mercy - and make sure you enjoy some of the best Budvar, Kozel,
Pilsner Urquell etc the city has to offer, as well as a traditional
Czech meal. Unlike British bars, those in Prague tend to offer the output
of one brewery only and the choice is simple - light or dark, though
both are delicious.
The cost of 35 euros per person includes beer, food and a free souvenir.
It's highly unlikely that you'd find these places on your own and Gordon
and Jiri are not only knowledgeable, but good company.
POLITICAL SATIRE: Old Soviet propaganda posters are
given a post-revolution twist at the Museum of Communism in Prague.