Sightseeing in Prague, Czech Republic - Thursday 28th June 2007

My sightseeing started one evening, after finishing work - after a bite to eat, I ventured off into the city just before dark. I wanted to have a quick wander around some of the main central areas, before a proper assault the following day - and just to get reacquainted with Prague. So, I made a quick tour of the Charles Bridge, a view of the castle as it got dark, followed by the Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square.

My first impressions were that the centre of the city had changed little, except that many traces of Czech-ness had been replaced by generic tourist stuff. The tourist trap restaurants, souvenir shops and money changing outlets were all still there, plus more, and they seemed to have got even more sophisticated (if that is possible). It is an efficient machine to fleece tourists, but surely there cannot be many regular tourists in Europe that have not now visited Prague - everybody I know seems to have been there! However, just before sunset, the centre of the city was quite quiet, although that was probably because the bars, restaurants and theatres were all very full!

Wenceslas Square seemed to have got even more seedier than I remember it, which again I didn't think would be possible! It is a safe assumption that any bar or nightclub there, especially if playing music, has naked women as the centre of the entertainment - and there are armies of big Nigerian guys trying to "persuade" people to go in and sample the entertainment, But, even at 10pm on a Wednesday night, I saw at least 3 groups of British lads wandering around, so I'd guess there is plenty of custom to go around. And I guess there lies the problem - Wenceslas Square has got tackier and sleazier, but it is largely the fault of my fellow countrymen, who go there with full wallets, looking for sleazy activities.

The following morning, I headed out into the city again, starting with a number 22 tram up the bloody great hill to the castle. I arrived there (after a nice lie in) just before midday, and the place was absolutely rammed with tour parties - this before the main tourist months of July and August even. I started taking pictures of the amazing view from the castle, over the city, when I was startled to hear some trumpets playing, and playing something that sounded like the music from The Great Escape. I wandered over to the castle gates, and saw what appeared to be a changing of the guards ceremony taking place.

Now, having spent months on end in Prague whilst on university summer holidays, I have seen the guards change at Prague castle dozens of times. Previously, some new guards would wander over to the guard huts, talk the the old guards for a minute or two, who would then wander off (probably to the pub). It lasted for a minute, and was really nothing special to see. This has now been replaced by a full "changing of the guard" ceremony, complete with brass instruments, marching, shouting, saluting, and banging bayonets onto the ground. All utterly fake and pointless, and presumably invented because if you have guards at a castle, tourists expect to be able to see them changed!

Shocked by this experience, I decided against walking down through the castle, surrounded by hundreds of guard change watchers. So, I walked down lots of stairs instead, that run down the side of the castle, between its main entrance, and the Mala Strana part of town. These stairs have been used in lots of films, adverts, and a video by an ex-Spice Girl (now a Spice Girl again, temporarily), although I can't remember if it was Geri or Posh Spice. Anyway, loads of stairs, lots of walking, and almost some falling over too. Near the bottom of the stairs is the British Embassy, with a lovely statue of Winston Churchill outside.

Having descended from the heights of the castle, the next big Prague attraction was to walk across the Charles Bridge, which was built hundreds of years ago, and has lots of statues along it on both sides. Americans always fail to understand how old it is, because "700 years old" just does not compute (I think it is actually older than that). There were lots of tourists here too - I thought they were ALL at the castle - and lots of people who make a living by selling things to tourists for MUCH more than their true cost. If you want a shitty caricature, get it here. Or your name written really small on a piece of rice (can't you get that in any city in the world?). Or a small painting of the bridge on which you are standing. I just settled for taking a photo, whilst listening to one of the many weird buskers - this one was playing the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Under The Bridge, using a didgeridoo and a bongo. Utter tourist hell, in one short walk of tackiness.

Winding through the narrow streets to the Old Town Square, past endless shops selling "bargain" cut glass, I noticed that several traditional old places had been replaced by more bland, generic bars and restaurants, sometimes advertising "traditional Czech food and beer", alongside the general chicken and chips. In many places, it almost seemed as if the long-standing tradition of Czech beer drinking was being relegated to a mere curiosity - I saw Miller Genuine Draft being advertised, and "traditional Czech beer" in small letters at the bottom of the advert, as if nobody would want to sample that. Also, the "traditional" Czech food being advertised, sometimes seemed somewhat less than authentic. Goulash with dumplings sounded more like a traditional Hungarian dish, with some Czech dumplings thrown in. But tourists want their safe, international stuff, so on such a busy tourist route, maybe it was unreasonable to expect anything more.

Reaching the Old Town Square restored my faith in the beauty of the city. After the tourist traps which have ruined some parts of the city for me, it was great to get to the stunning square and see that little had changed here. Classical concerts were one of the few things advertised here, as much of the square is protected from too much tacky, intrusive advertising.

I think in summary for me, Prague has changed a lot in the ten years or so since I was spending significant time here. Of course that is to be expected, but I thought that too much had been sanitised for tourists - too much generic, international crap, at the expense of wiping away some of the traditional Czech-ness which used to give the city so much charm. Much of the city centre of Prague could just be a Disney-like theme park of a beautiful old city - and many traces of where it is, or the specific history, culture or food, have been hidden away - that is a real shame. But then many Czechs are abandoning their culture and history too, in favour of driving Western cars, eating at McDonalds, drinking expensive imported beer, and hanging out at new shopping malls. It is almost like the locals have moved out of the city centre, to their new out-of-town hypermarkets, and abandoned it to the tourists. Hopefully, like in other cities, that trend will reverse itself, and the locals will claim back their beautiful city.