Prague - Report 2

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

This was by far the most strenuous walking day of the tour. In the morning we started with the Powder Tower and the Black Madonna Cubist building we then walk through Old Town and took a tram across the river to the Lesser Town -- lesser because it is located below the Palace. We went to the Wallenstein Gardens, where we had been on Sunday, but it was more interesting with Honza as the guide. When we stopped for a break, he took water, soda, and a Czech liquor out of his backpack and serve the whole group; we then played the Rick Steve's team of standing around in a circle and repeating everybody's name. By the time the last person goes through the list of 24 names, you do remember at least 12 of them. Someone said this was an old Girl Scout game.

We then walked up towards the Palace through the lesser town. We went by St. Nicholas Church, but did not go into it. Rather than going directly onto the Charles Bridge to go home, we went around towards the side of into a neighborhood which had the Lennon Wall -- a wall of graffiti in honor of John Lennon. This was painted over by the Communists, and then re-created numerous times. We then walked across the Charles Bridge (which we had done on Sunday morning), and ended up at the Havelska Market -- a fairly wide street, with many booths selling food, toys, etc. in the middle. We had lunch with Dave and Mary Lou McKay from Seattle.

After resting for a while in the afternoon, we walked almost a half an hour to the National Theatre, where Honza started his tour of the 1989 Velvet Revolution. We started on a street corner where a student demonstration had turned into the national street, leading from the theater to Wenceslaus Square. Unfortunately, the street corner was one of the busiest in Prague, with trams going by in all four directions -- I have difficulty hearing his lecture. We then walked up the national street and into Wenceslaus Square, with Honza stopping for several other brief lectures. It was very interesting and obviously covered a major event in the history of the Czech Republic. After we ended in the square, we walked around 15 minutes uphill to a restaurant for dinner, and then took the tram back towards the hotel.

Wencelaus Square