Prague, Czech

On May 23rd, we arrived by train to Prague, Czechoslovakia. We took our bags, walked outside and grabbed a cab. To us, the cab ride seemed like it was longer than it should have been. When we arrived, we realized that the cab driver had gotten lost, but he only asked for what the proper fee would have been, had he not gotten lost.

At the Iron Gate Hotel we learned that it is located in a historic area, with small one-way roads. Our suite was two stories high and it dates back to the 1400's. For the rest of the day, we rested in the hotel and walked around town.

The next day, we went on a tour of Prague with a small group. The tour guide took us for a drive around town, as she talked about the history of the area. First, we stopped at king Weinzelsloths castle. His own brother killed him. Before this, his mother killed his grandmother. She did this because the grandmother was trying to pass on Christian beliefs to the children, while the mother was Pagan and wanted to keep pagan influence over the children. During that time, when the ruling party did not do a good job, they were thrown out the window of the castle, where they landed in a trash field (they survived it). The Christians said it was a miracle that they survived, but the Czech people who threw them out the window said that they landed where they belong.

For us, the tour ended near the Astrological clock, in the Jewish quarter, where we had lunch. I don't like Czech food, as it is very bland.

Next, we went to the hotel to rest up. That night, we went to dinner in town, overlooking the Vltava River. After dinner, we went to a play called, "Laterna Magika - Wonderful Circus". It is a type of play, called a multi media, black light show. In these types of shows, they alternate between acting on stage and then going under the curtain and then appearing in a video, on the other side. The story was about two clowns chasing the beauty of the goddess Venus. They never catch her and at the end, they are old and realize that they never found the person they truly loved and really wanted to live with.

The following day, we hiked over the Charles Bridge (named after the king who built most of Prague). One of the main statues on the bridge was of Queen Weinzelsloths priest, who would not reveal what she had confessed, so he was thrown over the bridge. We walked across the bridge and then we started hiking up a small mountain. When we got about half way, we took the funicular, or uphill train, the rest of the way. We arrived at the top and played football for an hour, in the park, then we went over to what looked like a mini Eiffel tower. Ian and my father climbed up, while I stayed and waited at the bottom with mom. We hiked back down the mountain and headed towards king Weinzelsloths castle. We arrived at the palace grounds, but again decided not to go inside. Instead, we had lunch and went to the shops in downtown Prague.

The last day, we went to the Museum of Communism. We learned about what communism is. In communism, they teach people that wealth is bad and that you should shun people who want wealth. They also teach them to work without getting rewarded and this is why communism fails, because people know they will not be rewarded if they work, so they don't bother and nobody produces anything. Also when they are trying to grow crops, they poisoned the land by using highly toxic pesticides to try and grow larger and more efficient crops and ended up poisoning the people and the plants.

Next up Amsterdam!

RS