My first impressions of the city were famously unfavorable. Now that I am giving the place a second chance, it hasn't improved too much, though I certainly can understand what draws so many people to it.
Certainly it has many fine old buildings, though not as many as Budapest. In general it is a bit more touristic than Budapest, with a slightly thicker concentration of chain stores and fast food outlets.
On the other hand, there are festive lights in all the major squares and the chill weather gives the place a Christmas air, even though Christmas is sitll almost two months away.
In my brief time here so far I walked around a bit and looked into the Czech National Museum. Unlike its Hungarian counterpart, the Czech National Museum doesn't seek to glorify the history of the Czech people but is much more of a natural history museum, with rooms full of mineral samples, stuffed animals, and a special exhibition on the solar system. All this seems a little bit incongruous with the Baroque statuary and vaulted ceilings, but none of the exhibits seem to suffer for it.
I suppose the difference between Prague and Budapest is that while Budapest is dignified and stately, clearly the sometime home of both a grand empire and a thriving intellectual and artistic scene, Prague is sort of a medieval Disneyland, a little too precious and cute for its own good.
The crowds of tourists are mainly responsible for this. Even now, during the off-season, the tour groups buzz like mosquitoes everywhere. In the Old Quarter and near the castle you have to positively wade your way around through masses of Americans, Germans, Chinese, Spanish, Koreans and every other nationality which can spare the money for a but of old-world sightseeing.
The higlight of my trip was almost certainly the Puppet Don Giovanni, which is exactly what it sounds like - Mozart's opera enacted with puppets and a classic recording playing in the background. Of course it had to cut down brutally - from over to hours to an hour and a quarter - but it was still a rollicking good time.
L - R: Don Giovanni, Donna Anna, Leporello
1 comment:
always loved prague
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