During the first week of the extensive Easter break, HistorySoc embarked on the culturally rich city of Prague. Yes, it may be the Stag Do capital of Europe, but with a preference for museums rather than lap dancing clubs, we were here for some serious hardcore historical action. We travelled in both style and simplicity, courtesy of Easy Jet’s Boeing 747. We arrived in Prague, exhausted but excited for the few days ahead.
The hostel surpassed my expectations (free sandwiches available morning, noon and night) but did so within a Travel lodge price bracket.
Prague itself is such a beautiful city, it somehow manages to make York, the aesthetic gem of Yorkshire, look underwhelming. The city’s streets are lined continuously with sorbet coloured baroque buildings that even the most determined philistine would be hard pushed not to be impressed by.
The organised walking tour, led by the formidable Daniel, took us through the quaint winding streets while loading us with historical facts and folklore. The richness of the Czech Republic’s history was really insightful and went way beyond the infamous 20th century occupations.
The Museum of Communism, ideally situated above a casino, was a standout – if anything, for its array of novelty Stalin and Lenin inspired trinkets available at the gift shop. Clearly, the museum held the monopoly on the dictator memorabilia. A Lenin candle, both practical and fun, proved the perfect gift which would surely have a place on the mantel piece of any home. A Stalin Tea towel… why not?!
Dining out didn’t break the bank and provided ample opportunity to get a true taste for the Czech Republic. The medieval restaurant we dined at on the first night was certainly a memorable experience for a number of reasons. I’ll begin with the starter. What appeared on the menu to be a perfectly average vegetable soup, suddenly became the best soup experience ever when said soup was presented in a crusty bread bowl. Edible crockery is definitely an under rated phenomenon and is something I am yet to find fault with. The following course, which was just an orgy of various meats, came with an unexpected side order of belly dancing, sword fighting and fire breathing. Interrupting your sauerkraut for a spot of gyrating with a local – why not?
Friendly customer service appeared to be a concept completely lost on the majority of waiters we came into contact with. On the third night, we were lured into eating at a rather fancy looking restaurant on a docked boat; the stylish decor and swish laminated menus did not match the bizarre standard of service. When one of the waiters frog-leaped over one of the unoccupied tables I knew we weren’t in England anymore.
Clearly Brits rank pretty highly in the league of the world’s most obnoxious tourists – admittedly not an entirely unjustified position – and the reputation of the typical unruly British lager-lout has penetrated into the minds of serving staff across Prague. Thank God the staff on the bar crawl were friendly! Unlimited absinthe shots just aren’t the same when there’s an unfriendly barman looking on disapprovingly.
The nightlife in Prague probably didn’t live up to its international reputation in the same way that we lived up to ours. Unlimited bar and limited will-power. The result was inevitable.
The weather was beautiful throughout the week, which was the cherry on top of a really fantastic trip!