Prague: Paris To A New Generation

Web Resources
Internet Resources:

Related Resources: More Resources

RV Vacations: Ten Tips

from nickselby.com
Prezanians rebel, even with victory [1993]. When dissident playwright Vaclav Havel became Czechoslovakia's first post-war democratically elected president, he deemed the presidential palace to be far too opulent a place in which to get things done. He promptly moved the home of his emerging nation's government to his modest apartment, surprising no one: "Bohemian" means "free spirit", and as Prague is the natural as well as geographical capital of Bohemia, la vie boheme is the order of the day. Prague has systematically and unabashedly established itself as the Paris of the MTV generation. The Warsaw Pact is ancient history; anybody coming to get a glimpse of an "east bloc" city is embarrassed to find himself three years too late. These days the small cafes which dot the streets of the stare masto are teeming with tweedily shabby-dressed chain-smoking writers arguing over endless cups of espresso, world-weary American 19-year-old lit majors having philosophical discussions straight out of Woody Allen movies and scruffy-looking Marx-bearded chess players brooding over their boards. Never was Prague's Bohemian spirit more evident than in August, 1968, when Soviet tanks invaded Prague. A cultural revolution was ignited by this violation, and artists and the intelligentsia burrowed deeply underground, but never stopped producing. Books were secretly distributed in manuscript form; apartments became private art galleries and theatres. This hoard of artistic artefacts was thrust forth to a culturally ravenous population after the "velvet revolution" of 1989. When word of Prague's renaissance began filtering through the Eurograpevine, Go East, young man became more a way of life than a slogan. This seductive city, so durable and unconquerable that it resisted the Soviets' knee-jerk attempts at uglification, remains a fairy tale setting that is irresistible. It is old (even the "New Town" dates to the fifteenth century), and the city is a potpourri of beautiful parks and greenery. Its Gothic masterpieces are unintimidating, and its baroque and Renaissance architecture all somehow managed to sidestep being ruined or razed during centuries of European and Communist strife. It is no wonder then, that Prague has become home to what seems like every artist, poet, painter, writer, actor, musician, model and student whose careers have been stunned by the lingering recession of the Western world. The city's main drag, Vaclavske namesti, is an explosion of bustling shops, news and fast-food kiosks, mid-range (but overpriced) hotels and impromptu shows throughout the day. Whether it's a fashion show, buskers, street magicians or just a Danish backpacker getting hassled by the police for throwing firecrackers, there's always something happening. The atmosphere is right out of 'sixties American television - it's the "good parts" version with all the music, free love, long-hairs and street-corner philosophers, while strife, generational misunderstandings and Vietnam have been tastefully left on the cutting room floor. A walk from the Mala Strana, or "little quarter" across the fourteenth century Charles Bridge towards the Old Town on a summer evening is a "Who's Who In Prague" tour. The bridge, one of 16 that span the Vltava River, offers spectacular views of the city and Prazsky Castle, and everybody knows it. Groups congregate amidst the eighteenth- and nineteenth- century statuary and on, around and actually in the pylons at both ends of the 603 meter span, clumped as discretely as New York City neighbourhoods: 20 metres from the architectural grad-student crowd will sit a group of hashish-smoking, guitar-playing flower children, while a nearby commercial film crew frantically sets up a shot before they lose their light. Everywhere there is a palpable feeling of a reborn city coming in to its own. The thriving expat community didn't come here to escape the realities of the "real world" so much as to a haven in which they could create their own. "I'm 25," says Amy Leanor, Program Director for a soon-to-open radio station, "I got a communications degree from U Mass at Amherst, and the best I could do at home was land a spot at Blockbuster Video. I've got opportunities here I could never get anywhere else and I live like a Queen for like $A400 a month. If that's escapism, I escaped."... Read More

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 100