A BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
From Prague’s tram services to Ceský Krumlov’s largest ancient castle, these cities in Czech Republic are a must visit when in Central Europe
If anyone asks you what is the best thing about a city you’ve visited, you’d probably come up with (and not in this particular order) monuments, the cleanliness, its greenery, the open spaces, the central square, the people, their fashion sense, the tourist spots, the food, the night life, the local brews... well, you get the drift. But if my kid asked me a few years from now, what is the best thing about Prague — a city my wife and I wanted to visit for a long time and something that we finally did this Independence Day — my response would be “its trams”
In a country that is caught right between the difficult transition of a socialist past and a capitalist present and future, Prague’s tram services are a joy to behold with a mix of quaint Soviet-era wagons and modern coaches with contactless payment devices.
Public transport can be fascinating because it tells you how much the city cares for its people, and it is simultaneously an observation deck to look at people and how they care for their city and their fellow
y ount, Prague wins. It cares for its people, and its people, quite evidently, they care for the city, too.
The capital of the Czech Republic — a country that forms a major part of Bohemia — has an interesting history (far too interesting to describe in the limited space that this newspaper’s editor has given me), and in its 1,000-odd years of existence as a city, has seen multiple changes in its religious, social and cultural structures, not to mention, political. Therefore, before embarking on a discovery tour, of sorts, we decided that we will understand and possibly appreciate the city by walking its length and breadth. A city’s arc of history can also be understood with it architecture and the changin skyline. In Prague, everywhere you go, you won’ miss this intense battle between an opulent past, a minimalism-driven socialist era that ended in 1989, and the current drive towards anothe kind of opulence in its market driven present.
The Prague Castle, for instance, is the single-most imposing structure in the city. But the castle is not really a castle — it is an immense complex of multiple buildings, and I later found out that it is he largest ancient castle in the world with an area of 70,000 sq metres. Its own battle with modernity is quite evident if you walk even 100 metres away from its premises, where you are assaulted by overpriced restaurants and mediocre souvenir shops.
The same battle scene welcomes you to Prague’s Old Town, where an elegant mix of architectural eras struggle to find mindspace with the ugly face of modernity. Therefore, it is best to explore Prague via foot, and walk through the lanes and bylanes rather than take a car and drive around. Getting lost in the labyrinthine network of stony paths for hours is bad for your feet — especially if you don’t have good shoes — but it is the best thing that could happen to you here.
Like Prague, the quaint old town of Ceský Krumlov is another time machine. In Prague, you can travel through various eras, but this South Bohemian heritage place is a sight for sore eyes. Like we did in Slovakia with Strbske Pleso (see last week’s travelogue), we had decided to go off the beaten path to a place where we could find some peace and quiet. To be sure, Ceský Krumlov is not a place where you can find peace and quiet. It is crowded, often noisy, and the stores are full of touristy artifacts.
But the trick is to ignore all of these distractions and just walk. The steep gradient at various places could make walking a bit hard, but if you are in Europe in the summer, there is nothing more enjoyable than walking and soaking in the surroundings. Ceský Krumlov is a Unesco World Heritage Site, and I would recommend at least a day here. The castle, of course, is the vantage point, and it is here that you can see the town in its pristine glory. Pardon the cliché, but it is a kind of a Bohemian rhapsody.