Troja

When I first visited Prague, back in 2011, my impressions were mixed. I could not make up my mind whether I liked the place or not. While the centre of the old city is certainly impressive. it is not a place that I could feel much affection for.

For that reason, I was curious to see how I would feel about the place 13 years later. Don and I left the hotel early and went in search of the Metro Station we had been assured was "nearby". Our walk soon brought us into an interminable series of partially completed roadworks, railworks, footpath works and just about every other sort of project that could remain unfinished.

We had stayed in the same hotel 13 years earlier, and I remembered that the very same roadworks were being done then. Thirteen years later they looked much the same.

After climbing over and through piles of rubble and dodging huge holes in the ground, there was still no sign of the station. To the contrary, it looked like half the rail lines had been pulled out of the ground. We kept walking.

The next stage of our own Pilgrim's Progress brought us into a series of derelict buildings, bridges and underpasses, where literally every square centimetre was covered with ugly graffiti. In all my travels I had never seen anything like it. It was ugly and confronting, and did not allow us to feel safe. That was a huge contrast to Dresden, where we felt safe walking day and night, and never witnessed this sort of urban decay. Dresden 1, Prague 0.

Although we never did get to discover any Metro station, we did keep walking, all the way into the central city and the famous old city square. Although it was tiring in the warm sun, it did give us a good cross section of what the city was really like. Those who just catch a bus or tram into the centre never get to see this ugly side of the city.

As we approached the square and the famous "astronomical clock", we could hear the growing tumult of hundreds (probably thousands) of tourists following their guides, and listening to their non stop prattle in a multitude of tongues.

There is no denying that the buildings are beautiful, but the jam of people certainly was not. It reminded me what life on one of those huge cruise liners would be like. Give me the "road less travelled" every time.

The most famous feature of the place is the astronomical clock. constructed back in 1410. When I did some homework about this 600 year old timepiece, I discovered that it is more like the proverbial "grandpa's axe" that had 7 new handles and 4 new heads. The clock has been rebuilt and replaced many times over the centuries, and for a long period had an electric motor !!!! For some years it was even replaced with an LED screen. Believe it or not.

Since Don and I had arrived shortly before 11 am, we thought that at least we should wait and see the hourly performance. We found a seat in a nearby cafe and ordered a sweet while we waited. The crowds grew, And grew. And grew. It looked like the MCG on Grand Final Day, with every onlooker grabbing their phones and selfie sticks to record the event. It was really awful.

The actual display was underwhelming, with two little doors opening and a couple of model apostles shuffling past. If the clock display was underwhelming, the bill we got from the cafe was not. To our horror the final amount was inflated by taxes and tips, so that it bore no resemblance to the amount stated on the menu. Dresden 2, Prague 0.

By that time, we just wanted to get away from the jostling crowds before we suffered a lost eye due to an errant selfie stick. We made our way back to the hotel, once again traversing the sea of graffiti and rubbish all along the way. I was so happy to be back in the quiet sanctuary, and away from the madding crowds.Read more