For example, as we toured around the compound we were able to the see entire rooms that were set up or "staged" to present the image of how the Nazis wanted these camps to be seen. There was one particular room that was set up with washbasins around the perimeter of the walls (still in near new condition) to prove what outstanding hygiene facilities were provided to the detainees. The fact that over 60% of 25,000 odd people who were processed at Terezin died of disease or malnutrition before they even reached the concentration camps was clearly beside the point. Of the 40% that remained, around half were shot or tortured to death due to perceived "disruptive" behavior. I was most disturbed by the swimming pool that was located next to the driveway that led to the shooting range. The prisoners had been recruited to build the swimming pool for the use & enjoyment of the Nazi officers & their families during the summer months......so the last thing the prisoners saw before they were executed were the Nazis swimming & playing in the pool they had built. Very sad.
Soon we were back on the road though & before long we arrived in Prague. We were staying in a hostel on the outskirts of town & it was largest hostel we had been in so far - some 500 beds. It looked like a huge old school with long corridors with rooms on either side & swimming pool in the basement. We headed into town, which was about 15 minutes on the tram & were struck by the beautiful, old buildings in the Old Town. That's another thing we have noticed about most of the European cities we have seen, most have the "Old Town" & the "New Town". The Old Town is generally geared towards the tourist market & Prague was no exception. However, it had lost none of it's charm & the first thing we did was join the obligatory free walking tour.
On the right of the main square is The Astronomical Clock - voted the most disappointing tourist attraction in Europe.....not an undeserving winner either. Every hour hundreds of people gather underneath it, staring up expectantly, waiting for the show.....a skeleton on the side of the clock rings the bell & a strange collection of morbid figures pass by an opening in the clock tower. Then a guy dressed up in traditional clothing blows his horn (so to speak!) & the shows over....it last all of 2 minutes. I guess 600 years ago when it was built it would have been quite revolutionary. The guy who commissioned it was so thrilled infact that he had the eyes gouged out of the poor guy who built it so he would never be able to build anything that spectacular again. Harsh!
The main attraction for most visitors to Prague is the castle, perched high up on the hill overlooking the city. It is the largest medievil castle in Europe & covers a massive area surrounded by beautiful gardens & parkland. It is so big you really only get a very small glimpse of it as part of the tour plus to actually go into selected areas & rooms was very expensive so we were satisfied with a walk through the 3 main courtyards & a look at the gorgeous, gothic cathedral in the centre.
Photo: Gorgeous cathedral...it took over 700 hundred years to be completed & ironically is currently under re-construction! It is also massive & almost impossible to fit into one frame.....
Another interesting site in Prague was the John Lennon wall. It has no significance to a particular meeting between the great man & the city, it was simply started to express the outpouring of grief felt by the local people in December 1980 when Lennon died. Just a residential wall on an insignificant street that has since become a bit of a pilgrimage for Beatles fans the world over. Apparantly Ringo Starr visited the wall 2 weeks before we were there!
During the walking tour we were taken in to a church a bit off the beaten track. It is famous for having a human hand hanging from the ceiling inside it. Legend goes that there was a statue of Mary Magdelene in the church & one day a thief broke in & tried to steal the necklace she was wearing. Well Mary wasn't too happy about this so she woke up & grabbed the man's hand & wouldn't let go. In the morning, when the priest arrived he came across the guy, still being held by the "statue". He grabbed an axe & rather than cutting off the statue's arm he decided to cut off the thief's arm. When he got down to the last few millimeters of flesh, Mary let go & the hand was left dangling by a bit of skin.....gross!! Anyway the priest finished off the job & he decided to hang the hand in the church as a deterrent to other would-be thieves! A quirky story....other than that a rather boring church!
Opposite the church was Andrew's favourite spot in Prague....the Aussie pub showing the cricket live from England. This brings me to another funny incident....we were chatting to 2 great girls from Canada who were in our hostel room. They happened to mention cricket & that they had been in London & a couple of Aussie boys had taken them to Lords to see a game (only a week or so before we had been there). Andrew was green with envy just at the thought of it but then came the icing on the cake. Heather said casually "Oh, yeah, that's right, one of your boys was playing that day. He's kinda dark & wears the white stuff on his lips".....well Andrew's eyes nearly popped out his head because she was obviously talking about Andrew Symonds & anyone who knows Andrew knows that he has a love for Andrew Symonds that borders on unhealthy!! He was standing next to the window at the time & as he digested this information I could see his brain ticking over....I'm sure he considered jumping!!
On our final night in Prague we did something a little different. We went to a beer spa. Yes, we soaked in a barrel of beer, heated to 37 degrees & enhanced with herbs & stuff. While we soaked, we poured cold lagers from our own personal taps located next to the barrel....& yes, I did check, we weren't drinking our own spa water!! After we had wallowed for half an hour or so we got out & were wrapped up in sheets - mummy style - & were laid down in a giant bed of straw. Then we were covered in thick blankets & left to sweat our arses off. At the end of it the lovely little Czech lady told us that we must not shower for 12 hours.....mmmm, 12 hours with straw in places it should never be!! Still it was a very funny experience.
From Prague, we headed to the teeny, tiny town of Cesky Krumlov. When I say tiny I mean you can walk from one end of town to the other in less than 10 minutes. There is not much to do in Cesky apart from meander the ancient, cobblestone streets, eat hot cinnamen scrolls coated in nutella & drink really cheap beer...pretty idealic really!! Cesky also has it's own castle - of course it does, this is Europe!! A couple of things make this castle a little bit more unique....1) The castle is still protected by 2 brown bears & apparantly has been for over 600 years....2) The walls of the castle are actually smooth so the "brickwork" & mouldings are all painted on to give the illusion of texture....see the photos for a better understanding.
One of the great things about small towns in Europe is being able to discover hidden gems that serve cheap food....not so easy sometimes. We stumbled across one such place in Cesky. A small, traditional Czech pub which served it's food on paper plates & charged the princely sum of 2 euros. This got us a massive piece of pork, bread, pickled chillis, gherkins & sauerkraut.....washed down with a half litre of beer...all up less than $5 for a feast!
The Czech Republic really impressed us. Lovely old buildings, unique experiences & great food....what more could you ask for?
P.S Apologies for the corny title too!!
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