Prague Visits Compared: 1976 & 2018

We visited Prague in spring 2018.

It was my second trip to the capital of the Czech Republic.

I could scarcely remember my last visit in 1976–when the Iron Curtain stood firmly in place.

My near-fiance spent that weekend in Washington, D.C. being interviewed for the US Navy.

Fortunately, no one asked him where his girlfriend was that day!

As I wrote in this earlier post, my trip with Swiss relatives in August felt drab and gray.

Rick Steves seconded my memory in the opening line from the Rick Steves Eastern Europe guidebook.

“Until 1989, Eastern Europe was a foreboding place–a dark and gloomy corner of the “Evil Empire.”

I thought it was only me!

Prague is a much livelier and colorful city now!

Town Square

My memory of the town square included the famous Astronomical Clock (alas, closed for renovations when we visited).

I remembered a plaque on a wall that explained about the Soviets liberating the city during the second World War.

“What an odd description,” I said to my Swiss cousin.

She berated me for not knowing the history–Allied forces pushing East, Soviet forces pushing west and beating the US to the city.

“They’ve been enslaved ever since. It’s your fault.”

Sigh. I waived it off.

A spirit of Capitalism and laissez-faire life now consumes this least-religious country in Europe.

It has a western bustle now, even among the historic parts of town not bombed during World War II.

I can’t believe I didn’t remember the enormous remembrance of Jan Hus’ burning at the stake in the center of the square.

But Prague’s foreboding Gothic Tyn Church left an impression during both visits.

See? It looked a lot more sinister in 1976.

The Jewish Quarter

I know I visited the Jewish Quarter in Prague, but I only remembered the cemetery.

It’s still there.

This time, however, we saw several synagogues and learned more of the sad history of the Jews during World War II.

Many, of course, ended up at Auschwitz.

The synagogues reminded me of some of the cathedrals we visited–the richness and obvious love that went into the buildings.

Like everything to do with the Jews in central Europe, poignancy reigned.

It bothered me, however, to see a statue of Franz Kafka outside the Spanish Synagogue.

He apparently lived in the neighborhood.

Prague’s St. Vitus Cathedral

I remembered the beautiful stained class window over the entrance to St. Vitus’ Cathedral.

It wasn’t as impressive as my memory, but beautiful all the same.

Since my earlier trip had been with a Swiss tour guide speaking German or Italian, I’d missed a lot of details.

This time my Rick Steves guidebook provided all the information I needed and made the cathedral so much more interesting.

Prague favorites?

Lobkowitz Palace Museum.

The Charles Bridge.

Classical music.

Jan Hus and St. John of Nepomuk.

Trdlo.

Tweetables

Interesting sights and reflections on two visits to Prague. Click to Tweet

Prague: Comparing visits before and after the fall of the Iron Curtain. Click to Tweet