Prague has been an interesting experience. After two amazing weeks in Germany, I really had found my groove there. Once I hit Prague, I had to switch gears. It usually takes me a day or two before I’m comfortable in a place, little things like finding places to eat that weren’t expensive or something close to a convenience store, or how to use the public transportation takes me time to figure out. Since I’m only in the country for a few days, I didn’t really feel comfortable till I was hopping on the train to Austria.
I hadn’t planned out my visit to Prague, other than at a high level. I thought I’d figure out as I go. Each day or night, I’d plan out what I wanted to see the next day. This worked OK, but it is not ideal. I ended up missing some sights that were closed, and my time there felt very disorganized and rushed, even thought I saw and did a lot.
In the last post on sightseeing in Prague, I covered most of the major sights I wanted to see. The last sight on the list was the Museum of Communism. One rainy morning in Prague proved the opportune time for a visit.
The Museum isn’t huge, but it is a thought provoking journey from the start of Socialism and Communism in the Czech Republic until they finally kicked out the communists in the 1989 Velvet Revolution.
Yet another very fascinating museum and experience.
Like the Nazi and Communists in Germany, they got rid of the free press and had state run propaganda networks. I’m guessing if it was in today’s age, posters would be swapped for Facebook ads.
They had a few models of what life was like under communism in Czechoslovakia. A store with limited goods on the shelf, a factory, and an interrogation room.
I’m going to add this to the list of intriguing museums I’ve visited on my trip. I just can’t imagine people had to live that way for so many decades.
The Food
On a brighter note, the food in Prague was top notch. I mainly eat light during the day, but at night I like to go out for a nice dinner and a few beers. I’m a fan of Czech Pilsner and was happy to sample two of the local brews. The original, and much better than the American version, Budweiser and Pilsner Urquell. The later seemed to be the most popular, or at least it was in the majority of the restaurants I went to.
Two meals really stand out. I had an amazing dinner of smoked spare ribs. Delicious. America might think we’ve got the market cornered on BBQ, but man oh man, these were some of the best ribs I’ve had in a long time. And that is not the Pilsner Urquell talking.
On my last night in Prague I decided to try something from the more ‘traditional’ menu. I had seen something similar in Germany and thought I should finally give it a go. I love pork and it’s pretty hard to find a part of the swine that doesn’t taste good. So I went for the pork knee.
I have to say, I’m not a fan. It was tough and some bites had a rather – unfamiliar taste. I covered it it mustard and horseradish, but it didn’t help. I look across the room at another table who had ordered the same and their bone had been picked clean. Maybe I had gotten a bad batch. Or maybe knee joints shouldn’t be used for food. I’m going with the latter.
That’s it for Prague. I’m going to try and play catch-up on the blog in the next couple days. Tomorrow, I’m leaving Salzburg for Florence, Italy – and hopefully some sunny weather. That means I need to get the blog caught up on Vienna and Salzburg. I’ll see how that goes. Wifi has been terrible here, I’m tethered to my phone in order to upload this post. Hopefully Italy will be better on that front.