Czech and Slovakian Adventures

~ Musings on the Czech Republic ~

We popped off the Prague train, energetic and eager. I remember turning to Jess and saying, “For me, this will be the first truly foreign place we’ve visited.” Devouring history books had given me a backstory, however broad, of every place we had visited up til now. But for Prague and the Czech Republic? I felt disarmed; the 20th century was the limit of my knowledge here. We walked by statues of men on horseback I did not recognize and strode past historic structures of old town Prague I had never heard of before. With a mixture of unease and curiosity, we ventured into a city new to us both.

Prague was a strange and often frustrating chapter in our journey. I became excited for its history museum only to discover that it was closed for the summer, due for renovations. I learned of a beautiful baroque library, the Klemintinum, only to discover that it would cost ~$13.50 just to look in at it without being permitted to step inside. We hiked up to the base of Prague Castle, only to confront a gate preventing us from accessing so much as a lookout spot without coughing up some cash.

The city of Prague is one of contradictions. In one moment, you can see and be awed by architecture & decor spectacular enough to rival any equivalent in Western Europe. Yet this is easily the most commercialized European city I’ve ever seen. Strip bars, garish tourist traps, and gambling dens littered Wenceslas Square and elsewhere. Walking throughout the city was like uncovering a montage of historical beauty concealed, monetized and then reshaped into a “party city,” an adult European Disneyland. A take supported, to my incredulousness, by the sight of Mickey Mouse himself inexplicably waving at people in the center of one historic square.

Yet our story of Prague was not one of disappointment alone. A silver lining presented itself in the Prague Communist Museum, one of the most powerful and comprehensive museums I’ve ever seen. We loved poking around markets, peeking into churches, and witnessing the wonders of the Mucha gallery. But, by the end of it all, we found ourselves wistfully dreaming of what a smaller town and more genuine Czech experience would have been like. We will just have to come back.

~ Musings on Slovakia ~

After the ups and downs of Prague, we hopped off the train in Bratislava with some trepidation. I was reluctant to push the curtain aside, afraid I would discover a replica of our underwhelming Czech experience. And, at first, we did have a surge of disappointment. Seeking a casual walk of old town after arrival, we walked out to Bratislava’s Blue Church. The view on the way was one of grassy overgrowth, empty business windows, and graffitied walls. We were confused and with ever shrinking expectations. Was that really Bratislava’s old town? Was that what they regarded as historic buildings?

Then we looked at a map, watched a YouTube video of another tourist’s Bratislavan adventures and discovered how wrong we had been.

Minutes later, we found ourselves watching the sun set along the side of Bratislava Castle. Below, the slowly fading golden glow illuminated a quiet cobblestone path. On one side was an angelic statue with a sword of flame. On the other, a jade-colored Orthodox Church tower stood proudly in the distance. Every block featured a new cafe with a relaxed atmosphere and friendly staff. The amount of people visible in any direction was easily half of what we had encountered in Prague.

This… now this I could get used to.

Our Slovakian experience has been wonderful. After Bratislava, we trekked onward to the town of Zilina. We explored a beautiful park with only one or two other people nearby. We watched from a church overlooking the town square as mist rolled in off of the hills nearby. From Lucerne to Salzburg to Vienna to Prague to Bratislava, the rainy peace of Zilina was the smallest town atmosphere we had experienced since Unterseen, and we drank in every second of it.

It has to be said that to compare our Slovakia experience to that of the Czech Republic is unfair. With the way we had planned things, we did not get the chance to see a small Czech town that might have been just as magical as Zilina. Regardless, we will walk away from this dual experience with better memories of Slovakia and a greater urge to return. I hope that this can be a guide, however limited in scope, to those of you out there considering a trip to one or the other.

Now on to Katowice, Krakow, Warsaw, and new Polish adventures!