Prague #5of7

When we visited Prague in 1995, there was no Czechoslovakia anymore. In January 1993, as a result of the "Velvet Divorce" Czechoslovakia was peacefully replaced by two independent states: Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

The Wenceslas Square really isn’t, but is a very, very wide street that extends for perhaps a half-mile down the hill from the National Museum. If you watched TV during the Prague uprising, you saw this street and this building. That is one of the joys of travel, “name and picture catching” — a familiar sight or a word on TV or in a newspaper, sparks memories from our trips. We like that even more than name dropping.

This year the exhibit in Prague’s Klausen Synagogue consisted of artwork created by children in the Terezin concentration camp, during WW II. It’s sad to see pictures of ordinary life, drawn by children who most likely never had a chance to experience that way of life. Terezin is the concentration camp the Nazi’s used for propaganda purposes.

Near the Intercontinental Hotel we talked to a lady who now owns and operates a Bed & Breakfast near San Francisco. She was born in Prague, spent time in Auschwitz when she was 14 years old, and is now revisiting her hometown and that place of horror. It’s interesting to note, her husband is German.

In 1991 a vendor was selling marionettes that were as nice as we have ever seen. Emmy was interested, then she knew better, then for the next few days, wondered why she hadn’t bought one. Emmy also wished she had bought some of the crystal candlesticks. Our next visit, in 1995, at the Charles Bridge she again saw the puppets she liked, so she bought Pinocchio ($16), but she couldn’t find a Geppetto (his maker) marionette.

The campsite where we stayed two different years, is located in Branik, eight miles south, on the Vltava River, at the streetcar station for line 3 and 17, a 12¢ ticket from downtown. One day, after a full day of sightseeing, Emmy would have given anything not to walk that “last mile” from the streetcar to the RV in the campsite. Later, since the ambulances weren’t running a regular schedule, Emmy stayed in the RV while I just had to visit Prague after dark. I was tempted to hire a horse drawn carriage for a ride through the streets of Old Town Prague, but Emmy wasn’t along, so no sale.