Czech: Prague (Museum of communism)

Most of the major sights in Prague were covered on the 1st day so the 2nd day was spent covering some other minor sights.



The Dancing house which was a controversial building(like our Esplanade). It was supposed to represent a dancing couple but was an eyesore to many.



Charles Bridge across the Vltava river



Does anybody know what this is for?



Antonin Dvorak, Czech greatest composer
Nearby was the Jan Palach square which was originally called red army square in honour of the Russians who liberated Prague in 1945. Ironically it now honours Jan Palach who burnt himself to protest the 1968 Soviet invasion



Josefov, a well preserved Jewish cemetry & synagogues after Nazis deported most of Prague's Jews to Terezin & Hitler's decision to create a "museum of an extinct race".



I saw this hooded statue reminiscent of the character in Diablo. It was actually in memory of Mozart's opera "Don Giovanni" premiered in a theatre next to it.



Black theatre which Czech is famed for



Not forgetting the puppets



Museum of communism
It basically talks about: the dream(origin of communism)-->the reality(the impact of communism on Czech)-->the Nightmare(the despair that led to the Velvet revolution). There is also an emotional video about events leading to the Velvet Revolution

The museum allows u to truly understand the significance of many sights in Prague. Just as the Nobel Prize museum in Oslo(Norway) is a must-see, the museum of communism in Prague is also a must-see. Anyway, it was quite amusing to go to this Musuem of communism in Prague soon after my Russia trip.



Soviets as the Liberators of the Czech from the Nazis



The exceptionally expensive Stalin monument which was destroyed



Stalin & his Socialist world
The exhibition talks abt Soviets' space exploration developments and other technology, glorification of their status thru sports. Spying and interrogation of suspected 'enemies' of the state, devastation of Prague due to the Communists' attention on building of heavy industry are also covered.



Propaganda agst Western capitalism thru caricatures



Invasion of Prague to instil 'normalization' by the Soviets in 1968



Jan Palach who torched himself in protest



At the Jan Hus statue, 1 million peole gathered for Jan Palach's funeral procession



1989 Velvet Revolution



Wenceslas Square



This basically sums up the Velvet Revolution

Thoughts abt Prague:
Overall, I feel that most of Prague's major sight can be covered within 1-2 days. And if u give it 5-10yrs, Prague will turn out to be like any other central/Western European cities, though its buildings are not as fanciful to me

Police & ambulance sirens misused? U could hear sirens almost every now & then screaming down some roads. But dun get me wrong, Prague is as safe as any other European cities.

The little green man at some junctions only flash for an extremely short time. This means that U could get to the pt diagonically across quickly but it'll also mean that U've to walk fast across each junction. Forget abt cross some roads if U r old or disabled.

Most of Prague's sights can be covered by walking around. As such, walking tour guides r common here & everywhere U go, U can see a group of tourists following a local guide around.

Concerts common eg Dvorak, Mozart, Vivaldi.

Most pet dogs are unleashed

I must point out that holding a Singapore passport once again proves to be valuable as we do not need visa in Czech, just like previously in Estonia. Apparently like what my Taiwanese friends commented, a Singaporean passport actually grants entry to almost everywhere in the world, unlike some larger countries.

Most of Prague's tourist attractions revolve around her resentment towards communism. Eg. plaque at wencelas square commerating Jan Palach who ignited himself to protest agst 1968 Soviet invasion; John Lennon Wall; Velvet revolution memorial; Museum of communism