Prague off the beaten track
Have you ever been to Prague? Probably yes, and more than once. Me too. That is why this time I would like to describe something new, trying to steer clear of the well-known attractions. My Prague wanderings took in the Metronome and its astonishing history, and I spent a lot of time in the Žižkov district, where I ended up in the Pivnice U Sadu pub, where Václav Havel is said to have held secret meetings, while nearby, at a breakfast market, I was surprised by exotic dishes. I saw David Černý's provocative sculptures and the alternative culture centre Studio ALTA. 15 km from the city centre there is... a little Hanoi, where you can feel the atmosphere and taste the flavours of real Vietnam.
The Metronome stands at the highest point of Letná park in Prague, looking down from a steep slope over the Vltava and the city's oldest districts. A pendulum marking time has not always stood here. In 1949 construction began here on the world's largest monument to Stalin. It was completed in 1955 and demolished as early as 1962. Today the marble-paved area around it is where skaters practise, and the view from the hill over old Prague is breathtaking.
Žižkov, Studio ALTA and David Černý's sculptures
Žižkov is a former working-class district; the trade unions were strong here and many supporters of the Communist Party lived here. At one time there were plans to demolish many of its beautiful tenement houses and build blocks of flats, the so-called paneláks. Fortunately, the plan failed, and today this hilly area behind the main railway station is buzzing with life. The sheer number of pubs, found on almost every corner, and the laid-back atmosphere are dazzling.
Walking from Prague's Žižkov through a 303-metre tunnel under Vítkov hill (the inscription "ne boj" / "don't be afraid" is there to encourage you into the dark abyss), you reach the Karlín district. This district never had a good reputation, but the revitalisation that followed the great flood of 2002 breathed new life into this part of the capital. One of the places that energises the neighbourhood is Studio ALTA. It is an alternative arts centre, open since May 2020, created to develop dance and physical theatre. There is a café and a vast garden, and the organisers welcome every attempt by artists to make their mark.
David Černý is a world-famous Prague sculptor and provocateur. His sculptures have become a permanent part of the Czech capital's landscape. The 52-year-old artist has an extraordinary ability to shock even the Czechs, who seem to be one of the most laid-back societies in Europe. "Piss", his two peeing figures, stands next to the Franz Kafka Museum in Malá Strana. It shows two men with moving hips urinating into a pool shaped like........ the Czech Republic. With this sculpture David Černý wanted to celebrate his country's entry into the European Union. What did he mean? Simply that joining the EU is as pleasant as relieving yourself. And the Czechs know a thing or two about that, drinking enormous amounts of beer. The famous "Babies" can be found on the TV tower in the Žižkov district: the 10 sculptures were created as a temporary installation for the European Capital of Culture year; they were supposed to be dismantled after a year, but thanks to their positive reception they have stayed to this day. There are more of Černý's sculptures in Prague: "Horse", "Brownnosers", "Hanging Out", "Trabant", "Embryo"......
The Trhy na Jiřáku market and Little Hanoi at Sapa
The Trhy na Jiřáku breakfast market on the main square of the Žižkov district buzzes with life from Wednesday to Friday, 8.00 - 18.00. You can buy fruit, vegetables, pickles, cured meats and bread, often straight from the producers. You can also eat well; among the more exotic stalls there was a cream of seafood soup and filling Jamaican sandwiches. The backdrop to the market is a monumental church surrounded by a well-kept park.
Where in Prague can you eat the best authentic pho soup? Without a doubt at SAPA. The Vietnamese are the third largest ethnic minority in the Czech Republic, and their "capital" is TTTM Sapa - Obchodní a kulturní centrum (in Vietnamese: Trung Tâm Thương Mại Sapa). The place known as "Little Hanoi" covers 35 hectares, and once you are there you feel as if you are in Asia. 7000 people run the Vietnamese shops, restaurants and stalls selling exotic vegetables and spices. There are also nurseries, hairdressers and.... a Buddhist temple.
Polish traces in Prague and the Marian Column
Wandering around Prague, I came across all sorts of traces of Poland. What charmed me most was a plaque thanking Jan III Sobieski for the victory at Vienna, or more precisely for saving Europe from certain prohibition. When in Malá Strana, look out for the beautiful building that houses the Polish embassy. It is surrounded by a lovely garden, and almost every other nation envies us this complex.
In Karlín there is a memorial to Ryszard Siwiec, who set himself on fire in protest against the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops. If you want to discover more traces of Poland in the Czech capital, I recommend Polska Praga
Friends sometimes laughed at me when I leafed through old guidebooks before a trip. They said I should look for more up-to-date info. My answer was always the same: "well, they haven't built any new monuments, have they?". And it turned out that in Prague you can indeed build a brand-new historic monument. Mariánský sloup v Praze na Staroměstském náměstí is the Marian Column, which vanished from the Czech capital's landscape for 102 years. The 14-metre monument stood there from 1650 to 1918; at the top was a gilded statue of the Virgin Mary, with four statues of angels.
It was meant to commemorate the saving of Prague from the Swedes in 1648, but that was soon forgotten, and in the centuries that followed critics saw it mainly as a monument to Catholic fundamentalism of the Counter-Reformation kind. Another jarring note was the fact that in June 1621, 27 non-Catholic nobles had been executed there. The toppling and dismantling of the column in 1918 was a happening staged by Prague's bohemians, backed by residents of Žižkov and the local firemen. The campaign to put the monument back up ran from 1990, and in June 2020 this new-old monument returned to the square in Prague, stirring up fresh controversy...
Beyond its world-famous monuments, Prague has a lot to offer off the beaten track. The outer districts have their own character, colour and plenty of attractions. Whether you are after food, art, Asian exoticism or traces of Poland, you will find interesting places all over the friendly Czech capital.
