Prague

Kristen Doberer <kristendoberer@gmail.com>
Tue 1/28/2020 3:16 PM
To:

  Kara Whitaker <kwhita1620@ksu.edu>

Hey! Here’s my stuff about Prague! Sorry this is so much, haha. You don’t have
to use all of it at all, but you definitely should show your students the video I
texted you of the buildings lit up and music. That was the beginning of the 30th
anniversary video being played on the buildings and street where the actual
protests of the Velvet Revolution took place. Maybe it’s just the French horns
but MAN I almost cried, there’s so much emotion on those opening bars. It’s
been one of my favorite experiences here!

Brief history of Czech Republic: The glory days were in the 1200’s and 1300’s-
reign of King Charles IV (in Czech- “Wenceslas”) over the nation of Bohemia.
1939-1945- Germans take over. Czechoslovakia was one of the first places the
Nazis invaded. 1948- after WW2 is over, just like in Germany, the communists
take over since the country was in shambles from the war. 1989- The Velvet
Revolution takes place: a week or so after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Prague
sparks a revolution of its own against the communists and it is successful. It’s
called “velvet” because no one was killed in almost 2 weeks of protests and
demonstrations. 1993-  Czechoslovakia splits (peacefully) into two nations-
Czech Republic and Slovakia. This is an extremely brief retelling— recorded
history of who lived here starts in the 4th century 😳

Food: The cuisine here is not that amazing, it kind of looks unappetizing. Lots of
gravy, dumplings, meat dishes, schnitzel (which is basically fried
chicken/chicken-fried beef/pork), goulash, etc. The reason that Czech Cuisine
hasn’t developed like many other cuisines is because of communism.
Communists are well known for being very simple and bland in everything they
do (also the people were being controlled and oppressed) so the creative
recipes and dishes weren’t allowed- communists did not want people to enjoy
themselves. The good thing about Prague in 2020 is that it’s an incredibly
international city and there are restaurants from all over the world! I’ve found a
few Mexican places that are actually really good. A lot of Vietnamese
restaurants, Italian etc. 

Language: The language spoken here is Czech. To our American ears, it sounds
like Russian. The two languages are related, but they’re like 2nd or 3rd cousins.
I’ve noticed Czech uses a lot of accents like- š ć ī ōå. And there’s not a whole lot
of vowels. For example, a fun Czech tongue twister with no vowels is  “Strč
prst skrz krk” which means “stick a finger through the throat”. Czechs
are quite proud of how hard their language is to learn, from what I’ve
heard!
Culture: I’ve met people from all over the world here! I’ve met people from
South Africa, India, USA, Costa Rica, etc. Since the fall of communism, the
people refused to be controlled in any way and people tend to do crazy and
provocative things whenever they can- because they can. And I can’t blame
them. If generations of my family and people controlled and oppressed like they
were, I’d want the same. 
 As with the food (and basically every aspect of everything here), the culture has
been scarred by communism. Many, many buildings are plain, grey, and clinical-
looking. I imagine the communists wanted it to feel like a jail and they
succeeded. One of the most obvious things is that Czech people are VERY quiet.
Literally NO ONE talks on public transport or on the street. If they are talking,
chances are they are foreign or young enough to not have lived through
communism. This is because there were communist spies that would ride the
trams, buses, and metros to find people that were trying to resist. Czech people
are very suspicious. People do not talk to strangers, absolutely not. I once saw a
man carrying what looked to me like a mellophone case and so I plucked up the
courage to ask him about it (using my Midwest manners) and I think he said
about 2 words. It can be quite jarring to be on a tram completely packed,
shoulder-to-shoulder with people and you can hear someone sniff on the other
end of the tram. You just really feel how communism was so oppressive that it
cut straight through to the core of the culture and is still prevalent today. But
once people get inside (pubs, primarily) they are very loud and boisterous! And
once you get to know a Czech person they are very nice and welcoming-
reminds me of Kansans!

Last fall I was in Prague for the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution
(November 17-29). This was the event that ended 41 years of communist rule in
Czechoslovakia. On the 17th, police suppressed a student demonstration in
Prague (the demonstration was on the 50th anniversary of police violently
suppressing another student protest in 1939 where 1200 students were arrested
and 9 killed) and this was the tipping point for all Czechs. This sparked a series
of demonstrations that grew from 200,000 people one day, to 500,000 the next
day. Eventually the first president of Czechoslovakia, Vaclav Havel, was elected
in December. The whole city was celebrating the 30th anniversary. They had
events where the original protests happened and a hashtag that translated to
English means “Thank you that we can” (thank you that we can now live
freely/protest without retribution). The day before the anniversary started, a
protest of 20,000 people took place on the same ground that the biggest protest
30 years prior took place. This time, they were protesting the current president-
who is the richest man in Czech Republic and very corrupt. 

Pictures: Prague is well known for the astronomical clock. It tells not only the
time, but the stars and planets and moon, the season, the zodiac signs,
sunrise/set. Originally built in 1410, it actually has original animations (like a
coo-coo clock). 
 View of Prague from Vysehrad (a castle grounds formerly used by a king and
then abandoned) Basilica in Vysehrad (Saint Peter and Paul Basilica) The
Astronomical clockOld Town Square (Staromestske namesti)
This is inside the Prague Castle walls- this is the cathedral inside
Trdelnik is a famous Czech dessert. (Namesti Miru)View of Prague from Petrin
GardenPark Pruhonich