Czech Please

This past weekend, some friends and I decided to break our trend of traveling in Western Europe and head to the Czech Republic. Our hostel in Prague was just outside Old Town Square. Believe it or not, Old Town Square and the surrounding Old Town are made up of very old buildings. The architecture here is amazing, dating back to the 13th century. Looking around the square after a tour of the city, I was able to identify many of the buildings. From the center of the square, I could see the gothic Týn Cathedral, the baroque St. Nicholas Church, Old Town Hall, and a medieval astronomical clock. Next to me, in the middle of the square was a statue of Jan Hus, a religious reformer who was burned at the stake in Constantinople. However, after looking through the rest of the Prague blogs, I decided not to write about any of this. Instead, I will focus on the new restaurants and bars that now occupy the majority of these unbelievable buildings.

Don’t get me wrong, the Prague Castle and Charles Bridge are awesome architectural and historical artifacts; but, when I went to Prague, I decided to look for something significant that might be overlooked by most tourists. I found that something in Prague’s unique restaurant, pub, and bar scene.
In a Prague blog made available to us by our very own Tim Montgomery, were a number of suggestions as to where to locate the best food and drink in Prague. As we began hopping from restaurant to restaurant and bar to bar, some common themes began to pop up. First, everything was very cheap. Although New Town is slightly cheaper than Old Town, we were still paying the equivalent of $1.19 for a half liter of beer. That’s less than one euro! The reason for this excellent exchange rate is Prague’s extreme inflation in 1991 and 1993. This inflation was the result of radical government policies designed to provide more control of the economy. The details of these monetary policies and are explained in this article.

To make the awesome exchange rate even better, the quality of food and beer at each of our stops was excellent. I picked up on the fact that many dishes and all of the beer you will find in Prague is part of Czech culture. Pilsner and Budweiser can both have their roots traced back to the Czech Republic, as both were German words for cities there. Today, almost every restaurant and bar has a contract with one of these beers making them readily available. This simple observation is supported by the fact that the Czech Republic consumes more beer per capita than any other country in Europe. Combine one of these beers with a traditional Czech dish like beef and dumplings and you can have an excellent meal for around $5. Just remember, unlike most of Western Europe, gratuity is not included in your bill.

The final theme that I picked up on between the various bars and restaurants were the buildings themselves. Almost every place we visited had some sort of basement sitting area. Sometimes, the entire restaurant would be underground. When I got home and looked for an explanation for this phenomenon, I discovered something very unique to Prague. Prague has always suffered from flooding, with the most recent one occurring in 2002. After constant flooding in the 13th century, the city planners decided upon a clever solution: raise the streets up one floor. Only today is Prague beginning to dig itself out. Underground passages and courtyards are now becoming homes to bars, restaurants, and shops throughout Prague. Descending into these underground areas is like hopping into a time machine. In many of them, the original stone work still lines the walls and the outlines of what were once windows can be spotted if you look carefully. I only wish I had known this before I left Prague so as to have a closer look at these pieces of history.


Tim’s Thoughts:
http://mudecactivities.wordpress.com/2010/05/27/563/

Economy:
http://www.bates.edu/prebuilt/Begg.pdf

Streets Raised:
http://www.timeout.com/prague/features/320/prague-area-guide

Inside the Square

For my final weekend of travel in Europe I decided to explore the city of Prague. Prague is a very unique city with its diverse architecture and people. The Old Town Square brings all of the locals and tourists together due to its historical and current significance. This square is a common place for celebrations and with the world cup going on it was an unbelievable experience. In the square there was one huge television which showed the games throughout the course of the day. One could get a sense of the peoples cultural identities based on the teams they cheered for and against.
Apart from the current significance of the Old Town Square as a common gathering place, one can really get a sense of history from the surrounding art and architecture. The three main structures in the square are the Tyne Cathedral, St. Nicholas Church, and Astronomical clock. The Tyne Cathedral along with many houses surrounding the area has more of a gothic appearance, while the St. Nicholas Church is a baroque style. Many of the houses and structures in this area have gothic styles due to Prague being the capital of the Holy Roman Empire in the middle ages. The basement and first floor of many buildings were gothic but then added onto years later using different forms of architecture. Along with the amazing architecture there is also a memorial located in the center of the square. At first I was unaware of the significance of the memorial until we took a tour of the city. The memorial had been built in 1915 in order to honor the 500 year anniversary of Jan Hus. The people throughout Prague had always been under the oppression of many different regimes, but Jan Hus stands as a symbol of strength against these groups. Although at the time Jan Hus stood against the oppression of the Catholic Church, the symbol of the memorial had taken on many different meanings throughout the years. Such as since World War one the statue has symbolized anti-soviet rule and later anti-communism.
The people of Prague still recognize Jan Hus as one of the most important Czech nationalists to this day. I felt that it was very interesting that one statue of this man who died around 500 years ago was still valued and helped the people get through years of oppression. The statue was built and paid for completely by donations of the public so one can understand the importance it has to nationalism in Prague.
The Old Town Square was a very interesting place to visit due to all of the excitement in the area. There are now many cafes, souvenir shops and restaurants spread throughout the square because it is one of the main tourist destinations of Prague. I had never seen so much diversity of architecture in Europe until traveling to the Old Town Square. It was amazing how much of the gothic and baroque style buildings survived throughout everything Prague had been through in the world wars. Although the Old Town Square has undergone many changes throughout the centuries, it has still preserved its historical origins.

http://www.prague.net/old-town-square
http://www.prague.cz/old-town-square/
http://www.pragueholiday.cz/old-town-square.php

Football : It's More Than Just Your Team's Name

During my stay in Prague, which is located in the Czech Republic, I witnessed the public viewing of a world cup game in the center square. The Czech Republic is an Eastern European country which used to be part of Czechoslovakia. “Following the First World War, the closely related Czechs and Slovaks of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire merged to form Czechoslovakia.” In 1993 the two countries decided to separate back out into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. This is a great example of how boarders and territory have changed overtime. The median age of the people in The Czech Republic is 38.9 years for males and 42.4 years for females. This age in my opinion is one that leads to much pride and nationalism for their country during the World Cup. They are old enough to remember old times but young enough to show emotion and pride for their country. The Czech Republic is made up of 59% unaffiliated and 26.8% Roman Catholic. 94.9% of the language spoken is Czech followed by a 2.3% in the other category. (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ez.html)

We arrived at the Old Town Square in the early afternoon and found “Hyundai Fan Park Praha.” This fan park consisted of food stands, a blow up football kicking game, a football ball riding pin as well as a gigantic screen that was playing World Cup games. I didn’t give this much thought as we passed it because not many people were there. However, most of the people in our group joined in the mood and rode the football. You could look around the Old Town Square and really see how important Football and the World Cup was to the people of Prague as well as the tourists. Later that evening we made our way back to the square for some dinner. As we were arriving we experienced a completely different atmosphere. The France vs Mexico game was just beginning. We grabbed some food from one of the Hyundai Fan Park Praha food stands and went over and watched part of the game. The French team has appeared in 12 final tournaments, winning in 1998, finishing third in 1958 and 1986, and finishing fourth in 1982. (http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/teams/team=43946/profile.html) The Mexican team has qualified for FIFA World Cup finals 14 times in all, their best finish was reaching the last eight in 1970 as well as 1986. This is their fifth appearance in a row to the finals and they have been beaten out in the Round of 16 all five times. (http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/teams/team=43911/profile.html) Thus we can see that both teams have a lot of emotion and desire to win. You could witness much nationalism from the fans of both teams. I also witnessed nationalism and team pride from the players of the Football teams. As we took our spot I looked around and the entire square was full of jerseys of either French players or Mexican players. You could both hear and feel the emotion filling the square. You could smell the mixture of hot dogs and sausages with the stale smell of beer. As the game progressed you could feel the tension and emotion grow. After Javier Hernandez scored the first goal for Mexico, you could have heard the roaring and felt the rumble for miles. After watching most of the game in the square we decided to divert from this scene and head towards a bar to watch the last few minutes of the match. While we were walking away from the square we could hear the fans and crowed for a long way. They would get really loud and then they would go quite and this pattern continued the whole time. After arriving at the bar, we watched the last bit of the football game. I felt the same type of atmosphere while watching the game in the bar as I did while sitting in the square. It was a true experience to witness a World Cup game in Europe. In the end Mexico came out on top 2-0 and I felt like most people were very happy about this.

Map to Old Town Square

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Größere Kartenansicht

Other Links

- https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ez.html

- http://europa.eu/abc/european_countries/eu_members/czechrepublic/index_en.htm

- http://europa.eu/abc/european_countries/eu_members/czechrepublic/index_en.htm

Czechin' out the World Cup in Praha

This weekend I was very excited to travel to Prague, since it was going to be my first visit to an Eastern European city. While the stereotype of Eastern Europe is that everything is run down, Prague may have been the most beautiful city I’ve visited to date. We spent most of our time in the Old Town, which displayed much of the

architecture from the 14^th -17^th centuries, when the city flourished under King Charles IV and the Habsburg dynasty. It was easy to see on a map where the winding city streets of the Old Town ended and the grid of the New began. Before I visited Prague, I assumed the city was mostly eastern orthodox, since the common (mis)conception is that all of Eastern Europe practices the orthodox denomination. I was surprised to see the abundance of religious relics of varying religions throughout the city, from the majestic 14^th century Roman Catholic St. Vitus Cathedral, to the beautiful Jubilee Synagogue, located within the city’s Jewish distr

ict.

Another aspect of Prague that caught my attention was the Czech koruna currency. Currently the Czech Republic is a member of the E.U., but is one of the countries not within the economic union, so it still uses its own money. While the Czech Republic will attempt to enter the monetary union in the future, it was somewhat refreshing to see a currency that is associated with the nationalistic symbols for one specific country. The Czech korunas is one of the most stunning looking currencies I’ve come across, displaying portraits of former Kings and heroes.

While Prague is a city filled with magnificent medieval monuments, but some of my favorite moments in the city were watching soccer at the World Cup Park. Nestled within the impressive baroque and gothic architecture of the Old Town Square, the World Cup Park consisted of an area filled with food, beer (including the original Czech Budweiser), live entertainment, crowds of rowdy football fans cheering on their country, and a proje

ctor playing all the games of the weekend. While we were there, I was able to watch bits and pieces of four different games, Greece vs. Nigeria (Παμε Ελλαδα!), U.S. vs. Slovenia, Germany vs. Serbia, and England vs. Algeria. Watching the matches provided for some of the entertainment, the most interesting part was watching how fans came together to celebrate their teams. As different games ended and a new one started, different hordes of fans would file their way into the park; drunken Englishmen singing “I’m English ‘til I die!”, masses of flag-waving Germans decked out in red, yellow and black, and of course rowdy Americans displaying the red white and blue with pride. It was nationalism at its finest. It was interesting to see how crowds of people, who were most likely strangers before, suddenly became united just by the color of the jersey they were wearing, or the flag they were waving. Although there were many tourists from around the globe watching, there were quite a bit of Czech locals as well. While the Czech national team did not qualify for the tournament, it was interesting to see which teams the locals decided to pledge their allegiance. Due to its close proximity to the Czech border, the Germans received a lot of support, and the Czechs were rooting harder for Slovenia than they were for the United States. While fans from the same country obviously gravitated towards each other during the games, it was interesting to talk with some of the fans around the world to hear there perspective on the games, and their experiences in Prague. Being able to watch the world’s most popular game amongst hundreds of fanatical soccer enthusiasts was one of the highlights of my trip to Prague. While wandering the beautiful city streets was a memorable experience, the hours I spent experiencing the patriotic/nationalistic values soccer brought out was something I’ll never forget.

Czech out Prague

The first step off the metro in Prague was magnificent. The cobblestone streets are still intact, and the buildings survived the world wars. As my friends and I wondered through old town, past the square and clock towers, we found ourselves to be in a different neighborhood. We kept walking towards the hostel, but the buildings became less beautiful, and more modern and run down. Once we found our hostel and settled in, I realized what a difference there was from old town to new town.
Prague is the capitol of the Czech Republic, which it has been called since the breakup of Czechoslovakia in 1993. Just 21 years ago, Prague was behind the iron curtain of the Soviet empire. The city today is one of the most visited in Europe, but it has yet to overcome the socialist past.
After we slept in and got bagels and unlimited refills at Bohemian Bagel , We spent the day walking around the city, across the Vltava River on the Charles Bridge, and walked around the Prague Castle. The city is gorgeous. World War II, which destroyed entire cities like Berlin, did not destroy Prague, as few buildings were destroyed.
Once we arrived in the center square, the first thing I noticed was not the beautiful astronomical clock that has dominated the skyline since the 15th century but the huge Hyundai Fan Park. The fan park presented by Hyundai consisted of a huge TV screen that aired all of the World Cup games. In-between the USA and Slovenia game and the England Algeria match, we saw “hobos” dancing in the square to techno music. After our obnoxious laughter, I realized that this was not a scene in many European or western cities. Along with the dancing, thousands showed up wearing their flags, jerseys, hats and horns. Although I rarely watch soccer in the US, I found myself chanting “USA” at each good play.
The Czech people do not have a national team in the world cup, but since many countries that border the Czech Republic like Germany do have a team, many still gather in the main square to show their support. Although the world cup is in South Africa and most nations do not have teams, most Europeans still show emphatic support for a nation. The central square of Prague that has been converted into a festival for soccer, food and beer symbolizes the nations hunger for fun and nationalism.
After the games, I became so involved in the architecture around me as we overheard the tour guide; he stated that the Czech government required all newborns to have one of the names inscribed on the clock. I could not imagine the United States having such a law, or if anyone would follow it. Beautiful churches and beautiful bohemian architecture similar to Germany’s Bavaria also surround the skyline of the square.
The city of Prague is a must see for all students. It offers the sights, architecture and history of most European countries, but it is also is a growing economy that has recently been admitted into the European Union. The currency is still the koruna since the government has postponed the adoption of the Euro. Although the currency is difficult to use since every euro is 26 koruna, mostly everything is cheap or affordable. For around 70 euro, 6 people along with myself enjoyed a 5 star Czech meal along with beer and appetizers. For the best bargain’s, move away from the center square, or visit new town to find beer for under one euro. Once I got my money, I received a 20-koruna coin dating from 1993, or the first year the country was called the Czech Republic.
As we left Prague on the very slow train towards Munich, I got a taste of old Eastern Europe. The stations we passed were in disrepair, plants grew from under the tracks, and the communist style apartment block buildings lines in graffiti screamed “Iron Curtain.” It was my only picture of what life was like in the Czech Republic outside of the glamorous life in Prague.
I arrived in Prague knowing that the city had an intense history, like every other European city. Although, the past Soviet influence and the western European world are clashing, the city is thriving in the 21st century, but it is also recovering from the command economy it was under only 21 years ago.

The Impact of Jan Hus

Jan Hus has had a huge impact of the shaping of Prague into what it is today. His two major contributions were to the language and to religion.

Jan Hus, known to us better as John Hus, lived from 1300 to 1415. He was born in Bohemia but moved to Prague to study and later became the leader of the national Czech party. He became a preacher and went on to influence the writings of John Wycliffe. Both Hus and Wycliffe questioned and attacked doctrines of the Catholic Church. They believed in predestination and disagreed with the power given to the hierarchy of the church.

Another one of John Hus’s major complaints against the Church centered around the issue of language. He strongly believed Catholic mass should be given in the local language, or vernacular. He preached in both the Bohemian language and in Czech. He also translated Wycliffe’s work into Czech.

Today, the predominate language of Prague remains Czech. According to NationMaster.com, the percentage Czech is spoken by 94.9% of the country with Slovak being second most popular at 2%. Czech is a Western Slavonic language. Jan Hus greatly influenced the Czech language because he was the one who introduced a series of diacritical marks that change pronunciation and distinguish it from other Western Slavonic languages. One of his greatest contributions to the language was the establishment of the háček into Czech spelling which represents each sound by a single symbol.

It is surprising to me that the Czech language dominates today after learning that is was suppressed for centuries. From 1620 to 1918 the Habsburgs had control over Czech land and forbid the use of the language. This reminds me of the similar situation with Spain. Dictator Franco suppressed and forbade the use of Catalan language. In both cases, the forbidden languages not only survived, but thrived!

English is rapidly becoming the second language and after spending time in Prague, I would agree with this statement. Everywhere I went, whether it was a souvenir shop or clothing store popular among locals, almost everyone I encountered spoke some English.


Hus’ contribution to the Czech language is less well known than his contribution to the evolution of religion. John Hus continued to preach against the Catholic Church, even in 1410, when the Pope banned the writings and ideas of Wycliffe. Huss and his ideas gained many followers, which came to be known as the Hussites. Many Hussites were attacked and even forced to leave the country. John Hus openly attacked the Pope’s sale of indulgences, which caused the Pope to place the city of Prague under a papal interdict. All churches closed and church related activities were banned.

In 1414, Hus was called to the Constance Church Council to be a part of the ending of The Great Schism. Instead, he was imprisoned and tried as a heretic and sentenced to death by burning at the stake. Hus’ death was significant, but not as much as the legend he left behind.

Today, walking around the city of Prague, it is evident the impact Hus made of religion. There are several churches in Prague that were part of the reformation movement led by Hus. The Bethlehem Church has special significance as it, according to our tour guide, is the first Protestant church. John Hus preached here and this where most of the reformative movement took place. There came a point, however, when the Catholicism won popularity in the Czech Kingdom and converted this church into a Catholic one.


After my visit to Prague, it is apparent that John Hus is revered. Understandably so, with his great contributions to religion and the Czech language. There is a huge John Hus monument in the Old Town square. “It shows two groups of people, a young mother symbolizing national rebirth” (http://www.prague.cz/prague-old-town.asp) and victorious Hussites and Protestants who were forced into exile. I find it interesting that this large monument was built entirely by donations in the 1900’s. Monuments are very symbolic and representative, and in this case, it is telling that the monument was not erected by the government or large organization, but by everyday citizens who hold John Hus with high esteem.

Another thing I find interesting is that there is a public holiday devoted to Jan Hus in the Czech Republic on July 6, the anniversary of his death. This, despite the fact that the majority of Czechs describe themselves as non-religious and Catholicism is the dominant Christian religion. I find this ironic since Hus’ ideas stirred such controversy and even war, but today non-Protestants country takes a national holiday in honor of him. This speaks well of the country that move on from such differences in such a respectable way.

Fan Park nation

Walking into Old Town Square (map shown below) in the middle of one of the most beautiful cities in Europe I was taken back by the mass amount of people and activities going on in the enlarged area. Since Dr. Prytherch had spoken of cities putting on a “show” for the World Cup games in the middle of their main squares I knew instantly that it had to be for that. It was called “Hyundai Fan Park Praha.” The first thing I noticed was the huge flat screen and all the people gathered around it, sitting, standing and cheering. This had to be for soccer. In the square, the city had filled the area with food and drinking stands, a stage for live concerts, games for kids and adults of all ages, and the big flat screen. My favorite game that all my friends and I tried was

the soccer “bull.” It was like riding a bull but in soccer ball form. It was the hardest thing to stay on, but the funniest thing in the square to watch people attempt to do. The link listed below goes into more detail about the Hyundai Fan Park in Prague.

After a long day of walking around Prague’s “new town,” we wandered back into “old town” to see what World Cup game was on next. We had made it just in time for the USA vs. Slovenia game and I was so excited to be cheering for my own country along with the other Americans in Prague that day. It was such an awesome feeling to see so many Americans in one place in a foreign city like Prague. Liked we talked about in class last week, it doesn’t matter if you know the players, their scoring record, or even the teams overall winning record, if they’re wearing a jersey for your country, you’re going to take pride in that and scream your head off for that player and team and that’s exactly what I did! There were other insane fans wearing big American flags as capes and there was even one guy wearing American flag underwear. I obviously couldn’t compete with that, but I used my voice instead. My friends and I grabbed a beer and took a seat with all the other people intently watching. Once I sat down and had a good view of the game, I was filled with anticipation and excitement to cheer for the USA. The game was underway and I was getting into it a little more than my friends were. Every chance the USA had at scoring I would tense up and yell and when they did score I was up on my feet high-fiving people around me, jumping and screaming with joy. Soon enough it was tied 2-2 and there was only five minutes left when USA had a corner kick and one of our players came out of no where and slammed it in. That goal was when I knew we had won. Every single American fan and anyone who was cheering for them was standing, yelling, and proudly waving their American flag high in the air. It was definitely a surreal feeling being there at that exact moment in the middle of the city of Prague, watching USA win a World Cup game. After all of the excitement began to settle down, the goal was looked over by the refs and they came to the conclusion that the player who had scored was off sides and the goal was taken away. Of course I was upset at first, but I had to think of the bigger picture and realize that a tie is better than a loss and that I was having an amazing time making new friends with complete strangers and cheering for my country. For more information on the Fifa World Cup, see link below with schedules, scores and other history on this crazy phenomena.

Throughout the game I couldn’t help but think of nationalism and what it means to me. What I and many other Americans were doing that day during the game was how I would define it: taking pride in our team and embracing our identity as Americans and what that entails. Nationalism, according to the article by Foer, is “a battle for nationhood and an ideology that helps create and maintain nation states.” Seeing that game and being there for it was a moment I will never forget. That park will be there for the rest of the World Cup and people from all over the world will sit in the exact same spot as me and cheer for their country and have the exact same feelings that I did. In that way, globalization can also be connected to the World Cup and to that Fan Park in the Old Town Square in Prague.

(Map of Old Town Square)

http://www.fifa.com/

http://www.praha.eu/jnp/en/entertainment/sport/fifa_world_cup_in_old_town_square.html