Upon arrival to Prague today, I was struck by the immediate difference in things like infrastructure and cleanliness in contrast to Vienna. It really hit home that this city so recently came out of the Velvet Revolution, yet at the same time I realized how far they’ve come in only 20 years.
Our Lonely Planet guidebook says that the city developed rapidly once it was free, but there are still plenty of rough edges to this place. And I like them. Vienna to me now seems almost too clean, too orderly. I like the street art on the buildings here, and the grittiness of the streets. In a way, it almost makes the better-kept tourist areas of the city seem inauthentic, but I must admit that I’d rather see a clean Prague Castle than a graffiti covered one.
The oldest parts of the city we visited today, around the Prague Castle grounds, were like an outdoor museum. Here are some pics… (and one of the street art at the bus station).
No comments:
Post a Comment