Prague

The last time I was in Prague was 1968 and the Russian soldiers were in the streets (although they hadn't cracked down yet). The Russians are still here, but now it's a plague (according to the locals) of Russian tourists. Prague is overrun with tourists, and it's only April. On every street corner you see people puzzling over maps trying to figure out what to see next. We visited the Museum of Communism, and then did the standard tourist thing in the main square, watching the overrated 'astronomical' clock do its hourly parade of saints and sinners. After some more strolling through the Old Town, we took the Metro out to the southeast part of town to run with the Prague Hash House Harriers. After a good run through the woods, and a couple of cans of Staropramen, we adjourned to a local 'koliba' (traditional Czech restaurant) for dinner and more beers.

It rained most of Monday, so we put on the Gore-Tex and did our best to check off more tourist sights. It was free day at the National Museum, so we spent an hour looking at rare minerals, Emil Zatopek's track shoes and other Czech curiosities. After that, we made our way down to the Karlovy Most (Charles Bridge) and walked over to the west side of the river. After a quick visit to the John Lennon Wall and fortified by cakes and coffee, we went up to the Prague Castle.
The people of Prague have made a tradition out of defenestrating people (i.e., throwing them out of windows). This window at the Castle

was the scene of the 2nd Defenestration of Prague in 1618, an event which started the 30 Years War. (The defenestrees survived the drop, since there was a large dung heap under the window.)

In the evening, we went to a concert of the Guarneri Trio (two of the three play Guarneris) at the Rudolfinium, with music by Brahms, Mendelssohn and Dvorak.