Prague

                                      THE GOLEM OF PRAGUE AND COMMUNISM WITH CAFES

                                                               HE SAYS:

Prague is a beautiful and civilized city. It is rightfully called “The Paris of Eastern Europe.” Prague is lithe and elegant in an understated way. Paris knows that she is a beautiful woman; Prague is the ingénue. Prague is charming, like Quebec City. The sense of culture - history – as well as a lively café and street life belies a real vitality. It is truly a sophisticated and poly-lingual city.

Prague is affluent in a way that people in Bratislava and Budapest can only dream about. Interestingly, people in Germany and in Prague have good cell phone manners and don’t abuse other people’s space, as in N. America and Japan, with their electronic toys.  (She says: It’s true that here, people seem to be able to walk down a street without having phones glued to their ears, and they do put the phones away when they’re not being used, but there’s still that need to feel plugged in; cell phones are still everywhere, and it’s not uncommon to see 5 or 6 young people sitting at a café table, drinks in front of them, all playing with their toys and ignoring the ones sitting beside them.)

But as I look out the window of my Hilton hotel I see a large neon sign for KPMG, a major international management Kulture (read US) consulting firm. They are the new commissars.

With garish billboards, Hooters, Burger King, and Cartier (not for the locals or for most of the tourists, either) blighting every block, can the internationalization and homogenization of) be far behind? Consumerism is the new opiate of the masses. To paraphrase Descartes, “I consume, therefore I feel good.” 

Food is embarrassingly cheap, and the portions are more than large, the plate flows over with food. Yesterday the duck lunch for TWO, including spirits, cost C$11; and last night for dinner we had traditional Czech cuisine for TWO with beer and wine which cost C$20. And today we had large Czech crepes for two on the street for C$7. Don’t eat in hotels, which cost a knight’s ransom.  (We always ask the locals where they’d eat and haven’t been disappointed-or poisoned-yet)

There are two well-known Deaton indices by which to gauge a country’s quality of life and level of economic development: first, the number and size of cars; and two, the amount of tagging and graffiti. In the first instance the number of small European style cars clearly indicates a mass consumer market; as well, there are also a large number of luxury cars, BMWs, Audis, and Mercedes. This distribution of consumer goodies obviously reflects the increasingly bi-polar distribution of income and the new market driven social stratification.

I would argue that tagging and graffiti, as distinct from street art, are directly related to social problems and alienation. This conclusion is further re-enforced by the amount of tagging and graffiti that can be seen in many parts of Prague along with the piles of beer bottles and mounds of garbage. While Prague has history and culture, like Bratislava it has a soft underbelly. But tourists see what they want to see, especially if they want to be arty.

SHE SAYS:  Maybe I’m one of those “arty” types mentioned above, but I disagree with the last paragraph!  I don’t think the tagging we see here is a reflection of deep social unrest at all!  It’s just the way kids all over the world these days try to express themselves and try to be like kids everywhere else.  Yes, it’s vandalism and expensive to remove, but the tags are works of art, and if we’d talked to kids in the know, I’m sure they’d have identified the tagging heroes who choose the toughest places to work or the toughest shapes to make.  There’s no “Down with pigs” type stuff; it’s all elaborate, brightly-coloured names and initials. (He says: I bet she flunked Soc 101)

We toured Prague and saw the magnificent Prague Castle which is beautifully maintained and offers a spectacular view of the city. Later we went to St. Vitus Church which is stunning and even outdoes the major Spanish churches. For myself, its gorgeous and intricate stained glass windows excel those of the Cambridge colleges. Walking around the Old Town, which is also now the tourist part of town, with its café life, has a real sense of vitality, including an international selection of entertainment ranging from jazz to classical to rock.

Today we went to the Old Jewish Quarter. (SURPRISE!!) Jews have been in Prague since the 10^th century. Today there are 5 synagogues, and the famous stratified Old Jewish cemetery. The throngs of Jewish tourists who were buying religious ritualistic gear suggest that we have gone from the running of the tourist, to the shearing of the faithful. It was really bloody embarrassing watching tourists line up and pay homage at the Old Jewish Cemetery. It was like a revival meeting; all we needed was Rabbi Elmer Gantry. Our rabbis will no doubt soon sell indulgences and splinters. It says something about something that in order to enter the Old Jewish Quarter we had to go through an intersection, and on the corners, there were Rolex, Cartier, and Armani and Prada stores. The stetl  Jew is dead, but his children and grandchildren have credit cards.  Oi, vey….My grandparents would be spinning in their graves.

SHE SAYS:  He isn’t exaggerating!  From the old town square, take a left at Cartier.  Walk to the corner of Rolex and Prada…it was a bit much.  And when you finally get to the historic sites, the fees are enough to make you wish you’d stopped at Prada for a cheap little bag instead.  Still, the commercialization of “our precious heritage”, to quote a sign at the old graveyard, is no worse than what goes on around the world’s cathedrals.  I’m sure it’s the same in Mecca, too.  In fact, when I get home, I should have a word with MY church leaders and see if the United Church can’t jazz up Toronto a bit more with historic sites for us.

Went to a classical music recital last night at the Spanish Synagogue; both the music and the venue were beautiful.

Czechoslovakia has always has a small “l” liberal tradition. Importantly, the Communists were the only seriously organized and effective anti-Nazi resistance; so-called “democratic resistance” groups were ineffectual and spent more time fighting amongst themselves. Only the Czech communists (CP) had the necessary organizational and personal discipline, thus gaining a considerable amount of public support at that time.

Studies have clearly shown that those Jews or Jewish groups that worked with their respective local communist parties had a higher survival rate, as in Czechoslovakia.

Lidice stands as a monument to the heroism of the Czech resistance and the viciousness of the Germans. Reinhold Heinreich was head of the SS and one of Hitler’s favorites. He was appointed Governor of Czechoslovakia; he was also known as the Butcher of Prague. The British SOE trained a Czech resistance assassination team and parachuted them close to Prague. After many operational difficulties, and with a good deal of luck, they assassinated him. The SOE considered this to be a suicide mission and the Czech team wasn’t even provided with an escape route. They hid in a Prague church and shot it out with German troops for a few days before they ran out of ammunition; some were killed while others committed suicide before capture.

In reprisal for Heinreich’s assassination the Germans surrounded the village of Lidice and executed every man and school boy regardless of age; all the women and girls were sent to the death camps. It was then torched and leveled to the ground. Not since the bombing of Guernica during the Spanish civil war had there been such an international outcry. Lidice, Illinois, outside of Chicago, with its large Czech population, is named after this village.

In terms of post-war economic policy, Czechoslovakia, like the former Soviet bloc more generally, had to allocate economic resources (national income) between heavy industry and consumer goods. Economic policy at that time held that the priority should be heavy industry in its various forms. One can only hypothesize or speculate about how political history might have been different if the emphasis had been on consumer goodies, or if there had been more of a balance between the two.

That was what was meant by “liberalization”. Would this have placated people? Mystery writer Martin Cruz Smith, one of my favs,  in his Polar Star (he also authored Gorky Park) dealt with this precise issue and understood the politically seductive lure and destabilizing nature of consumerism. But the role of the consumer and retail sectors has always held an uneasy, and neglected, place in Marxian economic theory. But “What’s it all about, Alfie?” Is unbridled consumerism the same thing as democracy?

SHE SAYS:  Getting’ a bit heavy here, aren’t we?  I may not be 100% back to my normal critical self, but lighten up, already!

Someone once said that every country and society must find its own way towards socialism given its own history and traditions. The slogan for any future serious left-wing candidate here in Czechoslovak should be, “Communism with cafes.”

As we travel back to Vienna from Prague I am struck by the grim and dilapidated Czech countryside spotted with small red tiled villages. This stands in stark contrast to the urbanity and sophistication of Prague. And on houses, factories, stores, apartment buildings, and trains, there is graffiti and tagging that goes on for block after block, after block, after….Interestingly, this social malaise continues across the Czech countryside all the way up to the Vienna train station. Nothing subtle here….

Yet, the sunlight in the Czech countryside on our return to Vienna reminds me of Tuscany with its soft Vermeer cream white quality.

Alas, Eleanor has served notice: No more train travel with all of its schlepping of luggage. And as I struggle and sweat and swear as I lug our large overstuffed suitcases up the stairs of another overcrowded, frenetic railway station, I know that she is right.

SHE SAYS:  I know he must get SO tired saying those words so often…..  :>)

Next stop, our return to Red Vienna, as it was once called .

SHE SAYS:  Vignettes from Prague

1.     Having breakfast in the hotel one morning, I hear the woman a couple of tables to our right.

 “See that couple over there?” she bellows.  I look over and realize that everyone at the table is staring at us.

“Ssh” says one of her friends.  “They might hear”.

“It’s ok”, she says. “ They’re not American.”  (True, but we might be British, Australian….even Canadian.  Or maybe we’re from just about anywhere in bilingual Europe.)

``Look at them and find two ways to tell they`re not American`` I can feel them staring, so I start a stimulating conversation with Richard about the eggs.

After a bit, the others give up, so our cultural expert continues,. `` Number 1, look how they use their knives and forks.  Obviously European.  Number 2, they`ve been talking to each other all through breakfast and I haven`t been able to hear a word they said.  Obviously not American.  We`re louder than that.``

I chose to take it as a huge compliment!

2.    Same breakfast restaurant.  I`m in line at the buffet behind a nice couple from Philly and we talked as we walked.  There was a huge leg of Prague ham with a carving knife and fork.  Wife sliced some for herself and offered to cut some for her husband.  She was just finishing when a big ol` Texan sauntered up, stuck his plate in front of the husband`s and said, I`ll take a couple of slices, too.``  She was so shocked, she reached over to start carving again.  I said, Ànd I`ll take a couple, too.  Why don`t you just spend your whole morning here serving the rest of us.  Maybe someone will leave a tip.`` Jerk took the hint and got to the back of the line.  Husband muttered, `Damn Texans`` as he walked away.

                                                                                           

3.    Richard and I were walking on the old town square.  Fabulous place!  A young girl passes, wearing the shortest pair of cut-off jean shorts I have ever seen.  Admittedly, she would have looked good in anything she wore, but these were almost non-existent.  I looked over to see if Richard was still breathing.  His jaw was on the sidewalk and his eyes were definitely bulging.  When he saw I was watching, He picked his jaw up off the ground, assumed his usual `stern daddy`` expression of mild disapproval, and said, `What an appalling waste of a perfectly good pair of jeans.`` I laughed so hard I thought my pants would never dry!

We're now off to explore Vienna.  Our final blog will be ready in the next couple of days.