The dark undertones of Prague
Posted on April 16, 2010 with 0 commentsI've never been so unaware of my surroundings. Pretty much the only thing I knew about the Czech Republic is where it is on the map. But my god, Prague is a beautiful city. After the hostel hunt, we did what we usually do - walk around excessively and find cheap food. It didn't take long to realize that our money was no good. Not that we've done any drinking on this trip, but for those interested, €50 gets you about 1200 Czech bucks, and a good pint is about 15 Czech bucks - not a bad deal...
Prague has a new drug law that in some ways is more liberal than Amsterdam's (with maybe more dignity). It's a strange one: you can possess in small amounts but you cannot sell. My guess is that the authorities are turning a blind eye to this. I admire it in some ways but at the same time it encourages something that is, by law, illegal. We three Americans had the pleasure of learning about this from a Bovarian radio journalist called Christian - and the citizens of Munich will soon be blessed with the soothing FM sounds of three American boys drunkenly squabbling on a german broadcast about how we enjoy the luxury of purchasing our exotic drugs from our southern neighbor through a very peaceful policy known as sell-guns-let-them-go-at-it-buy-drugs... and then maybe something about how we're definitely not overspending any money on a fruitless and hypocritical drug war. How do I come up with these ridiculous notions? I so crazy.
We spent our nightlife in Prague at the Chapeau Rouge, a very trendy three floors underground - bar, club, & rave. You just slowly work your way down. They have a cool performance space as well so I gave my info and intend to be back in the future.
Now, there is a video in the works attempting to capture and document these travels. I say this to entice you and to speak you fair and to introduce you a very special character. His name... is Josee Manes.
According to the wiki, Josee Manes is best known for painting the characters and symbols on the astronomical clock in Prague (which is incredibly beautiful) - but Josee Manes is so much more than that. Let me put it this way: I wasn't ready to run into the awe-inspiring, jaw dropping majesty of the statue of Josee Manes; but at the same time, I've always been ready. Justin, Tim, and I have come to accept Josee Manes as our personal lord and savior & we are spreading his gospel of sweetness. He gives us comfort when the hostels are rude, he gives us courage when in the midst of language barriers, he gives us beautiful weather when we didn't ask for it, and he gives us hope when a dangerous and malevolent volcano acts to threaten our journey home. God did not rest on the 7th day, he put some pillows under his sheets, snuck down to the ol' basement lab, and smithed into being the mold of Josee Manes. All hail Josee Manes!