Pražská Muzejní Noc

◊ Last night was Prague's second annual museum night. Most of the major museums and galleries in the area were open from 7pm till 1am free of charge, many with additional special programs for the evening. The public transportation system even got in on the act, providing free transportation to all of the participants via several special bus routes. This was clearly an event aimed at the locals, unlike most events which usually are for tourists. I found it incredible that this was only the second year that this had been going on because everything ran like a well-oiled machine. Sadly, six hours is not enough to see more than a tiny fraction of what was open. We made it to several places though. Some were better than others.
◊ We began our tour with the transportation museum because it was within easy walking distance of Masarykova. I had been looking forward to seeing it for quite some time, but quickly found out that none of the displays had any English translation. I did get some free postcards however. Next up was the Prague Castle. I had already been there twice, but never inside any of the buildings other than St. Vitus Cathedral. (The first time was when my wallet was stolen.) Every thing else costs money there, but not last night. I saw the giant great hall where they used to hold indoor jousting tournaments. The ceiling was really incredible in that room. Upstairs, I saw the room where the second defenestration of Prague took place. This was when three men were almost killed by being thrown out of a high window, but somehow survived when they landed in a dung heap. There was another gallery featuring art inspired by science and fiction. There were all kinds of paintings of prehistoric animals that I recognized out of text books. At that place there was also an exhibit on fiction cover art and how a single piece of art can evolve it's way into our popular culture. Rounding out my Prazke Harad experience, I finally got to see Golden Lane, although all of the tourist shops were closed. Too bad; I couldn't get my wallet stolen a second time.

Da' Throne


Gloden Lane

◊ We walked down from the castle and crossed the river to visit the Rudolfinum, a photographic art gallery that is often praised. I don't really see why. The artist on display was Annelies ŠŠtrba. I've never hear of her before but I guess she is really famous or something. After seeing her exhibit, I have absolutely no idea why that is. Every single photo was horribly out of focus and often the colors were all wrong. The central part of the exhibition were these home movies where she just stood in one place and filmed part of a random city's skyline for a few minutes with a grainy video camera, not really panning or doing anything interesting. It was one of the most boring exhibitions of art I had ever seen. This was something that was supposed to be one of the greatest galleries in Prague. Heck, this place was the central hub of the night's free transportation.

◊ After the Rudolfinum, we went to the National Library and Klementinum. The Klementinum Tower was closed, so we decided not to go in. The Library was kind of disappointing. It was just a library. Next up we grabbed a ride over to the National Cultural Monument. Imagine a cathedral-like building, designed by a cubist architect, dedicated solely to Czech patriotism. This place is massive, on a huge ridge, and extremely... square. Everything was done in 90 degree angles. I felt like I was going to poke an eye out just looking at the darn place. I should come as no surprise that when the communists seized power, the transformed the place into a shrine for their dead leaders. It should also come as no surprise that as soon as their regime fell, the Czechs quickly moved all of the dead commies and turned it back into a cultural monument.

This horse and rider statue can be seen from far away.

◊ Lastly, we walked down to the bottom of the hill to get to the Military History Institute. It was here that I finally found The Tank. 23 was supposedly (this has come into question in recent years) the first Soviet tank to make it into Prague at the end of WWII. It was later put on a giant concrete pedestal and was one of the main symbols of communist Prague. The Czechs quickly came to view it with hatred, especially after the 1968 Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia. Ironically, the first tank into Prague that day also had the number '23'. In 1991, an art student went out in the middle of the night and painted the whole thing pink. The locals loved it, but the military was not amused. They quickly painted it green again. The next day some city council members went there and painted it pink again. As a compromise, it was moved to the Military History Museum. We took the opportunity to make a mockery of yet another piece of communist history.

Tank surfing is discouraged by authorities as a deadly activity, but young people still die from it every year. Please: tanks are meant to be ridden inside.


Me, pulling a Michael Jackson.

◊ Inside was even better. Because it was a special event, they had all sorts of additional things on display. Most notably, in the font lobby they had a row of tables set up where people were encouraged to handle all sorts of historical weapons and helmets. As you can see, we enjoyed ourselves immensely. The staffers said that non of the the items were replicas. I found this beyond surprising. Most of the things looked like they belonged in... well... a museum. By the time we finished there, it was closing on 1am so we decided to head for home. It was a heck of a night.

How many times in our live's are we going to get to handle a real panzerfaust?
(On the way home, I noticed one in the window of an antique shop for 2,000Kc. I guess there were a lot of these things left in the city when the Germans abondoned it.)

Children, do not attempt this at home. Go to Prague to do it.