A Blague From Prog: People Watching

Prague is a great place to sit and people watch and that is exactly what I did...except I have a zoom lens so I can take pictures of people without them knowing. Haha. Sneaky sneaky. I went around Old Town taking some pictures of people (some while holding the camera at my waist to be more discreet) and tried to capture people without them noticing me. Id say most of the people in my shots are tourists, Old Town is where all the tourists go to see the pretty buildings and stuff. Which brings me to the next thing I wanted to talk about.

Tourism. It is really apparent in Old Town especially and even more so if you leave Old Town and go to outer Prague to see where people actually live. I know that the tourism is a big money maker but it is really sad to see sometimes. There are 14th century buildings with advertisements stuck on the side. Lots of department stores, kitschy souvenir shops, and way over priced restaurants line every street. Numerous McDonalds have even infiltrated. (Which I sadly have to admit that Ive eaten at a couple times. Haha. They are the only thing that is open 24 hours - which the Czech call Nonstop - so we all grab the night tram and go get a Party Meal - 3 burgers and 3 fries - at the Nonstop McDonalds.) It is hard to get a grasp on what Prague is really about, its history and culture in this maze of tourist traps. Its really sad because this is probably the only thing that people visiting see. The school is in the middle of Old Town but our pension (hotel) is in a part of town called Vinohrady, which is not touristy at all. This helps us get a little better view of the real Prague and it is so much better than what most people see in Old Town. Maybe not as beautiful but more complex and real.

Anyways, check out the pictures below of people watching, mixed with some other sights, and I will write again soon. Hope all is well back in the States! Im going to Vienna this weekend so Ill bring back some good stories.