"Praha the beautiful" a Prague Travel Page by rexvaughan

My cursory and superficial exposure to the history of the Czech Republic leaves me with the impression that, because they were always being sort of in the middle of things they got buffeted about by warring factions a lot of the time. Think about it. Germanic and Slavic peoples, Catholics and Protestants and most recently the East and West in the Cold war all came at and through these folks. It seems to have left them a bit independent in their thinking and actions which helped them maintain their own identity and pride in their culture.

The Golden Age of Prague was probably the 14th C when the Charles Bridge and St. Vitus Cathedral were built. The ruler at the time was Charles IV, the Holy Roman Emperor. He seems to have been intelligent, educated and enlightened, particularly for that time. He spoke 5 languages and founded Charles University in Prague, the first in central Europe. His name was originally Wenceslas but my understanding is that it is not the same but that Charles promoted the legend of the “Good King.”

Apparently before 1989 Prague was a pretty bleak and dismal place with dirty buildings and public places like the Charles Bridge and the economy was pretty low. It is now an extremely lovely place and has been spruced up. One of the things that made an impression on us was the friendliness and openness of the people. On more than one occasion when we were boarding the metro or tram a young woman got up to give my wife her seat. (One of the few advantages of being mature. We don’t use the ‘o’ word.) Also we stayed in a small B & B run by a lady a few years younger than us and her mother whom we guessed to be in her 80’s. As we had come shortly after Hurricane Katrina had devastated New Orleans, they (as did many) expressed their sorrow and sympathy. This lady also told us that they had send a monetary contribution to the Katrina Relief Fund. Restores one’s faith in humanity.