The entire time we were in Prague (excluding our tour of Terezin, the concentration camp) we were comparing the city to Disney World. There really is no other way to understand and compartmentalize how fascinatingly beautiful and diverse the architecture, the city, and the landscape are. The huge castles, churches and bridges look exactly like everything Walt, the main man himself, king of the magic, wanted to achieve. However, as breathtaking as the city itself is, the swarms of tourists were not. Disclaimer- I am not a tourist. I am a traveler. There is a huge difference (or so I tell myself). I do not want to buy ugly tee shirts and fake Czech glass, nor do I want to eat at Burger King or from a deliciously marketed “Tourist Menu”. I was frustrated walking around because this remarkable, once pristine city, is tainted and somewhat cheapened by these so-called tourist attractions. Luckily, our guide knew how much we hated the masses and took us to more remote, less populated areas. London is touristy, and god bless that for the economy, but London is significantly bigger so you don’t feel like you are constantly waiting on line to go on a rollercoaster. Don’t get me wrong- Prague is fantastic but it was too crowded for me. I wanted to feel exotic for traveling to central Europe but really, I just felt like I was visiting the 6th most visited European city (it is…).
Terezin, the concentration camp, is definitely one of the most memorable places I have ever been. Hindsight- I’m so glad I went because I badly did not want to go... and I mean badly. My philosophy is, I’m on vacation therefore, I don’t want to be upset. But, my parents, masters of vacation planning and insight, thought it was something I needed to experience. And an experience it was. Terezin is eerie. It is one of the only concentration camps that was left untouched. The inscription “ Arbeit Macht Frei” or 'Work Will Set You Free" marked our journey into the walled camp. Once inside, everything was exactly as it was 60 years ago- the wooden bunk beds, the crematorium, the cells- and we were free to wander in and out of these different rooms. As cliché as it is, the only way to describe it is that it was surreal. I felt desensitized because I actually cannot understand how people could hate that much- I couldn’t comprehend so I wandered, in a daze, around the sight where over tens of thousands died.
After leaving Terezin, we came back to Prague and explored around the castle district. I was so fried from the morning that I don’t think I appreciated the castle area as much as I could have.
The trip, all 11 days of it, was fantastic. Saying goodbye to my parents in the airport was sad because our vacation was so much fun. No squabbles except that they told me I needed to bathe more… and I mean that’s nothing new. Back to the grind of London now. Poor me.
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