Walking down a corridor on a cobblestone path towards Old Town Square, slowly more and more people holding up umbrellas start to be seen. Crowds of tourists flock to these tour guides, who use umbrellas or other long objects as a beacon. The tour guides show them the wonders of Prague, from the Astronomical Clock to the Charles Bridge. Old Town Square is a historical place in the Old Town quarter of Prague that features many architectural styles from gothic cathedrals to baroque churches. Tourists visit the Square in herds and at every hour gather underneath the Astronomical Clock, built in the 15th century, making it the third oldest astronomical clock in the world, to hear it ring and watch a trumpet player come out and play a short song. Through every narrow street leading out of the Square, dozens of souvenir shops are open with overpriced items such as Russian dolls, key chains, and tacky shirts. One of the more authentic Czech items are the marionettes. There is a long history of marionettes in the Czech Republic dating back to the 18th century, when Czech puppet making became an art form and puppetry was used to tell stories and entertain people. Today in Prague there are many puppet shops with puppets you wouldn’t expect to see, such as President Obama or Michael Jackson. Marionettes are truly a tradition of the Czech Republic, but if they are handmade and not produced on a mass scale, which is the case in many souvenir shops, it brings some of the authenticity back.
No comments:
Post a Comment