In November, 1989 300,000 people packed Wencelas Square above; it was the start of the 'Velvet Revolution', when the Czech people secured their freedom. It began as a gathering to celebrate the student protests in World War 2 against the Nazi's, but it developed into a revolution that caused the end of Communism in the country.
The statue of good King Wencelas stands proudly in the Square, where legend has it that in the Czech's darkest hour good King Wencelas will come riding out of the mountains with his knights to save the country. He is the patron saint of Bohemia the region where Prague is situated.
Wencelas Square is the main shopping area where most of the fast food chains have a presence, and department stores like Marks and Spencer's.
I continued on to the Old Town Square and walked over the Charles Bridge and turned left into what is is called the Little Quarter. The Lennon Wall has an interesting history. Every night people would graffiti the wall with slogans such as, "You have your Lenin, give us our Lennon", and every morning the police would paint over the wall. Then the next night the people would graffiti over the wall again as a sign of protest. The Communists thought that Rock and Roll was subversive. Perhaps, they were right.
The Prague citizens were inspired by John Lennon of the Beatles, hence the name. In 1968 the Prague Uprising took place, which was brutally crushed by Soviet forces. This act of rebellion in writing graffiti on the wall gave the people hope until they could secure their freedom.
Just down from the wall is this fence with thousands of padlocks attached. It symbolises a partners commitment to a relationship and enduring love.
The Little Quarter is surprisingly quiet compared to the hustle and bustle on the Charles Bridge, and it's well worth exploring.
One of the places you might need is an Internet cafe for printing out tickets. Yes, we still live in a world that requires paper tickets. There is one on Malé Náměstí opposite the clock tower in the Old Town Square.
We had dinner at a Czech pub in our neighbourhood. I had a pork steak with mushroom sauce.
Travel Tips:
Internet Cafe - on Malé Náměstí, opposite the clock tower in Old Town Square.
Mobile communications:
There are three main mobile phone operators using the GSM standard, their coverage is very good (except in some remote, mostly uninhabited areas). If you find using roaming with your own operator too expensive or you want to have a Czech phone number, you can buy an anonymous prepaid card from any of the three main operators. However, the pricing schemes are usually quite complicated and some investigation may be necessary to find the ideal solution (even with the prepaid cards, operators offer various schemes including various additional 'packages'). GPRS and EDGE is widely supported, 3G networks support is in its beginnings (O2, Vodafone and T-mobile, mostly in Prague). The fourth operator (U:fon) uses some custom standards and you have to buy special hardware from them.
