The start of the senior scholars'
trip was livelier than we had
anticipated: it began with a
cross-country dash to the
airport across the Somerset Levels, to
avoid a motorway crash that had already
forced the Physics trip to miss their plane.
Then, upon landing in Prague, the plane
was invaded by Czech storm-troopers, who
swarmed over the aircraft before removing
a member of a stag party.
On our first day in Prague we were bussed
to the Skoda Factory. After a tour around
the museum given by a very entertaining
Czech woman, we then saw the vast
manufacturing complex, which we were
told was bigger than Monaco! We saw
machines pressing car body parts and
workers putting the cars together, and
got an interesting insight into the life of a
factory worker.
Back in Prague, the afternoon was spent
visiting Prague Castle and admiring the
impressive Gothic architecture of St Vitus'
Cathedral. At 4pm sharp we gathered to
watch the changing of the guard, then took
the steps down to the Lesser Town, Mala
Strana. Here we climbed the Bell Tower of
St Nicholas' Church, an old spying tower,
to see the views of the city; some enjoyed
this more than others.
We spent the Saturday morning exploring
the communist history of the Czech capital.
This included a visit to the alternative
Museum of Communism, ironically hidden
away above MacDonald's and next to a
casino. The museum featured video
footage of the protests on Wenceslas
Square in 1989 and we were shocked
at the police brutality. Later it was
inspiring to stand in the square
where protesters had campaigned for
their freedom. We strolled up to the
National Museum, giving us a great
viewpoint from which to discuss the
Prague Spring of 1968 and to imagine
Soviet tanks rumbling up the square
towards us.
In the afternoon we all got an opportunity
to visit a place of our choice. Some picked
the Music Museum. After initially allowing
Mrs Cashmore to lead us the wrong way a
few times, we eventually had the chance to
try dancing to a polka, guided by footprints
on the floor. Most intriguing were the
quarter-tone instruments, in particular a
piano and a double-sided violin.
For others, the National
Technical Museum was
a highlight. Exhibitions,
ranging from the Printing
Press to the Uses of
Chemistry, offered a
fantastic insight into the
workings of each field.
One of the best aspects
was the interactivity,
especially in the
television exhibition (in
which Olly Fox got shouted at by an old
woman), and the espionage exhibition
(which covered pretty much all activities).
Mr Smith had advised some to go to the
Národní Galerie (National Gallery), but
at that point no one realised what Mr
Smith's idea of "a short walk" actually
meant. After going through a lot of pain we
persuaded Mr Kitzinger to hail a cab. The
ride lasted approximately 200 metres.
Most interesting was the exhibition of the
work of leading Czech artists, along with
Impressionists. Mr Kitzinger was found
utterly perplexed on the ground floor
watching a "live art performance" by a
lady doing yoga dressed in supermarket
plastic bags.
At the Strahov Monastery Library, others
were greeted by the odd sight of large glass
cabinets filled with dead sea-creatures;
weird and mysterious conceptions of
the beginning of natural sciences. But
nothing could have prepared them for
the magnitude of a two-storey room filled
floor-to-ceiling with 20,000 leather-bound
volumes.
To continue the theme of the unexpected,
while strolling home after a final dinner on
Sunday, some of the party were surprised
to find themselves in the middle of an
anti-Nazi demonstration, in the wake of
the Czech general election.
It was another glimpse into the history of
this fascinating city; a city that certainly
bewitched everyone on this trip.
Trips A City of Surprises
By Toby Smith, with contributions from the scholars
The Senior Scholars' trip to Prague gave insights into the city's recent
communist history as well as its Gothic past
The scholars at the Skoda Museum
Ed Denton, Ed Keeling and Oliver Fox in the Petrin
Mirror Maze
From top right, Oliver Fox, Mr Smith, Tara Benson,
Bronwen Prosser, Josh Stickland, Ed Keeling, Elena
Close, Ed Gibb and Annie O'Neill in St Mikulas Church
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