Czeching Out - Part 1

Buster Poindexter sings a great song, “Nueva York,” in which he laments the decline of old New York, with its seamy underbelly and raunchiness. It was that New York which attracted many and gave others endless fascination. He mourns the loss of classic bars and institutions that had character and were filled with interesting people in favor of a tourist destination that is wholesome and not interesting. The gentrification of New York is creating a city that is all too familiar to other places in the United States. Buster concludes, “They’ll turn this town into a mall, and I don’t know what to think.”

Tourists on Old Town Square waiting for the clock to strike five

In many ways I feel the same about Prague. I have been coming to the city for fifteen years. It was always a city that had beautiful architecture, but then many buildings were crumbling, the taxis were unscrupulous, and in metros and at train stations one had to be on constant guard for pickpockets. The city was edgy, but fun. Today, the city is a tourist mecca. Street performers vie for attention away, diverting one’s attention from historical sites. Pedestrians choke sidewalks, making walking around the city very difficult. Hordes of tourists follow an arranged set of paths that go by dozens of tourist shops and overpriced eateries. The beautiful city is barely notice because of all the distractions.

Don’t get me wrong, I am very happy that Prague is doing well. Having a safer city, fairer taxis and reducing the number of pickpockets is a great thing. Yet, some of the things that gave the city its edginess (and some of its mystique) have disappeared. Praha 1 (the center of Prague), where most of the high profile tourist sites are located, is increasingly soulless tourist attractions and distractions. Much like David Johansen’s alter ego, I don’t know what to think.