CHAPTER 5. EASTERN EUROPE, CONT.

From Krakow we go back into Czechoslovakia to Olomouc. At the first border crossing it looks like a two hour wait in line just to get to the inspection area, so we go further west to a more isolated crossing where wait and inspection takes one hour and 40 minutes. In Poland we saw small diversified farms; Czechoslovakia has large collective crops. In Olomouc the Narodni Dum Hotel is old but clean, and has good food in the dining room.

Arriving in Prague we start our Czech Visa catch 22. We had gotten 2 visas, one for transit since our first time thru was without stopover, and one tourist visa, permitting stopover. Our guess is they took the tourist visa the first time, leaving us with a transit visa when we want to stay several days in Prague. We have to go 20 km west to a transit hotel for the night, and back to Prague the next morning, then play catch 22 with the authorities to get a visa and hotel reservation. One can get a visa if he has a hotel reservation, but you can’t get a hotel reservation without a visa! They finally give in and let us stay.

The Lidice monument near Prague is in memory of a village and it’s people that were wiped off the earth by the Nazis because they assassinated a Nazi member. We visit it on our way back to Prague from the transit hotel.

After noon we are able to do some sight seeing in the castle area. The St. Vitus cathedral is great, with very pretty stained glass. In Prague there are lots of people on the streets, but not many cars, even so, there is traffic congestion. People are standing in lines at most meat and bread stores. The city is dull, dark, and dirty as are most cities we see in eastern Europe. The comparison with Vienna is very noticeable when we return.

The best part of a day is spent in the old town area of Prague. The Powder Tower, Old Town Hall, large plazas, are all very interesting. We go into the Ghetto area; see a Jewish cemetery, Synagogues, Museums, and the Spanish Synagogue which is very pretty with it’s Moorish style decorations.

On the way back to Vienna the next day, we stop at Kutna Hora to see the church decorated inside with human bones and skulls.

It was very interesting traveling behind the Iron Curtain, we have pleasant memories of contacts with the people, and we saw beautiful country and buildings, but it was sure nice to get back to the brightness of Vienna!