Europe Trip 2011 #23: Prague Day 1 - Communism Tour

Something that was well worth while doing was a guided walking tour looking at the role in communism in Czechoslovakia to the "velvet revolution" and into the Czech Republic. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it turned out to be an awesome tour - something that I would recommend to anyone coming to Prague.

The tour involved a walk around a few historic places in Prague, followed by a tram ride to a nuclear bunker and back. The pictures probably say it well, so on to them.

The first picture is of the Iron Curtain restaurant and bar - A bit of a laugh as it seems, although I have a 2-4-1 drink voucher [provided as part of the tour] which I must redeem sometime... The second photo is of the old STB [communist secret police headquarters]. Apparently the STB employed many former Gestapo agents, which shows how they generally operated, and how much they were loved by the locals...

The next photo shows the entrance to the underground bunker, followed by pictures of various gas-masks and uniforms of the communist era. Next, look at the fearsome, brave chap with the gun! In the first picture the gas mask had fogged up so bad, the safest place to stand would be been directly in front of me! No such luck for you in the second one picture, capitalist dogs! :-)

The last photo is of [what the guide called] a horrible communist building. The same comments were directed at the horrible communist hotel which I didn't get a photo of. No love lost for the communists in this place!

Anyway, that was the tour. Parting comments from the guide though were a cracker: Please don't vote for communism and have a nice day. :-)