July 6th: Prague says Ha!

Crossing the border didn't involve dodging bullets or snipping razor-wire, but it did require cunning, perseverance, and iron nerves. We took the old post road from the back of some nameless burg founded in 1205AD and wandered along a little unsealed forest track for an hour before deciding to pick up the breadcrumbs and try a different route.

Fortunately the next attempt worked and we soon found ourselves approaching the Czech border. I was so excited I took a bit of video which prompted the Policize (formerly known as comrades) to come out and shake a finger at me. They sniffed a bit at our passports then waved us through. That was it...we rolled the trusty Polo into the Czech Republic, EU member state (in transition). Woohoo! And then it dawned on us: we have no idea what any of the signs say, and we have no dictionary, and they don't accept euros, and wow this is going to be exciting!

It wasn't too hard to figure that "Praha" was code for "Prague" so away we went across a strangely open, empty countryside. Plenty of farming, but there was a palpable sense that people are preoccupied with something else. Surreal. Caro made us sandwiches in the main square of a little village that still had its red stars and monuments, though one half of the commemorative tablet had been erased (censored?) with a chisel.

In practically no time the road unfolded into the outskirts of Praha and there we were driving in the city of Kafka and Jewish persecution. The skyline is unreal: part soviet bauhaus and part Middle Ages with an enthusiastic overlay of art deco. The river loops around the ancient quarters like a boa and seems to never forget, but the heavy density of memory is constantly roused skyward by needling spires, sparkling gilt, and rapturous stonework.

I reckon the Germans have every right to be a bit self-satisfied. The country is clean and tidy, most things work pretty well, the chow is good, and there's plenty of time left over for a beer or three in the evening.

It was an expensive and marvellous Continental jaunt (4 days, 1800km). Then the whirlwind of rental car return, harassing the airlines for the third time to please seat us as a family group (no luck), and whoosh...next stop New Delhi.