August 28, Prague
We took a walk in Mala Strana, near the French Embassy, and saw the John Lennon Wall. The wall that was formerly an ordinary wall in Prague has been called Lennon´s since the 1980s, when people have filled it with John Lennon-inspired graffiti and pieces of lyrics from Beatles songs. Why?
Lennon was a hero to the pacifist youth of Central and Eastern Europe during the totalitarian era. Prior to 1989 when communism ruled, western pop songs were banned by Communist authorities, and especially John Lennon´s songs, because it was praising freedom that didn’t exist here. Some musicians were actually jailed for playing it!
When John Lennon was murdered in 1980 he became a sort of hero to some of the young and his picture was painted on this wall, for whatever reason right here, along with graffiti defying the authorities. Don’t forget that back then the Czech people had few opportunities to express their feelings with their lack of freedom. By doing this, those young activists risked prison for what authorities called “subversive activities against the state”.
After walking across the Charles Bridge and spending a little time checking out the vendors along the way, we took a boat ride on the Vltava River, giving us a different perspective of Prague.
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| On Charles Bridge |
We spent some free time in the afternoon browsing in the little shops along the ends of the bridge. I bought a wooden puppet in national dress. After a little searching, we found a Starbucks right in Old Town and bought a Czech Republic cup.
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