Day 329: Museum of Communism oh, and another walking tour

I have a small obsession with Communism. You may remember I’m a big fan of old communist propaganda prints? I’ve been to this museum before, but obviously, in order to feed my obsession I didn’t mind returning! The Museum of Communism isn’t nearly as thought out or artistically designed as… say, The House of Terror in Budapest was, but it’s not as bad as some of the Trip Advisor reviews say it is. It is in desperate need of some updating (or at least a discount until it is updated?) but if you’re into history, you might enjoy it. Afterwards, wanting to make up for two bookkeeping (planning/blogging/escaping the heat) days, we joined anotherfree walking tour through Prague. We were so pleased it turned out to be sooo much better than the worst ‘free’ walking tour we took a few days ago. Our guide, David was so nice (and educated and certified!) we ended up sticking around for the second part of the tour on the other side of the river!

The Museum of Communism was just as I remembered, not fun to pay for (a bit overpriced for an exhibition space so outdated in my opinion) but fun to see nonetheless. I think one of the downsides to this trip (in a way) is that we’re exposed to so many great museums that when we come across one that isn’t up to par with some others around the world, we get a little disappointed. At least I do.

I looked the museum up just now to find out some more information and was a bit surprised to discover the founder is also responsible for Bohemia Bagel (an old favorite) and U Malého Glena (a jazz club that was right across the street from my old apartment). Bohemia Bagel was one of the few (at the time you could count on one hand) places where you could get a good internet connection and a western style breakfast or brunch. It was great. These days it’s full of backpackers on a the free walking tour associated with the restaurant or signing up the affiliated pub crawl. I’m wondering if the same owner is responsible for this… If so, I’d like to shake his hand for the good bagel sandwiches six years ago and wring his neck for putting my old favorites on the average 19 year old backpacker’s to do list today. (If you’re interested in reading more about the American born entrepreneur, you can do so here, and here.)

During the first half of the free walking tour, we covered much of the same ground (and information) as we did during the first one. Old Town Square, the Astronomical Clock, the Clock Tower, the stables next to and behind Tyn Church, the Jewish Quarter, and stopped short of Charles Bridge. The group was not so large, and aside from the weird American family (working for the state department abroad) it was a great group to talk to. The weird family took off early, and the guide was so sweet, we decided to stick continue on with the tour on the lesser side (Mala Strana) for the second half of the tour. Although, I really appreciated that there was a break and an option halfway through to continue on, or leave, or perhaps pick up with the tour on another day!

The tour ended within the walls of Czech Castle. We had just enough time to sneak down to the gardens for a view of the city below before it started to rain during our walk back across the river. We ran into two girls from the tour at the same restaurant our guide suggested. As they were from South Korea, they were a bit flabbergasted to find out we had lived there for so long, knew where they went to school, and could even do spot on ajjushi impersonations for them. I never think this is crazy, half of my friends are from my time in Korea. When you’re surrounded by similar people or at least doing similar things, it doesn’t seem as unique. It was my life. It just happened to be in a country not everyone would think a girl from Kentucky would pick to reside in. Chatting with these two tonight made me wonder what reactions will be when we move back to America. Are we really that unique for having lived in South Korea for so long? I don’t really think so, but I’m sure we’ll find out in a few months!

We managed to escape the torrential rain (perhaps you can tell by the gloomy sky above?) but our room, despite having all of its windows shut, did not. Neither did my backpack- full of clothes, souvenir ticket stubs, tourist pamphlets, and one of my travel journals full from this trip. But we’ll get to that tomorrow. Don’t be surprised when Day 330’s blog post is titled For SHAME, Hostel Florenc, For SHAME!

Day 316: What is this ‘House of Terror’?

The House of Terror was once the headquarters of the Arrow Cross Secret Police in Budapest. Many were interrogated and tortured within its walls. A plaque alongside many pictures on the outside of the building reads in part: ‘We cannot forget the horror of terror, and the victims will always be remembered’. In 2002, the building was transformed into a museum with incredibly well designed (some being interactive) exhibitions that often double as what feels like a modern art display. The museum follows the fascist and Stalinist times as well as the years after WWII leading up to the 1956 Uprising. It’s a LOT of information. So much information is not only in front of you, but print-outs are distributed in nearly every room. It started to feel like an intensive history class after awhile, but in a really great way (even if it was information overload). Because we’re gluttons for history lessons and free walking tours, we decided to spend the afternoon on the Free Communist Walking Tour.

The outside of the building was modified to set it apart from the rest on the street. I thought the move was interesting especially considering that originally the building was chosen to be the communist regime’s headquarters because it blended in so well with the other buildings. So much torture was going on right under everyone’s noses.

The museum also acts as a memorial to those who have died in the building, as you can see by the pictures behind the giant tank stationed in the middle of the closed courtyard. I remembered the tank to be dripping a lot more oil than it was today. I’m not sure if I’m misremembering or not. The flowing and oozing oil had a much different effect than the slightly dusty tank you see today. Unfortunately, photos weren’t allowed within the actual exhibition rooms. It’s a really impressive museum, and makes fascism and communism incredibly visually appealing. My favorite was the brightly lit communist propaganda wallpapered room. I LOVE communist propaganda posters. I’m fascinated by them and have a small collection. I wonder if they would share that wallpaper with me. My communist themed bathroom needs it.

The Free Communist Walking Tour was rather interesting, even if it involved more talking than walking… We both liked this guide a lot more than the one we had yesterday though, so that helped quite a bit. We walked through the same park (with the locked up love and skateboarders) and sat down to hear about what communism was like in Hungary. Our guide told us a story about how bananas were only available during Christmastime, but how her friend’s family was overwhelmed when they were in Austria for a vacation in the summertime and saw bananas everywhere! They were so excited that they bought some obscene amount of kilos of bananas to bring back into the country. Officials at the border obviously wouldn’t allow bananas to enter Hungary in the middle of summer, and our guide’s friend’s family didn’t want all of their precious bananas to go to waste… So they sat at the border and each ate 2 kilos or so of bananas before they returned home. Our guide said her friend hasn’t been able to look at, let alone eat bananas since.

I learned that the communist styled block buildings were initially created in Sweden to alleviate a short term housing crisis. In Sweden, these compact apartment buildings were made, used for a couple of months, and then destroyed. Our guide pointed a few out and talked about how many families were crammed into one apartment building. Living-rooms were non-existent because authorities didn’t want people to have any opportunity to meet in private. There was no privacy. She joked around how everyone could hear everything from neighbors fighting to… making up. Andrew and I nodded, from experience, as we can hear everything next door in our little loft/studio apartment we’re renting.

We walked by a bomb shelter. That’s a close up above, and a wider view of the cover/entrance below. Unfortunately, we missed a lot of the explanation because Andrew let our entire tour fill up their water bottles before he filled up ours. One girl on the tour smiled at me waiting for him halfway between stops on the tour so he would know where to go when he caught up.

“Your man is a good one… I saw him let everyone go before him even though he was the first one there.” She said.

“I know… He does this kind of thing all the time…” I rolled my eyes and smiled. We chatted in between stops and later when I told Andrew I had to say goodbye to my new friend, he looked at me funny, wondering when I had the chance to make a new friend.

We stopped outside the former national television station. Rent is too high these days for the station to remain in downtown Budapest. When the station would broadcast old James Bond movies, the villains weren’t Russian, they were Chinese. Everyone laughed. When talent shows were on, instead of calling in to vote for your favorite performance, viewers would turn their lights on or off depending on what they liked. If I remember correctly, kids weren’t big fans of the emerging hip-hop and would sneak down into the basements of their buildings and flip the electrical breakers off, voting for an entire building or possibly block of housing units.

This monument of the 'man on the bridge' is dedicated to the progress towards democracy, which is why the statue is facing the parliament buildings in the background.

Day 248: Istanbul Modern

“Are you going to stick it to them?” Andrew asked, laughing at me, as I stood outside of the museum after our visit ready to film one whole minute of the outside of the building.

“Yes.” I pouted, annoyed that the museum wouldn’t let me take any pictures (or video) inside. I snuck a few Instagram shots (which of course I got yelled at for every time) but that was IT. I even had to check my backpack. So, instead of being able to show you visually some of the really rad installations, including one of my most favorite contemporary artists, Olafur Eliasson (you can see more of his work here), I give you a boring one minute of Istanbul Modern.

(Boo, Istanbul Modern, Boo.)

I always wonder if it’s the museum or the artists being showcased who insist no photography is allowed. If I ever end up in a contemporary art museum, I think I’d pay people to take pictures of my work, I’d be so excited! I also get super frustrated when prints of the art I want aren’t available in the museum shops. I’m not going to print it out from my iphone or anything, I just want to remember (and share) what I saw! It’s one of my biggest pet peeves of the art world. 

Moving on: in case you’re interested in seeing what Istanbul Modern has to say about two of the exhibitions that we saw, you can read about Past and Future here, and about Fantastic Machinery here. (There were two other exhibitions in the museum, but there doesn’t appear to be any information on them on Istanbul Modern’s site.) Fantastic Machinery was probably my favorite exhibition. It was really well curated AND there were some Robert Frank images in the collection!

Day 225: Apartheid Museum

The Apartheid Museum  tells the story of the era of Apartheid in South Africa. If you’re unfamiliar with Apartheid, the word is Afrikaans, and as you can see below (in a picture I was not supposed to take), the definition is  “the status of being apart.” It became the term for the system of racial segregation enforced in South Africa between 1948 and 1994. If you want to know more about it, check out the wikipedia page all ’bout it.

It’s intense. The museum is intense, and I’m sure very thorough, but to us, it felt a bit… poorly organized. There is so much information and some really great – REALLY GREAT – media and photographs and imagery, but multiple times, Andrew and I weren’t sure where to go next or what made sense chronologically. We might be a bit daft, but after spending over two hours in the museum, I’m still not sure of the chain of events leading up to apartheid and what led to ending it. I cannot stress enough how much information is there, and how everyone visiting Joburg should go, but maybe spring for a guide who knows the lay of land a little bit. And maybe plan for more than two hours, because that was not nearly enough time for us.