Prague in autumn is like a postcard coming to life! Besides sipping all the delicious hot drinks - there is a vast choice for the curious drinker (hot chocolate, hot mulled wine called svarak, hot honey wine called medovina and hot apple juice), a rather thrilling thing to is to go on an eerie statue hunt. Yes, may not appeal to the usual tourists but definately much fun if you want to be off the beaten track. And Prague, is a city that is mystifying and unknown to the common traveler (a history enthusiast like me knew so little ); statue-hunting just further adds to the mysterious charm of this city.
Some of these statues we bumped into when least expected, some of them we went hunting for the very last mile. Many of them were by the controversial Czech sculptor David Černý.
1. Kafka riding a headless man - yes, it is the same author Franz Kakfa, we heard of in school. I didn't know he was of Czech origin till now. Kafka was a troubled person and had a particularly complex relationship with his father. This statue, located in the Jewish ghetto, depicts his coming to terms with himself and being victorious over a man who seems to be his father ( it is Kafka's being that now presides over the man). The statue is strategically placed facing three different religious temples - the Roman Catholic church, the Protestant church and the Jewish synagogue in the old town.
2. Peeing men - This was just so weird. Why would we want statues peeing over a Czech map? I do not understand this but the sight is weirdly fascinating. The bottom of the men actually move in all directions so that they can pee all over. Weird again! The statues are located in the Kafka museum and are by David Cerny.
3. Gigantic faceless babies - They have the cutest bums but take a closer look at them and you know why they are unintentionally weird. They are faceless. And gigantic. Another David Cerny for you. Located near the Museum Kampa.
4. Ghost of the mountains - While visiting the famous Prague castle, we heard about a lesser known tunnel road that could take you into the palace. Down a muddy road that leads to the Jeleni Prikov or deer moat tunnel and into the beautiful area lined with trees now turned yellow and orange, is this statue that seems so out of place. This is the statue of the mountain ghost.
5. Upside down horse - We were wandering around looking for restaurants in Wenceslas Square, inside Lucerna Pasaz on Vodickova, when this statue stood smack in front, making us forget our hunger and stare at it in what could be described as intrigue! This is Mr Wencelas hanging on an upside down horse. Again, I learn this statue is another Cerny.
6. Ghost of Don Giovanni - Outside the Mozart school of music, Don Giovanni's ghost sits. Come here at night and feel the spookiness.
7. Hanging Freud - A statue that I'm sure most people would miss, and we would have too if not for our prior knowledge, is a man handing on one hand. Supposedly, it is Sigmund Freud pondering whether to hold on or let go, fighting his fear of death or could be Freud challenging status quo. The status is very disturbing in an otherwise quiet area of Huskova street in the old quarter. Yes, yet another David Cerny weird classic.
8. Human-car - A car for human legs as tires located in the German embassy complex in Vlassaka. We couldn't enter the embassy, but in our quest for the statue search, we maaged to get a sneak peek from the park right behind the embassy. It is an old German car called Trabant car depicted here and is a tribute by Cerny to the East Germans.
9. Victims of communism - We stumbled upon these intriguing statues. There are seven bronze figures descending a flight of stairs. The statues appear more "decayed" the further away they are from you - losing limbs and their bodies breaking open. It symbolises how political prisoners were affected by Communism.
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