To be fair, the people that make those Tiktoks are basically just tourists that saw the thing and immedietaly decided to record it without second thought. Basically victims of the same tourist trap they promote.
I would still put the blame on them: they are often making a recommendation for something, not just showing pictures / videos of their travel. If you make a recommendation, it is on you to make sure that it is actually a sound one.
They shouldn't be giving recommendations on where to visit and what to do when they're clearly new to the place and don't know what's good. Because evidently they ended up promoting and recommending scamy tourist traps
This dude is in many ways responsible for my current very positive outlook on modern Czech culture. The fact that this dude recognizes the bullshit that goes on in his own turf and spends his days making sure that they dont ruin the reputation of his homeland shows just how much he loves his country. Cool dude.
this is SO UPSETTING. do people really think that they look "cool" on social media by destroying such a beautiful wall? even after the officials redisgned it?!
The John Lennon Wall symbolizes freedom of speech and the non-violent resistance of the Czech youth. The wall started in 1980, shortly after Lennon was murdered. Although John Lennon never visited the location of the wall, it was crafted as a symbolic burial site by the youth of Prague.
They are free. We need more freedom and much less authoritarian control I may not agree with what they write but would fight for them to be able to write it (as long as it's not far right hate speech)
@@theworldisfullofrightwingcnts There has to be a balance in "worth" and freedom. Should you be able to write something in protest of a corrupt government? Sure, I can see that. Should you be able to write your insta handle on a public wall? No, there is no value in it.
@@drazgul9403 then who gets to decide what has value? That wall in particular has a long history of being a wall where kids write shit and somebody has probably always taken issue with it. Just because we're grown up doesn't mean we now get to take that freedom away from the youth
what I think made the wall wonderful, wasn`t john lennon or the new artists painting it. What makes it a great tourist attraction for me is that all people come together here, write messages for tourists who come after them, just a big sheet of paper, where people from all around the world can write, whatever comes up to their mind.
@@littlefinger4509 whatever is written there, it somehow is a reflection of our society, not just czechs society or the european society, basically a reflection of society from all around the world, where travelling is affordable. Which is a great thing, even if the messages are often bullshit. 10 years ago, noone posted their instagramm on it, but maybe their facebook accounts or other trends and in 10 years from now the kind of message left there will continue to change and im curious about, how. I would consider a reflection of our society as a great piece of art. And many people seem to think alike, otherwise it wouldn`t be so popular to write something on that wall.
I wish I knew all this before I visited Prague in 2019. I had some local friends who steered me clear of the worst tourist traps and exchange offices though. The National Technical Museum was unfortunately closed the day I was free to visit. As was the Museum of Public Transport. Although the gentleman at the beer garden in front of the Public Transport museum said that a beer would help with the disappointment. He was quite correct.
I spent a year in Prague as an Erasmus student exactly the year you started to become famous (2016-2017). Your guides were super helpful and we all loved them. I remember a friend of mine who was studying architecture saying she wanted to enter a governement building to check out one of those elevators. She didn't know that the university we were at had 2 of them and I had been using them to get to my classes (some in the 8th floor) every single day. I made her come to my department and the she was so excited, made so many photos and videos while I was just laughing at her. It made me remember how excited I was about them the first few weeks in Prague before getting used to them. By the way they are so useful because you don't have to wait for the elevator to go up and down before reaching you, they just always run and have to wait for a free cabin
the YMCA building is another secret spot where you can ride the elevators, near N.R: it's an office building, my doctors office is there so please be respectful: btw why don't you do a program on other cities as Karlovy Vary region and the natural springs? Interesting areas are Kyselka (Matoni) and did you know you can get free mineral water in Kyselka (it's Matoni, but it's free), or drive to Loket, or Boží Dar The drive is amazing around the mountain roads especially for motorcycles or cycling
I remember going up and down with the Paternoster elevator back in 2002, when I visited Prague on a school trip. People working there used to be kind of enjoying the tourists back then...they even gave mini tours of the building. The other favourite "up and down place" for us, was the Duplex Discotheque and those were some pretty hard ups and down 🎉🍻😵💫
I was there with my 3yo, it's cute, not and absolute must go, it's not too interactive. It's mostly fun to observe the little details, to "drive" a bus or a tram. With kids it's better to go to zemědělské muzeum.
I tried to buy pork as a tourist in the Czech Republic. The guy yelled at me and said he doesn’t sell to Americans along with some other words that I imagine weren’t kind. I guess I didn’t miss out on anything! Also, I’m Canadian.
@@Ricardoelsupremothis is needless pedantry. Everyone knows in colloquial conversation that ‘American’ refers to someone from the US unless otherwise specified.
I've had trdelniks in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia. Delicious. Prague should be proud to have them! They are traditional, like money scammers and love locks... ❤🔒
Don’t get me wrong, I used to enjoy a good trdelnik back in the day when it was a thing you could only get at a Christmas market, now when it’s everywhere, I think it lost its charm 😐😄
Love your videos and always suggest them to friends before going to Prague. I think a big problem with the John Lennon Wall is, that spraying/painting on it is advertised as an activity for tourists. When I visited Prague in 2018, we stopped there with a guided Tour and they told us a story about how spraying there was legal. They also gave us the paint to spray there and some cardboard and knives to create templates
I hate those computer read fake TikTok’s. I love honest guys who actually go there. Give us their honest opinions and show first hand footage. Love your videos. Thank you for sharing.
At the University of Sheffield, UK and there is a lift in the Arts Building like the one you describe as a 'nonstop running elevator'. It is called the paternoster lift. So that's the correct term for them in English too.
It grinds my gears that tourists think they know better than the locals. The Prague police should make it clear to them that the wall is private property and their Tick-tock art is a criminal act.
I know I am a few months late to this video. I am a dual citizen between the US and Czech, and so when I was a child, we went to the Ministerstvo Zemědělství in Hradec Kralove for some paper work. Some government office. And guess what was there? A paternoster lift. It was WELL before the tourist popularity of the lift, like 2007 or 08. The office was mostly empty on that day, and so I just spent most of the time riding the lift up and down. As a kid, it was fun.
Paternoster lift is awesome! Also very unhappy with your explanation of the Lennon Wall. This was an important artefact from the struggle of Prague residents against the Communist regime using art and graffiti. Other movements around the world have adopted the "Lennon Wall" concept. My daughter was involved in a Lennon Wall at her university without realising where the name came from, so I took her to the original Lennon Wall when we visited Prague in early 2020. The whole idea of the wall is to make the authorities cranky. Long live the Lennon Wall.
Anne, we're Czech, we know the meaning of the Lennon wall. The problem with tourists tagging it and drawing nonsense on it is that it loses its meaning! No Instagram tag or conspiracy (in the video you can see someone wrote "bush caused 9/11") is meaningful to the city, or to the history of the wall. Not to mention it looks terrible and ruins the beautiful art underneath it.
@@Stephaniesmith4737 I was only commenting that Honest Guides did not provide the meaning of the Lennon Wall in the video, I certainly did not mean that Czech people do not understand the Lennon Wall. Of course they understand it, they made it! But it might now be beyond their imagination, because other people are using it to express their own struggles (not related to Czechia). I think it is a beautiful thing, but understand it is probably also annoying for the locals to see it being damaged/defaced
I'm now so ashamed to say I wrote on the Lennon wall... We got a history teacher as a walking tour guide from Airbnb experiences and he even brought markers for us to write on it.
Don't worry, at the end of the day it's just a wall. I'd say that having a place where people come together to have a bit of fun is more interesting than a plain wall - would would get dirty and gummed and spray painted on anyway.
@@nanifa6082 Exactly, in the end, it's just stones, it's just atoms. Every monuments and pieces of art should be vandalized, after all in the end it's just metal, it's just paper, it's just marble, it's just a medium for artistic expression, it's not what matters, what matters is that we are all here together, holding hands, singing songs, what matters is the moment we're sharing. _if it's not obvious enough, I'm being sarcastic. Tomas didn't know any better but saying it's okay and justifying it like you did is truly moronic_
Ima be a bit off topic but. I remember my trip to Prague and I want to a store wanting to try Tridlo. Costed 3 euros , me being Lithuanian , I was expecting something not to big , with a bit of jam in it. I proceeded to get a tridlo pretty much as big as my head , filled fully with Apple jam. I had to double check if this was legit. I left them 6 euros cause 3 euros for the amount of jam and tridlo itself I got felt like a scam. Loved every bit of your country , my most memorable trip I have had. From my very first ride in a metro , to the very first mountains I saw in my life. And drives up the thin mountain roads , while fog covers the forests below you....A view I wont forget.
I visited Prague a couple of times around 20 years ago, great city but there's so much to see in the rest of the country. I really despise mass tourism because it's is just fast food tourism, fast tourism, you're not exploring or enjoying a new place you're just quickly shoving it down your throat.
ive been to prag with a czech girl. she showed me around and was completly into this monastery called loreta. also plays chimes. and ... most importantly ... theres a nice place next to it where you can get beer. czech beer is the best.
It's not nearly as prominent, but there is a problem with people visiting National Parks and historic sites in the US and tagging things. It's not as bad when they do it to signs or added infrastructure, but when they do it to the natural surroundings or the historic structures, it's just atrocious. "Oh, this rock outcropping has been on this mountain for 500 million years, slowly shaped by the forces of erosion and freeze cycles, but I can't help but imagine that I can improve it by writing name in bright spray paint."
We were in Prague in beginning of october. I'm so happy that I found your channel last year. So, at our vacation I could tell my parents and my boyfriend a lot about Prague with your help. It's a beautiful city. And we definitely want to visit again. The Lennon wall looked different to the video.
Díky za boží videa, jsem z Čech, ale do Prahy jezdím málo a když tak nevím kam jít, aby to za to stálo.. tedy nevěděla jsem kam jít. S Vámi si trénuju angličtinu a když pak vyrazím mám jasno. Ať se Vám daří, díky že to děláte tak hezky a ještě ke všemu dvojjazyčně ❤❤🙏🙏
I think they should implement some grafitti walls, some cheap temporary ones that can easily be removed whenever needed, where it's clear that people can empty their grafitti needs on a designated wall legally. Because clearly the need was very big, since they illegally claimed the John Lennon wall for that.
imagine owning that apartment with window into the narrow walkway, if that's an apartment window.. but yeah it's stupid that, in sweden closely built buildings have also become a tourist attraction for some reason
Gotta admit...book sculpture, elevator and the narrow street were all pretty cool. And all free. John Lennon wall you can skip. But it is free too. And i did write in the library in the very spot you were standing. I highly recommend writing in the local library when you are on vacation.
I got lucky n visited Prague with the local so I actually never try the giant pork nor the "Trdllo". As a foodie traveller I was actually introduced to a restaurant on like a basement and got to try some of the local pork dishes which is actually amazing (oh and the beers r good to). From my point of view after visiting Prague I can say that most of the good food r located not on the tourist area and sometimes quite hidden hence research r required 😀. And of course watching utube channel like this one
The wall needs a layer of plexiglass to combat the graffiti. Nothing to extreme but something like that is a simple fix. And will most likely be easier to remove
I bought a Trdelnik last week in Prague because I was craving something sweet and when I was eating it I chewed on an acrylic nail. I had to spit it and throw the it away. It disgusted me so much, I will never eat one again!
I only visited 1 of the places on this list. I guess I'm not cool. I spent all of my time at Kampa, Dox, and petting the baby statues. I bought a set of Soviet stamps in an antique shop. My travel companion was so jealous that I spent an afternoon tracking down another set by calling antique shops in the city.
The books in the tower can't be read, is that so ? How about the other books in the library are they all in Czech ? Don't expect any deep thoughts from tiktok.
Slavic languages are amazing, how similar yet different they are. When you say in Czech "you have a beautiful life", in Russia it means "you have a red belly" :D when I heard about the red army when I was a kid, in the original, I wondered, what could be pretty about an army
@@makinka0cp When said by a Polish speaker: Czerstwe pieczywo is no longer fresh, Zachód is west, Szukać is a normal (I.e. not rude) word for 'to seek', 'to look for'. And these are just the few false friends I am aware of.
For everyone being mad about the wall. Soo Graffiti or streetart is and always was a form of public negotiation of space. Everyone can make a proposition on how to design the wall and everyone can neglect that proposition and propose something new. And this ever changing character of walls in cities is the appeal about it. It is one of the last places where not one person or one committee decides on the structures faith but the people do and they do it over and over and over again. Something a piece is there for decades because it is so good, or it have stecial meaning sometimes it is gone within houres but the change just added more history to a place. Is it a bit different when folks of tourist do it? Yeah but if it is just one spot, isn't it what makes that spot then special in it's one way?
nice perspective! people scribble on the art, but then new art is painted on top. it's like the art is... alive. it's moving, constantly changing over time -- it sort of reminds me of that "r/place" thing.
The narrowest street was such a ripoff! I mean I liked the little traffic light but it just leads to a restaurant lol I was expecting it to be an actual alleyway! When I went I also decided to skip the lennon wall, paternoster and the book tunnel. I did buy trdelnik at the most touristy shop though. You can't win em all!
Advertise means they pay you to show that place, not that is a good place. Don't go advertised places, they crave and pay to more people to come there. Good places doesnt need advertisement 👍
If a restaurant has a menu in any language other than Czech or English, avoid it. It will cost more there than anywhere else and the quality will be 90% worse than in a real Czech restaurant.
7:55 or as my tour guide said John Lennon vole which I found hilarious I spent more time laughing at that than we were at the wall which was like two minutes.
Trdelniks (or Kürtőskalács/Chimney Cakes which is their real name) should be served hot and crispy, preferably in winter. The idea that people stick ice cream into them is disgusting. Now the hot and crispy snack is cold and soggy. It's like putting ketchup on caviar.
@HonestGuide and all who see this. This John Lennon wall started when John was shoot, started with one sprayed picture of John, with candles around. It became a symbol, hated by the regime, where young people SECRETLY gathered and played his music and wrote his lyrics, burn candles. It was a quiet protest wall, symbol of freedom and love and better world, hope IMAGINE.. it had been repainted million times during the communist regime and after again. Love is real, real is love, love is feeling, feeling loved, love is wanting to be loved.... love is you, you and me, love is knowing, we can be... yeah that WAS THE LENNON WALL and it's purpose. 💖💖💖 (with my own little lines - repainted, for years we used to go there and re-wright the lyrics again, leaving a candle by the wall )
Some of these things seemed nitpicky. Why pretend that it's bad to go to a museum when it has great reviews? Why act like going into a library is more special than seeing that book-statue, when every city in the world has big libraries?
The constant running elevator is beautiful craftsmanship but I personally don't like those, they're a common feature in many of the paper mills I've worked in. Well, they're the same concept but wide open with a foot platform and a handle. The J.L. wall looked like crap before, the redo looked great except the graffiti. Who am I to speak, my state has a world famous gum wall for a tourist trap.
I've seen John Lennon wall like 10 years ago, back then Lennon's face was at least clearly visible and untouched at least. It is so weird how people have lost their respect all of a sudden.
The city could try doing what the UK does with banksy we put a flexy glass wall in front of it so it's harder for people to draw over it. It doesn't always work, but that's mainly because it takes a while to get to it. If it was a plan. City effort probably work better
Been to the narrow alley and yeah, nothing special. It use to lead to the river though according to my parents who also went there a couple of years back. I however had a good look at the Dancing house as we stayed on the top floor of an airbnb across it. Cool structure.
Janek, has the Czech Authority ever tried telling you what to say and what not to say in your videos? With the popularity of your Channel, I would expect some Bureaucratic Egghead would try to get involved.
Wow, how could they just destroy someone's art just because they wanted to write on something... Draw it on paper and maybe one day your "art" will be worth looking at...
We stumbled in the Sex Machine Museum by accident, also we had some Trodelnik, we did absolutely no research and had no idea about this channel but the neither got scammed or paid too much.
The wall is really disappointing. Or more precise the people / tourists are disappointing. But I want to suggest one Idea that could have worked: Make just contours on the wall - without colors. (Made by the city) Provide guidance or even the colors for the tourists. Where they should or could use which color. In an ideal world the provided colors were just chalk and are washed away every few days (naturally). It could be an all time transforming but all time recognizable art piece. Anybody get my idea?
To be fair, the people that make those Tiktoks are basically just tourists that saw the thing and immedietaly decided to record it without second thought. Basically victims of the same tourist trap they promote.
To be fair tiktok is for idiots.
I would still put the blame on them: they are often making a recommendation for something, not just showing pictures / videos of their travel. If you make a recommendation, it is on you to make sure that it is actually a sound one.
@@gingerbeard3341 You right.
They shouldn't be giving recommendations on where to visit and what to do when they're clearly new to the place and don't know what's good. Because evidently they ended up promoting and recommending scamy tourist traps
Stupidity versus common sense: which prevails…?
This dude is in many ways responsible for my current very positive outlook on modern Czech culture. The fact that this dude recognizes the bullshit that goes on in his own turf and spends his days making sure that they dont ruin the reputation of his homeland shows just how much he loves his country. Cool dude.
well put, although czech culture isnt all that special as many of us would like to think.
this "dude" is called Janek, dude
the main problem with our country is though as you can see here, stuff like tiktok and dumb tourists
this is SO UPSETTING. do people really think that they look "cool" on social media by destroying such a beautiful wall? even after the officials redisgned it?!
I also don't get it. Do they think that they will be the next celebrity by tagging their Insta?
The John Lennon Wall symbolizes freedom of speech and the non-violent resistance of the Czech youth. The wall started in 1980, shortly after Lennon was murdered. Although John Lennon never visited the location of the wall, it was crafted as a symbolic burial site by the youth of Prague.
They are free. We need more freedom and much less authoritarian control I may not agree with what they write but would fight for them to be able to write it (as long as it's not far right hate speech)
@@theworldisfullofrightwingcnts There has to be a balance in "worth" and freedom.
Should you be able to write something in protest of a corrupt government? Sure, I can see that.
Should you be able to write your insta handle on a public wall? No, there is no value in it.
@@drazgul9403 then who gets to decide what has value? That wall in particular has a long history of being a wall where kids write shit and somebody has probably always taken issue with it. Just because we're grown up doesn't mean we now get to take that freedom away from the youth
The wall being destroyed a couple days after really breaks my heart. Those artists did such a good job. You dont smear over other peoples art!
what I think made the wall wonderful, wasn`t john lennon or the new artists painting it. What makes it a great tourist attraction for me is that all people come together here, write messages for tourists who come after them, just a big sheet of paper, where people from all around the world can write, whatever comes up to their mind.
@@xxMilakasiaxx And half of it is instagrams or "acab".
That's not art or anything else, just vandalism.
camereas and fines!
@@littlefinger4509 whatever is written there, it somehow is a reflection of our society, not just czechs society or the european society, basically a reflection of society from all around the world, where travelling is affordable. Which is a great thing, even if the messages are often bullshit. 10 years ago, noone posted their instagramm on it, but maybe their facebook accounts or other trends and in 10 years from now the kind of message left there will continue to change and im curious about, how. I would consider a reflection of our society as a great piece of art. And many people seem to think alike, otherwise it wouldn`t be so popular to write something on that wall.
@@xxMilakasiaxx imagine trying to claim that arguably ugly vandalism is ''''art''''
I wish I knew all this before I visited Prague in 2019. I had some local friends who steered me clear of the worst tourist traps and exchange offices though.
The National Technical Museum was unfortunately closed the day I was free to visit. As was the Museum of Public Transport. Although the gentleman at the beer garden in front of the Public Transport museum said that a beer would help with the disappointment. He was quite correct.
Could you maybe say which exchange offices are bad to use in Prague?
Seems you were there on monday. On monday all museums are closed. I don't know why. The National Technical museum is by the way absolutely awesome.
I spent a year in Prague as an Erasmus student exactly the year you started to become famous (2016-2017). Your guides were super helpful and we all loved them. I remember a friend of mine who was studying architecture saying she wanted to enter a governement building to check out one of those elevators. She didn't know that the university we were at had 2 of them and I had been using them to get to my classes (some in the 8th floor) every single day. I made her come to my department and the she was so excited, made so many photos and videos while I was just laughing at her. It made me remember how excited I was about them the first few weeks in Prague before getting used to them. By the way they are so useful because you don't have to wait for the elevator to go up and down before reaching you, they just always run and have to wait for a free cabin
Did you get lucky with any Czech dudes ?
the YMCA building is another secret spot where you can ride the elevators, near N.R: it's an office building, my doctors office is there so please be respectful: btw why don't you do a program on other cities as Karlovy Vary region and the natural springs? Interesting areas are Kyselka (Matoni) and did you know you can get free mineral water in Kyselka (it's Matoni, but it's free), or drive to Loket, or Boží Dar The drive is amazing around the mountain roads especially for motorcycles or cycling
@@saljablo2767 Your sister did.
In fairness, the sex machine museum after a few pints is absolutely hilarious
I’m Czech and every time I’m in Prague I’m considering visiting 😂 never been, tho
We don’t have pints in Czech Republic
Monika It’s a catchall. Words are more than words.
@@monikaj2889 that´s like saying we don´t have inches in italy. It´s a unit of measurement, you can´t "not" have it
@@mekullagBut here it refers to pints of beer. In Czechia we don't tap pints of beer but half litres.
I remember going up and down with the Paternoster elevator back in 2002, when I visited Prague on a school trip. People working there used to be kind of enjoying the tourists back then...they even gave mini tours of the building. The other favourite "up and down place" for us, was the Duplex Discotheque and those were some pretty hard ups and down 🎉🍻😵💫
Tom Scott did an excellent video on these elevators well worth checking out.
What did you expect, it's Tiktok.
Edit 1: Do you guys recommend the "kralovstvi železnic" museum?
Exactly. Don’t install that app, don’t use it, don’t watch any content. It is completely useless
I was there with my 3yo, it's cute, not and absolute must go, it's not too interactive. It's mostly fun to observe the little details, to "drive" a bus or a tram. With kids it's better to go to zemědělské muzeum.
@@makinka0cp aight thanks
Went there back in 2014 and my girls enjoyed it (aged 10 & 12) but I think I got the biggest kick watching the trains.
It is great if you love model trains. It is huge.
I tried to buy pork as a tourist in the Czech Republic. The guy yelled at me and said he doesn’t sell to Americans along with some other words that I imagine weren’t kind. I guess I didn’t miss out on anything! Also, I’m Canadian.
I guess he doesn't like tourists
Wonder if he got in trouble to selling to an American who later reported him or something
Guess he meant North Americans
mm.. America is a continent my boy.. So yeah you’re American lol
@@Ricardoelsupremothis is needless pedantry. Everyone knows in colloquial conversation that ‘American’ refers to someone from the US unless otherwise specified.
I've had trdelniks in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia. Delicious.
Prague should be proud to have them! They are traditional, like money scammers and love locks... ❤🔒
😂😂💛
@@HONESTGUIDE leave journalism & go into politics.
They had us in the first part, not gonna lie.
Don’t get me wrong, I used to enjoy a good trdelnik back in the day when it was a thing you could only get at a Christmas market, now when it’s everywhere, I think it lost its charm 😐😄
They are just traditional for Prague tourists
Love your videos and always suggest them to friends before going to Prague. I think a big problem with the John Lennon Wall is, that spraying/painting on it is advertised as an activity for tourists. When I visited Prague in 2018, we stopped there with a guided Tour and they told us a story about how spraying there was legal. They also gave us the paint to spray there and some cardboard and knives to create templates
I hate those computer read fake TikTok’s. I love honest guys who actually go there. Give us their honest opinions and show first hand footage. Love your videos. Thank you for sharing.
At the University of Sheffield, UK and there is a lift in the Arts Building like the one you describe as a 'nonstop running elevator'. It is called the paternoster lift. So that's the correct term for them in English too.
The name is derived from the Lord's Prayer (pater noster meaning our father in Latin), because it resembles a rosary...
The paternoster lift was also used in a Dutch TV show, that might explain some of its popularity
Aren't there paternosters in the Netherlands?
The Lennon wall is like Banksy, sometimes people will just randomly say graffiti is good with no discernable pattern
vandalism is usually always bad in general, but with Banksy at least theres a political message behind it (and its actually good).
Janek: I won't show you where the building with the Paternoster is.
...
3 seconds later also Janek: (shows map where you can find them all)
That's by design - so people go to any one of those and not just everyone to that one particular location.
It’s so sad to see people destroy art. Like if that was in a museum the wouldn’t do that.
Tourists: Imagine walking in Prague : O
Yes, that's the Czech way to admire places, highly recommended.
Fun fact: The number 180448 on Janek's hat is a number of a gas lamp from a middle of the Charles bridge.
A better translation for povrchni is "superficial"
It grinds my gears that tourists think they know better than the locals. The Prague police should make it clear to them that the wall is private property and their Tick-tock art is a criminal act.
I know I am a few months late to this video. I am a dual citizen between the US and Czech, and so when I was a child, we went to the Ministerstvo Zemědělství in Hradec Kralove for some paper work. Some government office. And guess what was there? A paternoster lift. It was WELL before the tourist popularity of the lift, like 2007 or 08. The office was mostly empty on that day, and so I just spent most of the time riding the lift up and down. As a kid, it was fun.
Paternoster is a very cool thing. We have one in our university at Miskolc, Hungary. I loved riding it when I was studying there. :)
Paternoster lift is awesome!
Also very unhappy with your explanation of the Lennon Wall. This was an important artefact from the struggle of Prague residents against the Communist regime using art and graffiti. Other movements around the world have adopted the "Lennon Wall" concept. My daughter was involved in a Lennon Wall at her university without realising where the name came from, so I took her to the original Lennon Wall when we visited Prague in early 2020. The whole idea of the wall is to make the authorities cranky. Long live the Lennon Wall.
Anne, we're Czech, we know the meaning of the Lennon wall. The problem with tourists tagging it and drawing nonsense on it is that it loses its meaning! No Instagram tag or conspiracy (in the video you can see someone wrote "bush caused 9/11") is meaningful to the city, or to the history of the wall. Not to mention it looks terrible and ruins the beautiful art underneath it.
@@Stephaniesmith4737 I was only commenting that Honest Guides did not provide the meaning of the Lennon Wall in the video, I certainly did not mean that Czech people do not understand the Lennon Wall. Of course they understand it, they made it! But it might now be beyond their imagination, because other people are using it to express their own struggles (not related to Czechia). I think it is a beautiful thing, but understand it is probably also annoying for the locals to see it being damaged/defaced
Your channel has taught me so much about tourist etiquette
I feel like they should play your videos on the plane instead of watching crap movies 🤣
Man, I love Honest Guide videos! Can't wait for my visit to Prague next month!
I'm now so ashamed to say I wrote on the Lennon wall... We got a history teacher as a walking tour guide from Airbnb experiences and he even brought markers for us to write on it.
Don't worry, at the end of the day it's just a wall. I'd say that having a place where people come together to have a bit of fun is more interesting than a plain wall - would would get dirty and gummed and spray painted on anyway.
@@x4iaw931 i think you're the only commentor that has made sense FOR the active vandalism of the wall. Yes, it is just a wall in the end.
@@nanifa6082 Exactly, in the end, it's just stones, it's just atoms. Every monuments and pieces of art should be vandalized, after all in the end it's just metal, it's just paper, it's just marble, it's just a medium for artistic expression, it's not what matters, what matters is that we are all here together, holding hands, singing songs, what matters is the moment we're sharing.
_if it's not obvious enough, I'm being sarcastic. Tomas didn't know any better but saying it's okay and justifying it like you did is truly moronic_
@@x4iaw931 You're advocating for a mural to be graffitied? Okay. Cool.
Ima be a bit off topic but. I remember my trip to Prague and I want to a store wanting to try Tridlo. Costed 3 euros , me being Lithuanian , I was expecting something not to big , with a bit of jam in it.
I proceeded to get a tridlo pretty much as big as my head , filled fully with Apple jam. I had to double check if this was legit. I left them 6 euros cause 3 euros for the amount of jam and tridlo itself I got felt like a scam.
Loved every bit of your country , my most memorable trip I have had. From my very first ride in a metro , to the very first mountains I saw in my life. And drives up the thin mountain roads , while fog covers the forests below you....A view I wont forget.
Can you rate the “hidden gems” tiktoks? And see if they’re actually hidden gems?
I visited Prague a couple of times around 20 years ago, great city but there's so much to see in the rest of the country.
I really despise mass tourism because it's is just fast food tourism, fast tourism, you're not exploring or enjoying a new place you're just quickly shoving it down your throat.
3:42 Instead of trying the elevator in the City Hall, go to YMCA - also in the city center. They have exactly the same thing :)
ive been to prag with a czech girl. she showed me around and was completly into this monastery called loreta. also plays chimes. and ... most importantly ... theres a nice place next to it where you can get beer. czech beer is the best.
In Denmark we also have those kind of elevators.
It's not nearly as prominent, but there is a problem with people visiting National Parks and historic sites in the US and tagging things. It's not as bad when they do it to signs or added infrastructure, but when they do it to the natural surroundings or the historic structures, it's just atrocious. "Oh, this rock outcropping has been on this mountain for 500 million years, slowly shaped by the forces of erosion and freeze cycles, but I can't help but imagine that I can improve it by writing name in bright spray paint."
Honest guide being tlhonest about their past mistakes is awesome
We were in Prague in beginning of october. I'm so happy that I found your channel last year. So, at our vacation I could tell my parents and my boyfriend a lot about Prague with your help. It's a beautiful city. And we definitely want to visit again. The Lennon wall looked different to the video.
Putting a combination lock somewhere as a love lock is... Not really a sign of commitment, is it?
From where can I get that hoodie?
One frame: Janek saying that the wall is colorful
Next frame: Close up to the word 'Govno'
The endless elevator was also featured on Wie Is De Mol in the Netherlands....that may have had an impact too
Díky za boží videa, jsem z Čech, ale do Prahy jezdím málo a když tak nevím kam jít, aby to za to stálo.. tedy nevěděla jsem kam jít. S Vámi si trénuju angličtinu a když pak vyrazím mám jasno. Ať se Vám daří, díky že to děláte tak hezky a ještě ke všemu dvojjazyčně ❤❤🙏🙏
I think they should implement some grafitti walls, some cheap temporary ones that can easily be removed whenever needed, where it's clear that people can empty their grafitti needs on a designated wall legally. Because clearly the need was very big, since they illegally claimed the John Lennon wall for that.
4:39 "I am not really gonna tell you where it is"
*Proceeds to show the building with the name "Nová radnice" clearly visible hahahahaha I love you!
imagine owning that apartment with window into the narrow walkway, if that's an apartment window.. but yeah it's stupid that, in sweden closely built buildings have also become a tourist attraction for some reason
Gotta admit...book sculpture, elevator and the narrow street were all pretty cool. And all free. John Lennon wall you can skip. But it is free too.
And i did write in the library in the very spot you were standing. I highly recommend writing in the local library when you are on vacation.
I got lucky n visited Prague with the local so I actually never try the giant pork nor the "Trdllo". As a foodie traveller I was actually introduced to a restaurant on like a basement and got to try some of the local pork dishes which is actually amazing (oh and the beers r good to). From my point of view after visiting Prague I can say that most of the good food r located not on the tourist area and sometimes quite hidden hence research r required 😀. And of course watching utube channel like this one
Trdelnik may not be authentic Czech food, but it is pretty good. It’s like New York pizza.
It's not nearly as flat
The technical museum is great but you really need 2 days if you want to read about the thing shown there. They have so much stuff
The wall needs a layer of plexiglass to combat the graffiti. Nothing to extreme but something like that is a simple fix. And will most likely be easier to remove
I bought a Trdelnik last week in Prague because I was craving something sweet and when I was eating it I chewed on an acrylic nail. I had to spit it and throw the it away. It disgusted me so much, I will never eat one again!
I only visited 1 of the places on this list. I guess I'm not cool. I spent all of my time at Kampa, Dox, and petting the baby statues. I bought a set of Soviet stamps in an antique shop. My travel companion was so jealous that I spent an afternoon tracking down another set by calling antique shops in the city.
The books in the tower can't be read, is that so ? How about the other books in the library are they all in Czech ? Don't expect any deep thoughts from tiktok.
We need a ,,zákaz sprejování na zeď pod pokutou do 5 000 000kč nebo doživotním vězením" sign at the Lennon wall.
Maybe it would work
I love this channel! Always informative and full of rich culture and beautiful buildings. I love it!!❤
tourists before tiktok: veni, vidi, vici
tourits after tiktok: veni, vidi, perdidi
you may one day become mayor of prague
More like TikToxic. Keep up the good work as always. Your channel is the reason why I decided to visit Czech for the first time.
O, a Czech word that actually means the same as the related Polish word ;)
povrchní / powierzchowny.
In Sorbian it's 'měłki' when talking about a shallow river and 'pówjerchny' when something is explained vaguely and not clearly :)
Slavic languages are amazing, how similar yet different they are. When you say in Czech "you have a beautiful life", in Russia it means "you have a red belly" :D when I heard about the red army when I was a kid, in the original, I wondered, what could be pretty about an army
@@makinka0cp
When said by a Polish speaker:
Czerstwe pieczywo is no longer fresh,
Zachód is west,
Szukać is a normal (I.e. not rude) word for 'to seek', 'to look for'.
And these are just the few false friends I am aware of.
I do want to come to Prague at some point.
Thats absolutely disgusting they wrote over the art. There should be police close by at all times with pictures of all the arrested tourrists
Will you be publishing more copies of the English version of your Honest Guide Prague book? Thanks.
For everyone being mad about the wall. Soo Graffiti or streetart is and always was a form of public negotiation of space. Everyone can make a proposition on how to design the wall and everyone can neglect that proposition and propose something new. And this ever changing character of walls in cities is the appeal about it. It is one of the last places where not one person or one committee decides on the structures faith but the people do and they do it over and over and over again. Something a piece is there for decades because it is so good, or it have stecial meaning sometimes it is gone within houres but the change just added more history to a place. Is it a bit different when folks of tourist do it? Yeah but if it is just one spot, isn't it what makes that spot then special in it's one way?
nice perspective!
people scribble on the art, but then new art is painted on top. it's like the art is... alive.
it's moving, constantly changing over time -- it sort of reminds me of that "r/place" thing.
The narrowest street was such a ripoff! I mean I liked the little traffic light but it just leads to a restaurant lol I was expecting it to be an actual alleyway! When I went I also decided to skip the lennon wall, paternoster and the book tunnel. I did buy trdelnik at the most touristy shop though. You can't win em all!
Advertise means they pay you to show that place, not that is a good place. Don't go advertised places, they crave and pay to more people to come there. Good places doesnt need advertisement 👍
If a restaurant has a menu in any language other than Czech or English, avoid it. It will cost more there than anywhere else and the quality will be 90% worse than in a real Czech restaurant.
7:55 or as my tour guide said John Lennon vole which I found hilarious I spent more time laughing at that than we were at the wall which was like two minutes.
"I'm not going to tell you where it is"
*shows picture of the building*
Went to sw sx mchine museum. Its actually pretty good en fun to visit.
There is another paternoster elevator in sheffield hallam university
We found this graffiti wall by accident, walked around town and saw it, it's huuuuge, has the world map on it too
Trdelniks (or Kürtőskalács/Chimney Cakes which is their real name) should be served hot and crispy, preferably in winter. The idea that people stick ice cream into them is disgusting. Now the hot and crispy snack is cold and soggy. It's like putting ketchup on caviar.
And the people just eat the ice cream and throw out the cake. Maybe we should reinvent the street food.
Trdelnik used to be a Christmas market thing when I was a kid 🎄
Tiktok casually ruining society with every metaphoric breath it takes
I will be in Prague in two weeks. Good thing I found your video!
find me a fully restored ww2 bunker and i’ll fly halfway across the world in 2 minutes
@HonestGuide and all who see this. This John Lennon wall started when John was shoot, started with one sprayed picture of John, with candles around. It became a symbol, hated by the regime, where young people SECRETLY gathered and played his music and wrote his lyrics, burn candles. It was a quiet protest wall, symbol of freedom and love and better world, hope IMAGINE.. it had been repainted million times during the communist regime and after again. Love is real, real is love, love is feeling, feeling loved, love is wanting to be loved.... love is you, you and me, love is knowing, we can be... yeah that WAS THE LENNON WALL and it's purpose. 💖💖💖 (with my own little lines - repainted, for years we used to go there and re-wright the lyrics again, leaving a candle by the wall )
That draw on the wall is the same in Berlin. They draw on the wall even it is forbidden
HONEST SUNDAY !!
Some of these things seemed nitpicky. Why pretend that it's bad to go to a museum when it has great reviews? Why act like going into a library is more special than seeing that book-statue, when every city in the world has big libraries?
He does love to gatekeep
The constant running elevator is beautiful craftsmanship but I personally don't like those, they're a common feature in many of the paper mills I've worked in. Well, they're the same concept but wide open with a foot platform and a handle.
The J.L. wall looked like crap before, the redo looked great except the graffiti. Who am I to speak, my state has a world famous gum wall for a tourist trap.
That's a cool elevator but you gotta be quick getting on and off it seems.
Is the Honest Guide book real or just put there for fun? If real, can we buy it an English version?
I've seen John Lennon wall like 10 years ago, back then Lennon's face was at least clearly visible and untouched at least. It is so weird how people have lost their respect all of a sudden.
The city could try doing what the UK does with banksy we put a flexy glass wall in front of it so it's harder for people to draw over it. It doesn't always work, but that's mainly because it takes a while to get to it. If it was a plan. City effort probably work better
URGH that's so entitled of people travelling to your country :S I hope the wall one day gets left to look good on its own! thanks for the videos!
just watching this elevator in a video gave me anxiety
You guys should join & be active on Tiktok. Only way to counter BS tiktoks
Society of the spectacle. The “must visit” landmarks are places that make the most aesthetic social media content. Obscene.
Been to the narrow alley and yeah, nothing special. It use to lead to the river though according to my parents who also went there a couple of years back. I however had a good look at the Dancing house as we stayed on the top floor of an airbnb across it. Cool structure.
Janek, has the Czech Authority ever tried telling you what to say and what not to say in your videos?
With the popularity of your Channel, I would expect some Bureaucratic Egghead would try to get involved.
Wow, how could they just destroy someone's art just because they wanted to write on something... Draw it on paper and maybe one day your "art" will be worth looking at...
Is there any estimation on when we can order the book again? It's currently sold out, nice teasing 😅
Where is the sound?
We stumbled in the Sex Machine Museum by accident, also we had some Trodelnik, we did absolutely no research and had no idea about this channel but the neither got scammed or paid too much.
The wall is really disappointing. Or more precise the people / tourists are disappointing.
But I want to suggest one Idea that could have worked:
Make just contours on the wall - without colors. (Made by the city)
Provide guidance or even the colors for the tourists. Where they should or could use which color.
In an ideal world the provided colors were just chalk and are washed away every few days (naturally).
It could be an all time transforming but all time recognizable art piece.
Anybody get my idea?
Would you hire out as guides for a day? We are arriving on November 4th?
I'd love to go to Prague one day. What place serve the best vegetarian/vegan dishes?
Lol
Absolutely Palo Verde! But there are many
You should consider staying at home.
Lehka hlava and Maitrea..
@@BatCaveOz You should just shut up, not even consider doing it, just do it.
I was going to comment on the shape of the book tunnel opening but the blurred image confirmed what I was assuming. 😂
Your videos are class and helpful, but can you recommend one or two places for a few Irish lads on a stag do in March in Prague
Qujanaq (thank you in Kalaallisut Greenlandic Eskimo language) for teaching us chez language!