PRAGUE, November 2017

Ahh Prague. If you are following my story – you probably saw that I was in Prague attending the same festival (Transmission) 2 years ago. I absolutely love it! I don’t attend a lot of parties – maybe one or two a year. This one is kinda special to me. i love the people there, the whole light show, energy, music and the vibe. Usually I dislike large cities, but Prague has its charm. It’s a combination of old and cultural vs. new and modern. It is really easy and cheap to move around and the prices for renting apartment for few days or weeks are very affordable.

It was 3 people visiting Prague this time – my partner and I and our friend Tadej from Slovenia. I rented the flat near O2 arena – so we’ll have easy access on the main night of Transmission event. We settled in the flat and went out exploring.

Here are 5 historical facts about Prague:

• A bridge with ghosts: The majestic Charles Bridge crosses the river Vltava and connects the Old Town of Prague and the neighbourhood of Mala Strana, and it is said to be haunted by many ghosts, those whose heads ended up at pikes by the bridge after being executed. It is said that they walk up and down the bridge as they wish.
• The largest castle in the world… According to the Guinness Book of Records, the Prague Castle is the largest one in the world. It dates back to the 9th century, but it was expanded several times until the 18th. It’s one of the top things to visit in Prague, so don’t miss it!
• And the oldest university: One of the least known facts about Prague is that the Charles University, founded in 1348, is the oldest one in Eastern and Central Europe.
• Specific Markets: In old times, Charles Square was known as the ‘cattle market’, and Wenceslas Square as ‘horse market’, so Prague had an interesting market culture!
• Death marking time: The Prague orloj or Prague astronomical clock, which is located in the Old Town Hall and is of medieval origin, shows a skeleton marking the time. That skeleton represents, of course, Death.

Here are 5 fun facts about Prague:

• A building that dances around: Well, not really around but over itself! We’re referring to the Dancing House, probably one of the most famous facts about Prague. The building, designed by Frank Gehry and Vlado Milunic, was inspired in dancers Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, but has a much deeper meaning: it symbolises how communism started changing to make space to democracy.
• Climbing babies: David Cerny, born in Prague himself, is quite a controversial sculptor. One of his most famous works are the babies that are crawling up Prague’s TV Tower. The sight can be quite a shock the very first time you see it!
• Graffiti as a homage to John Lennon: John Lennon never visited Prague, but the shadow of the long-deceased musician is a long one no matter where. Near Charles Bridge, you will find the ‘John Lennon Wall’, where artists, locals and visitors have left their graffitis as an homage to the ex-Beatle.
• Bars, bars, bars! Prague is considered to be a real party city – so besides sightseeing, make sure to enjoy the welcoming and exciting nightlife. Did you know that the in the Czech Republic people drink more beer on average than anywhere else in the world? It may not be a surprise then that it’s usually the cheapest drink in bars and restaurants’ menus, even more than water! Prague is full of pubs, bars and clubs, so prepare to join in the fun with the locals!
• Unsteady ground: According to some writers and intellectuals, the grounds of Prague aren’t that steady, and they felt some sort of tremor underneath their feet. Kafka, for instance, said that the drumming-like sounds where produced by ghouls.

About Transmission:

“Transmission is a spectacular dance event that creates through a combination of electronic dance music, high quality equipment, special effects, live acts, and special scenography an unforgettable spectacular experience. Transmission distinguish it self compared to other regular dance events by its exclusive theme related story line which guides the visitors on a journey through out the whole night and by it’s spectacular laser and light show and huge Funktion One sound system. To introduce the artists, special tailor made ‘show movies’ and visuals are created by the Dutch award winning VJ team Vision Impossible.  Those intro movies are presenting the theme and story line and each intro movie leads to a new sub category of the theme. For these ‘Show Movies’ the lights, lasers and special effects (fireworks, co2, flames, i.e.) are pre-programmed in advance and running on time-code. Each sub category of the theme is supported with it’s own tailor made visuals, has subsequently adapted acts (if included) and has its own specific main light color selection.

Transmission is recognized as one of the top indoor dance events world wide and attracts every year thousands of visitors world wide to it’s home base, the o2 arena in Prague.  Since 2014 Transmission is expanding abroad and the first international edition took place in the Slovakian Capital Bratislava and currently Transmission is organized on 3 continents, Europe, Australia and Asia.”

As previously mentioned – I love this party! Can’t really describe the felling of attending – but would recommend you to go and explore/feel this for yourself. I am not into trance music, I like soulful music, house music with lovely vocals. But this is not an ordinary trance party – I can guaranty you that.

So once more – Prague has hosted us very well. I enjoyed the stay – my friend Tadej visited it for the first time and was very impressed by its homeyness. People here simply feel welcomed, the atmosphere is light and easy, in this time of year (November) it definitely feels kinda romantic.

There was this one thing that came to my awareness tho – and it wasn’t the minor thing. It was the dynamic in relationship between me and my partner (we’ve been together for 5,5 years). I noticed – that our energy between us wasn’t flowing as usual in this fun trips of ours. I saw the side of him that I don’t really like – the side of him that I wouldn’t even tolerate around my friends. The vibe between us seemed down, fragile, like we can’t even understand from which point our opinions are coming from. I am the kind of person – that is very adaptable, easy going, don’t like conflicts and am striving for harmony. And there were a lot of moments – where I saw my partner behaving like a teenage boy, angry at situations and circumstances that were out of his control and directing that energy towards me. I must say that that was a big realization for me – where our relationship stands and an insight of where it is going to.

It may just be, that we won’t make it as a couple to that 6 years period.