Small Adventures For Prague Scoundrels

“D’you think we can hop this fence?”

“I don’t see why not.”

Most travelers begin their time in Prague with a visit to Old Town, or perhaps Wenceslas Square or the Charles Bridge.

Most do not clamber over bent metal fences in the formerly industrial suburb of Prague 7, kicking their way through overgrown weeds, to explore a decrepit train depot.

My time in Prague is never usual, that’s for sure.

Stanislav and I met in the Holesovice district for lunch. We’ve been friends since I studied in Prague and we’ve spent time together in four different countries—the last time I saw Stanislav was over the summer, at the Guca Trumpet Festival. We had no great plan for this afternoon, so we wandered the uneventful streets between Nadrazi Holesovice and Strossmayerovo Namesti in the comfortable aimlessness that old friendships allow.

Cars crept down the congested streets to our left and a temporary blue wall rose to our right; we tried to peek through cracks in the wood but only glimpsed scrubby field. But the sidewalk rolled on and eventually the wall gave way to that crippled wire fence and a full view of the field and the abandoned building it held.

The Czech Republic is a glorious place for scoundrels like us. Nobody on the crowded street objected as we gracelessly swung our legs over the fence and set off to trespass the train depot.

For that’s what it appeared to be.

The light came in dappled through the holey roof. The broken glass was covered with newly-painted graffiti and the sunken tracks seemed like the perfect place to store a dead body. Luckily, there was no evidence of fresh cadavers, just a few abandoned beer bottles and paint cans.

I don’t know the history of this abandoned building, or why it is still standing in this weeded field, or when it will inevitably be demolished. I like to think it was elegant once, before it became beautiful in its neglect.

Maybe there’s a story hiding here. Or maybe this building is just a tiny victim of urban rejuvenation that no one cared about before, and no one will care about after.

The mystery makes it fun. The FORBIDDENNESS makes it fun.

It’s the small adventures that stick. This is how I like Prague—a little weird, a little mysterious, a bit gritty, always intriguing.