Existentialisms

29 August - The major impression that i've got on the changes since my last visit to Prague is that everything is more crowded, more Western and more expensive. As with much of the travelling on this last journey the touristas seem to be overwhelmingly Spanish students and families and a fair smattering of the Stansted crowd - doing their bit in helpingthe sun set on the British empire. That said, it's no less beautiful - have confined myself to the walking distances of the old city but with two days that's really the only sensible option. Despite having benefited immensely from having the bicyle for most of the cities i've travelled (both Chevette and the Diamant) i'm quite glad not to have her in this city - cobblestones abound and the hills and narrow winding streets would not be fun to negotiate. And this is a walking city when all is said and done. Can't imagine that most of the sites would have changed to much so have been givingthem a cursory once over but did score a brilliant little tour though the Kafka museum and because I found myself stuck in the middle of a student group I only paid half price (huzzah). This meagre saving was quickly destroyed by a desire, nay a need, to sample a proper Czech meal before departure (i'll be eating Slovak from the morrow I presume). Ordered the pork knuckle - having seen some decent one man versions as i've passed through the township but was ill prepared for what was plonked down in front of me - I obviously made the mistake of eating over the past week because starving myself would have been the only way possible to get through this meal - a dish that belonged in some bizarre Goscinny-Uderzo fantasy world than in this one - still, whilst I may no longer be officially of the immortal class I ravaged it like no man of my modest girth should have been able to ravage it. The afternoon included More wanderings with intermittent forays into various apothecaries and optometristaries with the goal of findingsome replacement hard contact cleaning solution with a disturbing lack of success - most places seemed to have soft cleaning solution but nary one was to be found that sold the good stuff. Have complained in a previous post about the lack of support for the RGP wearing populace in Australia -the only solutions available ar in enormous vats that will always expire before they can be fully used - in Canadia they had a brilliant setup, small kits with cleaner, conditioner and a new lens case (the case should be replaced periodically as per my optom's recommendation) for four or five bucks a pop - and the worst thing is that these kits ar available in Australia but they're not sold to the public and ar only given away as a sample pack the FIRST time you get contact lenses. They won't even sell them to you when you shell out hundreds of dollars for a new pair - despite numerous requests and pleadings to various optometrists, dispensers and even the manufactuers i've never been able to get anywhere with them. But here in the Paris of the east it seems impossible to even get the solution. I know that the number of people wearing hard contact lenses has dropped considerably over the years - mainly due to rise of disposable and long wearing softs and the increase in people getting Lasik surgery but there ar some who choose not to go down that path and others (like me) who have no choice but to stick with RGPs because of particular conditions. Sight is one of the most important of the senses and where treatment is available for eye conditions it is a human right - people and institutions may be in the medical industry for profit motives but they have a responsibility to provide proper and adequate treatment for their customers and this includes making the right products available for people to maintain medical devices such as contact lenses. This is a sage that just will not end.
Last night in Prague meant I was obliged to try for a night out - met some Murrican/English, had some excessive consumptions and was attacked on the way home by a very strange woman, but hey, this is Prague and i'm on holiday ...