asiava: please tell me you're joking. Toledo has as much history as all of E. Europe combined and that is probably the third most historic city in Spain. Please tell me you will travel extensively when you're there.
when i was there, i spent a week in spain, half a week in germany, a weekend in austria, and 4 months in Prague.
and no, i'm not joking. The city was founded in 600 b.c. and has gone through too many political changes to name, especially in the last 100 years. The city itself has been a cultural mecca due to its central european location and its magnificent arts. The city is one of the only cities in europe that hasn't been touched by war, except for one church in the the center. I agree that Spain has incredible culture, i loved it, but saying that the Czech Republic doesn't have any culture is just preposterous. The Slavic lands have been around just as long as anywhere else in Europe, and have seen many different occupations, from the prussian empire, to the ottoman, roman, etc... It is a city built on history, just as many of the other cities in Europe. However it has gone a little less scathed by the hand of western culture. A lot of things that we see in the states can be seen in Spain, France, England. They all have their own cultures, but they heavily influenced our own, so we see a lot of that. Either way comparing cultural relevency is like comparing daughters and sons, they are different but they are all equally important.
The main point i wanted to make was that by going to a country that wasn't a part of Western Civilization, or Western Europe (not on the euro, not heavily invaded by tourists) i (we if you include kougs) got a completely different reference point on how people operate. I agree that if you just visit Prague for a weekend you will only get the english side of things. The same thing applies to any major city or tourist spot. If you immerse yourself in it then you find out about a completely different European sentiment; that which is alienated and often left to die. I don't want to get into an essay about it, but saying that Spain is some phenomenal cultural symbol in comparison to the Czech Republic is audacious on so many levels.
