After his murder on 8 December 1980 John Lennon became a pacifist hero for many young Czechs. An image of Lennon was painted on a wall in a secluded square opposite the French Embassy (there is a niche on the wall that looks like a tombstone), along with political graffiti and Beatles lyrics.
Despite repeated coats of whitewash, the secret police never managed to keep it clean for long, and the Lennon Wall became a political focus for Prague youth (most Western pop music was banned by the communists, and some Czech musicians were even jailed for playing it).
Post-1989 weathering and lightweight graffiti ate away at the political messages and images, until little remained of Lennon but his eyes, but visiting tourists began making their own contributions.
A living piece of art.
Love Locks Bridge
A symbol of love throughout Europe, Prague is no exception with the love locks along the canal near the Charles Bridge in Prague’s Mala Strana.
I take it that the meaning behind the lock is everlasting love. Lovers fix their locks on fences or gates, often throwing away the key in a romantic gesture of their love, locked together through time. We have seen this in many places including France and England. We did come across a bridge in Munich where they had taken to them with bolt cutters citing the weight was too great for the bridge!?........... Take that as you will.
So what the world, or at least Munich, doesn't need now is anymore "love, sweet love"?
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