Americans in Prague -or - Obama Sunday

Today was an awesome day! President Obama gave his speech in Prague. Being Palm Sunday, I thought I'd play up the Messiah-complex that followed him around during the campaign but really don't have the energy to do it. I will say, that just hearing he was going to visit the city and speak on the top of a hill, did bring out the masses though ;)

Earlier this week, we were informed that the Fulbright office had tickets for an event, which we later found out was actually to a special place "up front" for the public speech. Not sure what that meant, we got our tickets and hoped that it would truly be up front. The night before, my friend Kari and I had some time to kill so we went up to the castle and scoped things out. The speech was held in the castle square. We found out that the place was seriously up close but were still a little unsure that we'd be able to get where we were supposed to, even after we talked to some embassy folks. Fingers crossed, we shared our intel with the rest of the group and planned to gather at 6am to walk up to the castle. The gates opened at 7am. Here is how the rest of the day went.

We walked up to the castle and saw the crowd so we joined in, hoping that we were in the "special line" that we were told about. But the crowd grew and grew and it got a little scary at points. Then the police and anti-conflict team (seriously, it's what their jackets said) tried to get us all pushed back about 20 meters but no one wanted to give up their place towards the front of the line. Finally, we heard someone say that people with special tickets should move forwards on the right, along the wall. Luckily, that's where we were so we pushed forward to the security tents. After that it was easy.

Me standing in "my spot" - it was actually much closer than it looks. I was in the second row! There there was about 10 feet of open space, then the stage and the podium!

We were packed in pretty good, as you can see. These are some of the friends that I went with.

The square was full - I read that it could fit about 30,000 people.

We were in place by 7:30am and the speech didn't start until 10:00. What did we do? We talked about how tired we were. We chatted with the strangers around us. We listened to some of the music they played over the loud speakers. We chatted with the Secret Service guys when they came over.

Then a little after 9am - excitement! The Obama's have arrived. We couldn't see them but they were on the jumbotron and we could hear the two national anthems being played.

We passed around the Czech and American flags they passed out. We were told later by Secret Service that we couldn't have them in our hands when the President came around...apparently, they could be used as weapons.

Anytime someone went to the stage we gave a cheer - a little out of boredom, a little out of anticipation. When they came out to attach the presidential seal to the podium, we knew time was close.

So we waited some more until the pre-show. A band started to play some pop songs - Czech country & western, Bob Dylan in Czech. Then the non-live music - some Kanye West, U2 and we saw the Czech leaders come out to shake hands.

PM Topalenek - the man who said that the US steps agains the economic crisis are a "road to hell" - and President Klaus (above) came around. A couple of young Czech women were near us, who we were chatting with a bit. One of them really hated Klaus and booed him as he came around. She asked us if it were McCain would we still be here, and we said "yes" - national pride, etc. Later, when Obama came on stage, she was in tears.

And then...

There they were! It was surreal to see Barack and Michelle Obama so close - they didn't seem real. Now, I admit, I've been caught up in the hype - they have rock star celebrity and I'm all for it. It feels really good to have a President and First Lady that people around the world like! And I like them, too. Intelligent, articulate, great role models...what more do we need?

The man, who paraphrasing a predecessor, "brought Michelle Obama to Prague." His speech, you can read for yourself, but some reactions from my Czech friends. One sent me a text asking if I was there, saying that he seemed very sympathetic. Another, I chatted with on the way out, said that he was glad that Obama discussed our friendship between the two countries based on shared values, saying that there are still a number of people in parliament turned towards Russia.

I love this little Czech lady. She is on the front row. Was there as early as we are. Waited hours to hear this speech...and smiled the entire time!

When the speech was over, Michelle came back out (okay, I gotta say that I am not a big fan of the big, floppy bows but oh, well, it's in style these days...)

And then, they came to shake hands.

He worked his way down, surrounded by Secret Service and then he got to us...

and I shook his hand...

Then we realized that Michelle was coming around too and a little delighted gasp went up as we scurried for our cameras.

I shook her hand, too.

It was mad - crowded and excited. After hours of waiting, it was worth it to experience this piece of history. I met former President Bush (43) when he was Governor, but this is the first time I shook the hand of a sitting US President and it was one of most exciting moments of my life. I admit it, I am proud to be an American. So, sue me.

The rest of the day was a bit anti-climactic. We had to get out, following the crowd. We got lunch and went for a picnic in the park.

The statue of TG Masaryk - the first Czechoslovak President. He had strong ties to the US and worked for democracy. I like the idea that he was watching over it all.

If you want to see all the pics I took, check out my flicker album - Obama in Prague '09.