February 2015
My second year in Czechia, and I'm just starting to explore it. If memory serves me right, I almost went through towns alphabetically, that's why Benesov was around the same time
Now I more or less like Beroun because of its location: about 40 minutes by train from Prague, nature all around. Back then I didn't remember anything about Beroun at all, just another depressing shithole
If only I knew then that apartments here would be not much cheaper than in Prague
Apparently because there are parodies of bike lanes here
Apparently because everything's falling apart before your eyes here
Apparently because it's quite normal here to drive at this speed before a "children" sign
Apparently because drivers are well protected from pedestrians trying to cross the street
Looking at the map, I climbed somewhere up (in previous shots I walked "left from the station")
Eleven-year-olds aren't welcome here
View from above of Beroun
Bears in a free park. Funny thing - I didn't understand what they were for at all. A few years later it became clear that Beroun comes from the word bear (ber)
It was so depressing that in the center I saw a cinema showing a film by a director we talked about in Czech courses when we watched Czech New Wave films
Everything's on the new wave here too, you can already rent DVDs (as of 2022 a square meter in Beroun can cost around 4 thousand euros)
The very center
The most central square, looking like depressing shit
We went into a Mexican restaurant - all Mexican joints in Czechia are most likely decorated by gypsies
It was so depressing in Beroun that we decided to go to the cinema
And as ironic as it was, at the cinema they gave free food to those who bought a 100 crown ticket
And just so it wouldn't seem like too little, the director himself came to the cinema - one of the few Czech directors who has an Oscar. They showed 2 of his films that were restored in good quality.
(that's not him)
After the film he answered questions. The director's name is Jiří Menzel, by the way. What surprised me - the Oscar-winning director was dressed like a grandpa from the market, answered questions uninterestingly, and the questions were shitty.
I had cognitive dissonance that day - I always thought famous people were interesting.
Over time I realized they're interesting only to themselves, not to everyone.
And Beroun yeah, a hole through and through, but now everything there costs millions, because it's such civilization. People in 2022 have lost their fucking minds.