Bowler hat and briefcase ready: Monty Python's Silly Walk strides back onto Prague streets

Monty Python's Silly Walk is making a triumphant return to the streets of Prague this weekend, marking the first time in a decade that the Czech capital has witnessed this annual display of bowler hats and sideways strides.

The original Silly Walk, immortalized by the British comedy troupe Monty Python's Flying Circus sketch series in the 1970s, features British actor and comedian John Cleese as a civil servant lumbering to work at the "Ministry of Silly Walks."

The International Day of Silly Walks is now observed around the world, from Budapest to Reykjavik, on Jan. 7 every year.

In the Czech Republic, the annual event has a particularly strong following in Brno, where hundreds of people participated in last year’s Silly Walk, now in its 11th year.

The last Prague Walk was held in 2012. Now, a group of dedicated Monty Python enthusiasts has decided to revive the tradition.

One of the walk's organizers, Tashi Erml, a 29-year-old Czech communication consultant, said he first watched the Monty Python movies when he was about 13 and has been a fan ever since. He notes that the Silly Walk has a strong connection to the Czech Republic.

"The Silly Walk is strongly connected with the Czech Republic. Since 2012, when the first marches took place in Prague and Brno, the event has spread to other Czech cities and even abroad. The organizers from Brno have been very active in this, and the International Silly Walk Day came into being thanks to them. So, it is great that this fun event is spreading further to the world."

Erml says that several hundred participants are expected to participate in the Prague event, which begins at 2 p.m. in front of the Palladium at Náměstí Republiky. Silly walkers will then proceed along Na Příkopě Street to the lower part of Wenceslas Square. The entire route is about 700 meters long.

As Czechs aren't particularly known for their outward displays of public silliness, Erml said that previous marches were met with "surprise and incomprehension." But in the land of Franz Kafka, the Silly Walk's satire of bureaucratic inefficiency has managed to strike a chord with some.

"Many people were amused by the parade, and for a while, even passers-by or some tourists joined in. Let's see how this march goes this time," Erml told us.

His advice for first-time Silly Walk march participants? Wearing a suit with a bowler hat and a briefcase is encouraged, but not required. And while he says there are no real rules, the key is to look as serious as possible while walking silly.

“Quite a few people make the 'mistake' of waving their arms and leaning in various ways while walking as well. The trick is to have only your legs silly and the rest of your body held normally,” Erml pointed out.