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| Prague from aloft |
So given that I spent the past week in Prague, I suppose a blog post is duly warranted. What started out as a long weekend trip to visit a few study abroad friends I had met in Cologne three years ago turned into a multiple day gustatory and cultural adventure.
The first aspect of Prague that impressed itself upon me is its stunning beauty. Well, I suppose more European cities would also be this spectacularly gorgeous, were it not for that pesky little ol' thang called WWII...but one interesting little tidbit about Prague is that it was never seriously bombed like the rest of Europe. So the architecture is incredible, there are heaps of statues a'plenty, and the sidewalks are a literal sea of mosaic stones. Plus, it's topography offers quite scenic hill-top views and a wide river to create some breathing space in the middle of the city. And with prices cheap enough to buy beer (at a club, no less) for around US$1.80--and the most gorgeous women--Prague is the place to be!
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| Trdelnik fresh from the vendor |
One of the principle themes of my trip was to check out the delicious (albeit meat and potato heavy) Czech cuisine. Because prices were so low, I could afford--on my measly student budget, no less--to eat out every day during my stay (sometimes even twice a day), and to order meals replete with soup, main course, and accompanying beer. Among the gustatory delights were Svíčková, or marinated beef tenderloin swimming in a plate of sweet-savory gravy, joined by those knedlíky guys (wheat dumplings), cranberry sauce, and whipped cream. Yes, you read right: the same whipped cream that we Americans put on cakes and other desserts has found its way onto slices of meat. Other notables are the bramboráky, which are sauerkraut pancakes, goulash, and beef tartare (admittedly, the latter two aren't traditionally Czech, but appear in nearly every 'Czech' restaurant there). On the sweet side, the trdelnik reigned supreme, which is a tubular pastry that can be found spinning 'round a wooden pole eagerly awaiting your enjoyment of it. There are almond and cinnamon varieties of them, and they're soft, flaky, a deliciously warm. Perfect winter treat! Beyond the food, there is of course the beer. Upon consuming glass after glass of pivo, it didn't take long for me to personally confirm all the good blandishments I had heard cast upon the Czechs' skill in brewing. Leaning more towards the dark beers, there was only one glass I didn't like (the ultra-cold and equally tasteless Budweiser Budvar I had at a Praha Sparta hockey match). In fact, a friend took me to an awesome pub that served over 150 different Czech brews, which I ended up going to another time as well.
My visit was extremely pleasant because I have five friends from my study abroad says in Cologne three years ago who currently live in Prague. Multiple times per day we convened and went about merrymaking. In fact, my one friend Martina was so generous as to meet me for lunch every day (thank Jebus she has a lenient boss)! When I wasn't meeting friends, I was either running (literally) several miles around town or footin' it for hours. When asked whether I had seen some of the more famous sites by Martina my second day there, I responded that I had quite actually seen them all in one run that morning! But because of the biting cold, I made frequent stops inside cafes and bars to warm up. Upon leaving the castle and descending the mount on which it sits, through the narrow streets lined with small and expensive shops and restaurants, I managed to find a decently-priced cafe that lured me in with it's epigram written upon the door: "tea is not dead." Indeed, the tea was delectable, but I quickly felt the attention I was trying to pay dear Nietzsche was quickly drifting away from my book. It always happens that when I travel, I much prefer to gaze out the window and contemplate as the world whizzes past me, rather than bothering to even pay heed to a book. Which was a good thing, because a self-proclaimed poet who was talking to a Turkish family piqued my interest--so I struck up a conversation with him, which ended up lasted well over an hour. I had never met an actual professional poet (he had published a collection of poems), and was eager to learn about his life. Much to my chagrin, he was actually an American who has been living in Prague for thirteen years, apparently sick of how things are handled in the US. Well we enjoyed each other's company so much that we decided to meet up the next day for lunch. I always do love those random encounters one has with interesting people when traveling. It never fails to inspire me and give me hope for the goodness of humanity.
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| Comely ice maidens |
That night, I had a taste of Prague nightlife. We went after sipping on a few beers at that great pub, which were sufficiently strong enough for me not to drink the rest of the night. But there are several hilarious anecdotes from this night. After the pub, we went to meet up with Moni and her friends for a night of bar and club hopping. After entering and quickly leaving many over-packed venues, we finally found a club with some room to dance. While there, I couldn't resist noticing the Prague wildlife--as I mentioned before, the women are absolutely gorgeous! Well, nor could I resist not talking to them. Now usually, I'm quite shy in social situations like these, and tend not to hit on women too bluntly or confidently. But on this particular night, the porters and stouts I had drunk had given me sufficient courage to approach the most beautiful women in sight, and say: "You may or may not speak English, but it doesn't matter, because I just wanted to tell you that you are incredibly attractive." When I had turned to leave, she stopped me and asked (in English) for my name, and we started a little conversation. Much to my infinite chagrin, she hailed from Texas and was in Prague for an internship. The conversation remained well-humored, but only that, and after a few minutes she ever-so-subtly brushed me off and left to rejoin her friends. Never able to pick up on such hints (I blame my ever-relentless optimism), I followed her and sat among her friends. When she was ignoring my attempts to talk with her again, another of her friends spoke words at me....but I was too distracted to care what she was saying. After a few minutes of boredom, I stood up, grabbed the Texan's hand, and kissed it goodbye (literally), saying it was a pleasure to have made the acquaintance of such a beautiful lady. Upon doing so, the dude sitting next to her--with his arm around her--duly informed me he was her boyfriend. Undaunted, I gently rubbed his chin, replied "hey, you're cute too!" and promptly left. Besides the inherent humor of this story, it marked a turning point in my skills of social interaction: I've learned from this that, despite anything you may say or do to place you into a potentially awkward (or dangerous) situation, there's always a way out! You just gotta keep your head about you, a smile on your face, and your sense of humor by your side. Also, I had one of the most hilarious conversations in 'Italian' with another girl as I was leaving the club. Throwing in assorted culinary phrases like 'frutti di mare' among bibbity bos and daddidi das, I hadn't had so much fun doing something random in quite some time.
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| Dinner with old friends! |
The absolute highlight of the trip, though, was Saturday night dinner. All seven of us (who had studied in Cologne together: me, William, and the five who live there) met up at Moni's place to cook a delicious vegetarian feast. I've been cooking mostly veggies as of late, partially due to a tight budget, partially because I'm freaked out by the quality of most commercially-available meat. I'm far from ever become a vego, but if I'm going to eat meat, by Jebus, it better be sanitarily and ethically produced! Anyway, we decided upon a menu of baba ganoush and spicy pumpkin-apple dip for starters, roast veg (featuring fennel, kohlrabi, celeriac, sweet potato, carrot, and onion), and apple pie and Linzer torte for dessert. Yes, two desserts for seven people. Couldn't have had a more delicious meal with better friends!
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| Near the Charles Bridge |
