We just got back from Prague and are happily eating Pad Thai from the restaurant around the corner and watching NFL football live on tv. It is a great end to a great weekend. I will describe.I was in Prague eight years ago when mom and I went for a week in late March, so I was expecting changes -- both because inter-European travel is so much easier now (total access with EU passports, common currency and inexpensive airlines) and because September is still considered high tourist season, while March is the end of low-season -- but it still surprised me how many people were there. I would guess 90% European tourists, mostly Spanish and Italians, but also quite a few of drunken British men as well. I am learning that they, along with the ubiquitous fake Irish bars that they frequent for football and beer, are considered the modern scourge of the continent.
The city has cleaned up a bit, especially around the Old Town Square. There are more shops and restaurants around and many more tacky souvenir stands as well. At points I was discouraged because it seemed like the Prague I remembered was completely gone, covered up and turned into Canon Beach, but I was wrong. They key, I think, was to go places I didn't go the first time, so I had nothing to compare to, and to be open to the weirdness that is still VERY much there. It was charming to see that, as Western as Prague is trying to be, and to a large part succeeding at being, there are things that are just a little off -- a little blue eye shadow and bad barrettes -- that keep it firmly Eastern European.Some highlights:
- Friday night we got a bit fancied up and went to find dinner. The first, nice place we tried was booked, so we asked for a recommendation at the hotel and wound up at The Seven Angels -- a cross between the restaurant in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" were Stacy and Mark Ratner went on their date (and Mark forgot his wallet so they drank 20 Cokes until Demone comes with Mark's wallet, thereby introducing Chekhov's gun to the story) and the first nice
restaurant you ever go to where you order off the real, not kids, menu. The tables were high and the wine glasses were enormous, adding to the feelings of wee. The restaurant served traditional Czech cuisine, so I had the chef's specialty - pink roast duck breast - and Tom had the Old Bohemian plate - a whole duck, a thick slice of pork and a slice of ham. MMMMMeat. And potato pancakes. There were musicians there playing traditional gypsy music (though there was some Tom Jones thrown in there -- who knew "Delilah" was the stuff of caravans?) and making us all clap at points. It was cheesy and touristy and delicious and really fun.- We went for a walk after dinner on Friday and got lost amidst the alleys of Old Town. I am not being poetic, I am being serious. Lost. After that we made a point to always carry a map. If you see me in December, ask me to show you where on the grid Stare Mesto is.
- Almost all Saturday was spent in Mala Strana. We walked up behind the castle and wound up coming up, over a hill with a view that actually made me cry. The day flowed from one thing to another. We saw a lot and were surprised by the experiences that came by surprise. Tom shot a cross bow at a target in the armament room of the castle, we saw an amazing photography display in the castle garden that juxtaposed photos of New York in 1973 with Pompeii. Whoever picked the locations for the photos (which were mounted on clear plexiglass, so the landscape and view became the frame) did a phenomenal job. We had a surreal experience in the Kafka museum (what did the surrealists and existentialists talk about?), walked across the Charles Bridge as the sun was going down, and enjoyed many beers through the day.- Saturday night we decided to try the fondue at the hotel restaurant. For me, fondue means cheese. For the restaurant, fondue meant a pot of hot oil and a platter of raw...wait for it...meat. I can't say it was delicious, but it was an experience not to be forgotten.
- Sunday we went to the Jewish Quarter, which I will write about at another time, and watched the runners finish the Prague Marathon in Old Town Square. I kept thinking about all that that square has witnessed, and the strangeness of our modern world. Who could have imagined, even 15 years ago, that runners in 100 Euro shoes and lycra shorts would fill the streets. It didn't seem like it would have been possible.To see the rest of my Prague photos, visit this site: http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=57272918/a=73549940_73549940/t_=73549940
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