Another pre-Christmas vacation, this time to Prague. Part pleasure, part business (I am writing an article on “Christmastime in Prague” for a culinary arts magazine), the trip is proving to be extremely pleasant, awe-inspiring, and easy. Usually our journeys are a comedy of errors – miss the flight, lose the luggage, get lost and get a traffic ticket. Yet, in Prague everything has gone surprisingly smoothly. Could we be starting a new trend? I won’t bank on it. The journey is not over yet!
We’ve rented a toasty, quiet and spacious 2-bedroom apartment in the Old Town section of the city for a mere $75/night. Five minutes from our front door lies Old Town Square where a large Christmas market is in full swing. Wooded stalls housing handmade crafts, Czech crystal, live animals (donkeys, sheep, miniature horses) and an assortment of Czech foods dot the immense ancient square. As we browse, we enjoy live traditional music and the amazing Romanesque, Baroque
and Gothic architecture, styles that blend seamlessly together and provide an endless visual delight. After 2 days in Prague we’ve concluded that it is, by far, the prettiest city that we have ever visited. Our regrets to Paris, Venice, Budapest and the like but Prague is simply stunning.
Since I’m here to research the Czech holiday cuisine, we’re attempting to be more adventurous with our meals than usual. Thus far we’ve sampled hot spiced wine (which, as in New Orleans, everyone can drink while walking along the cobbled streets), bramborak or spiced potato pancakes, “karamel a mandelicky,” which is a delectable ring of dough baked and covered in carmelized sugar, roasted almond pancakes, some of “the best beer in Europe” and GROG! Not sure if I’ll swig down some absinthe, the quasi-hallucinogenic liquor banned in the U.S., but dumplings, fried carp, and goulash are defintely in our future. I am, however, trying to avoid the ubiquitous pig knuckles. (We really need to bring along some omnivorous friends to try those popular meat dishes. Anyone for a nice pork schnitzel?)
Contrary to the dire Yahoo! forecasts, the weather has been cold but nice. No snow. No sleet. No freezing rain. The citizens speak impeccable English and are friendly, helpful, and well-mannered. The streets are noticeably clean and neat. Everyone recycles obsessively. Drinking beer at breakfast is not uncommon yet we’ve not encountered any fall-down drunkenness on the streets. Food, books, and the aforementioned handicrafts are relatively inexpensive. Gosh, when are we moving?!
Later in the week we’ll visit the homes of two Prague cooks, check out the museum of Communism, attend a symphony performance and try to master a few more Czech words besides “thank you.” (spelled “dekuji” and pronounced “deck-wee.”)
More later . . .
-Kath and Sean
