Living in Prague is Making Sense!

I just got back from the grocery store and I think I'm getting the hang of it. Compared to my first uncomfortable and rather embarrassing foray, this was smooth as butta.

I pushed my 10 crown coin into the handle and released my cart from it's lock, I then grabbed a litre of Mleko from the shelf, ordered some "grilvany kure" (grilled chicken) without sounding like a total 'tard and made my way towards the veggies. I put a few mushrooms in a bag, placed them on the scale, did the touch screen thang, out pops the sticker price tag, and on it goes to the bag. (By the way, Czechs use decagrams, not grams for food--for example, 100 grams equals 10 decagrams or "deset deka." It took me quite a while to figure that one out! ) Then I went to the baked goods area, bagged a baguette, found some new foreign cheese on sale (appropriately stinky) and threw that into the cart as well. They have almost no boxed cereals and the imported ones are way expensive but they do have a huge selection of Museli so I grabbed the most delicious looking one and proceeded to the packaged soups where Knorr sells a respectable instant Goulash soup that just needs water. They have a nice selection of wines from California, Chile, Argentina, Australia, and local Moravian ones but I opted for a Cotes du Rhone from France. Last but not least, the check out counter...have money ready and bag your own stuff quickly! no holding up the line in this store unless you want the hairy eyeball from the locals. Take shopping cart back to lock up area, push in lock, out pops 10 crown coin and done! Phew!

So, before I close this epistle on getting my groove thang in Prague, I have a few more observations to add to my original ones.
All the bathrooms (toaleta) have motion sensor lights which turn on as you enter. Should you sit motionless on the toaleta for too long, you'll be pitched into blackness. The first time it happened, I was like, "who turned out the lights!?" Doy!

The cutlery and napkins will always be grouped together in a container on the table, not laid out on a placemat.

The beer is cheaper than water and much more delcious!

The waiter/waitress comes to your table at the end of the meal with his/her cash purse and adds up your meal individually unless someone is picking up the whole tab. The tip is usually included.

If you order condiments like mayonnaise or mustard, they'll charge extra. Same for the old bread basket.

Everyone smokes, even durng meals. The other night we were enjoying our Americky Burgers and some dude was puffin' away on a huge stogie. Ahhhhh, second hand smoke for dessert.

You can't go wrong with the soups! The other day I had the best chicken noodle soup of my life! (sorry mom) and it was 35 cz or $2 Cdn. Steal deal!

They take their dogs on the Metro. They also take their bikes, suitcases, baby strollers and anything else they feel like hauling along. Have shit, will travel!

Chocolate bars and chocolates are cheap, of good quality and plentiful! I have a small hoarde of Toblerone from Switzerland in the fridge--100 g bar is only $1.25 Cdn. I would never buy it before 'cause it was too expensive!

Ya, life in Prague is pretty sweet. : )

A Moveable Feast--Paris 2

If I could have one wish, it would be a fabulously decorated pad on the left bank near Place Maubert where I stumbled across a market of fresh produce, large wicker baskets of inexpensive red wine and small shops stocked to the hilt with fine cheeses and pates. That to me would be heaven on earth! We had just surfaced from Paris' famous maze of metros into the sunshine when, voila! the market unfolded before my eyes. The baskets of wine were overflowing with all types of cab sauvs, merlots and bourdeaux just begging to be sampled and for the mere price of 4 euros! I started to imagine the scenario...it's a Saturday morning... you wake up and down some fresh ground, then hop on your oh so French electric byciclet bound for the Place Maubert market. You know the vendors and you exchange pleasantries as you load your eco-friendly shopping bag with pates, cheeses, wines and more wines, perhaps a fresh chunk of lamb, some haricot vert, some dark chocolate, the newspaper, the croissants...maybe you pause to purchase a new scarf or some other attractive trinket. Ahhhhh, that would be fantastique! May I wake up one day to this reality!!

So, when I was shopping for souvenirs to take back with me, I had to have some stinky brie and some chocolate. The brie spent the night outside the window of my hotel room although I was a bit worried the pigeons might try to steal it. Do french pigeons like stinky brie? The chocolate is perfuming the interior of my backpack, as it should. I love Paris.

A Moveable Feast--Paris 1

I know everybody and their Uncle Bob has been to Paris but not everyone has the same experience. This little "blague" is about some of the food I savoured in this great epicurean capital. Anyone who knows me knows that eating is one of my biggest priorities so anticipation of the delights to follow was almost fever pitch.

Shortly after tossing our baggage into our little room at the Hotel Absolute in the 11th Arrondissment, we crossed the broad boulevard towards a small cafe called "La Grisette." The idea was just to order a simple sandwich. Well, the glorious baguette stuffed with country style pate was just so enticingly delicious to look at I was hesitant to take that first bite. Crusty baguette heaven! Mon Dieux! The texture! The flavour! Now, a healthy mouthful of that bourdeaux to wash it all down and.... ahhhhhhh! This is what lunch should be all about: simple food with great flavour in a comfortable environment and at a decent price. My baguette was only 4 euros and I would have happily paid more based on the freshness and flavour alone. The tradition of wine with meals is just plain good sense, but more on that in a bit.

I've always been a huge fan of onion soup and have tried it in many places over the course of many years but this was my first one in Paris. We selected a small, traditional eatery called "Perraudin" in the Latin Quarter on rue St Jacques which hasn't changed much since the turn of the 19th century. The place is an absolute delight from the moment you enter the front door. "Bon soir, Madame!" says the friendly male waiter, as he leads you to that perfect little table by the window. The food was so wonderful, we returned the next night to try more! The onion soup was perfectly savory with the cheese broiled on top to a perfect turn, the beef bourginon was brought to the table in a cast iron pot, set down and the lid lifted with a steamy flourish to reveal the tender beef swimming in a bath of rich gravy and tiny patates. Thick slices of crusty bread served to sop up the last precious drop! Just when you think you've died and gone to heaven, the waiter brings the dessert. The chocolate profiteroles topped with toasted almonds at Perraudin are reason enough to go. You talk about what you want for the last supper before you leave this earth?? I want those profiteroles. There is no way to describe their chocolaty perfection except to say...orgasmic!!! Now, I haven't described the lamb, the silky cheesiness of the scalloped potatoes or l'escargot, but I do have to mention the pate. The picture really doesn't do the pate any justice in terms of it's flavour when combined with the fruit compote and a sip of the recommended Monbazillac. That ten minutes of eating goes down in my personal history as the best eating minutes of my life and if eating like this kills me, I will go with pleasure.

Muchovo Muzeum

Alfons Mucha (1860-1939)

There's a great little museum in the center of Old Town Square featuring the work of Alfons Mucha. It wasn't until I visited that I realized the extent of Mucha's work. Most people recognize his famous posters of beautiful women with flowing hair adorned with flowers, but I hadn't realized he also created designs for champagne, cigarette papers, stamps, even Czech monetary notes. I visited the museum recently and was busy taking photographs without realizing there was a "no photos" sign posted until my friend gave me a nudge. Oops! Too late, the deed was done and now I am posting the best of what I got.

Mucha was actually from Moravia although many people believe he was French. He really hit fame and fortune when he designed a poster advertising Sarah Bernhardt's Gismonda in 1895 and Paris became home for many years. He later returned to his native land and got involved in a series of important projects including the design of the stained-glass window in St. Vitus Cathedral along with his major contribution to the Municipal House which is entirely Art Nouveau. I read somewhere that he actually wanted to do more, but his fellow artists were jealous and he had to curb his enthusiasm.

Mucha apparently died a few days after a brutal interrogation by the Gestapo shortly after they occupied the city. It's a sad ending to an amazing career but how lucky we are that his work is beautifully featured in the country he loved.

St. Vitus, Mucha, Lennon and more...

It was a rainy day and perfect for a visit to the hallowed interior of Prague's greatest cathedral, St. Vitus. The spires tower high above the enclosing walls of the castle and it's one of the must sees when visiting the city. Usually the crowds are massive and snake down the laneway forever, but due to the inclement weather, we were able to get inside after a relatively short wait in the rain and wind.

So, now for the important data. It was ordered built by Charles IV back in 1353 in order to make Prague worthy of the Holy Roman Empire. A couple of the chief engineers died in the process and building was halted time and time again. It wasn't actually completed until 1929 and was reconsecrated on the anniversay of the assassination of St. Wenceslas. (Wenceslas's Crown Chamber is so opulent, we were only allowed to peek at it from a distance.) Anyway, the stained glass windows are one of the main attractions. The rose window depicts the creation of the world and is made from 27,000 pieces of glass (by Frantisek Kysela) but the window many visitors come to photograph is the Alfons Mucha design with it's clearly art nouveau lines. It's just breathtakingly gorgeous! I could stand and look at it all day.

The St. Wenceslas chapel was ordered built by Charles IV over Wenceslas's original tomb and it's the cathedral's most sacred space, decorated with paintings and semi-precious stones. Above is where the crown jewels of Bohemia are tucked away and only brought out for viewing on very special occasions.

So after the cathedral, we walked down to Charles Bridge and made our way to the John Lennon Wall. It was created following his assassination and was originally a source of conflict between the secret police and the young artists. Yoko Ono came to visit the wall and was photographed signing a section of it. It still attracts thousands of visitors to Prague and is in a really beautiful location across from the French consulate on a leafy street with no traffic.

Put Pork on your Fork!

I've well and truly arrived in the land of everything porkish. The menu is one long list of pork done every which way but loose. If you go into the old part of town there are sausage stands on every corner and a huge selection of stuffed links. The only problem is, I have no idea what the difference is in all the various sizes, colors and I don't want to think too much about it, if you know what I mean. Around the corner from the school there is a very attractive beer garden that has excellent klobasa and that's one of the TEFL students, Ian, in the picture about to take a bite. He loves it! Plus the price is right! It's always served with lots of horseradish, spicy mustard and maybe a banana pepper or two. Washed down with a cold Pilsner and you have a meal! So, as I continue to explore the offerings of this porcine obcessed culure, I'm sure I'll have an opportunity to put lots more pork on my fork.