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Arrival and First Day

So, Little Brother arrived on Wednesday the 17th for a one-week visit: his first overseas flight! (Way to go, Little Brother! Yay!). I went out to Prague Airport to meet him. As is typical in our family, he couldn’t sleep on the flight over, so he was dead on his feet. I had already told him, though, that I was going to make sure that he stayed up until at least 7, if not 8, PM to help him adjust more quickly to the time difference.

By the time we left the metro at Náměstí Míru, though, the adrenalin of his new surroundings was starting to kick in, and he was fascinated by the architecture.

As luck would have it, there was a vacant room in the flat where I’m living, and my landlord agreed to let LB have it for the week (Thanks, Jarda!). One of our first stops, after we had gotten him settled into his room, was the local Albert’s to pick up some of the basic necessities (Coke and beer mainly). LB was particularly taken with the sight of Budvar Super Strong, Budvar being, of course, the real Budweiser:

The concept of bacon-flavored Lays also caught his attention, and he had to get a bag of chips as well:

Lays also comes in a roasted chicken with thyme flavor in France, I told him. (For some reason, neither flavor can be found on the Frito-Lay website; I’m not sure what to make of that.)

After our shopping trip and walking around the neighborhood, we came back to the flat and sat up talking and watching xXx, which, since it’s largely set in Prague, seemed like a good way to introduce LB to the city.

Second Day: The Walking Tour

The next morning, LB was up by about 10:30 and at about noon we set off on a walking tour of central Prague. Our first stop was the National Museum, at the top of Václavské Náměstí. Because of the current exhibition commemorating the 40th anniversary of Prague Spring, there is a Russian tank parked in front of the Museum. Needless to say, that caught LB’s attention.

We moved on down the Square, pausing to admire the equestrian statue of King Václav. I also took LB into the Lucerna so that he could get a look at the inverted statue of Václav. Wandering in and out of a few stores on the way, we meandered on down to Staroměstské náměstí, stopping briefly at the Sex Machines Museum ("the first museum in the world devoted to sexual gadgets").

From Staroměstské náměstí, we wandered down Pařižká, the high-end shopping district. From there, on to the Rudolfinum to stroll down the bank of the Vltava to cross Karlův Most (the Charles Bridge).

Crossing the bridge, we paused to listen to a Dixieland Jazz Band play; a little ways down, a violinist was playing Dvořak.

Arriving in Malá Strana, we stopped to visit Vrtbovská zahrada (Vrtba Garden). We walked in on the preparation for a wedding, but they didn’t try to keep us out, so we were able to wander through the garden and admire the view from the top.
The lowest terrace:

One of the fountains:

LB on the second terrace:

We also made a brief detour by Panny Marie Vítězné (Our Lady Victorious; home of the statue of the Infant of Prague). My goal in Malá Strana, though, was the Lanova Draha (funicula) up Petřin Hill to get to the Observation Tower (Prague’s answer to the Eiffel Tower). There is no elevator in the Observation Tower: just 299 stairs, so we decided not to climb up the Tower to admire the view.

From Petřin Hill, we hiked more or less cross-country to Hradčany, which is a lot harder than it appears from just looking at a map. But once there, we were able to wander through the castle complex and visit St. Vitus Cathedral.

By this time, we had been walking for about five hours, so it was time to head down the hill to catch the tram home. After dinner (tomato soup and pizza at Matylda), we went home to rest up for a planned Friday trip to Karlštejn.

My new favorite drink is the Flirtini, as it is made at the Mánesova location of Bar and Books. According to wikipedia, the drink was popularized by Sex and the City and is made up of vodka, pineapple juice and champagne. But I utterly detest vodka. Fortunately for me, the Bar and Books version is Seagram’s gin shaken with Cointreau, muddled pineapple and pineapple juice, with a champagne (okay, this is Europe, with appellation controllée, so it’s actually Prosecco) float.

Seriously yummy.

I’ve tried their Chelsea Rose, too, which is described as Hendrick’s gin, raspberry purée, apple juice and elderflower cordial. Sounded interesting, but I didn’t care for that one all that much. I found it thin and bland.

But the Flirtinis will keep me coming back. Well, and the staff, too: they’re way nice, too.

For no particular reason, I took some pictures as I was crossing Most Legií on my way home from Mass this evening.

This one is looking downstream towards Vyšehrad:

That "swan" in the lower left is actually a paddle boat:

You rent paddle boats at Slovanský Ostrov:

There are locks on the Vltava, I guess to help boats come up river?

Looking over to Prague Castle:

Looking over in the direction of Staroměstské náměstí:

And last, but not least, a lamppost, just because I liked it:

Dogs are tolerated just about everywhere in Prague, including on public transit and in shops and restaurants. A week or so ago, I watched a woman share her vepřový řízek (pork schnitzel) with her lap dog at a fairly upscale restaurant.

They’re amazingly well-behaved, too, I must say. They don’t bark much (and if you hear a barking dog, it’s almost always a puppy still being trained), and they seldom fight with other dogs. Czechs obviously put a good deal of effort into training their dogs. This afternoon, I watched as a woman walking her (leashless) dog set down her tote bag. I was too far away to be able to tell if the woman actually gave her dog an order or not, but the dog very promptly and daintily hopped into the bag and sat and watched its surroundings alertly as the woman picked up the bag and continued down the street. The woman crossed the street, set the bag down again, the dog hopped out, and they continued on their way. I have no idea what that whole bag thing was about, but I was impressed by the dog’s prompt reaction.

With all the dogs in Prague, you would expect dog droppings to be an issue, and indeed, when I first arrived, it was necessary to watch your step. In an attempt to lessen the problem, the City provides bags for the dog owners:

While I frequently see people picking up after their animals, though, I can’t say that I’ve ever seen anyone actually use these bags.

Prague recently implemented stricter litter laws, including a requirement to pick up after your pets, and I surprised to see that it really has made a difference.

So, I went out to dinner this evening, to one of my preferred restaurants, U Básníka Pánve. I ordered one of my favorites, the boar goulash. In the mood for a green veggie to go with it, I also ordered a side of … wait for it … steamed broccoli!

What? You aren’t shocked? The waiter was. "But, the goulash comes with dumplings!" "Yes, I know." "So, you want the broccoli instead of dumplings?" "No, I just want a green vegetable." "But no soup or salad?" "No, that will be all." So away he went, shaking his head at the strange American.

Maybe if I had ordered a side of red cabbage, it would have gone over better. As it is, I’m left to wonder if goulash with broccoli on the side is really that disturbing to Czech sensibilities. I have ordered broccoli at this restaurant before, though I don’t remember whether or not I’ve ever done so with the goulash.

Both the goulash and the broccoli were fine, so at least the kitchen wasn’t too offended.

The menu, incidentally, contains some of really enchanting examples of quirky translation:

• It took me a while to figure out that the "Lukul shrimps" are meant to be "Local shrimp" (although I’m still not certain where local shrimp could possibly be coming from).
• The Moravian goose liver is "nifty".
• Duck breast on torn lettuce with golden pear, walnuts and fig jam is "amazingly marinated".
• The Maravian sour soup with home-made sausages and smoked knee (sic) is "smoothed with ripened cream", not topped with sour cream.
• "Crunchy chick" is undoubtedly better than it sounds (it is described as a chicken breast marinated in Argentinean spices and stuffed with dry ham, cream cheese, coated with sweet corn flakes and almonds).
• The home-made chocolate cake with forest fruits and whipped cream is "bombastic", while the strawberry and banana fondue with chocolate and Baileys is "amorous".