My Taste of Freedom in Prague

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Prague is the love object of my desire. Did you ever have a love interest who was so beautiful yet you know you could not live together? For me, that was the relationship I had with the most beautiful city in the world. I also feel a sense of freedom in Prague and the Czech Republic, an escape from Republican regimes in one's own country, no matter which century, with laws that are less Puritanical and oppressive than in the New World. The Czech Airlines flight hinted of things to come: the Czech personality and diet are there for you to observe before you land. Ask only once when you request something. It will be done eventually. The Czechs do not forget. I had a good travel agency that took care of all of my needs, parking me in the center of town and arranging limousines from the airport to the hotel and back a week later (without a reminder) and arranging a tour so we don't miss any must-sees.



As far as cuisine – think cold cuts (even for breakfast), sausages & goulash. A pork medallion (and everything else) will have brown sauce ladled over it. I had to cross over into Hungary to commune with a tomato based sauce again. I enter a supermarket to imagine what it would be like to shop here for an American expat. Fresh vegetables as I know them were hard to come by. I certainly did not see much greenery on my plate in the restaurants I visited. I require huge amounts of fiber and fresh produce daily to prevent gastric distress. I feared for my quickly hardening arteries and the digestive havoc of traveling to a meat-and-potatoes based diet.





The Cloister Inn is an immaculately appointed hotel in Stare Mesto (Old Town). We were able to walk to Old Town Square, the Clock Tower (The Astronomical Clock), Church of the Tyn, Charles Bridge, the Castle, St. Vitus, Josefov, Mala Strana, Nove Mesto (New Town). And that we did. All in one day. You can live a whole lifetime in Prague in a day.

The hotel had free Internet access in the lobby so one can keep in touch with American pals easily. I like that I had a separate bed in a separate room from my travel buddy. The hotel was a medieval nunnery then headquarters for the Secret Police during the Communist era, a versatile space. If the Czech Republic were still a Communist satellite, I imagine my hotel would be mysteriously switched at the last minute (the better to spy on you). Newly renovated with up-to-the-minute furnishings in a spacious set of rooms make this place a best buy & best bet when in Prague. There’s no restaurant, but there is a breakfast room, serving hard boiled eggs, sausages, cold cuts, fruit salad, cucumbers, pickles, yogurt, cereal and bread (but not great bread). Cooked food is not an option. But we are ravenous every morning and it hits the proverbial spot. We console ourselves with orange juice and good coffee. I like that we were offered breakfast even with our late arrival on the first day. And the staff mercifully speaks English.



Hotel Cloister Inn

Konvikska 14 Praha 1

Tel: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]



The Old Town Square may be one of the more stunning squares in the world, with its Astronomical Clock, Church of the Tyn, it’s offshoot Parizka Street (think Madison Ave,-Hugo Boss, Alfred Dunhill and other high end retailers with high end restaurants to match). The statue of Jan Hus is in the center of the Square and intrigues me. Jan Hus was a Czech theologian, the first church reformer, so consequently he was burned at the stake for heresy against the doctrines of the Catholic Church. Go at night, it’s less crowded and mysteriously (but well) lit.



We amble down Parizska to the Vtlava River and follow it to the Charles Bridge on this overcast, fog-riddled day. This medieval bridge dumps us directly into the Castle District. The Bridge & district are quite uncharacteristically lacking in crowds, a clear advantage traveling off season. We take a long steep incline of a street to reach Castle Square, also impressive. Prague Castle is the largest in the world. Nearby, St. Vitus Cathedral also impresses. The Castle District and the Mala Strana are the most expensive real estate in the city.



The streets and alleys of Prague are non-stop beauty. No one is afraid to walk anywhere. Sometimes I think this city is a continuous party. All buildings, including the ancient grande dame examples of architecture are in excellently restored condition.



It is Tuesday afternoon after the morning tour of the city. I am not impressed. We are unceremoniously dumped off at Old Town Square and we must hoof it back to our hotel. But we are approached by a young Czech (freezing in 30 degree F weather) hawking a classic Czech restaurant, Restaurace U Zlaty Andelu (now closed). The space with white tablecloths and vaulted ceilings reminds me of the original Bouley space in New York City, just more tired, a bit more worn and with Middle European in décor. But we are warm and comfortable. We order onion soup (don’t even think about the French version) and a goulash, hearty and heavy but good, very good. Service was uncommonly patron oriented, so I suspect they get a lot of English speaking tourists here.





I am off to the hotel to sleep-I am uncharacteristically unproductive. I wake and it’s time for dinner. I spy a card on the desk suggesting “Stoleti”, a restaurant contender for dinner. We are game. We show up, no reservations, and our host dismisses a couple ahead of us, then gives them the last available table. I tell him we are from the Cloister Inn and his place was recommended. He grudgingly gives us a barroom table with a caveat to leave in one and a half hours as it is reserved for someone else. Well, three hours later we still haven’t received our bill. Typical Czech service-they snap at you when you enter their restaurant, then they don’t want you to leave. The food: a medicinal Campari and soda to calm my nerves, salad with Gorgonzola, nuts and grapes, Spanish souffle (with gelatinous Hollandaise sauce) and rice pudding. It is probably 11:00 pm at night by the time we leave the restaurant. We slowly make our way back to the hotel, turning a corner and coming face-to-face with a clot of a dozen youths. But Prague and it's narrow alleys are surprisingly safe.



Restaurace Stoleti

Karoliny Svele 21 (at Konvikska) Praha 1

Tel: [phone]



Our first night in Prague we stumble on the cobblestoned streets of Old Town only one block to find Klub Architecktu, a subterranean vault with stone walls, vaulted ceilings and candlelit-like lighting (from lights suspended from the ceiling to 1” of our tabletop.)



Our salads were followed by vegetarian sausage (sure tasted like a hot dog) along with a Blue-tini (vodka, Blue Curacao and white cranberry juice) and our bill had all to do to rise above single digits.



As we had no reservations, we had to share a table with some darling Brits. Throughout our stay in Prague, the Brits in town were our companions and we were inexplicably approached by many.



Klub Architecktu

Betlemska (near Komvitska)

Old Town, Prague 1

420-224-248-878



Our third day we head to Tesco Dept. store, only because it was nearby. We are crushed by the high prices (same as New York City) and K-Mart atmosphere.



Off of Wenceslas Square, the Herald Square of Prague but it’s a wide grand boulevard of hotels, shops, and the Navodni (National) Museum. We pay our $3.00 US and take a look. Basically it is the Museum of Natural History in New York, but not as well executed.



We cannot bear any more sausages and cold Czech shoulder, so we head directly for the James Joyce Pub (on Lilova near Karlova), a pub run by Brits for the English speaking tourist. What a relief to speak in complete English sentences. Our waitress, a Brit, is very informative, giving us warnings on exchanging money on the street (it’s counterfeit), the price of real estate in Prague. My Guinness and turkey sandwich with fries was a welcome relief from sausages and goulash.

James Joyce Irish Pub

U Obecniho dvora 4

11000 Praha 1

420-224-818-851



That evening, we headed for our final meal in Prague at Pravda (now closed) in the Josefov section of Prague This is a place for foreigners on expense accounts. Prices are sky high for Prague: But the food! The tapas was 5 tiers of plates of foie gras mousse with apple, cranberry, lamb and other delectable doodads make a spectacular start – the presentation dramatically suspended over our entire table. My pasta main course – fettuccine with chicken and bacon in a cream sauce woos us. My travel pal's remoulade of salmon with “black spaghetti” equally impresses with taste and quantity. Tiramisu (a double sized portion) and an apple tart with cinnamon ice cream and a side sauce puts us in an intoxicated mood. Our waiter, Pietr and his pal, a light haired friendly lad who took our reservation earlier, made us feel at home despite the formal luxe surroundings: banquettes, 2 crystal chandeliers and mirrors in a multi-platformed space with spiffy white linen tablecloths. They are extraordinarily kind. Obviously they are wooing foreigners, no Czechs here. The restaurant motto: “Walk-in, dance out” was certainly applicable.



We return to our hotel, but I forgot my camera for night photo ops of Prague. I grab my camera and head back to Old Town Square at night, picking up two more newly arrived Brits from our hotel on the way. The Square is haunting at night with discreet lighting and the Church of the Tyn looming like a haunted house, looking like a European Disneyland. Our British friends are wonderful. We bask in their sunny warmth.

Here is a list of the Prague basics and the places I patronized and found met my standards:

Old Town Square

Charles Bridge

Castle District

Mala Strana

Klub Architektu

Bus Tour of Prague: St.Vitus & Prague Castle

Restaurace Stoleti

The Cloister Inn

Tesco Dept. Store

Wenseslas Square

National Museum

James Joyce Pub

Old Town Square at Night

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Blogging
Good to see you blogging again. Eager to read more of your travels.

[The Sybaritic Adventurer]

Blogging
Thank you for your comment. It is appreciated. I will get around to publishing my back log of countries visited. I also enjoyed your article on Iceland. I went a few times before the tourist boom when prices were cheap and they didn't get Americans (I was almost denied entry the first time for being an American.) But since everyone is clamoring to book there, I have lost interest in returning.