The Prague Post

As most of you probably already know, I visited Prague Friday night through Sunday night.  I traveled by bus through the Student Agency for about 8 euros.  This was quite a good deal as the bus had leather seats, entertainment center, and free hot drinks.  Upon arrival I found my GPS was being unreliable, leading me in all the wrong places including Wencenlas Square but I found my way eventually.  I stayed in a hostel in old town, just a short walk from the Astronomical Clock.  This also turned out to be a good choice as the facilities were clean, bright, and they served breakfast (cereal and coffee).  The desk attendant was also very helpful and friendly.  I stayed in an 8 bed room and initially only shared it with 3 Canadian girls touring Europe.  They were very friendly and we ended up going out to try Czech beers and absinthe.  In terms of the hype, absinthe didn't live up to its mythical status and was more of just a hard liquor.  The bar was probably more interesting, or at least had interesting wildlife.  Either way it was an experience I can say I had.

Saturday morning I woke up as early as I could to go out and photograph.  I can honestly say I haven't felt so excited to compose photographs for years.  Everything was ornate, and you could track the history according to its architecture:  medival/gothic, renaissance, baroque, classical, modern.  The best part was, at least initially, the streets were empty.  Wait that wasn't the best part.

Dvorak walking into the music hall

The best part was when I made my way to the Vtlava River and I saw the morning sun hit St Vitus Cathedral and Prague Castle across the river on the hill.  That was breathtaking and although it was a shame that more people weren't up and awake to see it, I was glad it was nearly only myself out by the river.  I walked across the river on Charles Bridge and tried to find decent compositions, but at this point the light was harsh and it was difficult to get a decent exposure.  

I walked through the next former independent town of Prague and found a church I had not read about with a Baroque-style dome; the door was open so I walked in.  WOW.  There was a 50czk admission which included photography privileges and I was more than happy to pay it.  There wasn't a wall, ceiling or floor that wasn't gorgeous.  The church was The Church of Our Lady Victorious and it dates back to the 1500's.  I was literally in awe.  This is definitely a place to visit, and it wasn't crowded like St Vitus was.  

Afterward I walked up the hill to Prague Castle, but I was surprised to find that the cathedral wasn't in sight when I got to the top.  Prague Castle is large enough that it obstructs even the highest points of the cathedral.  I took a few shots of the exterior and interior of St Vitus but didn't pay for admission for full access because at this point it was extremely crowded.  Instead I paid the 150czk admission to the Baroque style bell tower.  By far this was the most exercise I would get during the trip.  287 steps and 90 meters later I was at the top and was rewarded with a spectacular view of the city.  

St Vitus Cathedral.  Like something out of the Lord of the Rings

Only go to the top if you aren't claustrophobic and are willing to get a serious workout

That's Charles Bridge.  The statues are worth stopping and appreciating

Got lunch at a restaurant across the square from Prague Castle and found it mostly deserted.  I wish I knew what it was called but the food and drink was excellent.  After lunch I watched the changing of the guards and started back down the hill.  Stopped by the John Lennon wall then walked down to a park off the river to relax, take in the view and hopefully get some more decent shots.  I eventually made my way back to the hostel and took a brief nap before going out with the Canadians.

John Lennon wall.

Prague has some nice parks to sit and rest or have a picnic.

Sunday I woke up early and checked out of the hostel and again walked through old town.  This time I decided to check out a green area just East of the Prague Castle area.  I found a massive park with walking paths, monuments, and more great views.

The park sits on a hill that overlooks the river and most of the old towns of Prague.  At the base of the hill is a monument to the victims of communism.  It was creepy.  

I hiked up the hill until I was sufficiently satisfied with my altitude, took shots, then moved up higher.  At the top is a chapel and an observation tower.  Following the theme of going to high places to take photos, I paid to walk to the top of the tower.  The view was nice, however wasn't worth the price of admission for photographers because the deck at the top is enclosed with plexiglass, reducing the contrast and creating glare in many cases.  I walked down the hill slightly and found an outdoor restaurant with an excellent view and tried "fried block of cheese."  Afterwards I ended up sitting on a bench and just looking at the city and people/dog watching (the Czechs love dogs).  At this point I was killing time and didn't want to spend any more money for a weekend trip so I wandered a bit more before I boarded the bus again.  Watched Canada v. Sweden in a bar with a beer and mostly just hung out.  The bus back was dissapointing as the 1730 bus was overbooked and they had to use 2 buses.  My bus did not have any of the luxuries of the other one, including a decent suspension, making the ride horrible over what seemed like a rally course between Prague and Brno.

Tips for Prague:

• Get up early to see things before the crowds get there
• Stay downtown so everything is within walking distance
• Closed toed shoes
• Keep your head on a swivel at night.  Drunk drivers and drunk stag parties are everywhere
• Don't pay more than 35czk for 0.3L of beer.  Its gouging otherwise.
• Read about the sites in the city beforehand so there's no need for reading when you get there and you can just soak it up

Expat's Guide to Shopping in CZ (draft)

As promised I am now going to talk about my experience shopping for cooking in the Czech Republic so far.

Lets start with where to go for grocery shopping.  The first place I went I do not remember the name of and apparently it is very new because it is not on google maps.  By far the most common grocer is Albert.  Albert is a chain of small stores which provide the basic necessities:  bread, dairy, meat/deli, canned goods, sweets, and beer (Pivo).  This is where I go when I just need basic ingredients but don't count on them for baking supplies, or any kind of exotic ingredients; even their selection of canned goods is limited.  You can get frozen pizzas, but other frozen ingredients are non-existent.  Albert is at worst a big convenience store.  The other big grocer I have experience with I found by accident and was impressed by the fact I didn't notice it for its size.  This is Kaufland:  The Wal Mart of Moravia.  Kaufland has a:  deli, bakery, florist, wine store, bank, tobacconist (tobak), and probably other things - and that's even before you get into the main location.  One can find any number of spices, baking supplies, produce, frozen dinners, fresh meats, breads, canned goods, sweets, dairy products, and of course, beer.  The selection is generally wider and also includes non-edibles such as linens, paper goods, cooking/eating implements, gardening supplies, and probably some more.  The important thing I want to get across is the beer.  They have lots of it.  Note:  do not go to Kaufland between 1500 and 1800 - it gets mental in there when everybody is getting off work.

One thing to remember about shopping anywhere in the Czech Republic is to bring your own bag.  They are not free like in the USA.  Many times I have left the dorm without a bag and had to carry my beer in my coat pockets and between my fingers - what will I do when the weather warms up and I don't have coat pockets?

Another thing to note:  bagboys don't exist here, you have to bag your own stuff.  Its inconvenient and a bit stressful as you are forced to re-bag your foodstuffs while managing your payment.  These cash register jockey women (they are exclusively women) don't care, they'll hand you your card or change and begin ringing up the next person while you are frantically trying to get out of the way.

Down to specifics.  The ethnic sauces you find here are more or less ketchup with some different flavors (case in point:  Mexico Sauce).  The Czechs appear to enjoy ketchup as I find it on pizza, on menus with beef (not sure if this is ketchup or if its just  a tomato sauce, I didn't try it), and plenty of fast food.    Mustard is hořčice and most of the varieties are brown mustard or dijon; the kind I bought had horseradish, hence the similar name.  Yellow mustard comes in a yellow bottle, but who likes that crap anyway.

I started this draft a week ago and now I forgot about what I was going to talk about.  I'm anxious so I'm just going to post photos of what some ingredients look like.

Where's the flusher?  It's those ovals.  Little one for a little bit of flush and the
big one just flushes a fixed amount.

"Baking Powder"

"Wholemeal flour"

"Milk - the kind you drink"

"Butter"

????

Spicy Klobasa Sausage

Quick Update

Just a brief update of my activities:

I've wondered around downtown a bit more as the weather has been quite pleasant.  Tried Air-Cafe Brno, a coffee (kava) and drink bar decorated to commemorate the Czech and Slovak pilots who flew for the RAF in World War 2.  The owner's personal collection of photos, propaganda posters, artwork, and artifacts lines the walls of the cafe (kavarna).  I ordered an espresso and a coffee (needed more caffeine).  Afterwards I toured some of the shopping centers and eventually returned home.

Today I went back downtown to buy a new cell phone as my HTC Rezound breaks at regularly scheduled intervals of about once a month.  The most recent problem is that it doesn't like batteries, so it overheats and damages the batteries, and they wont hold a charge anymore.  I decided on the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini.  Has plenty of features, isn't an HTC, was reasonably affordable (5,000czk) and will still work when I get back in the states.  I have to say the Vodafone store here has been very helpful in getting my phones to work.  When I first arrived, an attendant set up the Czech network for me.

Still need to get out and try some authentic Czech food.  I have been hesitant because I feel like a pain in the ass when I start ordering something in my broken Czech, then need to ask them to speak in English (Mluvite Anglicky?).  Overall, the Czechs have been accomodating but I still feel like an ass.  Today I stopped by the Lavazza Kavarna for some coffee and ordered the first thing that sounded recognizable, only for them to question me by mentioning that it was iced coffee (it was 34F at the time).  Call it cognitive anchoring or just arrogance but I acted like I knew exactly what I had asked for and paid for the coffee.  I'm pretty sure they were laughing at me when they handed the cup over.  I just laughed; they clearly don't realize that I am quite accustomed to making an imbecile of myself, even in the states.

Next post I will talk about cooking and shopping to cook, as this has been another entertaining part of my stay so far.

Dead people, glorified ketchup, and more waiting.

Saturday morning I woke up to actual blue sky and balmy temperatures so I decided to take the tram to the center of town to look around.  I walked into the Church of St. James to have a look and found that the inside was gorgeous with the morning sunlight.  I would have taken photos, but did not want to disturb anyone.  Just outside the church entrance was the entrance to the Brno Ossuary.  Having never seen a large, historic collection of dead people, I paid the entrance fee and went inside.  The tour was only in Czech but I researched the Ossuary's history online.  Founded in the 17th century (although apparently it holds the remains of people from medieval times before the remains were transferred from the cemetery), the Ossuary holds the remains of 50,000 people and is the second largest in Europe after the Parisian catacombs.  It was closed off for hygiene reasons during the Josephine reforms and not re-discovered until 2001.  I managed to pull some decent photos out of it, although I felt weird as I was taking the photos as these were people who once lived.

While walking through the hallways I heard a young boy, probably about 7 years old stomping around.  I came around the corner quietly until I was just behind him and asked to be excused.  He turned around, turned white and jumped about 3 feet into the air.

I left the Ossuary and walked toward Spilberk Castle and park.  It is one of the highest points in Brno and offers some excellent views.  I definitely want to come back and explore this monument.

Sunday it rained all day.

Monday I finally got the chance to visit Honeywell to meet my co-workers.  It was very exciting to talk about the work I will be doing and to see where I will be working.  I still don't have a work permit, but should learn more within the next couple of days.  For some reason I had a craving for burritos, so I stopped by the grocery store for beef, onions, peppers, seasoning, and beans.  The beef here is not like the beef I would buy in the US; its not as tender and has a different texture.  Tip for buying produce:  buy fresh produce in packages with bar codes, as most grocery stores require you to weigh the produce before you bring it to the checkout.  This eliminates confusion if you don't speak Czech and the lady at the checkout line doesn't speak English.  The sauce (mexico sauce) is little more than ketchup with onions and peppers in it (I'm not really impressed).  I cannot find black beans as I would know them in the states, but black-ish kidney beans worked fine.  The end result was edible.  I noticed that there are more ingredients for asian cooking in the store, so maybe I'll try that next.

Concerning my living situation:  It doesn't feel like a dorm, but more like an apartment where everyone shares a kitchen.  People are generally older and have jobs and keep to themselves mostly.  I have met Olga, a Ukrainian national teaching Ukrainian language classes and Amen (sp?).  I only really see them when they are cooking dinner.  In terms of location it is convenient.  I am near 2 grocery stores, a few restaurants, and the bus/tram station.  

At some point I will need to try eating out.  I have been hesitant as I do not want to be an inconvenience to anyone because of the language barrier.  I want to be able to ask for basic things in Czech, but I'm gonna get tired of cold-cuts and half-assed cooking at some point.  Generally I feel somewhat isolated because I really only talk to the landlord briefly everyday before I leave.  I do think this will not be the case for the majority of my stay; as I get into a rhythm with work and become more comfortable with speaking to people who may or may not understand me,  I won't be as isolated.