The European Adventures of G & A

The pig knuckle, before and after

Red Roofed Houses

Stained glass from the St. Vitius Cathedral

Czech Beer - half a liter at a time

Today (Sunday 10/1) is our last day in Prague. We are waking up slowly today, as two weeks of constant travel and sight seeing have finally caught up with us and we need a day to chill and catch our breath. Prague is a truly magical city, there is really nothing like it. Walking across the Charles Bridge and seeing the castle for the first time really does make you feel like you are in a fairy tale. The city is divided by the Vlatva River, which winds through the city and where people also boat and river raft (but not in the tourist areas).

We arrived on Wednesday (9/27), and easily found our way to our hotel on the Metro, which is very accessible and easy to figure out... Our hotel is great, and quiet, as we are on the top floor overlooking the courtyard. The breakfast is good and there is internet access in the lobby, which has been a convenient way to find the brewpubs that we have wanted to try. Our hotel is a 20-minute walk from the start of the major attractions, and another 10 on foot to the Old Town area.

Our main goal here is to find all of the breweries where they brew their own beer on site. The beer here is excellent. There is a place we have found near our hotel called Pivovarsky Dum that serves an unflitered and unpasteurized house brew where we have already been twice. And, the original Budweiser (Budvar) is amazing, and NOTHING like the undrinkable swill we get in America. The Czechs are serious about beer, and gratefully it’s really cheap, around 75 cents to $1.50 for even the specialty brews.

The food is good here, but very hearty and rich. It’s all about the meat, the cheese, and the bread. One of the delicacies is the roasted pig knuckle, served with horseradish, mustard and pickles. As far as we can tell it is the part of the pig that starts at the knee joint and ends at the ankle. When it arrives at the table it looks like an elephant trunk, covered in fat, with the bone sticking out. It really looks gross, but once you get into it, the pork in the middle is tender and juicy. We have also been eating lots of potatoes and sauerkraut.

Most of the Czechs we have encountered have been service industry folks, and they have mostly been friendly and able to communicate basic info in English. We are staying in a neighborhood that is less typical of the tourist region and where it seems most of the neighbors are families/storekeepers who don’t speak English. There is definitely a reserve here that is different than in Western Europe and America. People are not unfriendly by any means, but I have the impression that unless you are close friends or family, communication operates mostly to conduct business. The Czechs don’t mess a round. The pizza delivery service is called, “Pizza Go Home!” and in the bakeries, etc., you had better know your order when you reach the front of the line.

The language is difficult, and we spend much of our time laughing at each other’s attempts to speak it. We have created some shortcuts. For example there is a church on the way to the old town that once smelled like pee which we call “pee-pee church”, and the market where we buy water and beer is run buy a guy with two thumbs on one hand, so this place has become “thumbs up”, as in “hey, let’s stop by thumbs up and get some pig butt”.

The most striking attraction in Prague to me was the castle and especially the St, Vitas Cathedral. The cathedral is gorgeous, and filled with stained glass panels depicting biblical stories and baroque art. In one of the naves the walls are covered in semi precious stones. I thought this might tempt Adam to buy me some jewelry, but it hasn’t happened yet. The view from the top is one of the best in Prague and overlooks the river and the famous red roofs of the city.

We have also toured the old town with the Astronomical clock, and the Jewish Quarter. I went to the Jewish museum and toured several of the synagogues. I also saw an exhibit in the Jewish museum of artwork that was made by the children of Terezin, who were ages 8-18. Terezin was a Jewish ghetto 40 km outside of Prague where the Jews were relocated during Nazi occupation. The drawings depicted life in the ghetto, and ranged from the very simple to the haunting. The Jews conducted secret schools in private apartments during this time and had many renowned artists in their community continue to offer art classes to the children. Most of these children and their families died at Auschwitz. We also checked out the World Press Photo exhibit. I highly recommend people see it when it comes to the US. It’s basically an exhibit of all of the best photojournalists in the world, and contains really intense images from all over the world, including photos of many recent tragedies like Katrina, the earthquake in Kashmir, tsunami in Indonesia, the drought in Africa, and of course the war in the Middle East. Walking around looking at all of these images was a very affecting and somber experience that demands attention to how truly link we all are. We feel like the new (but better looking) Brad and Angelina. We look forward to having you meet our adopted Cambodian/Somalia/ Balinese/Guatemalan baby, Bob, who will join us in America as soon as we have completed the paperwork and located a goat available for barter.

I miss my high heels and platform sandals so much. But, since I’ve already fallen on my ass twice on these cobblestones, in flat shoes and completely sober, leaving them at home was the right choice. Tomorrow we go to Munich for one night (which happens to fall on the second to last day of the official yearly Oktoberfest-yay!). We fly to Dubrovnik in Croatia on Tuesday morning.

Weather has been fantastic! Warm enough at night to wear shorts/sandals. It’s humid though, which is hard for me to get used to. Adam, who grew up on the east coast just rolls his eyes at me when I complain that I’m melting. Today is the first day of our whole trip that we have encountered any significant rain. We are off now to explore the Mucha museum. Mucha is a Czech artist who helped to popularize art nouveau and created many famous theatrical posters for Sarah Bernhardt and others of that era.

My hotmail is all whacked out and erased all of the emails that I was keeping in my inbox. This includes addresses; so if you want a post card, please email me your info. Also, subscribe to the blog on trvellerspoint if you get a chance. That way you will know when we have added text and pictures.

Hope all is well in you. Keep us in your thoughts, as we keep you all in ors.

Much love,

Gretchen and Adam.

P.S. Gary Cannon will receive a gift for being the friend who has been the best at keeping in touch. Congratulations, Gary.

P.S. There is an “erotic supermarket” around the corner from our hotel where will be purchasing this gift.