Pozdrav z Prahy

Greetings from Prague

If any of you in Ireland happen to be reading this, you might know the joy in my heart right now. Since the day we arrived, when the subject of travel came up, inevitably my conversation turned towards Prague. I visited in the summer, and my time was woefully inadequate. 1 day is not enough to explore all of Prague's splendors.

I made one key mistake in my travel plans: getting too drunk the night before I left Galway. Lured to the Salt House by the promise of a fresh batch of Torpedo Extra IPA, I soon found myself in a delightful haze, watching Fantastic Mr. Fox with Johnny, waiting to be driven to the bus station. Though it may sound fun, traveling while drunk, becoming hungover, or being hungover is not as pleasurable as it sounds. Couple that with the fact that since my bus was at 345 am, I hardly slept at all for 2 days, and it was that despicable brand of not restful in the least bus/plane sleep. Given that, I wandered through the city upon my arrival (which thankfully was without conflict), snapped a couple pictures and collapsed on my hostel bed. I managed to crawl my way out for dinner at Staromacek restaurant (recommended by Devon's girlfriend, Roni) which is thankfully located around the corner from my hostel.

The meal there reminded me of my travels this summer, and one of my favorite things about the Czech republic: the food. The Czech food is not bold, flashy, modern or anything that I tend to love. What it lacks in new age technique or flavor pairing, it makes up for in character. A simple cuisine, bred on tradtion, and perfected over hundreds of years. Garlic, Paprika and the like make up the backbone of the cuisine, coupled with braised meats, dumplings and potato pancakes. The first bite of my dinner reminded me of this, and it wasn't the protein. It was the cabbage under the rabbit, both sweet and tasting of mustard. A classic pairing of honey and mustard I think, but fantastic in its own way, begging to be slathered on the accompanying bread dumplings with chunks of succulent rabbit. Washed down with a tall glass of Pilsner Urquell, it was damn near perfection for me, having not eaten in 24 hours. Today's lunch was also fantastic: beef goulash (a rich paprika and beef stock based sauce) with potato pancakes. Delicious crispy potatoes wiped every last bit of sauce from my plate.

Any way you cut it, I am happy to be back in Prague. Just wanted to get a couple thoughts down, but more to come once I get a chance to explore the whole city.