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prague in the seventies
a short excerpt of a conversation between myself and a czech student of mine, a doctor in her mid-fifties. reminiscing about the not so good ol’ days in the capital. “so, you went to university in prague during the seventies, right?” “yes, i lived there in the late seventies until 1983.” “so you really must have seen the city change over the past few decades. what are the biggest differences between prague then and now?” (thinks) “ohhhhh, it was terrible then!” “terrible? really?”“oh yes. you couldn’t do anything.”“anything?” “really, you couldn’t buy books. they were all in russian [and czech]. there was nothing in the shops. you couldn’t buy toothpaste…
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june prague festing
another thing i love about living in czech republic: days in prague. because i’ve lived in prague for two months and been there dozens of other times, the activities i find most enjoyable these days involve taking advantage of festivals and trying out new cafes and restaurants. and yesterday it feels like we did it all. after the exotic food festival got moved back a day (booooo), we hit up the italian food festival happening in havlíčkovy sady, a large park south of namesti miru in vršovice (prague 10). i have to say, i wasn’t expecting to find such a beautiful parisian style park with lovely views from the top…
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restaurant i love: kitchen ramen, prague
after reading the inspiring new york times 36 hours in prague article, i realized i hadn’t been to prague in a minute and that it was time for a little restaurant and cafe research of my own, as well as visiting this giant antique fair that was going on at the new town hall (below) on karlovo namesti. the interior of the town hall is gorgeous (still kicking myself for not snapping any photos!) but as it was an antiques show, we quickly noticed that we were the only non over sixty or gay couple around. the fashion market was much more my thing! i persuaded everyone to try this new…
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café i love: kavárna liberál, prague
i’ve not yet spent a good chunk of time in prague in the spring, so i was overjoyed to find myself there on a warm sunny day with all flowers fragrant and in bloom. we were in holešovice (a district north of the river) to go to the annual holešovice fashion market at the pražská tržnice hall near the river, which was fantastic and super hip– there was bahn mi sandwiches on offer, fancy juice drinks, liquor, single-origin coffees, anything you could hope for. lots of czech fashionistas sitting around smoking, drinking, and people watching… but, we were craving a calmer atmosphere so we took off for heřmanova street to…
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karlovo náměstí
prague’s “other” square is actually quite larger than the more famous old town square at approx. 70,000m² (the 27th largest in the world). it’s the absolute heart of prague’s nové město (new town), founded in 1348 by who else but bohemian king charles IV. when it was built it was supposed to become the most important square of new town until vaclavske namesti (wenceslas square) became far more famous and used in modern czech history. although much quieter than the other famous square in this district, i like it for its proximity to the river and everything that seems important in prague. wenceslas square is great for shopping, but this square…
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Prague: The Eternal Winter City
why am i always in you in the winter, prague? i barely know what a prague summer is like. maybe it’s because i’m busy going other places in the summer. so, prague is a winter city as i know it. the trees are always bare, people bundled up, and what seems like never-ending christmas markets. spent a fantastic first few days of the new year in this city that i love with my mom, who headed to the airport to go back to the U.S. afterwards. the sight and experience of walking along the charles bridge (especially at night) will always be one of my favorite things, even if i…
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Krasný Nový Rok (2013 Recap)
happy 2014! the new year’s sun is shining through my window…. a wonderful first sight of this first morning of the year. it seems like just last week that it was january first and i was wandering around my neighborhood of mala strana in the fog. it scares me a little how fast the year passed, which is a great reminder to “live in the now” and savor every moment of life. it tends to pass at a normal and much more acceptable time when i’m doing that. 2013 has been a very exciting year for me. to blindly move away from lovely prague in january just because of the promise…
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A Word on Christmas
i’m now approaching my second christmas abroad here in the czech republic. for me, being away from home for christmas isn’t such a big deal since i’m from quite a small family anyway, and a christmas of two or three people feels normal. of course i really think quite fondly about christmases spent at home on fidalgo island and how lovely the christmas season is back in the city streets of downtown seattle or the polar bear plunge at golden gardens and i know i’ll have more to look forward to in the future. honestly, how i celebrate the holidays abroad really isn’t so different from back home in WA–…
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Starbucks Abroad: Prague
so, i can’t hide it. i’m from the seattle area and i love starbucks. i’ve worked for them for almost four years directly preceding this adventure. in fact, i was a barista trainer, teaching new employees the low down on how to make the perfect cup of coffee or latte. so, love it or hate it, it’s with me now… there’s no getting away from it. and visiting starbucks abroad really makes me feel at home. i can have a cappuccino or a macchiato any old day, but i can rarely get a good cup of christmas blend or a gingerbread latte, so it’s something special these days. recently while…
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Prahably
i sometimes do things on the weekends like walk around charles bridge and take in the amazing lit up architecture of mala strana. drink dark unfiltered beer in some nice friendly pub in hradcanska with friends. going to america bar on america street in vinohrady. explore new streets that used to be unfamiliar to me. refresh my memory of what tram routes go which places. take a nice foggy morning walk to the starbucks at ip pavlova for a gingerbread latte. i do these things and love life. and this view will never get old. (photos from walking home, last january)
