Okay, seriously, my roots go back to Hungary, not the Czech Republic, but I have to say the flavors here and the people in general feel pretty familiar to me. This may not be where my family tree is located, but I can certainly see a few branches peeking over the fence from here.
Our trip to get here started yesterday at 4:55 a.m. in Salzburg, Austria. After a dunk in the sink, I was ready to join the family on a scenic, though sleepy, train ride to Munich. We hopped on a Czech Airlines plane (two propellers, two pilots, one flight attendant with a Twuruly Outwageous Accent (and I do mean that as a compliment) and we were in Prague for lunch. We all had delicious variations on goulash, except my son, who was due for a hamburger fix. (For those of you who read "Cascais, Cheeseburger in Paradise", consider today's installment "Cheeseburger in Formerly Communist Paradise.") Our waiter introduced me to "mixed beer," which adds dark beer to regular draft beer to make it stronger and more flavorful, as if Czech beer needs either of those things to happen. Seriously, it was the right call and all of us were raving about our meals...even those of us who did not have "mixed beer" with theirs.
Was the Goose Communist?
Of course, dinner completely blew our perceptions of Czech food. Our hotel sent us off the beaten path to a place that does modern spins on dishes using local ingredients. At School (www.school.cz), we had foie gras with a red wine reduction, vacuum cooked crispy duck, veal cheeks in a reduction of pan juices and red wine...all with a Monrovian (local) Cabernet that rivaled what we get back in California. It was an impressive meal, for any location, and came in at about 25% of what we would expect to pay for such a meal back in the San Francisco area, if we could even find it. (Foie Gras is now illegal in California.)
But Seriously, Icks-nay about the Ommunist-cay!
Ask a local about life under communist rule, even a tour guide who wasn't even in elementary school when they left, and they are quick to tell you that they will talk about it, but that they'd rather not. It's still too fresh. It's kind of like the joke I was going to tell about our 777 flight back home next week being flown by guest pilots from Asiana Airlines...yup, too soon. The same is true here about Communism. It's too recent and took too much from them. One of the sculptures (see below) we saw was incredibly powerful about this topic. It showed a Czech who literally disintegrated piece by piece under Communist rule as his soul was taken away from him by the Soviets.
Flower Power Still Rules
One of the coolest things we saw was a wall (see below). Under Soviet occupation, this wall was painted Communist Government Gray every single day. Every single night, however, the wall would be painted by locals with images and poems of hope, unity, peace, friendship and love. Over and over, the Soviets kept painting over the wall to indicate that they were in control. And, over and over, the images and texts of hope and love kept reappearing on the wall every single night. Today, portions of it are still painted over, but only to make room for more messages and paintings, which are still added daily.
The people in Prague sometimes come across as stern due to their accent, but we've found them to be welcoming and genuinely interested in sharing about a city they are rightfully proud of. Prague is real. It's not a Disney version of a European city a la Salzburg or Venice. It's the real deal full of real people and that makes it all the more enjoyable. There are a few edges here and there, but nothing that has detracted from our visit so far. Prague has emerged from communism as a gem. Whether or not it wants to talk about it, Prague is better for its past pain and that makes its present beauty all the more appealing.
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