Prague

I had hoped for a picturesque train ride, but by the time that it left the Dresden station, and made an extended stop in a nearby suburb, night had fallen. Oh well – I saw some pretty lights on the hillsides. From Prague's northern station I took the Metro into town, just west of the river. Again, I knew from having previously looked at a map that my hotel was nearby, but didn’t know exactly, so I had to make a quick stop at an internet café. Two blocks away. It almost bit me.

So I dropped my things in my room and set up my only appointment for the following day – a lunch with a prospective sports recruit, her father, and her agent. Then I got a map and headed across the river and into the historic core for a good wander. The first stop was of course the main square and the Astronomical Clock (again, pictures later). No way to trace were all I went next. The map would look like a bird’s nest. Suffice it to say I sampled many venues in old Prague. My two favorites were the Bar & Book, which as the name implies sells books and drinks, as well as pretty good food, and Chateau Bar, which despite its French name is an Irish Pub. Great bartenders, finally. Good company as well. I met a local graphic artist who was responsible for designing recent brochures explaining the workings of the afore-mentioned clock, and a Brit who was returning to town for a wedding after once having lived here as an ex-pat. We had a good conversation. I headed in at a reasonable hour and got some sleep.

The following day, after a bit of a walk and the lunch meeting, I met up with the cousin of a friend back home. James has lived here in Prague for several years, teaching English. We sat at a place called the Globe and conversed for a couple of hours, being joined by another friend named Matt. The three of us then moved to a restaurant called The Tulip, owned by an American ex-pat, where we had an incredible dinner. Highly, highly recommended. After that James left us, having to work early in the morning, and Matt and I continued. I needed to change some money, so we searched for an exchange, but the first thing we came to was a casino (which are all over Prague). By happy accident, I found that you can get a very good rate at the casino, with no surcharge, as they expect you to be blowing all that money on the premises. Good to remember for next time. We had flirted with the idea of going to an all-out club, but decided against it in favor of returning to Chateau Bar, and later the “disco” below, L’Enfer Rouge. Good times. Oh yeah, I ended up buying drinks for quite a few people to celebrate the end of the Republican monopoly of power (though I am still a registered Republican) and to show some of the Euros that we Americans can be pretty cool.

The next day it was back to the grind. I met up in the morning with the other reps who would be participating in the whirlwind CIS tour of Eastern Europe. After lunch we loaded up on a bus and drove west of town to the International School of Prague. There we conducted seminars and a college fair for the students of ISP and other area schools that were invited. A good fair.

Afterwards we returned to the city and were given an excellent walking tour by one of ISP’s faculty members. At one point we were let loose in the main square to shop before the striking of the hour on the Astronomical Clock. Three of us decided on a quick drink at the Irish pub instead. These two other fellows are reps that I travelled with previously in Africa. I will call them The Libertine and El Guapo. It was fairly obvious that two of the young blonde waitresses were talking about us in Czech, so El Guapo and I returned the favor in Spanish. Ha, so there. The tour ended with a walk across the famous Charles Bridge and dinner. We were all pretty wiped, and full, so afterwards we returned to the hotel for some sleep before heading to Moscow on the morrow…

Of course, yes, I have left things out here. Buy me a Guinness and ask me later...