In Praha!

Re: Frankfurt, that Maoz didn't exist in the train station like I had read (silly internet), so I opted for a disgusting substitute and ended up waking up the next morning to purge it out. YUM

FYI: Praha is the local name for Prague. Why we don't refer to cities, states and countries by their proper local names is really perplexing to me. Members of other countries do it too, though, not just us Americans.

Well, I am in Praha! It is a BEAUTIFUL city, even when covered in snow. I have spent the last 3 days wearing at least 2 pairs of pants at all times when I am finding myself outside. This also includes 2 jackets of sorts and in some cases 2 scarves. So far I have gotten impressed feedback regarding my attire and compact amount of luggage because it is so "un-American" to have so little ... I'll take that as a compliment, thank ya very much!

I wanted to wait until I departed this lovely country called the Czech Republic before I wrote this entry BUT per the request of my loyal (and maybe only) fan, Brittany, I have hopped online to type a few notes for your (her) enjoyment!

I am staying with a girl named Jitka who I found and met through the wondrous world of CouchSurfing. ( I will later write an entire blog entry about CouchSurfing v. Hostels so look forward to reading it, pleeeease.) When I requested to "surf" her couch she was so friendly and eager to host me because not only did I "seem nice" but also she wanted to talk vegetarianism and practice her English with me. SCORE! She's lovely and has a very endearing uniqueness about her. She goes to school elsewhere in the CZR so when people request to stay with her in Prague she travels "home" to her mother's flat and that is where I am writing from at the moment. Her mother and her mother's partner are very sweet as well, although they don't speak a wink of English except "How are you?" to which they are unsure how to respond when I ask it back...

1.22:

I arrived in Prague in the afternoon and Jitka was kind enough to pick me up from the train station and escort me to her mom's flat. Her mom had prepared a vegetarian meal of fresh-made thick fettuccine noodles lightly tossed in a homemade tomato and dried cremini mushroom sauce. YUM! It just so happened to be vegan although Jitka was under the impression I am just a vegetarian. I quickly learned that her interest in my vegetarianism was due to the fact that she generally considers herself a vegetarian. She told me that she recently started eating fish and I taught her that the English description for someone who eats a diet like hers is "pescatarian" . We then laughed over misconstructions of vegetarianism by friends and family. She informed me that everyone she knows tells her she is going to die and that there "are vitamins in meat we must eat meat to get" she told me that she always asks her concerned friends and family what vitamins these are that she can't possibly find elsewhere and they never have an answer so she's concluded that they are "mythical vitamins", hahaha... oh, I know a bit about those!

For dinner we headed to a local pub that Jitka told me has her favorite food and shockingly has some vegetarian and vegan options as well. I ordered something that had been translated in English as "soya noodles with vegetables. chinese style" under the heading "Vegetarian Options" out of the 4 options listed it was the only vegan friendly sounding one so well, I went with it. When the waitress came to take our order she asked what side I wanted. I had no idea because I was unaware that a noodle dish would come with a choice of rice, fried or roasted potatoes, or a side of meat. Jitka suggested I get rice and I was confused because why would I eat rice when I was already having noodles? well, the food arrived and I not-so- quickly caught on. After discussing what I was expecting and what was put in front of me for a good 5 minutes I was finally able to comprehend that what was meant by "soya noodles" was in fact soy meat tossed with fried vegetables that had been cut in skinny noodle-like pieces... aka not noodles at all. I took a few bites and unintentionally spit out the second because the texture and taste was very unfamiliar to me and upon closer inspection with my fingers looked and smelled like beef. Jitka quickly grabbed my meal and headed in the direction of her friend, the owner of the pub, and explained my predicament. He came over and affirmed it was indeed soy and a-okay for me to eat... so I did. By saying I ate it I mean that I choked down maybe 1/3 of my gargantuan portion of food that was overwhelmed with onions and a taste that like I said, I didn't recognize at all, in the most mannerly way that I could. I will say that I am quite impressed that this small pub had such meaty tofu based mock meat although it was revolting. The owner disapprovingly wrapped my leftovers up for me and I slept better that night by convincing myself that a homeless person thoroughly enjoyed my meal that I ever so delicately disposed of in a snowy park trash can.. although in my 4 days in Prague, I saw all of zero bums. I ended the night w/ some (3 half liters) beers... luckily I erred on the side of caution and chose the beer owned by Budweiser in hopes that isinglass wasn't used. Thanks to a Google cross-reference later, I am happy to announce that I properly drank Czech beer and no fish bladders were harmed in the process.

pub meal, picture may make it appear tastier than it was.

1.23

A Czech-y kind of breaky

Jitka's mom had prepared this meal for us as we were getting ready to seize the day. The spread on the bread is a carrot spread, not bad but I think it's definitely an acquired taste and I just didn't stay long enough to acquire it ;). I did however eat many of those tasty tomatoes! I am surprised at how fresh the produce I've encountered has been thus far. I remember in Ireland it was nearly impossible to find tomatoes or bell pepper at the grocery store and I figured that it's because everything is imported but I guess that's exclusive to the UK and Ireland?

We woke up with the intention to venture out into the cold and planned our day around when we would sightsee and when we would seek warmth in a restaurant or cafe. We didn't make it 5 minutes before departing the metro in the city centre before we moseyed on into Starbucks. I would rather opt for a local cafe when traveling but after being without coffee for 3 days mixed with the lack of soy milk at local places in Prague, the safety net we call Starbucks was seriously calling my name. The bonus, however, was that it was served in a mug and not paper and so we comfortably sat and had some espresso before REALLY starting our day. ( One thing to know about me: I love the European way of cafes. Sitting and chatting with mugs and leisurely sipping coffee. Nothing comes close in the states!)

After our Starbucks detour we made our way to a nearby Ethnography and Anthropology museum. I can't remember the name of it but it was so Czech I couldn't even begin to translate it. The funniest thing about it is that it is mostly artifacts from Indigenous cultures in the Americas and Australias, haha... soooo very Czech! I think not. Super interesting regardless! By the time we left the museum it was nearly 3:30. We hurriedly walked to a vegetarian/vegan restaurant that Jitka and I had both described to each other independently before realizing that we were both talking about Lehka Hlava (Clear Head). When we arrived, famished, we were sadly turned away because they had stopped serving lunch at 3:30 and would only begin serving dinner at 5. They did have tapas but Jitka didn't understand the concept and we were too hungry to eat "small" things. So, we headed out to "another vegetarian restaurant" that she knew of. Along that way she received a text from "an Italian guy and his Spanish friend" who wanted to meet us. So although our stomachs were grumbly we went and met them at the metro station and then the four of us made our way to Beas Indian food, a self-service and vegetarian-friendly safe haven...voila! I was able to dine on some paneer, curried chickpeas and rice. They also had Brita-style pitchers on every table so I was as happily hydrated as I was fed!

1.24.10

We made it to Lehka Hlava for lunch, at last! My cousin Josh met us there, he is currently living in Prague with his wife. Due to eagerness and the onset of what felt like starvation after 14 hours without food, we ordered an appetizer in addition to our meals before he arrived. We agreed upon having hummous with chips as a starter.

The decor and ambience inside of this fine solely vegetarian/vegan establishment was straight out of my imagination. Being in there and exploring each of the dining nooks/rooms felt as if my dream restaurant atmosphere had escaped my dreams and set up shop right in the middle of Prague. The food was one thing but the owners did an exceptional job in creating a complementary mood to match. I suppose that's what makes Lehka Hlava give the "Clear Head".

The menu was quite overwhelming in tasty delights, all friendly for the vegetarian and vegan soul. After eating meager and bland portions for the previous few days (aside from the Indian food) everything looked so tempting. I finally decided on a vegetable risotto topped with a raw sundried tomato pesto. Jitka told me the portions were rather small but as the rest of the patrons around us were having their food served to them my mouth was watering due to the fact that my sight was in complete disagreement with her statement. The portions were HUGE! After waiting for what felt like an eternity this is what I finally got to devour.

Jitka ordered a "burrito"; it was accompanied by cheese and sour cream and therefore vegetarian rather than vegan but it looked pretty delectable although not comparable to a legit California burrito!

It was quite a feat to finish all of this food, physically. It took nearly an hour and some stretching but I was determined! It's funny how your body adjusts to the amount of food you've been consuming in terms of our level of hunger and portion sizes. I forgot how enlightening a satisfying meal could be!

When in Prague:

http://www.beas-dhaba.cz/

http://www.lehkahlava.cz/