Last Day in Prague: New Jewish Cemetery

Franz Kafka’s grave, New Jewish Cemetery

Here and There

New York………………………………….and Prague

bagels                                                              rolls

Upper East Side                                          Vinohrady

Brooklyn                                                        Zizkov

back in style: the ‘80s                              never went out of style: the ‘90s

the Village                                                    Tynska Literary Café

potholes                                                        tram detours

protester chic: iPhones                        protester chic: nudity and body paint

misspelled English on menus               misspelled English on menus

lobotomized motorists                           lobotomized motorists

single subway ride: $2.50                     single subway/tram ride: ~$1.40

dinner                                                            lunch

dinner for two: $75                                  lunch for two: $45

dinner for two in the park: $20           lunch for two in the park: $10

eau de subway                                            eau de tram

cranky people on the bus                      cranky people on the tram

knockoff handbags on Canal Street    knockoff handbags in Prazska Trznice

verbal abuse by taxi drivers                 customer service

gangs                                                               supermarket employees

cost of an apartment: millions             cost of an apartment: millions

American Apparel                                    Starbucks

Pražská tržnice — Farmers’ market, Prague

Pho

I went past this place every day for a year when I taught at Mat-Fyz. And even though I knew a farmers’ market was hidden somewhere (Hall 22) beyond the knockoff handbags and cheap polyester shirts, I didn’t go before leaving for New York.

On Pan Cuketka’s recommendation, though, I went today, and beyond rows of the best-looking vegetables I’ve ever seen in Prague was the true Holy Grail of the market. Buried near the end of a long aisle of toys, clothes, and belts for sale, and under taped-together blue and green pieces of tarp serving as a roof lies a tiny kitchen with a serving counter. A sign offers four kinds of pho. A minute after you order, you’re handed  a steaming bowl of pho, brimming with chopped chiles and green onion, sliced onions, pickled garlic, beef strips, bean sprouts, rice noodles, and broth. (Mine has a tentative red swirl of nuoc cham hot sauce, which I hoped was enough to make me look serious about things but would not be so hot as to bore holes in my sinuses. I was wrong, but it was worth it.)

Pho

The Vietnamese population in the Czech Republic is approximately 60,000. Yet the only place you find Vietnamese cuisine is in the Vietnamese market SAPA, or at this market near the Holešovice train station. It’s not clear why, though Mr. C. speculates that the regulations and red tape involved in opening a different kind of restaurant than the ubiquitous Chinese bistros (run by Czech Vietnamese) scares off many would-be proprietors of pho. And that’s a shame, because this is the best food around for miles.

Travel Talk: Prague

The audio from the “Travel Talk: Escapes” show I did on Monday, with Ann Lombardi of The Trip Chicks, is now up. Click on the link for the 06/08/09 show to hear me talk about living and working in Prague, favorite cafes, and where to go for great Gypsy music.

Sadly, being on-air evidently opened up a giant hole in my head where street names and basic historical information formerly resided, so I’m happy to add those or clarify anything. Just ask. :)