Arriving to a new city where one is about to migrate and call it home for the foreseeable future, is undeniably one of the most exciting, exhilarating, fearful and dreaded experiences in life. As for me arriving at the doorstep of one of the oldest and most beautiful cities in the world, the capital of Bohemia Prague with my lovely Czech wife and a nine month old baby girl from the arid great southern land of Australia my latest journey begins. We are about to embark on what we hope will be a magical journey of discovery through life in Prague.
We arrived in the middle of the winter season on a lovely crisp clear sunny day clearly the omens were good, happy with this I made a mental note to myself that “this will do nicely, getting through winter will not be so hard”. By the next morning we all awoke to a blanket of white snow and a very stiff cold breeze, the first note in my diary “never try to predict the Czech weather again”.
Settling into our new surroundings and life we have found that commuting in Prague using the public transport system is the best way to find your way around the city. The combination of the Trams and the Metro services is extremely efficient and facilitates a smooth fast journey to your destination. Some Metro stations however have very steep escalators and seem to travel somewhat faster than what I have previously come across in my travels. The first time I took the Metro to Namesti Republiky and took the escalator I remember thinking “so this is what it’s like on a ski slope”, this escalator was steep, deep and fast. After finally making it to the outside, the city unfolded itself in all its splendour. Prague is very intoxicating, everywhere you go is like a postcard waiting to be sent, walking through the old town and its maze of alleyways while taking in all the sounds, different aromas and magnificent architecture. The quite stunning Charles Bridge on the river Vltava is very romantic a heartbeat a wonderful symphony of a great culture that I will enjoy exploring more and more.
I am a great lover of different cuisines and whenever I travel to a new country I have always indulged myself in trying the local dishes. So I waited with great anticipation to experience some traditional Czech hospitality, customs and culinary delights. We were invited to a charming Czech restaurant called Charleston. It has very traditional Bohemian decor and when we arrived inside was warm, friendly, smoky and busy. We were taken to our table and offered drinks straight away and before you had time to glance at the menu our beers arrived. In my short time here I have already observed that when you say nazdravi (cheers) you must look into the eyes of the person you are toasting, well it is good manners. As a non smoker I have been told it will be quite difficult to find a restaurant that is non smoking and judging by the smoky haze in the restaurant they were absolutely right. Some restaurants have non smoking areas which to be honest is purely symbolic as smoke does not recognise invisible barriers. However this was not going to spoil a good night out, back to the food, I had a lovely bean soup to start with and then a Czech favourite Svickova which consisted of sliced meat with a healthy serving of dumplings, gravy with cranberry sauce and a dollop of cream. It was a real taste sensation and complemented with numerous beers it was a perfect start to my Czech dining experience.
