After another all night spent out this was a quiet day. I was starting to feel like I was coming down with something so I did some work from home and basically rested all day. Rather uneventful.
Category: Daily
Day 23 | June 18
After a not too late night out at Jazz Republic I started the day with a long walk to Prague’s main bus station to catch the bus to the “Spa Town” of Karlovy Vary. I wasn’t expecting much and I signed on for this trip just go get out of Prague but the town turned out to be gorgeous. The central area is just a long pedestrian walkway down the river coming out of the mountains. It’s your typical resort town dominated by high end shops, hotels and, of course, spas. I swung past the Grand Hotel Pupp which was featured in Casino Royale and then embarked on a death march up the mountainside to the observation tower at the top. I’m told the hike is actually quite easy… if you stay on the trail. Everyone else had booked various spa activities for the day and with nothing else to do I tried to do the same. The folks at The Pupp (pronounced poop) were all booked but pointed me towards a sister spa down the street where I finally got a Thai massage. After this it was back on the bus to Prague, quick dinner, shower, change and then off to the pre-party for our booze cruise. That was predictably a mess so most of us just ended up hanging out upstairs at another bar. The boat party itself was actually really fun. After that it was back to… someone’s apartment for the after party and then wandering the streets as the sun came up to get pizza.
Day 22 | June 17
My intent was to get a lot of work done today and then call it an early night. I started the morning with breakfast at a cafe near my apartment called Sweet & Pepper Days (not sure what that means) and hung out there working for a few hours before heading to K10. My hopes for an early evening were cut short, though, when I heard a group was assembling to go to Jazz Republic. I joined them and we saw a really good local blues/jazz band. Yet another evening out past midnight.
Day 21 | June 16
I was feeling my second all-nighter in as many weeks so went for a slow breakfast over at Cafe Savoy. After that I just came home and worked and read before dinner at Olive Point and then called it an early night.
Day 20 | June 15
Today got off to a quick start with the spur of the moment decision to attend the symphony. The concert hall was predictably gorgeous and the first piece they performed was Beethoven. Beneath the concert hall is the largest/oldest(?) traditional Czech restaurant in town as well as the oldest continually operating bar. Despite the fact that it wasn’t quite noon this fact compelled us to stop in for drinks. After that I went back to K10 to work. In the evening I went to a wine tasting that was put together just for us by the fellow who owns the wine shop on the main square by our apartment. It was very well done and finally gave me some clarity on the wine situation around here. After that it was off to Riegrovy Sady beer garden to watch soccer. Drinks after that at the beer museum and then more drinks and Heads Up back at one of my neighbors apartments.
Day 19 | June 14
Got a slow start to the day and then went to Cafe Monolok for some breakfast and to work on my annual re-reading of Atlas Shrugged that I’ve been sucked into despite having so much else going on. After that I had to head to K10 to work for the rest of the day. But there was some excitement in the form of receiving my first letter from the states courtesy of Mr. Marsh. In the evening we went to a local bar and the owner had an informal chat with many of us about his business, the state of micro brews in the Czech Republic and how we got started tracking down various types to sell in his bar. Then it was off to Dish Burger Bistro for dinner and the beer garden in Riegrovy Sady for after dinner drinks.
Day 18 | June 13
I’m trying to burn through most of my work each week on Monday’s so that I have bigger blocks of time left during the remainder. As a result today wasn’t very interesting. I spent most of it at K10 catching up on work. Sometimes we do these things called lunch/dinner roulettes where a random group of people go to a random restaurant to eat. I did one of those tonight and the six of us went to U Kroka. It was above average and (like everything here) a great deal for the price. Walking home we stopped at an Irish pub called Beckett’s across from our building for another drink and then managed to put the pin in an otherwise low key night.
Day 17 | June 12
It wasnt long before it came to light that Peter had purchased two tickets to Prague instead of one here and one back. Then we had to set out to find a way to get him home. But first we needed to recover with burritos and bloody marys at Las Adelitas. We finally found him a train home but it wasn’t an express and the two our trip took him five. Then I had dinner with a group at SaSaZu which was very good, the sushi in particular stood out as did the lamb chops and coconut soup. Not to mention you get a massage with your dessert course.
Day 16 | June 11
I was feeling the prior night today and to top things off I left my backpack at Bar and Books the night before. I basically rested until they opened and miraculously they still had it for me. Then it was off to intercept Peter wherever he was wandering around town. We had dinner at Vinohrady Parliament. Great tartare but not much to write home about otherwise. Then I showed him K10 and the apartment. We went to the Anonymous Bar which was a little gimmicky but they had excellent cocktails and the presentation was fun. Then we went to Jazz Club Ungelt and saw a very decent jazz band. Then things really escalated and we went to Lazne to find some of the other members of my program. As you would expect the place was a mess. The ice bar was neat, though. The evening ended with me losing Peter, stumbling through the streets at the sun came up to buy pizza and then laying on the sidewalk outside my building until he did.
Day 15 | June 10th
Today was busy and included me finally getting something done I’ve been putting off. Getting a haircut. Found a guy named Mark Phillips who cuts the hair of all the Prague expats. Afterwards I went to a cafe with my roommate to do some work and have lunch. It was called Muj… something. Then it was back to K10 for more work. In the evening a group of us did a beer tasting… somewhere. It was great and really interesting. Then I had dinner with my roommate at Krystal Mozaika which was great. Then we stopped at Books and Bar for scotch and cigars on the way home.