Prague Visit


The New Prague: Coffee, Tea and Free (Enterprise) By Shirley Fong-Torres Contact Shirley at wokwiz@aol.com Our bellies full of "Soup from the Slaughterhouse Floor" and blood and guts "Don't-Call-It-Sausage," Wroburlto and I decided to take a break from historical traditions to go looking for the New Prague. Since the early 1990's, the Czech capital has been the "It Girl" of European cities. The end of Communism in Eastern Europe brought huge banks of horded cash out of hiding. More than anywhere else, these rubles and marks and Swiss francs poured into Bohemia, turning the country's great resorts (Marianbad, Carlsbad and Franzenbad) into German, Russian and Ukraine enclaves and tax shelters. Luxury Hotel Rooms, Casinos and Prostitution The transfusion of money made some obvious impressions, creating a wonderful buyer's market in luxury hotel rooms (we'll get to that later), plus a disturbing proliferation of casinos and prostitution, enterprises where dirty money gets dry-cleaned. If Old Prague can be glimpsed in the works of Kafka and Rabbi Loew, then New Prague is the city of Gary Shteyngart's "The Russian Debutante's Handbook," where Eastern European ex-patriots get rich in a new Wild West of outlaws and trade barons. (Old Prague is a far cry from the Wild West atmosphere of some of the New Prague) During the winter holiday season in 2002, heavy winds snapped the Old Town Square Christmas tree and killed a couple dozen people. At the same time, an arms race between Ukraine and Russian casino operators erupted into an open public shoot out, as mob factions resorted to drive-by hand grenade throwing. The city took the tragic holiday events as an omen. Many citizens are now fed up with the casino and prostitution cycle, which most believe to be intertwined and which obviously attract the least desirable kinds of tourists. So much so that the Czech Parliament is now considered likely to legalize (and control) prostitution, especially after paparazzi photographed high-ranking government officials leaving local brothels. As a result of the shady reputations, Prague is the first place in the world where my Chinese blood did not warm to an opportunity to visit a casino. This was fine with Wroburlto, who considers time spent in casinos as opportunities lost to flirt with waiters and such. Wroism: "Czechs are cute people of culture and should be treated as such, except when they reek of cheap cigarettes and booze." On to Wenceslaus Square So, Mommy passed up the smoky casinos and moved on to Wro's favorite part of town. On Wenceslaus Square, where Jan Palach burned himself to death to protest the Soviet invasion of Prague Spring, the city heart beats faster and more cosmopolitan, with all the great brand names of free enterprise represented. (Wro is very happy - he has found a friend) This is the epicenter of modern Czech history, the site where Soviet tanks sent the velvet dream underground, like a groundhog seeing his shadow, for another 20 years of tyranny. It's also the soul of the new Prague, the part of town Tom Cruise stays in when he's here. Feeling persecuted and unappreciated because Mommy wouldn't take him to any gay bars, Wro, who often believes himself to be a Doctor, reminded me that he identifies with another Tom, Milan Kundera's surgeon hero from "The Unbearable Lightness of Being." That Tomas got himself "reassigned" as a window washer, because he wrote sarcastically about Communism. Where Neighborhood Restaurants Thrive (Neighborhood restaurants thrive in Prague's Wenceslaus Square) Nothing cures a persecution complex faster than a few hours in the Wenceslaus Square area. Neighborhood Czech restaurants thrive there, especially those specializing in the regional cooking from Moravia, the republic's acknowledged center of good food and wine. But we had temporarily overdosed on Czech food, which has dietary benefits similar to mainlining rendered lard. Ever conscious of maintaining his svelte physique, Dr. Wro prescribed a little coffeehouse time. Wroism: "Coffeehouses are good for learning, because their patrons are anxious to show off everything they know. That is the way of caffeine. They are also often filled with cute boys making them a reasonable substitute if your Mommy won't take you clubbing." Coffee House Culture Thrives in Prague Coffeehouse culture is again a huge part of Prague life. Famous in the days of Kafka and Rilke, Smetana and Mozart, they all but disappeared in the Nazi and Communist eras. The most famous is the Café Slavia, across the street from the National Theater. A favorite of both Einstein and Thomas Mann, it has always drawn an artsy crowd. (Czechs enjoy good food and, of course, tall glasses of pilsner) More recently, the writer Bohumil Hrabel sang the praises of his personal hang out - U Zlateho Tygro, so much so that Bill Clinton asked Vaclav Havel to take him there, much to the chagrin of Hrabel's crowd, who considered it an invasion of their space. Radost is Wroburlto's kind of place - a popular expatriate hangout, with 24-7 breakfasts more like San Francisco than Prague, plus a hot night club underneath. Wro laid back on the overstuffed mismatched furniture, with his double honey doppio, and started asking questions of the cosmopolitan crowd. Mommy took notes. (Confession - Mommy is completely aware that double shots of espresso and double doses of sweetener are not the best thing for a five-year-old-bi-polar bear, but, in public places, giving them to Wroburlto is far less stressful than refusing them to him.) Learning about Legendary Olbran Zoubek We learned here about Olbran Zoubek, a living legend artist who, much like Tomas, was forced to give up his art after his "Death Mask of Jan Palach" in 1968 was seen as a protest against Communist tyranny. He was exiled from Prague and sent to Litomysl, Smetana's birthplace, to restore an old chateau. This town is now worth a day trip, as Zoubek's statues are ubiquitous there and Smetana is also well represented. In Prague, Zoubek's most dramatic work is across the street from Bohemia Bagel, a popular expatriate internet café with some modern history of its own. The art is a commemoration to those murdered by Communism. The Bagel Shop is owned by an American who used the profits of free enterprise to build the Museum to Communism. The New Prague is also a city of paradoxes. Wro heard that Kafka had been influenced by the Yiddish theater in the Café Savoy, but there are several cafés now by that name in Prague. Wro and I visited a dazzling one just over the Bridge of the Legions on the Lesser Town side. Its decadent pastries and desserts were far more Austrian and French than what we anticipated from experiences with Czech bakeries in Texas and Iowa, where large Czech communities have existed for over 100 years. (We later learned that in the Czech Republic, the bakery arts have evolved under the cosmopolitan influences of the last century, but that Czech immigrants to the United States held fast to the recipes of the late 19th century, as a means of staying connected to their roots.) Another coffeehouse, Café Milena, is run by the Kafka Society, but it lent little of the atmosphere that Wro sought. We did learn interesting trivia about Kafka: He wrote in German because his Czech was lousy. He even had to use translators when he wrote love letters. There's a theory that "Metamorphosis" represents this linguistic conflict - Kafka once wrote that his hind legs were stuck in German and Yiddish and his front legs were flailing in the air. Chinese Restaurants in Prague My stomach was flailing in the air from an overdose of literary anecdotes. Dr. Wroburlto prescribed an antidote of good Chinese food. It turned out to be more difficult to fill his prescription that we thought. We had been told that Prague had "hundreds of Chinese restaurants," but we soon learned that many didn't even have stoves. Rumor is they are fronts for moving people around. Since we have heard similar rumors about "all-you-can-eat" Chinese restaurants in the states, we encouraged caffeine drinkers to tell us more. According to popular belief, many Chinese in Prague are temporary émigrés awaiting the papers to move elsewhere. In recent years, small, cheap Chinese restaurants have sprung up to fill a market niche for cheap, quick, and hot meals, as the traditional Czech standup cafeterias have all but disappeared. But these Chinese restaurants are disappointing by California standards. About the Czech Vietnamese The Czech Vietnamese, on the other hand, are a significant minority, almost as large a group as Ukrainians and outnumbering Germans, who used to dominate the culture. Originally imported from North Vietnam to work in textile factories, they stayed and brought family, too. Their children have excelled in the schools, even in Czech language and culture, much as they have in America. That is where the similarity ends, inspiring bi-polar bear wisdom. Wroism: "Sometimes you win by losing." Wroburlto "borrowed" this line from the sizzling fire dragon, basketball coach Bob Knight, who has rarely been mistaken for a teddy bear.) We visited the two large Vietnamese shopping centers, both near textile factories, in Prague 4 and Prague 7, where Wro's maxim was inspired. The South Vietnamese expatriates we know in California are among the best business people, particularly in the restaurant and food industries. In Prague, the attitude of the Vietnam War's winners was what one would expect from old communist bureaucrats, not enterprising merchants in a competitive economy: "Take it or leave it, but don't bother me." We spied lots of live carp in tanks, some decent poultry and pork, but very little we would ever consider buying in a California market. The best vegetables and fruits came from Spain, where produce has a reputation with Prague restaurant people for being chemically produced. The Viet cafés were a bit more interesting, serving decent pho. Sampling Cuisine at Hergetova Cihelna Filling Wro's prescription for Asian food was not going to be as easy as we thought, so we resorted to a temporary local remedy. Just across the Charles Bridge, on the route the Bohemian kings rode from the Old Town to the Castle, Hergetova Cihelna serves a marvelous combination of old Bohemian and new Prague cuisine, with a full view of the bridge at night. You can get duck in the manner that it served 300 years ago and fresh sashimi, too. Tip #1: Fresh fish, from all over the world, is delivered to Prague on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The rest of the week, stick with ducks and geese and pigs in a hurry. Despite its historic location and 500-year-old-view, Hergetova Cihelna is situated in the middle of the New Prague, a wonderful fusion restaurant built on a Bohemian base. It's also infused with the dazzling trappings of new money, out to compete for the business and tourist Euro. Booming tourism is now attracting investment money from beyond the Alps and Caucasus, notably from Italy and Canada, where seriously good things happen in the food and luxury hotel world. For tourists, the happy result is an overdeveloped hotel scene on the high end. Wroburlto is a dyed-in-the-wool ("Or silk, if it's summer.") five-star bear, and he claims to have found more truly magnificent hotels here as in any western European city of Prague's size. Many have taken over old palaces and banks. (Shirley's delicious dinner at Prague's Four Seasons) The Four Seasons is a model of this new Prague spirit. The hotel incorporates a 17th-century villa with two other historical buildings, plus one new one, all connected, on the banks of the Moldau, a block from the Charles Bridge. Hotel Carlo IV appealed to Wro's love of Latin decadence, which flows from the elegant suites and rooms to the Box Block restaurant (an elegant fusion of Italian and Czech cuisines), to meeting rooms named for Verdi operas and to a cigar bar that Churchill would have loved. Most stunning though is their huge Roman bath, with a mosaic floor that could have inspired Nero to pick up his lute. Wro rates this "the best indoor pool" in the world, and I never argue with a bi-polar bear. Old wood, ornate stucco, the finest Italian marble, classic tympanums and elegant finishes, such as the colossal and whimsical umbrella stand in the lobby - all express big money, which is appropriate as this was once the National Bank. The restaurant was designed by Adam D. Tihany with nickel, crystal and optic fibres dominating the spaces in a constant vibration of lights. Think modern geometry in glass and wood, with Bohemian flavors. Even the breakfast meeting room is designed with flair, Giga lights predominating. Tip #2: For the Prague hotel industry, business travel lags behind tourist travel, which is heavily concentrated from May - October. As a result, Prague provides meeting planners with some unique opportunities for lavish bargain conferences. Do Party Bosses Promote Czech Tourism? Vestiges of Communist bureaucracy endure like cancer cells clinging to healthy tissue. Wro suspects that Czech tourism is still promoted by old party bosses more interested in keeping the country to themselves. For instance, a TV ad in England suggests tourists "Come spend a night in Prague." Just one. As Oscar Wilde warned, be careful what you wish for. Cheap air fares from western Europe have filled Prague's pubs, with the kind of tourist that almost no legitimate segment of the Czech tourist economy wants. Quickie junkets for a weekend of cheap beer, soccer, fighting and whoring are popular. This can discourage some business and luxury travelers. No one wants to deal with hooligans when they leave their five-star hotel. One antidote to such anxiety is the Corinthia Towers Hotel. Built outside the city center by the new convention facilities, it is also on a subway stop. So the charms of Old Town are easily and cheaply accessed. Tip #3: Corinthia Hotels International is a hotel chain that evolved from a single marvelous restaurant, on Malta. Their 20-something four- and five-star resorts and hotels are the safest bet in the industry for grumpy gourmets who don't always like leaving their hotel to dine. Try the Rickshaw Restaurant The hotel's Rickshaw Restaurant turned out to be the best place in town to fill Wro's prescription for good Asian food. GM Christain Grage is an old China hand, who spent much of his time in Beijing driving to the countryside for more authentic food. (Rickshaw Restaurant's General Manager Christian Gage and Shirley) "I really prefer the old school of Chinese cooking, the traditions that do not change," he explained. Christian shops at the Vietnamese markets in Prague, but he isn't terribly happy about the quality of produce, so he also makes several trips to Vienna each week. He also shared some general tips for dining in Prague. Tips #4-6 : Eggs are usually farm fresh in the city and much pork is local but not much else is. All the good beef is from Argentina and Uruguay, and it's quite good, particularly to those who value flavor over texture. Czech trout is wonderful in the Spring. "It's exciting what's happening in Prague with restaurant scenes, " Christian told us. "Old timers are still successful, as they are much respected, but there is rapid turnover, as too many thought it would be easy to make money in this business. Specialty restaurants are the up and coming segment - I see Euro-Asian fusion, I see Korean, and I see Czech Revival doing well. (A plate of Prague goulash is very tempting) "The Czechs now understand that the hardware is part of the restaurant. In the old days here, everything was in cellars, appropriate to the Communist era, when one could only feel comfortable about having a good time if it was dark, so he wouldn't get in trouble. Now there is an entrepreneurial vigor in town, chefs open their own restaurants. That didn't use to happen at all. "Outside of mushrooms, Czech food is not seasonal -- it is a cuisine identical to all seasons. Czech cuisine means Bohemian traditions influenced by Austrians. I very much regret that we are not preserving old recipes and traditions. We are rich in other things. Fusion is catching on well here, but we not preserving the recipes of our grandmothers and their mothers. We are forsaking our roots. "Mushrooms are local, and wonderful. Everyone here rushes to the woods to pick them after spring rains and fall rains. Wild berries are a popular foraging sport, too. Czechs are marvelous jam makers, a legacy from the centuries of oppression and hording," he added. Tip #7: "One untapped tourist bonanza is the industry of little factories that will take your apples and make your own personal schnapps from them. Rum pots also are made for the Christmas holidays." Ask your concierge, especially if you stay at Corinthia Towers. While Christian was educating us on the dining scene in Prague, Wro and I were taking nine courses of pan-Asian food therapy, recipes synthesized from Thai, Mandarin, Cantonese, Burmese, Vietnamese and Korean inspirations, served in the designer style of the new Prague. After dinner, we toured the kitchen of the hotel's marvelous Italian restaurant, as well as of Rickshaw. Discovering a Real Sports Bar Then Wro discovered his own personal heaven. Beneath the lobby of the hotel, he found a state of the art sports bar, complete with a bowling alley. He spied autographed trophies from some of his sports heroes. We learned these were easily obtained because the Corinthia Towers hosts many of the international soccer teams who play in Prague. (They hosted the Greek national team in their first game after winning the European championship last year.) Wro proclaimed this "the greatest sports bar in the world." A final foray into the new Prague was trans-world. Thinking about what Christian had told us about beef, we decided to spend our final meal here at a South American joint - Don Pedro. (A Latin flair at Don Pedro's in Prague) Don Pedro's founder Petr (Czech for Peter) Novak met a lovely Colombian lady in Chicago. Sandra convinced him to visit her native Colombia, and soon they moved to Prague and opened this South American restaurant, with meals cooked by Sandra's mother. A Uruguayan-Argentine Dinner Dinner was Uruguayan-Argentine as much as Colombian, and that suited us perfectly. Steaks came with fresh chimichurri - the olive oil, hot pepper, garlic and cilantro combo that is a prerequisite to the genre. Imported Uruguayan beef was grilled and served with grilled peppers and onions, plus side dishes of fried plantain and chimichurri, the grilled corn cakes of Colombia that make tortillas seem boring. Wro had oxtail "cola guisada,' with sides of rice and fried yucca. He called it "sweet and flour beef." After his Amazonian dinner, Wro complained that he felt "like an anaconda who had swallowed a whole cow and needed a serious digestive aid." Taking a therapeutic walk around the corner from Don Pedro, we passed Guan Yin, an underground teashop that rivals anything in San Francisco in both charm and quality of tea selection. (Guan Yin is an underground Chinese tea shop that rivals anything San Francisco Chinatown has to offer) Among the teas that Mr. Li and his staff stocked were: a ten-year-old pu erh from a 1,000-year-old tree; a natural, uncultivated qiao mu chun; a Tibetan salted tea; and several fragranced with lotus, ginseng and other flowers. At first, this seemed like yet another paradox. But it also makes sense that in Prague, the finest Asian teas in the world would be available when the Asian cuisine is so challenged. The Bohemian palette has specialized in liquids. This is the land that invented pilsner brewing, and the Moravian wines are developing a fine reputation after years of Communist neglect. So why shouldn't the coffee and tea lead the culinary charge into the new millennium? As Wro puts it, this is "the city of coffee, tea and free (enterprise)." IF YOU GO: Corinthia Towers Hotel & Rickshaw Restaurant Kongresova 1 - 140 69 Praha 4, Czech Republic 420 261 191 100-2; www.corninthiahotels.com Hotel Carlo IV Senovazne Namesti 13 Prague 1, 110 00 00 420 224 593111, www.boscolohotels.com Four Seasons Prague Veleslavínova 2a/1098, Prague 1, 110 00 00 420 221 427 000, www.fourseasons.com/prague Don Pedro Masarykovo nabr. 2 Prague 2-New Town 224 923 505 Guan Yin Tea House Naplavni 7, Prague 2. 736 148 044, www.tea-way.com Hergetova Cihelna Cihelna 2b, 118 00 Praha 1 420 257 535 534, www.kampagroup.com Café Savoy Vitezna 1, 150 00 Praha 2 257 32 98 74 (Click below for more travel stories).