2006-09-14

### Back from Vacation

![tyn_church.jpg](/space/tyn_church.jpg)

I'm back! I spent the last week and a half on vacation in Prague, in the Czech
Republic, and it was a great trip. It's referred to as both "Europe's most
beautiful city" and "the Las Vegas of Europe," Monte Carlo and Dubai
notwithstanding. Granted, I never heard them both in the same breath, but it
does live up to each one.

Of course, I now have the requisite chest cold and sinus infection that comes
with long haul plane flights. Grr. I don't get sick often, but when I do, it
knocks me out. Other than short trips to the pharmacy, and occasionally
[Pluto's](http://plutosfreshfood.com/) downstairs, I haven't left my apartment
for over three days.

Regardless, Prague was great. I hadn't seen much of Europe before - just the
UK, Greece, and Turkey - so I was glad to expand my intercontinental horizons.
Here are some impressions:

  * Phenomenal, awe-inspiring architecture. It's hard to describe how it feels
    to wander through streets, churches, and entire castles that were built a
    millenium ago. As a friend wisely observed, it's
    one of the few major European cities that's never been bombed.
  * Phenomenal, awe-inspiring beer. Evidently, the Czechs more or less
    invented pilsner and lager. The only downside is that most traditional
    Czech pubs serve only one kind of beer - their own - and only pub food
    like schnitzel, steak tartare, and bread with "beer cheese." Still, it was
    hard to complain.
  * On the other hand, the tourist areas did have plenty of familiar-feeling
    bars that served the normal range of cocktails, at the normal inflated prices.
  * Along the same vein, it's become a common European party destination,
    particularly for young Brits on stag dos (aka bachelor parties).
  * _Lots_ of smoking.
  * Narrow, labyrinthine streets, most built centuries before cars.
    Cobblestones everywhere!
  * Excitement, and apprehension, about joining the EU. It takes a few years,
    and no one has any illusions that it's a silver bullet for anything.
  * Everyone has a car! This was especially surprising for such a dense city with
    good, if imperfect, public transportation. Not to mention the narrow
    streets, blind curves, and utter lack of anything approximating a grid.
  * The people are a little more reserved, formal, and quiet. Reading and
classical music (especially Dvořák) are big parts of Czech culture. Even
bars and clubs aren't quite as noisy as here.
  * Service is more personal. [Tipping](http://ryan.barrett.name/tipping.html)
    isn't nearly as important as repeat business and building relationships.
  * Measurements on menus. 300g steak tartare, .3L wine, etc.
  * Beautiful people. More guys in suits, jackets, or generally
    fashionable clothes. _Many_ more girls in skirts and dresses.
  * The [Sex Machines Museum](http://prague.tv/prague/arts/museums/sex-machines-museum).
    No, really.
  * There are undergraduate degrees in marionettes and puppetry. Talk about
    institutionalized culture.

All in all, it was a great time. I was sad to leave, especially since we lost
the one camera we'd been taking pictures with! At least we'll still have
pictures from the wedding. I'll put them up when I get them.

Back to the salt mines...