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| Spent some time on guard duty at the Powder Gate. |
In town for an interview with a baseball club, the Tempo Titans Praha, I was also able to taste the local goulash and domestic beers, do a bunch of site seeing, check out the night life and continue with a few traditions I've started on my trips to various cities in Europe.
First, the goulash. After checking into the hostel I stayed at on Saturday night (thanks Petra!), the girl who was working suggested a local restaurant that serves Czech food about a five minute walk through old town. Served as cubed beef in a stew spiced with paprika along with Czech dumplings, this might be the best thing I've eaten overseas thus far. Don't get me wrong, I love the Hungarian goulash as well, but this version is a bit less spicy and absolutely to die for. Google the recipe for those of you who, unlike me, can cook, and try it.
After grabbing a quick nap (seven-hour bus rides and a big meal will do that to you ... I am a Kamide, after all), I went hunting for an Irish Pub to grab a couple beers, and found one called Rocky O'Reilly's, which was exactly what I was in the mood for - live cover singer, good beer, American football on the TVs and some great entertainment with a table full of gents from New Zealand falling over each other, their waitress and anyone else on their side of the bar. Finding an Irish Pub has become something I try and do in every city I visit. As many of you know, I bartended and worked security at a pub back home, The Auld Shebeen, and I enjoy seeing the similarities and striking up conversations with the bartenders, who I know will always speak English.
Irish Pub-hunting is just one of the little tradition I've started on my trips. I've also got a pin from each city and country I go to that I pin on an old traditional German hunting hat that I purchased on a vacation to Europe with my family in 2004. I'm about halfway around the hat with pins to this point. The other tradition, and those of you who have checked out my photo albums have probably picked up on this, is to find something Sylvester Stallone-related, usually a reference to Rocky or Rambo, in each city. My brother, Jon, and my buddy, Brian, and I have all had I guess what you could call a man-crush on Sly's most famous characters, and it's pretty interesting how I can find something in each city, a T-shirt, picture, graffiti painting, you name it, with a reference to Sly. Maybe we should start a fan page, Sly Worldwide? Or not, and do something productive instead.
Anyway, after a few beers and laughs at the New Zealand lads, I made my way to what is known as the largest night club in Central Europe, a place called Karlovy Lazne. After checking out the five levels with different music on each floor, stiffly embarrassing myself through a whole lot of bad dancing, downing a couple beers and a late-night burger, I was back at my room to grab some sleep before my interview on Sunday morning, which went well.
The afternoon was then spent checking out as many of the sites as I could in one day - the Charles Bridge, the National Museum, the Astronomical Clock, the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn, the Powder Gate, the Municipal House, the Prague Castle and taking in the ambiance in the old town part of the city. Afterwards, I stopped for dinner and fired up the radio broadcast of the Redskins-Dallas game, and then jumped on the night train back to Budapest, which is where I'm at as I type this blog.
A whirlwind trip, but I'm sure I'll be back to check out Prague again soon. I know you should if you're ever over in this neck of the woods.
(Click the links for photos and video of my visit to Prague)