Meeting the Tourists

Everyday I think to myself at least once, "Ahh, THIS is why I love living in Prague." The THIS changes, but the sentiment remains the same.

This week what inspired my sigh were tourists. Now, most living in a beautiful European capital that gets more tourists in a year then inhabitants of the entire country wouldn't use the words "love" and "tourist" in the same sentence. And I do have days where I'd like to take all the slow-walking, take-your-time-in-the-middle-of-the-sidewalk, loud foreigners and dump them in the Vltava River.

But this weekend, I had two separate tourist interactions that reminded me that people are people, and some are even lovely. The first was on Saturday night. I went to a friend's flat that is in Prague 8. If you know Prague, you know this isn't in the center and tourists aren't usually hanging out at tram stops in this area of town.

There was a young couple and a middle aged woman pouring over a map as I approached the tram station. I was traveling back into town with a Canadian girl who has been living here a few months, a teacher as well. We must have looked safe. The man approached us and asked if we spoke English. Yes, we do. And his next question was if we could get them back to the exact opposite side of town. As luck would have it, my new Canadian friend was heading to that exact location and could guide them all the way.

We passed the 20 or 30 minute tram ride in pleasant conversation. The lost tourists were from Turkey. It was their first time in Prague. They had done a central Europe tour involving Poland and Hungary. The Czech Republic was their last leg of the trip. They'd left the organized tour to explore the city and ended up in the middle of nowhere. Lucky we found them. I loved that in the scheme of eternity, I passed a flash of a moment exchanging laughs and stories with complete strangers I don't even know the names of. But we are forever connected by a tram ride on a Saturday night in Prague.

My second happy tourist moment was the next day. I was again on the tram, this time on the way home from church. I was reading Bill Bryson's Notes From A Small Island. Side note: I love Bryson and his scathing humor. Ha! I was sitting and suddenly I realized that there was a woman standing above me, enjoying a page of my book with me.

"So, this book is about the UK? I love Bill Bryson. I read the book he wrote about Europe. I met him once. He's funny in person too." The eccentrically dressed middle age woman above me dove into a one-sided conversation with the top of my head.

I looked up and smiled, "I really like his writing too." I offered.

"So, I guess you are trying to keep in touch with home...." She ventured.

"Oh no, I'm American. But I've traveled around England a bit and can relate. And where are you from?"

"I'm Dutch. Just here for a long weekend. This is my stop, I'm off to a concert...Enjoy the book!" And she was in and out of my life in the span of three tram stops.

But yet again, a little connection of humanity through this moment of sharing made this city even more mine.

My New Favorite Haunt

France. I've only been there once in flesh, but a million times in spirit. One of my all time favorite films is Sabrina. I love both the original with Audrey Hepburn and the remake starring Julia Ormond. The image of a young American girl sitting in a French cafe with a café au lait on her table next to an open journal in which were scribbled her deepest thoughts. Aww, this was my dream. It would be me one day...


And that is why I love Milleme so much. In this little French cafe set on Náměstí Jiřího z Poděbrad (George from Podebrad Square) I can be that American girl with a journal and a milky coffee in far off country dreaming dreams.


The facade is a fresh deep red that puts me in the mind of lavender fields and sunshine. The interior is bright and open. The pastries, quiche, fresh fruit and sinful cakes are displayed in super modern stainless steel and glass enclosures. The tables are large and beg for a journal or newspaper to be spread on top. French music spills softly into the room.


And the food...!! I've had the quiche. Several times. Every time it was a lovely perfection of egg, cheese, flaky crust. There are several filling choices, but I always go back to the leek. I also had the omelet. Simple, with just egg, onion and olives. No cheese, but the flavor was so fresh that cheese wasn't needed. The inside was still a bit soft, to give it the perfect texture. And the coffee is happiness in a cup....


Save the money you'd spend buying a plane ticket and go stock up on croissants and quiche in Prague 3.

MILLEME, s.r.o.

nám. Jiřího z Poděbrad 1407/4

120 00 Praha-Vinohrady

T: +420 223 002 274

E-mail: EMAILmilleme@email.cz

Pondělí - Neděle/Monday-Sunday	8:00 – 21:00

March '10

Do you ever wake up and think "Oh gee, another month is gone! How did that happen??" Well, that's my March 2010. Here's a little recap to keep you in the picture:

March 3 was Free Museum night. I love the first Wednesday in Prague for this reason. I met up with H's little sister, and learned a valuable (and time-saving) lesson. Always check to see if the museum you are planning on visiting is in fact open. We went to two different museums that were closed for reconstruction before going for the safe bet of the Castle. Of course the Prague Castle museum was open. There was a temporary exhibit of Romantic landscape paintings from the 19th century by August Bedřich, Charlotta and Louisa Piepenhagen.

Mid March H came home from work (he works abroad, for those out of the loop) and we decided a little bonding trip was in order. We hopped over the border to Germany and enjoyed an eclectic museum of everything technical under the sun. It was a bit like you cleaned out your grandparents' attic times a thousand. Then added a few tanks, airplanes and cars and turned all the random objects into a museum. We loved it!

H was home for two weeks, which also gave us some time to bond with his mom. We went to Terezin on Saturday. Terezin was originally built as a fort in the 1790s to protect the Habsburg empire. But it is notoriously known for being turned into the Teresienstadt Concentration camp during Nazi occupation. We took the guided tour. The tour guide was a woman in her mid-30s. She was excellent. She brought the history alive with her passion for the story. It is important for all generations to know what cruelty and lowness humanity is capable of. With guides like this woman, I'm confident the history will be told. www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/terezin.html

We also treated H's mom to some fancy cooking, but not mine! We went to the Indian restaurant on our street, Tandoori. Then we went back to Kardamon Klub, a restaurant I praised in an early post. If I could give them FOUR thumbs up, I would. Just as impressed the second time. www.hedvabnastezka.cz/kardamon

And that brings us to the end of March. See what I mean?! It flew by! The sun shone, the rain fell and March passed.