Disappointment, its Just Plain Old Ginger Ale

I need to explain a little more about my self for you to fully understand my disappointment.  When I was little I was under the impression that soda and pop were two different things.  Of course I had sampled all the different kinds of soda, coke, sprite, pepsi, etc, but I had never had pop.  So in my mind pop was this exotically flavored elixir of an unknown degree of carbonation.  Since realizing that soda and pop are actually the same thing my desire to try pop has evolved into a quest to find epic sodas of the world.  Some notable finds so far are a sangria soda from mexico and the spiced pineapple soda from the Dessert Truck in NYC.  Back to the picture above, we decided to get lunch at the café in the Museum of Czech Cubism, both will have their own posts!  On the menu there was a complex Czech name that was translated to Ginger Limo.  I thought that I had found some ginger-lime concoction that would surely make the top list of epic sodas.  They brought out this bottle of Kinley soda.  At this point I still had high hopes.  Side note, whenever they serve soda in Prague, they usually serve it in a olde style coke glass which is a nice touch, also they don't break if they fall.  When it came to trying Kinley thats when my taste buds instantly recognized it as a plain old ginger ale no different then Canada Dry or Schweppes.  My dismay only grew as I took a close look at the label and saw that is was made and bottled by Coke.  I guess in the modern age of international soda conglomerates, I will have to search harder to find the epic sodas that will make it onto my list.

The Lookout Point Above Prague Castle

About ten minutes up the hill from Prague Castle there is a very old monastery.  It houses an extensive library and this amazing lookout point.  From here you can look over the entire valley that is home to the city of Prague.  The hill on the right and the slope at the bottom were once covered with grape vines that the monks harvested to make wine.  Apparently their order also carved a series of tunnels into the hill in order to tap an underground river and to build secret passage ways incase they ever needed to hide away.

These buildings are part of the monastery itself.  They are in a quiet courtyard off of the main street and remind me very much of a classic ivy league-esque institution of higher learning.  But I will have to write more about them when I tour them.

Here is the view of the cathedral at Prague Castle from the left side of the lookout point.  It is an incredible structure that I will be writing about very soon, I just have to sit down and and figure out which pictures to use!

This is the view to the right of the lookout point.  That hill is called Petrin hill.  It has many gardens of both the botanical and beer variety.  There are lots of walkways and running paths.  That tower in the picture above is a replica of the top of the Eiffel Tower.  As the story goes, the first group of organized Czech travelers decided to visit Paris right after the Eiffel Tower was completed.  They were so enamored by the sight of the tower that they petitioned and fought for a replica to be built in Prague.  Only the very top was replicated because the height of the spot it occupies on Petrin hill and the height of the tower itself add up to the exact height of the Eiffel Tower in Paris!

Old Town Square in the Evening

This is Old Town Square, the main tourist area and right next to Small Square (Male Namieste) where the NYU buildings are.  I was on my way to the surprisingly nice NYU welcome dinner and the light was great so I took a picture.  This is the same place where the famous astrological clock is, I will probably take a picture of that another day.

A Fancy Food Establishment?

For lunch today we decided to go to this modern fancy looking lunch place around the corner from school.  They mostly serve chicken and since my arrival in Prague I have seen distinguished elders, in suits and ties as well as local teenagers eating here.  The restaurant above is actually owned by the gentleman below.

It's true the colonel has a huge following in Prague.  Not only do they love KFC here but the KFC's are really nice, they put any establishment back home to shame!  Aside from the swank modern inside, they have modern artwork and a outdoor garden in the back where you can enjoy your meal.

The menus at the front of the restaurant even make it look like they have completely upgraded the food aspect of KFC for Europe (they haven't).

The menu sports some additions such as tiramisu and yogurt with berries.  These additions come at a grave cost, in the Czech Republic they have replaced the biscuit with french fries.  The fact that a KFC could not have biscuits boggles my mind, but I guess thats more culture shock.  Once I got my meal I was pretty disappointed by the look of my food in comparison to my experience thus far.

KFC does taste a lot different here.  The regular chicken seems to have been baked instead of fried.  Also I think a few of the colonels secret spices have been taken out and replaced with paprika, the national spice of the Czech Republic.  It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great, I can most certainly wait until I get back to America before I need KFC again, plus they don't have the bowl full off everything that KFC makes covered in gravy, so what's the point of coming back!  At least they have an in store hand washing station to get the grease off of your hands when you are done eating.

Czech Chess

Apparently in the Czech Lands there is a three player version of chess.  As you can see above, you can be attacked from two fronts, but other than that it is the same rules as regular chess.  There is no second place either.  The first person to take another king is declared the winner.

Culture Shock!

They kept telling us that we will experience culture shock after a few days here.  Except for the lack of tap water in restaurants the only real culture shock is the child peeing tradition of Prague.  This city could use a few of the above signs.  Andrew C and I were on our way to the metro station when we turned the corner and there was a kid with his pants at his ankles peeing on a tree with this father next to him.  Now if this was the first instance of this pants-around-the-ankles public urination by a small child I would not be so surprised (I suppose).  But as Andrew C was telling me, he and Andrew S were walking by our building a few days ago and there was another kid with his pants dropped peeing on the family car as his parents were packing the car for the weekend.  Confounded by this behavior, I later asked one of the RA's if this was normal Czech custom.  She laughed and said that she never thought about it but as a child most little kids in Prague are brought by the street or a gutter to pee if they have to.  I can only imagine that this comes as a result of the European way of charging for the use of a public bathroom.  In New York I occasionally come across a child, or otherwise, peeing against a wall or tree but at least in NYC they make use of their flies, a tradition that should be adopted here in Prague, or they can at least find a somewhat secluded alley.

The Most Perfect Song on my Computer Right Now

I have been listening to The Black Keys more and more as of late.  My interaction with them has been similar to my original interaction with The White Stripes, I have been told to listen to them far too many times until I finally do and realize that its amongst the best music I have ever heard.  The song Psychotic Girl is an incredible song that shows off the respect that The Black Keys have for the past and the great music they can create from it.  The song starts out with a simple tune plucked out on a southern sounding guitar.  As soon as drums come into play the rhythm guitar starts a goosebump raising, soul chilling, chord progression in arpeggio.  The funny thing about this progression is that it reminds me very much of Mark Ronson's work.  An almost eery piano line comes in right before the vocals start.  The vocals pay homage to the worn, soulful voices of the blues, with certain words stretched out with a feeling of want and need.  They resemble the vocals of Screamin' Jay Hawkins, but far smoother and less scratchy.  A macabre gospel of soft voices make there way into the background to fill out this song, giving it a round but plushy sound.  Right before the middle of the song the drums drop out allowing the vocals to shine through with the rhythm guitar keeping time.  Half way through the song another guitar part comes in that has a southern twangy style distortion very similar to the distortions used on Icky Thump.  This guitar sound has a solo toward the end of the song before its place is taken by the original southern guitar that began the song.