And the winner is…

Me! I love the Oscars. They are my favorite television event of the year. So, for a while, I had been wandering how I was going to watch this year's. Then, about a week ago, I got an invitation on Facebook to an Oscar-watching at an ex-pat restaurant, Red, Hot & Blues. I was psyched. I invited my friends who might be interested and, lucky for me, my friend Kari joined me. Now, this is live, which means that the show started at 2am. Yep. 2 A. M. – that's in the morning. We had planned to meet at 11:30pm but then Kari sent me a text suggesting we go see Frost/Nixon earlier in the evening. I was happy to go; I wasn't looking forward to leaving my flat at 11pm. So, we met, we watched the movie – nice use of historical event to parallel the current feelings of the country – and then walked around a bit. At midnight, we headed to the restaurant. People were trickling out – those normal people who were there for the jazz earlier in the evening – and trickling in – those crazy people who were planning to sit up all night watching the Oscars. At about 1am, they turned the sound on and we got to see the German coverage of the red carpet. At 2am, it switched to the American coverage of the red carpet. Finally, I think at 2:30 am, the show started. We were ready. Ballots in hand, marked with our favorites. We were sitting next to a group of Americans so there was a lot of chatting, questions about movies we were unfamiliar with, etc. When the Oscars started, there was a hush in the room. I had high expectations for Hugh Jackman – I had seen him host the Tony's so I knew he could deliver, and he did. Great opening. We continued to enjoy the show, especially seeing past winners as a group present the acting awards. Slumdog Millionaire was the local crowd favorite. Since neither of us have seen it yet, Kari and I had a hard time getting too excited about it. We as a whole, were also disappointed in the In memoriam segment – we couldn't read the text so we weren't sure who we were remembering, plus, they did not have Heath Ledger or we all missed it. As soon as the Best Picture was announced we left, not even waiting for the speech. The bill was paid and we were out the door, Kari and I at least. We went our groggy separate ways at the metro, mixing in with the morning commuters…it was 6am. As I walked from the tram stop to my flat half an hour later, I noticed that the sky was beginning to lighten. I climbed the stairs, changed into my PJs and crawled into bed, setting the alarm for 10am (I do have work to do today and expect to go to bed early tonight). And couldn't go to sleep. Luckily, I did eventually and got a few hours of shut eye. I do not remember the last time I did an all-nighter. I mean, I've stayed up to write papers but got to bed around 4am. The last time, that I remember, was freshman year of college when we camped out for football tickets. I'm glad I did it. I missed the other major American, stay up all night events (the election since I was still in the US, and the Super Bowl) so I felt that I had to do this at least once in my life. Plus, it was the Oscars! Oh, and I was delighted to see Kate Winslet win.

My Not-so-Formanesque Experience

One of my favorite Czech films is Fireman's Ball, directed by Miloš Forman. If you haven't seen it, you can follow the link for more information. However, since I've been here, I have been hearing about the Czech proms or balls. Now, we aren't talking about the really fancy balls like you see in Vienna. These are less formal and apparently a big part of Czech culture, although it might be dying. Friday night was St. Thomas' parish ball. It was for all three communities – Czech, English and Spanish. When I bought my ticket, it was mentioned that it is a dress up affair – not white tie, but nice. So, I put on my cocktail dress, curled my hair and headed out into the slush.

The dance was held at the Archbishop's Palace, in the castle square. When I arrived, I saw that I was dressed pretty much in the middle of the fashion scale. Some women were more casual, some were in full ball gown. The men were in at least button-down shirts if not a suit or full tuxedo. Most of the teenage girls and boys were in very formal dress. And one older woman was in full kit – ball gown, flowers in her gorgeously curled silver hair, elbow-length gloves…(Since I only had my evening purse, I only had my mobile phone camera, so forgive the poor photos.) I soon began to think of the Czech ball in my head – Forman's Fireman's Ball and make comparisons.

The music was provided by the Czech youth group band – a group of young men who looked very hip. They played primarily Beatles' songs, but threw in a few Czech polkas, a tango, and some harder rock music. People danced accordingly but I had 2 favorite couples. One was a young couple – they looked like brother and sister, and I hope they weren't romantically involved because she was kissing on one of the band members during the break. These two knew how to dance in a ballroom. They had the proper form and glided around the room smoothly – or at least as smooth as they could amongst the less serious dancers. The second couple was an older one. They danced to everything, including the "rock" songs. I want to still dance when I'm their age.

We were also promised "wild raffles," which I admit really put me into the Fireman's Ball mindset, since the disappearing raffle items are a thread through the entire film. I'm pretty sure none of the prizes disappeared here but the question is what are they? My mother and sister and I have some ideas about small charity raffles…and past experiences at St. Thomas events kept me from buying tickets. At the Thanksgiving Dinner, the prizes were the centerpieces which were nice for the dinner but not something you necessarily wanted to take home. My friend Zdenka reminded me of that when I mentioned that I hadn't bought any tickets. These were a better though. First, Father Juan, a tri-linguist, would call out the prize number in all three languages. We did catch in a mistake or two, saying for example 83 in Czech but 89 in English. When someone indicated they had the winning ticket, one of 2 girls about the age of 10-years-old would run across the dance floor to give them their prize. The people around us who won received a book about Australia, in Czech and autographed by the author, a 200 koruny (about 10USD) gift certificate to Bohemian Bagel (I would have liked that one!), and a book about St. Nicholas church in English. Overall, not so bad, although the people who won the English-language book would have preferred, I believe, a Czech version.

After the raffle, Fr. Juan called everyone to the floor for a "special" dance. As the band played, Fr. Juan sang "La Bamba" and everyone danced. Yes, that would be our parish administrator and Augustinian monk. Gotta love it.

Vesmírna Kavárna

Vesmírna Kavárna, Universe Café, is a work training program for people with mental disabilities, who work as wait staff and baristas. It's really cool – in concept and reality. My friend Romana suggested that we have coffee there – which means that I had hot chocolate. It's sponsored by the city of Prague, the Czech Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, and the European Social Fund in the Czech Republic. The tables are each named for their appearance. For instance, we were first seated at the Musle (Mussel) table, which had seashells under the glass top, but where moved to the Černý stůl, or Black table. All menu items have a number (for drinks) or a letter code (for food) and the waitstaff notes the table name, the number or letter code for the order and how many of each. It's a very simple organization and works very well. Overall, the atmosphere is peaceful, comfortable, the notion of it being zen-like entered my mind. It seems that the people who go there go for a reason – to support this cause. The drinks are good, not especially good or inexpensive. But it's a feel good café experience.

Since Romana and I were there for our tandem language conversation – half hour in Czech, half hour in English…her English is much better than my Czech – we were there for quite some time. We usually meet for 2 hours. After I finished my chocolate, I wanted something else but they don't serve cola. They are more healthy than that. They have juice and tea and coffee and beer but not cola. So, I went for a limonáda (lemonade-type drink, although it can be any flavor; it doesn't have to be lemon). I ordered the kopřivová límonáda s mátou. Not quite sure what it was, I went for it. Romana told me it was drink made from nettle. Yes, the week-type plant that can give you a burning rash. Oh, and it had mint added. I must say, I was a bit apprehensive but it tasted pretty good. It smelled kind of like a bath and body shop but it had a sweet taste and the carbonated/mineral water added to it. I wouldn't order it again, but I drank it.

I really like the café and plan to go back. I just wish the website was in English so more people could learn about it.

Odds and Ends and Groceries

First, I want to welcome a new reader – Hi, Dad! Not that I actually have any clue how many people are actually reading this, other than a few people who have told me. But Mom reads (Hi, Mom!) and she is my primary audience. But, she informed me that my Dad has started reading it, too, so I guess I have to be extra well-behaved :). So, if you are reading, I would enjoy any comments.

Okay. So, today I had 2 interesting grocery shopping experiences. First, I went to Albert (local chain where I got yelled at for not weighing my veggies) to get a loaf of bread. But not just any loaf of bread. It is my new love. I love this bread so much I would marry it if I could (to which my friend Meredith reminded me that what I do in the privacy of my own home is my business…). Anyway, I discovered this bread one night after Czech class. Class ends at 8pm and by the time I get home I'm hungry and don't feel like cooking so I've been doing a basic meat (see the next section on chorizo), cheese (specifically hermelin), bread, wine and sometimes olives. Just a little nosh while I relax. There is an Albert next to the tram stop that I use to go home so if I don't have something I stop in to pick it up. I found my new love one night when the pickings were really slim. This bread is a twisted loaf of dark wheat bread, with a light and airy inside and a hard and chewy crust. Yummy! Anyway, I was popping into Albert today before I did the rest of my shopping at the other store (it's bigger and has more of what I want). The loaf costs 20 Czech koruny, or just under a dollar. I got to the cashier and had a 100 koruna note but she wanted change. I counted out 19 koruny and she took that. It's not like I was trying to get away with not paying full price; I had the bill in my hand. But she wanted change for some reason – she wanted it so much she gave me a koruna off. This is unusual. First, I thought that she was being nice, but then I realized that she got what she wanted at her own expense so…I don't know what exactly was going on. I guess she was low on change in her drawer.

The next experience is a fear faced. I shopped at the meat counter! I know, it's a bit silly to be excited but the deli counters scare me. They use metric. I have no idea – none – how much a gram, a kilo gram, etc is. Heck, even in the US I just say I want 4 slices of something instead of a quarter pound or something. But, I am trying to be a little more fiscally conservative and here was a way I could. I was buying chorizo for my evening nosh. Now, I could have bought the expensive, comes to the store packaged chorizo for about 50 koruny (about $2), that would have lasted me 2 meals. I had been doing that until I discovered that the deli counter pre-packages some of their own. This is about half the price (or cheaper). Today, they didn't have the chorizo. They had a variety of salamis but not what I really wanted. I checked the meat counter and they did have it so I looked at packages of meat, weighed them in my hand, compared what their listed weight was, etc in order to get an idea of how much I wanted. I decided on 20 grams. So, I got in line and asked for "dvácet gramy od chorizo" – not grammatically correct but the words were correct…the meat counter lady went to the correct meat (success #1) and grabbed a big handful. Okay, I'm thinking "what did I tell her?" I watch her weight it and it's 21 grams. I said that it was good, that was all I wanted and took my order. 21 grams is apparently about 5 or 6 meals worth of meat for about 50 koruny. Of course, the other side of the issue is that you are suggested to eat the meat within 48 hours of purchase. So, I have a couple of Ziploc bags of chorizo in my freezer :).

How to perfectly chill a Diet Coke

Did I ever tell you about the time I went to Krakow? Well, it was a lovely winter weekend, and I'm using the word "lovely" very loosely. I must add that this is against the advice of my friend Kasia who strongly discouraged me from visiting Krakow between November and March. Anyway, my friend Chris and I took the long train from Prague to Krakow, where we met with my friend Colleen. We stayed at a great hostel called Blue hostel (on the recommendation of my friend Abby – good call!). It's close to the old town and the train station, cheap, clean and has a very nice owner. Since we all got in late – after 10pm – on Friday night, we were ready to really see the city on Saturday morning. We headed out in search of some food and to see what we could see. We came armed with a ton of site and food suggestions from a variety of friends with Poland/Krakow experience. We ended up not seeing much due to the snow.

But we found a bakery and tried some new foods. We had a pasty filled with we think cabbage but we couldn't quite figure out the flavors. Then we headed around to the barbican to do the royal walk. By now, it was snowing pretty hard and continued through most of the day.

We stopped in the Czartoryski Museum- once we found it after walking right past it. For just a few dollars (even less with my student ID), we saw not only some really nice art, but a da Vinci and a Rembrandt. Nice. Well worth our time, even if it had not been snowing. Next stop was lunch. Colleen had a pierogi she wanted to see so we went there.

I had the mix plate with pierogi 3 ways - meat, potato and cheese, and mushroom.

I convinced Chris to try the kvas - a non-alcoholic drink made from rye bread. It smells yeasty but tastes much better than it sounds.

We headed out again and spent the afternoon touring a number of churches.

First, we stopped by the Cloth Hall - I had to buy a magnet to add to my collection. I opted for the dragon. He should look good next to the beer mug from Munich, the adelweiss from Salzburg and the phone booth from London.

It was also a good place to escape from the snow for a few minutes.

We visited St. Mary's.

This church has a very famous, old, beautiful alter piece so they have 2 doors. One door for tourists (paid-entry) and one for those who want to pray. The inside of the church is divided during the touring hours.

And St. Adalbert...I mean how do you skip a church named after St. Adalbert!

It was very small, with maybe a half dozen pews, round in shape and preparing for Saturday evening Mass.

I wanted to see some of the Cardinal Wojtyła/Pope John Paul II sites so we headed to the Archbishop's Mansion, where we saw the Pope! Okay, not really...

They have a poster of him in the window where he used to live. Kind of cheesy but I like it!

St. Francis' where JPII served when he was the Archbishop really impressed me.

They have a sliver plaque where JPII used to sit to pray (when he was the Archbishop) in a pew at the back of church. I wondered if anyone actually sits in that spot during Mass...

And then a few more churches...the snow really made things beautiful - when it wasn't blowing in our faces - but also distorted the city too, like on these statues in front of Sts. Peter and Paul.

Not that you can really see in this photo...

Anyway, after a rest at the hostel, we went back to out to dinner. We went Chłopskie Jadło. It was kind of kitschy but we liked it. Good food and good atmosphere - a must with Colleen and I! Next to us was a group four Irish people - 2 couples. They asked what we were eating and we were glad to give a review!

On Sunday, Chris went to Auschwitz, so Colleen and I were on our own for a while. We headed out to the Jewish Quarter. Our first stop was the Remu'h Synagogue. Inside were a number of men, Orthodox (? so we think due to their prayer paraphernalia and dress and the side curls) Jews, praying and taking pictures of themselves praying an d posing in the synagogue. It was a really new experience for both of us to see.

The guidebook describes the difference between the Prague Jewish Quarter and the one in Krakow as well, different. My basic description is that the area in Krakow is a living, breathing Jewish community with active synagogues. Prague's area is a museum district. Both really amazing in their own ways. While in that area, we visited the Old Cemetary....

and then walked around, taking note of the other important sites like the Old Synagogue, the High Synagogue and then the market...

and appreciating the idea of the golf cart tours...







and then it was time for lunch. We stopped at a little self-serve place and I got a full meal for 14 Polish złoty or about $3.50. I ate something called bigos, which is about 90% cabbage with some meat, mushrooms and plums thrown for flavor.

After lunch we headed across the river to the former Jewish ghetto and saw the monument of empty chairs in Ghetto Heroes' Square and the outside of Schindler's factory.

After the Jewish Quarter, we headed to the castle.


By this time, it had started to really snow again. Here is my view from the foot of the castle before we headed up.

We fought our way through the wind and snow to the top, turned the corner and headed for the cathedral. By this time - about 10 minutes - here is what we saw....
Yes. Sunshine and blue sky. We toured the cathedral, saw the groovy chair that the archbishop sits in and headed for the royal apartments. Unfortunately, we only got to the courtyard because we failed to read in the guidebook that last entry is one hour before closing. We read that it was free on Sundays and that it closed at 4:00. We missed that. :(
On our way back through town, we took more photos since it wasn't snowing and we had some daylight. The snow didn't hold off completely and we did hit a few more showers.

Overall, though it was a great trip. It could have been better weather-wise but we just laughed at our ridiculous situation and made the best of it. We explored a variety of eating establishments - meaning we looking in windows, walked in doors, but didn't eat at all of them. We tried a lot of Polish foods - I have to admit that I prefer Czech food. Maybe I'm biased.

So, why the title of this post? On Saturday, I bought a Diet Coke - or Coca-Cola light as they are known here - from a tabak, or street vendor. Although it was in a refrigerator case, it was "room temperature" or not even as cold as the air, by far. I kept it in the outside pocket of my backpack and drank from it all day. By the end of the day, when there was about 1/3 left, I realized that it was now the pefect temperature for drinking - or perfectly chilled.

On a final note, about halfway home to Prague, a family joined us in our compartment. At some point along the way, the little girl, around age 5, said "Ježíš Marie" the ubiquitous Czech curse/blaspheme. You gotta love it!