Prague Trip Report, Part 5 (more Big 5th Day)

More May 5...

A very short walk east led us to dinner at the restaurace nove m'esto, whose operation seems to be connected with the town hall, and; Marianna's dear Yugoslav friend Amelie and her aunt (Ivanna/Evonna?) joined her and Philee and the folks and Marianna's mom Jessi and step-dad Jiři at the main table, where many toasts were drunk and songs were sung. We sat just behind Marianna & Philee at a table with Andrew and were in a good place to hear everything going on at the main table and elsewhere in the room. I get the vague feeling that maybe somehow Jiři would perhaps like more folks to visit Moravia and enjoy its glories; we’ll have to let him and the Knights of Znomo that we’ll arrive one of these days.

After a trip to the hotel to change into more comfortable clothes, we proceeded to the party in a nearby pub, Pivovarsky Dum, descending a narrow stair into the basement. I was explaining some basic Czech words for ordering beer to a fellow American while also talking to the bartender about getting us some beer; the result was that the bartender explained (in Czech, so we had to get a translation!) that a half liter, or “pulliter”, wasn’t a big beer (velke pivo) at his bar – and that five beers are too little beer, which apparently is some sort of Czech drinking proverb. So, Carol Anne wound up with a one-liter beer mug for the evening.

We consumed many Giraffes (4 liters of beer in a tube with a tap) and visited with Jerry, Philee, Mariana, Andrew, Marianna’s brother Miki, Laura Leigh now a model in New York formerly of Arkansas, her Czech friend and possible agent for Jerry, Mikolaš; the Česka-Anglie dual citizen Klara formerly from England and her friend John who works on videos but hopes to learn enough Česky to work more in film; Ken Hardekopf, and his brother, who I hadn’t realized had been living in the Czech Republic (researching acidification of Alpine Lakes); Nick Bongiani and his camera; and more folks. I continued to inflict my hrozne Česky – horrible Czech – on folks. I was one of the few short-term American visitors who ordered the goulash, which was very rich and savory, but it seems that most of the Czechs and long-term western residents made a point of ordering some.

Wedding page: “New Town Hall (Novomestska radnice) is located at Karlovo namesti 1 (the same named metro stop, trams 3,10,16,22,23). The ceremony begins at 1:30pm. Afterwards, we would like to get a group picture in front of the New Town Hall (if the weather permits), and then there are two different schedules for have a Lunch brake: Novomestska Restaurace, Prague 1, Reznicka 4, one block from New Town Hall http://www.newtownhotel.cz/[bad link] Pivovarsky Dum, Prague 2, on the corner of Jecna/Lipova streets, tram 4,10,16,22 http://www.gastroinfo.cz/pivodum.Wedding lunch for the Family is reserved in Novomestska Restaurace. This restaurant is run the New Town Hall, unfortunately we have to separate our group because of the dinning room of the restaurant can for only about 35 persons. The second reserved space is in Pivovarsky Dum, this Brewery restaurant is pretty close to the Town Hall and is one of our favorite beer places. Is located just a few blocks from the square with New Town Hall at Karlovo namesti towards I.P.Pavlova. Those of us who will have the family lunch at the Newtown restaurant will join the rest at the brewery (6ish). Hopefully, we will save place for the freshly brewed beer in our tummy. As the bride and groom we will have to disappear at midnight, but not once and for all...”