Five-sense Saturday

Saturday, October 17, 2015

How have we been indulging our 5 senses in Prague this Autumn?

Heard...

About the renegade artists who replaced the Presidential flag flying above Prague Castle with a giant pair of red underpants. The move was to criticize Czech President Miloš Zeman for his relations with China.

From the BBC

Smelled...
All of those archetypal September/October smells - the earthiness of fallen leaves, the tang of mulled wine, the tendrils of smoke off grilled meat and Trdelník stands, the ripeness of tart apples, the damp of musty Gothic structures, etc.

Touched...
The our pooch's fluffy 'do before we had her quad-annual shaving. Our groomer's name is Julia and she is amazing; she even sings whilst clipping away, which our girl adores. I wish she cut human hair!

Saw...
A retrospective of the work of contemporary Czech artist Ján Mančuška at the Prague City Gallery. Fun to see how he went from Q-tip-and-plastic-straw murals to stories strung across the room on wire.

From JanMancuska.cz

Tasted:
The Fall bounty from our local Dejvice Farmers' Market. We've done an apple/sweet potato bake, cured sausage, roasted root vegetables and my personal favorite, Butternut Squash with Browned Butter and Rosemary Fettuccine. (That title would probably be a shibboleth for most non-native English speakers!) It was divine, and I suggest you try it.

From bowlofdelicious.com

We're pulling on our wool socks and staving off Winter!

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

• Burcak, Culture, Melnik

It's Burčák season again! Sure, the beverage smells a touch like Yellowstone National Park's sulfurous hot springs (read: eggy), but it's a beloved element of Fall here in the Czech Republic. Essentially, it's a seasonal sweet wine made from young Moravian grapes, a bit cloudy and very likely to set your head a-spin after a couple of glasses.

Although Burčák is available all over Prague, we hopped on a bus to the town of Mělník for a wine festival to get into the spirit of the local drink.

The buses going out of Prague were so packed by Burčák revelers that it took almost two hours longer to get there than planned. But the wait for a space on a bus was worth it!

Graffiti at the bus station

Initially we were welcomed by a tacky fun fair and, having never been to Mělník before, I was worried that this was the festival.

But we soon discovered the town center, packed with wine stalls and music and food and handmade goods. It was 100kc ($5) each to get in. Bacchus was alive and well in this space.

There was an incredible overlook on the edge of the local castle grounds, which were adjacent to the center. We also saw St. Peter and St. Paul's Church and the surrounding vineyards.

There couldn't have been a more perfect backdrop for our glasses of Burčák. Na zdraví!

Saturday, October 10, 2015

• Copenhagen, Denmark, Travel

I've wanted to go to Copenhagen ever since our friends the TyVoles raved about the city a while back. However... hearing about the costs of the darn place ($10 for a beer?!) kept us from going. Well, we were lucky enough to score a home exchange in late August, so we pinky-swore that we would not spend in a superfluous manner and we went.

Here's how we didn't break the bank in Copenhagen:

1) EATING: Eat in. It's easy to do when you're staying in someone's actual home, like we did. Or, if you're out, eat at Papiroen, Copenhagen's street food island. It has food trucks with Denmark's traditional Smørrebrød, or Korean barbeque, or Indian daal, etc.

2) SIGHTSEEING: We did most of it by foot, as the center is very walkable and packed with things to see. For 60 minutes, however, we were on an inexpensive boat tour that wound through the city's stunning canals. It was with Kanalrundfarten.

3) MUSEUMS: Many are free, and none of them are expensive. We especially liked the National Museum of Denmark and the Royal Danish Arsenal Museum.

4) CULTURE: We simply set out on foot and ran into all sorts of fun. One day, it was the Copenhagen Pride parade. Another, it was Copenhagen's attempt at breaking the Guinness Record for the longest street mural in the world! (The did it, FYI.) We enjoyed a wander through Copenhagen's infamous hippie free-town Christiania, which is decidedly commercialized but still very alternative.

5) DINING: It's sky-high in this city. Still, since Copenhagen is a foodie mecca, we picked a NY Times-recommended place run by a Michelin-starred chef called Manfreds and had the lunchtime degustation menu, which was much less expensive than dinner. SO worth it. We also took a few pictures of foodie BW outside of NOMA, the best restaurant in the world.

6) RELAXING: One of the (many) things I loved about Denmark's capitol was its handfuls of benches/chairs/steps scattered throughout public spaces, usually facing the afternoon sun. No need to feel obligated to buy a coffee in order to sit in a cafe chair; free seats are prolific.

So there you have it - we came out the other end of Copenhagen with our bank accounts still intact. And we loved every active, arty minute of it. A few photos for the road...