“Continuous eloquence wearies. Grandeur must be abandoned to be appreciated. Continuity in everything is unpleasant. Cold is agreeable, that we may get warm.”
Blaise Pascal
Friday
Smooth flight.
We start watching the series Tehran. I am not sure why everyone is not talking about this series.
It makes the trip go fast.
A problem with Shell’s passport on arrival. There is no evidence of her leaving Hungary. The stamp is missing. After a few minutes of questioning, she is passed through.
Cold weather. Rain and coolness.
Wonderful.
I dream of being detained at the airport. The TV series and Shell’s hold up at customs has entered my subconscious.
In a strange twist, the customs official produces a photo of me riding a camel naked and requires an explanation.
Breakfast at the hotel on four hours sleep.
The dangerous buffet.
Six hours on the bus and train and we will be in Prague.
The GPS is not working. There is confusion at Kraków Glowny. Train platforms become bus platforms. There is no platform 2.
We ask directions, climb some stairs and make the coach with 90 seconds to spare.
Good times.
“Evolution can go to hell as far as I am concerned. What a mistake we are. We have mortally wounded this sweet life-supporting planet – the only one in the whole Milky Way – with a century of transportation”
Kurt Vonnegut
We arrive at Ostrava hl. n. with some time to spare before our connecting train leaves for Prague.
It is not the most beautiful train station I have seen, but there is a local charm. There is a bar, which looks filthy, and an equally unsanitised cafe.
Our train to Prague arrives. The locals call it Praha.
Complimentary Prosecco and a private booth.
I could get used to this type of travel.
“Where the fuck is the button to order more Prosecco?”
Rachelle Griffin
We order several more bottles of Prosecco. And then some more.
We stroll through Praha to our accommodation.
Already impressed with this city. It is cold and grey and the trees are orange in all shades.
Prosecco on arrival? Why not.
We are checked in.
Shell requires more pillows. She seems agitated there is not a ‘pillow menu’ but is asleep by the time the pillows arrive.
We have dinner booked for 5.30 pm.
It has been a long day.
“Better to sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunk Christian.”
Herman Melville
I am at chapter 34 and 300 pages into Moby Dick, and we have finally spotted the whale.
Is it possible Americans were so desperate for an author to heap praise upon, and Twain not yet on the scene, Melville was all they had?
Shell sleeps until 4.30 pm so we are a little rushed for the 5.30 pm reservation.
The Eatery has a cool feel. Bearded wait staff in sharp cotton shirts with leather vests. Minimal interior, open kitchen, concrete floors. In District 7, bohemian central, it is a place where the cool kids hang out.
Shell is stunning, without trying, she makes the place better.
The wine list is extensive and well-priced. I always feel that if a place produces wine, you should drink the wine of that place. I have no idea about Czech wine so we look to our waiter for assistance.
He asks what wine we enjoy and Shell sets the challenge – Chianti, we drink Chianti.
He almost winces. Czech is possibly the coldest climate wine producing countries in the world, Chianti is one of the hottest.
We settle on a Cabernet Merlot blend. Details below.
“Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing.”
Ernest Hemingway
Shell chooses the food. We start with trout croquettes and ox tongue. Both very good, the pick is the croquettes, finished with fresh peas and lemon mayonnaise. The ox tongue served with parsnip purée, apple, pickled mustard, horseradish sauce.
Mains are the highlight. Charcoal grilled pork belly, pumpkin purée, sea buckthorn, baked pumpkin. Superb. The bell peppers stuffed with oxtail, grilled tomato sauce, semi-dried tomato, bread dumpling – also excellent and only diminished by the brilliance of the pork.
Shell jumps at the panna cotta for dessert. I am looking at the lemon and spruce. I am warned that if I order anything but my own panna cotta, I will not get any, as Shell has no interest in anything but and will not share.
The buttermilk panna cotta, poached pear, walnuts, and pear brandy is outstanding. I get one small spoon. The lemon cream, spruce meringue, short pastry, spruce sorbet is good, but I have regrets.
The wine is from NEPRAŠ & Co. Vineyards. A tiny estate near Tábor in the Znojemská wine region. Minimal intervention, natural yeasts, and long slow fermentations. The wines are unfiltered, hard to get, and on-trend. A ‘natural’ wine by definition, without the claim and fortunately without the faults.
There was a big push for Bordeaux blends around 20 years ago in the Czech wine regions. The Indigenous varieties had no appeal to the global wine market obsessed with known branding. Cabernet and Merlot were mostly planted, with an eye on climate change and a warming region.
Now, as the market has changed, and wine drinkers look for unique varieties that are tied to a place and its history; do the Czech vignerons regret replacing Palava, Olšava, and Arkaida with the now out-of-favour Cabernet and Merlot?
2017 NEPRAŠ & Co. Vineyards Ober Hertalzberge Grande Cuvée GRAVETTIEN Cabernet Merlot (Znojemská, Czech)
Restrained Cabernet fruit, blackberries, and mint. It opened up in time with tobacco and chocolate. Beautiful palate with long chalky tannins. There is an interesting funk around, but it is pleasant and adds to the complexity of the wine. A very good wine that makes me want to explore the reds of Czech.
We head home and the cold night air. It looks like rain.
A perfect day.
Home.
Bed.
I could live in Czech.
“Morning drew on apace. The air became more sharp and piercing, as its first dull hue: the death of night, rather than the birth of day: glimmered faintly in the sky.”
Charles Dickens