12/27 DAY 8: FLIGHT TO PILSEN, PILSEN
I woke up and immediately took a bath/shower and met Peter and Marita downstairs at about 6:00 am. I felt bad asking them to get up so early. They said it was like a normal work day. Julia and Sören came downstairs to briefly say goodbye.

I bid my farewell and Peter’s vehicle raced off toward the Hanover airport. Oh, as we got into the vehicle, “Sweet Home Alabama” played on the classic rock station that Peter likes. I thought of Kevin.

At the airport, the agent at the Czech airlines greeted me. I gave her the ticket and talked some of the details, in German. She was surprised by my US passport. In German, she said “Do you live in the United States?” A tad confused, she liked my German and asked why it was so good. “Familie,” I answered. I’ll take the compliment.

‘Twas an uneventful flight. My seat was on the emergency exit at the extreme front of the plane. The stewardess, a pretty early 30s brunette woman, sat next to me. I asked if she lived in Prague. She did. I told her I was going to Pilsen and she told me she approved of my decision. She got up to serve the passengers.

After hauling her cart to the front of the plane, she served me first with her cart. She smiled and said “would you like to try the beer from Pilsen?”

Actually, I was considering a coffee and a gaseous mineral water.

“Sure,” I said.

Before we landed, as she was asking people to put up their tray tables, she asked if I wanted a beer for the road. I declined this generous offer, then wondered why I did.

As we landed, the stewardess and I talked about her city and I asked her the best way to get to the train station from the airport (Bus 119 to the “A” line on the metro. Take the “A” line to the Muzeum stop then walk 4 blocks to hl.n. station.) This way would cost me $0.50 USD compared to the $30.00 USD I had paid to get to the hotel last time, by taxi.

I had no problem getting to the train station and I even managed to negotiate a first class train ticket to Pilsen, in Czech.

Forty minutes later, I was in the train, going a whopping 40 MPH to Pilsen. I had a cabin to myself and listened to some light Robbie Williams jazz. The swaying of the train put me to sleep.

PILSEN

Thankfully, I woke up just before the Pilsen station, about 1:00 pm. I immediately noticed that Pilsen is not as “polished” as Prague. The train station was very ugly. It was snowing a bit. The area around the train was grey and the sky and even the snow seemed a bit grey. Not the best first impression.

My hotel is Hotel Morrison, which is, of course, named after the immortal Jim Morrison. My room is a sloped attic room with a skylight and a large, clean bathroom. Again, not the most “polished,” but clean and the owners are extremely friendly.

EATS

I was a bit hungry for a snack. On the main boulevard, I found two fast food places. On one side were the golden arches, on the other “Big Burger.” I asked myself, I can’t get “Big Burger” at home. Why not, dang it?

I ordered the value meal #3 by putting 3 fingers in the air and pointing to the sign. The chubby woman looked up to see what I was pointing at. She mentioned something in gibberish/Czech and I said “Anno.” Yepper. Set me up, honey.

I was hoping for something delicious. What I got was a breaded, deep fried hamburger (!) with an extra large portion of cabbage and mayo between two halves of a rather nice bun.

I tasted it and, as it turned out, it was not so delicious, after all. The deep fried burger was kind of slimy in the middle and the fries were icky. I finished the burger and ventured into the cold.

I walked the city without a plan as I couldn’t find a place that would sell tourist stuff. Oh, well.

Pilsen does not offer very much in English, like Prague. Fortunately, when I’ve really needed to talk something, such as in the hotel, there have been people to speak German and NOT English, which is a bit surprising.

MORE EATS

But, as you’d figure, sometimes, you don’t even find German. For example, I ate dinner at a modern place called “Jazz Rock Dominik Café.” No German menu so, I used my imagination. I finally decided on “Smazena Kurecí Kapsa pnena sunkou a syrem obloha” as it sounded pretty dang tasty. (To be fair, I I remembered Kureci as being chicken—from earlier in the trip.)

The mystery meal ended up being chicken cordon bleu with a miniature salad and French fries. Delicious and nutricious.


Pilsen main square


Pilsen tourist shopping district

LATE NIGHT FUNNIES

I walked back to my hotel. The hotel offers a bar with 6 or so tables and a large poster of Jim Morrison.

“Prosím. Pivo a Becherovka,” I blurted out. The woman bartender, sporting a short cropped, poorly dyed orangish hair brought back a tall glass, bottle of Budweis beer (the real one) and a shot glass of my favorate herbal Czech drink. The one that I was told was a “chick drink.” Well, I like it.

Blaring on the TV was what appeared to be a popular variety show, in Czech, naturally. The 50s man at one point was talking with a nun, who had a look of disgust. Once, I recognized the nun said something about the “mister of culture.” A decision was made on the part of the show’s producers to pan into the audience, some members of which were laughing enthusiastically. One older woman in the audience even had tears in her eyes from laughing so hard.

The woman bartender and I shared the bar and both glared at the TV. Like me, she smoked a cigarette. But, unlike me, she was a full fledged Czech citizen and understood the show.

So why the sour look, blank look on her face? This stuff was HILLARIOUS!

I paid, wished her a good night. Took a bath and went to bed early.
- posted by Matt @ 2:29 PM