Tourists being tourists

Day 3 - September 7, 2008:

We (well, only Karen) donned our sneakers and went off for a day of sightseeing in the Jewish district armed with our camera. First we stopped for a little fuel at Radost cafe. Their brunch starts at 10:30 a.m. on Sundays and 11 a.m. all other days. It is a American style food place. They have massive portions, food items like omlets, pancakes, waffles, coffee(but only 2 free refills). Maciej had an omelet (looked like a 3 egg omelet that was made from real eggs, not the liquid ones) with cheese, spinach and mushrooms, home fries and toast (1 slice). I ordered the waffles with fresh fruit (the guide book said the pancakes and waffles were good). It came with 3 large waffles, mounds of fresh fruit (grapes, pineapple, banana, nectarine and apple) and 2 super large peaks of whipped cream - the whole thing was in a blueberry sauce. Somewhat overwhelming, but we were up for the task. No, I didn't finish it - but Maciej did. I've noticed that the fresh fruit (I've had fresh fruit with my meal multiple times) here is very different then in the US. In the US, typically the fruit is a combination of melons, grapes, maybe bananas and berries. On foods like waffles or pancakes it's usually berries in the US. Here they use whatever is in season. And, whenever I ask if there are melons (i hate swelling and itching) in it, they look at me kind of strange and say no. I'm relieved and order the meal happily! The decor is retro-like, with some heavy red cloth material on the light cords hanging from the ceilings. The menus are all handwritten (copies of course - do you really think they would hand-write all the menus!) and they have eclectic holders for the silverware and napkins. Definitely a notable hole-in-the-wall for bargain priced foods and atmosphere.

The Jewish District: pictures here
It was very interesting and extremely sad. I think I teared up a couple times - especially in the synagogue where the walls listed all the names of those who perished in concentration camps during World War II. The names were all hand-written on the walls, by where they were from and then alphabetical. This building led to a huge graveyard with more than 12000 tombstones, but probably 7-10 times that number in bodies (since there wasn't a lot of room, multiple bodies were buried at each location). Each building that we visited was actually a synagogue, some still used for religious services. Each site had a different part of the history of Jews in Czech/Slovakia region from the beginning of their arrival to current times. And one site had information about Jewish culture.

Late Lunch:
We ate at Kolkovna, which was down near the Jewish District. The big draw: they serve unpasteurized Pilsner Urquell. Great drinks! Maciej ordered the potato soup and a pork dish and I ordered the beef goulash with potato pancakes and bread dumplings. The potato soup came out served on a wooden board - a bread bowl with the soup in it. What a fabulous dish - Maciej and I agreed we would go back to get this. It was a little creamy, but not in a dense way (it was a broth based soup) and the bread had a crunchy exterior (toasted - not stale). My meal reminded me of a pot roast type of meat, though they were in chunks, and had a super thick and somewhat oily gravy to go with it. The bread dumplings remind me of an undercooked loaf of bread that has been cut into slices. The potato pancakes, which the book says is a must try, did not resemble any potato pancakes I have had. They were fried (i mean really fried and saturated) and no longer really tasted like potatoes. That must be why there is so much of the gravy - the gravy softened them up enough to be consumed.

We took the long way home (walked mostly along the river) - after a heavy meal, a long walk was definitely needed and appreciated. And, what better way to see a town then to keep taking different routes to and from home!