Whenever we couchsurf, I can’t stop thinking that there are sooo many nice people in the world. It’s a really special feeling (especially after our experience at Hostel Florenc) to say the least. So often throughout this trip something terrible happens to someone in a country we happen to be in and it worries our families and friends… It helps to put our faith back in the world so to speak when we can meet a perfect stranger, drop our bags off at his (or her) house and then go out for coffee, a drink, or dinner together. This is exactly what happened when we met our new friend, Petr – except, we did all three. My favorite part of the evening was going to an Absintherie in the old town. It was Andrew’s first time drinking Absinth, and my first time in an Absintherie. Probably my last time drinking Absinth straight, but fun nonetheless.
Petr showed us around his neighborhood, Vinohrady before heading to dinner. I’m not as familiar with Vinohrady (I lived on the other side of the river) and Prague as a whole has changed so much in terms of eateries and chic coffee shops that it was fun to explore a different side of the city. Part of this little tour included a break from the typical Czech fare for an old fashioned American burger at The Tavern. I had heard that the owners were from Kentucky, so as soon as we sat down, I asked our waiter if there was anyone from Kentucky there at the moment. I told him that I, too, was from Kentucky and would love to meet them. Later, he came up and jokingly whispered to our table “The people from Kentucky are HERE!”
Not a minute after, Lori came up to our table and introduced herself to me and sweetly asked what we were doing in Prague. Sweetly is an understatement, because she seemed to be the kind of person you immediately wanted to hug and ask if you could be best friends forever. Because we’re both from Kentucky, I think she would agree to be my BFF. I hope. The cutest part of our conversation was when she said “I just got done working with George Clooney!” in a What a coincidence! kinda way – as if I knew him or he was a friend of mine as well – you know, because of Kentucky. That’s when I decided had I still lived in Prague, we would indeed be BFFs today!
After she left, I turned to Petr with a wink and simply said “Kentucky” with a big smile.
After some delicious burgers, we wandered down to the old town for some drinks, stopped in to see Petr’s mom working at the Moser shop (fancy Czech glass and crystal) and then headed to the Absintherie.
I’ve never been to an Absintherie before, much less had an entire glass of Absinth. It was quite the production and even if I wasn’t a huge fan of drinking it straight (I prefer a smidge in a B52 shot) the little bar was perfectly designed and decorated and it was definitely different from the typical Czech watering hole. The trick is to get lots of water to chase your sips with. Otherwise it kinda tastes like the worst cold medicine ever. Which is why, I’ve always preferred drinking it with Kahlúa and Baileys Irish Cream. The fun part is when the Absinth is set on fire and you drink the shot through a straw. You don’t have time to really taste the strength of the Absinth when it’s done like this!
We stopped at a few more places- tried to have a more fancy drink on a rooftop in the Old Town, but got shooed away because Petr was speaking Czech. They seemed to prefer tourists only. We introduced Petr to Usudu (the cave-like bar from a few posts earlier) which was great until we were suddenly surrounded by a pub crawl. On our walk ‘home’ Petr took us down the red light district before one final stop in a brand new bar that was designed in the old communist style around the corner from his house. I LOVED the aesthetic (a little bit you can see in the video) and looked forward to returning the next afternoon for lunch, as Petr promised!
