ja nikdy poznat ze nkusenosti

Hard Rock Café, Prague, 12-01-21

2012-01-28T11:30:00.001+01:00

No Matter how well you adapt to the ex-pat life, sometimes you just want a humble hamburger, american style, to remind us of home . . . Oddly, this craving hit us not months or years between visits to the US, but days after our return . . . Well, hamburgers are a big favorite here in Europe too, of course, ergo, the hamburg-er. So at anyrate there we were at the hardrock . . . Mrs prefers other places, since they tend to undercook the hamburger there, but I convinced her we could override that with a special order: she ordered hers well done and I medium well, which was successful . . . I enjoyed my expert margarita tremendously, too

Modry Zub Thai, Narodni Trida, Prague, 12-01-16

2012-01-28T11:22:00.001+01:00

Dang camera wouldn't flash. . . Sitting too close to some light, then the pix don't come out right . . . Co nadelas'?

Started with Tom Yum Kai . . . Even in good lighting, it might not look as nice as others, but the flavours are all there . . . Very spicy . . . Continues to raise our appreciation of the Zub . . .8^) . . . I had phad thai, mrs had phad sen . . . Very toothsome, to make a very weak joke, but we took half of each home in a box .. . Then we ate it the very next night and swore it was all even better . . .

Aromi, Prague 12-01-14

2012-01-28T11:00:00.001+01:00

<<IMG_0739.JPG>> Ou <<IMG_0733.JPG>> r <<IMG_0734.JPG>> fi
<<IMG_0735.JPG>> rs <<IMG_0736.JPG>> t visit back to Aromi in 2012.
They greeted us like old friends, asked about our holidays, wished us a
happy new year.
Started us off, as normal, with a couple of glasses of prosecco while we
perused the menu.
We ordered off the regular menu instead of one of the daily specials
this time, just for a change.

Mrs started with a Rucola salad with cherry tomatos and grated crispy
parmesan . . . Oooh!

I started with Le Ministre Pasta e Fagioli Borlotti, Borlotti beans
minestrone with home made pasta (and pasta is one of the things that
really sets Aromi apart from the crowd!), pork rind, and grated crispy
parmesan. . . Ungh, Ungh, UNGH!

For mains, I secondi piatti, Mrs had Fillet of Tuna Palamita with
braised artichokes and clam saute'. Gnang. Gnang. Gnang!

I had chopped grilled octopus served on a bed of pumpkin risotto.
Drubba-duh-drubba-duh-drubba-duh.

With these modest starters and mains, we had craftily left room for
dessert . I got the waitress, our favorite waitress, to bring us an
appetizer to share, one that had seemed like it might make a
sophisticated and different desert instead; she eagerly agreed in a way
that added to our pleasure, if you see how I mean: it was gorgonzola
ravioli and sauteed pears with a basamic demiglace, and, need I add, a
couple of small portos.

Houston MFA - Aztec Gold

2012-01-19T16:53:00.003+01:00

The only minor complaint we might have had about the Houston MFA, was that the layout & labelling of the exhibits seemed a little confusing to us . . . We tho't we were going into the japanese exhibit but instead found ourselves in the aztec exhibit . . . Still awesome, once our equilibrium returned . . . 8^) . . .

Houston MFA - Hindu Ornaments

2012-01-19T16:53:00.002+01:00

Love the white mask, a very serene Buddha . . . 8^) . . .
Love the voluptious Houri . . . I don't think it’s a goddess, only 2 arms . . . 8^) . . .
Love the Indian Gold . . . Gotta respekt a people that have valued gold for so many centuries . . .
Can't have too many Buddhas, that's my motto, too. . .
Amazing pot.

What the Dandies in Banderra Tx will wear for New Years Eve, I guess

2012-01-19T16:53:00.001+01:00

Saw this awesome ensemble in a western wear store in Banderra
(that's the only type they have . . . 8^) . . . )
So it's kinda dandified for a bunch of working ranch hands,
But maybe there's some dudes (in the arcane sense) whom it would please . . .
If'n our suitcases wasn't already stuffed and I coulda found anywhere for that hat,
I woulda snapped it up . . .

Pappadeaux, Houston, Texas

2012-01-16T16:40:00.000+01:00

Yes, it's a chain.
Yes, it's overpriced.
Yes, the portions are sometimes tooooo big.
But its just about as authentic as you're going to get anymore, and the culinary quality is very high . . .
Sugar got coconut shrimp appetizer . . . We were starving, but knowing we were going to the Red Onion later . . . Moderation is the Key!
Mrs got a salad and a very large cup of gumbo . . . I don't know how big the bowl of gumbo would be . . .
I got some gumbo too, and fried oysters, resolved not to eat all my french fries . . . Fair enough? . . . 8^D . . . No desert, but those are legendary here, too . . .

An awesome place, over and above how good it would have to be to be an awesome chain outlet . . . We always hit the pappadeaux at IAH if we have a layover . . .

Frida's Mexican/Italian Restaurant, Houston, Texas

2012-01-16T16:39:00.002+01:00

Oh, we were hoping for some sort of mexican/italian fusion cuisine.
This ain't that. It's either/or.
It might be said that some italian sensibility comes to play in the mexican dishes . . . Not so "crudely" spiced, but rather "sophisticatedly" seasoned . . . If that appeals to you... I had the flautas, still basically stuffed from Luling BBQ . . . But then I couldn't just have a margarita . . . The flautas were rather unexciting, served only with sour cream, no guacomole . . . They had brought a plate of guacomole to the table before, as like a common treat, but it was unmixed . . . The girls sorta liked the idea that everyone could roll-their-own, but when I want' guacamole, I am ready for guacamole, not for mixin' . . . If you see how I mean . . .

Luling City Market BBQ, Luling, Texas

2012-01-16T16:39:00.001+01:00

Ah, dang, not enough pictures . . . But then again, if one ain't enough, 10 prob'ly wouldn't be enough either . . . 1st time there. . . Heard about for years, of course . . . Bona fide competitor for Best In Texas, especially among purists who insist that only BBQ served on butcher paper can be considered.

Wheeler's Restaurant, Fredericksburg, Texas

2012-01-16T16:38:00.002+01:00

Attracted by the sign claiming Best Burgers in Fredericksburg.
No, I don't think so.
We couldn't believe we fell for the same representation twice in the same week, in Kerrville and here in Fredericksburg. Some "voted-bests" are sorta reliable, but from now on, I just go by if the sign on the front says best, it aint.
Bun was kinda squishy, the meat was grilled-grey, rather than flame-charred, fries and rings just seemed kinda heavy, in that deep fried way, if you know what I mean.

Old Spanish Trail Restaurant, Banderra Texas

2012-01-16T16:38:00.001+01:00

Quaint as all get-out. Local favorite. Mediocre cuisine. I did enjoy the Frito Pie, but it was a little crusty, even at that, from sitting out on the steam table. It's just OK.

Red Onion, Houston, Texas

2012-01-16T15:30:00.001+01:00

Something other than TexMex . . .
But still . . . Savoury, if you see how I mean . . .
I think I heard columbian, once, but it can be very spicy here . . .

They have a semi-standard salsa with chips, but the blond sauce is pineapple . . . 8^D . . .very merry . . .

Seafood enchiladas is why I like the place. Simple. Elegant. Spicy. Wonderful.

I'm not sure anymore what some of these dishes are . . . Probably fish in most of 'em, somewhere . . .

Mrs got a salad and gazpacho . . . The salad was fine, and the shrimp that came garnished on the gazpacho were fine, but the gazpacho was too quirky . . . Sweet & fruity, and lacking that "fresh" taste that I generally love about gazpacho, especially Mrs' Famous Gazpacho.

Hilariously, they had lost their licqour license thru some cock-up by the accountant, but this is still an amazing, growing chain of high-quality unusual food.

Mai's Vietnamese, Houston, Texas

2012-01-16T13:52:00.001+01:00

When we first started talking about this trip to texas, we imagined that the one thing we would have to do is re-visit the re-novated Mai's . . . It wound up that we re-arranged our schedule to allow this possibility . . . There were other reasons, but none so compelling . . . 8^D . . .

So we started with the spring rolls with peanut sauce. There is nothing like Houston Vietnamese food, elsewhere in the US, and Mais stands heads and shoulders, we feel, above the rest, for the superb quality of their ingredients and the preparation. I believe you could have all of these spring rolls you wanted, health-wise, with no bad side effects . . . I could be wrong, I'm old and often confused, but it just seems like delicious prudence, if you see how I mean.

Mrs had the pho, and pronounced it superior after 2 bites.

Sugar had the bbq pork chops, and stopped soon to wipe away tears of recollection.

I had the bun with fried rolls and bbq-pork, with a few shrimp tossed in . . . I was glassy-eyed, legless, and drooling when I finished.

Sugar had a vietnames coffee since she was driving to perk her up . . . It was kind of a wait . . . 8^D . . .

World Class, in a class of its own.

Acapulco Mexican Restaurant, Kerrville, Texas

2012-01-16T13:25:00.001+01:00

Chilli Relleno, Flautas de Pollo, and Carne Guisado.
They "claim" to be the best in Kerrville.
Voted so, I suppose, by the blue hairs that don't like spice anymore, if they ever did.
Not the Best.
Mamacitas is miles better, and I would wager almost anyplace else would be too.

Xmas 2012 - Bourbon Street Seafood Kitchen - Boerne, Texas

2012-01-15T18:07:00.002+01:00

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB0QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bourbonstreetseafoodkitchen.com%2F&ei=LAUTT4uuDbT44QTrlLXTAw&usg=AFQjCNHUU3RBcVY3vUXotGqXVj4nIuWLcA

The staff wuz friendly as cousins there . . . I dunno how true their cajun is, it wasn't bad, but our eyes weren't rolling around our sockets or anything . . . Still the main agenda was a reunion with my old college roomey, one of 'em, so that was fun, a success . . . Never know after 25 years . . .

This camera is flaky lately, none of these pictures come out very well . . . We were having too good a time to notice. I will say that my shrimp brochettes were gud enuff . . . Mrs was somewhat disappointed with her shrimp over eggplant, tho she says the grilled vegetables were very nice . . . She just says deep brying an eggplant defeats the whole purpose of eating an eggplant, if you see what she means . . .the blackend fish my roomey's girl had didn't look that good to me, but it was what she expected, and I think he ate half of one, too . . .

in the spirit of the evening, we split some desserts too, something I don't either couple does as a rule . . . we had they bread pudding, they had the cheesecake. . . conversation was kinda dull after that . . .8^D . . . that was one huge bread pudding . . . maybe it was laced with whiskey, too, I didn't taste it strong, but you never know . . .

XMAS 2012- San Jose Mission - Day 4

2012-01-15T17:52:00.001+01:00

http://www.nps.gov/saan/planyourvisit/sanjose.htm

Known as the "Queen of the Missions", this is the largest of the missions and was almost fully restored to its original design in the 1930s by the WPA (Works Projects Administration). Spanish missions were not churches, but communities, with the church the focus. Mission San José shows the visitor how all the missions might have looked over 250 years ago.

Mission San Jose is one of those places full of people talking like tour guides to small groups of people . . . That is, maybe they have tours there, but instead of a ranger leading around a herd of 30 people all at once. they would have several other, non-official-looking civilians as tour guides, or maybe these people have some expertise and are sharing it with friends from out of town, or maybe they just like to hear themselves talk, so they latch onto people in the front office and just wont go away . . .8^D . . . Anyway . . .

I heard one of these, a plain-clothes guide, speaking somehow pompously, insinuatingly, furtively, en sotto voce, ". . .that far corner was where the brothel was, and . . . " continuing on out of my hearing . . . 8^D . . . It was a fascinating concept to me: that in that closed society there would be a place for a brothel . . . I intuit that it was an institutionalized role included in the society as a recognized role, not to say whole-heartedly-approved role . . . Oh, imagine, like the legalized prostitution in Europe. . . But this would be amongst a very small society . . . Interesting. . .

XMAS 2012 - Day 3 - Alamo

2012-01-15T16:55:00.000+01:00

So, the day after XMAS we started off with the SIL comfort breakfast extraordinaire: The Warm Banky... A fried egg served over grits cradled in a nest of asparagus spears.

Then we headed over to Alamo. Then began a minor kerfuffle. I wanted to go to Mi Tierra for lunch . . . I knew everyone would enjoy it, but I tho't it was on the riverwalk. . .nooooo, it's in the Mercado, off the freeway . . . At one point, after I had given up my idee fixe that it was on the riverwalk, we had 3 different people trying to orient us using their iPods, getting 3 different answers. . . 8^D . . . Good practice for them, but maddening at the time.

We finally got over there, and got seated fairly quickly even tho it was busier than Iowa in an election year.

Mrs & I shared fajitas for 2 . . . She was determined to get some good fajitas . . .these was pretty good . . . Cheese enchiladas . . . The Tex-Mex ultimate dish . . . Unless, of course, we consider the Mexican Plate: a taco, a tamale, and a cheese enchilada, with beans and rice! Oh, and some guacamole . . . Sugars enchiladas verdes . . . And I don't know what this thing with the whole chungs of beef on a tortilla are . . . Something the grandson ordered . . . His eyes are always bigger than his mouth . . .

We finished with sofa-pillows, natcherly

Xmas 2012 - Xmas Dinner Day 2

2012-01-15T16:34:00.001+01:00

Smoked Turkey, baked dressing, mac-and-cheese, potatoes & gravy, creamed spinach, whole cranberry jelly. We couldn't find any Beaujolais Nouvous left, so we just had Beaujolais Villages . . . 8^( . . . 8^D . . .

XMAS 2012 - Day 1

2012-01-15T16:27:00.000+01:00

So we leapt up COD (9ish) the next morning marvelously refreshed from our coach trip, and wandered over to what I evaluated as the best kolache shop in San Antonio (not as bold a claim as say the best kolaches in Houston). I could say that it scratched our itch but we were still itching . . . Then we checked out of the hotel and hustled over to whole foods to pick up our Thanksgiving feast. Then we took the whole mess of luggage and food over to the house we'd rented for a week. Parked everything at the house, then went over for a late lunch at Nichas nearby . . . We just made it . . . They were closing at 3pm for xmas eve.

Mrs got Carne Asada . . . Imagining a steak like object, but instead she got these bite-sized, kinda-tough, greasy pieces of meat . . . Very TexMex, if you know what I mean . . . She couldn't finish it . . . I had something called The Dad's Plate, that was just fine, Just Fine . . . A cheese enchilada, a tamale, and some fajita meat, washed down with a margarita. Sugar had her constant dish, Enchiladas Verde with a margarita, which she said was all Just Fine, too . . . We were making plans to come back soon, despite Mrs' demurs . . .

XMAS 2011, Flight to America

2012-01-15T16:08:00.001+01:00

Used a VIP service both because we had so many bags and because I wanted to avoid any hassle if at all possible about our passports, which had gone thru the wash, and were somewhat . . . Worn . . . The service includes transportation to the airport then waiting in a private lounge rather than the terminal, while they checked our bags and checked us onto the flight . . . We still had to go thru security, dash it all . .. 8^) . . . Perfectly understandable, I guess . . . So it was very expensive, but on this trip totally worth it, so that we got to the airport and onto the plane with minimum fuss and discomfort . . . The flight to JFK was biz-class, which makes a great deal of difference . . . The food is better of course, and the service, less harried, etc, etc, etc, and the comfort allowed us to arrive at JFK uncrippled . . . Our flight from JFK to SAT, tho was coach, and to call it horrible would be fine with me . . . I was so miserable by the time we got to SAT, as soon as we could get to the hotel, shower, drink a glass of wine, and tuck ourselves in, we did.

Noodle Bar, Vyton, Prague

2012-01-15T15:50:00.001+01:00

Noodle Bar has been so consistently good the last year we really have moved it up in our rota for Thai food, to behind Siam Orchid . . . We're not the only ones that think so apparently, the last time we were there, they were turning people away because they were full . . . 8^0 . . . 8^) . . . Too cold to wait in line there, I should say . . . The Tom Kha Gai in particular is so good, it would be worth the trip by itself . . . Mrs then had the Pomelo Salad (chicken and Pomelo melon pieces) . . . I had the pad thai . . . The thing is, they got all the ingredients and use 'em . . . And we love the thai basel. Continued Excellence.

Caroussel Bistro, Bulow Palais, Dresden, Germany

2012-01-15T15:37:00.001+01:00

For our anniversary, it's hard to come up with a new place when we love the old place so much . . .if you know what I mean . . . Mrs starts with a salad, I start with chestnut cream soup . . . Mrs has the pike-perch and I have the Leg of Lamb . . . It's all so impossibly good we have a different impression of Dresden than everyone else, I think . . . 8^D . . . We opted also this time for dessert, the Linzer Dort . . . A good change from chocolate something . . .

Picasso, Houston MFA

2012-01-09T21:04:00.001+01:00

Miro, Houston MFA

2012-01-09T21:03:00.001+01:00

Seurat, Houston MFA

2012-01-09T21:02:00.001+01:00

Naturellement!

Caillebotte, Houston MFA

2012-01-09T21:01:00.001+01:00

Such a pleasure to see that Houston MFA has such excellent examples of Cassat & Caillebotte

Chagall, Houston MFA

2012-01-09T20:58:00.001+01:00

Sans goat.

Modigliani, Houston MFA

2012-01-09T20:54:00.000+01:00

Frantisek Kupcek, Houston MFA

2012-01-09T20:52:00.001+01:00

Never really saw the importance of Kupcek, relentlessly promoted by the Museums here in PRg, but then 1 look at this picture, and one believes in his genius, too ...

Matisse, Houston MFA

2012-01-09T20:50:00.001+01:00

Kees Van Dongen, Houston MFA

2012-01-09T20:49:00.001+01:00

This is either the most-lent-out-art in the world, or else the most duplicated art in the world . . . .but we like it . . .

Cassat - Houston MFA

2012-01-09T20:46:00.001+01:00

Houston MFA Blue Tunnel

2012-01-09T20:45:00.000+01:00

Oh, dang, I didn't get the artists name . . .
It's in the tunnel between the two wings . . .
I thot the east wing usta be called the Menil Collection, but I'm old, and often easily confused . . . .

Prazkeho Povstani Train Station Decoration

2011-12-05T09:01:00.001+01:00

<<Image004.jpg>> <<Image003.jpg>> <<Image002.jpg>>

Indian Buffet at SheSoMoney

2011-11-25T13:14:00.001+01:00

Our Yoga Mistress had us over to see her new apartment, done up in the style of Hunterwasser http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedensreich_Hundertwasser . . . What a droll place . . . Reminded us of Gaudi in Barcelona . . . Smaller scale, of course, but indelibly as interesting . . . All that aside, she whipped up some sort of chickpea & chicken Indian goulash that was so spicy I got the hiccups . . . Oddly, this is a feeling I crave desperately . . . 8^D . . . Her other guest Simone, a charming Italian friend intent on help to set up her wi-fi and I both went back for seconds while mrs languished on the couch glassy-eyed in satiety . . . We finally did get up to go so Simone could do the setup . . . 8^D . . .

The DOX museum, Prague

2011-11-25T13:03:00.001+01:00

http://www.dox.cz/

Went over to the DOX for the Jindřich Chalupecký - FINAL 2011 exhibit . . . But I was interested more in the Lucifer Effect exhibit . . .let to an animated discussion with Mrs over the Nature of Art and whether some of this was Art or not . . . All these young artists don't want to paint or sculpt anymore, they want to do multimedia, light shows, installations, video performance art . . . Takes a lot of courage now, ironically, I think, to just-paint, to demo graphical drawing skills, etc, rather than play with light . . .

Millème Boulangerie Pâtisserie Café - Prague -Jirio z Podebrad

2011-11-25T12:54:00.001+01:00

http://www.nelso.com/cz/place/152663/

We kept seeing the charming interior as we scuttled home from the Vietnamese Pho restaurant we love next door. . . So last weekend we gutted it up and went over for brekky . . . Nice place, good food . . . Someplace new to add to our rota of weekend brekkies . . . But we will have to go for lunches and dinners, too, the menu seemed very nice . . . Staff is very gracious, French, but not Parisian, if you know what I mean . . . 8^D . . . Very kind . . . The bakery is very fine, we ate all the bread, out-of-our-norm, it was all so good . . . I think the omellette had more butter on it than was good for us, but moderation in all things, including moderation, is the family motto . . . So bien!

Lamb Sous Vide Cassoulet at Mozaica, Prague

2011-11-25T12:36:00.001+01:00

Mosaica Sous Vide is one of those things that has changed my life . . . They totally have it down in ways that others cannot match with their half-hearted embrace of the technique . . . The turkey legs, pork or beef necks, the rabbit are all just fabulous innovations of mundanities (tho' the rabbit may be a little salty from the pancetta wrap), but: the coq au vin sous vide was my absolute favorite, pending a sample of what I imagined to be the most ambrosiacal combination: sous vide lamb . . . And here it is . . . But you see, they don't do it the same way as the others, they adapt & enhance: the sous vide lamb is served as part of a cassoulet . . . The amazing crunch topping with large white beans, potato cubes, and carrot slices really compliments the lamb. We're glad Mozaica isn't even closer to our house, we would eat there everyday . . .8^)

SvataMartinske Menu at the George & Dragon, Prague

2011-11-25T12:28:00.001+01:00

Just off Staromestska Namesti . . . We walked by it hundreds of times till we stopped in on an impulse for Fish & Chips . . . Now we have been back several times . . . We haven't made it there for a Pie & a Pint poledna menu (lunch menu), but it is definitely on the to-do list . . . The beer is excellent, the fish & chips, a perfect example of british comfort food, and the staff couldn't be anymore excellent, their English is perfekt and friendly . . . So a weekend or two ago we stopped off, again on the spur of the moment, and Mrs got the SvataMartinske Menu, including wine: goose breast, knidliky, and red cabbage, num-num-num . . . I had a steak & mushroom pie which was awesome - and filling, with my guinness. I slathered it with HP sauce too, to round out the experience . . . Comfort food so good it makes us feel at home even tho' we're not British, if you see how I mean . . . 8^) . . .

ThanksGiving 2011

2011-11-25T12:17:00.001+01:00

Mrs compiled our Thankgsiving Feast . . . We dined alone but we had company later for 2nds . . . 8^) . . .
Kruti Prsa s slanina (skinless turkey breast with bacon)
Mushroom & Pecan oven-baked bread stuffing
Sauteed cubes of butternut squash
Brocolli Salad
Wholeberry Cranberry sauce
SvataMartinske vina (the Czech version of Beujolais Nouveaux)
Pumpkin Pie from Culinaria

she brined the turkey, which is a new technique to us, but apparently all-the-rage, nowadays.

Speak, Memory, p 91, Vladimir Nabokov

2011-11-24T11:53:00.001+01:00

. . . When a certain moth resembles a certain wasp in shape and color, it also walks and moves its antennae in a waspish, unmothlike manner. When a butterfly has to look like a leaf, not only are all thhe details of a leaf beautifully rendered but markings mimicking grub-bored holes are generously thrown in. 'Natural selection,' in the Darwinian sense, could not explain the miraculous coincidence of imitative aspect and imitatitve behavior, nor could one appeal to the theory of 'the struggle for life' when a protective device was carried to a point of mimetic subtlety, exuberance, and luxury far in excess of a preadator's power of appreciation. I discovered in nature the nonutilitarian delights that I sought in art. Both were a form of magic, both were a game of intricate enchantment and deception.

Speak, Memory, P.165, Vladimir Nabokov

2011-11-24T11:39:00.001+01:00

But then, in a sense, all poetry is positional; to try to express one's position in regard to the universe embraced by consciousness, is an immemorial urge. The arms of consciousness reach out and grope, and the longer they are the better. Tentacles, not wings, are Apollo's natural members. Vivian Bloodmark, a philospophical friend of mne, in later years, used to say that while the scientist sees everything that happens in one point of space, the poet feels everything that happens in one point of time. Lost in thought, he taps his knee with his wandlike pencil, and at the same instant a car (New York license plate) passes along the road, a child bangs the screen door of a neighbouring porch, an old man yawns in a misty Turkestan orchard, a granule of cinder-gray sand is rolled by the wind on Venus, a Docteur Jacques Hirsch in Grenoble puts on his reading glasses, and trillions of other such trifles occur - all forming an instantaneous and transparent organism of events, of which the poet (sitting in a lawn chair, at Ithaca, N.Y.) is the nucleus. . . .

European Lace Dresses in Prague & Berlin

2011-11-21T11:08:00.000+01:00

I wish I could get to Paris, to investigate further, Ooo-la-la!

Joza Uprka, Waldstein Riding School Museum, Prague

2011-11-21T11:03:00.000+01:00

An interesting exhibit . . . technically, he useds slatherings and daubs of painting, as by other artists, but in his own style . . . thematically, he harkens back to a conservative past, a nationalistic past that conflicted with the Communists as much as it would conflict with Modern Czech Republic . . . so, sort of an anomaly . . . his artistic cataloguing of common labourers is more scientific / orderly than that say of Van Gogh's Potato Eaters, but almost as moving . . . the Gravellier, the mowers, the harrowers . . .

we were befuddled to discover there were two Riding School Museums in Prague, one at the Prague Castle, and the other here at the Waldstein Chateau . . . apparently, before the day of the auto, this "overhead" over-and-above simple Stables was de rigeur.

Austerlitz (Slavkov u Brnu), Moravia, Czech Republic

2011-11-03T15:02:00.002+01:00

We spent one night in Mikulov, at the Templ Pensione. Charming town, lovely pensione, no pictures . . . Our timing was off, circumstances mitigated our efforts . . . It WAS the national Holiday, 28 OCT, Statni Svata, the date of Czech state independence from Austria-Hungary Empire, so a lot of shops were closed. Many restaurants have a special menu that day, which name of I didn't write down . . . But at the temple we had a lunch of Mushroom ball soup and venison pate baguettes . . . W-e-i-r-d, with a capital W . . . 8^D . . . After brekky we hastened over to Valtice & Lednice just to see what there was to see . . . The whole area is a UNESCO world Heritage Site, dotted with Lichtenstein castles and what-not. . . . We went thru the National Wine Centre Museum, which odd to say, our favorite part was the bird rooms, where you could push a button to hear the bird calls -- so we pushed 'em all at the same time. . . Magic! . . . Then we toppled over to a tasting room, and went over the hurdles once around. I was careful to spit out my tastings since I was driving, but Mrs got her buzz on . . . 8^D . . . We took 8 bottles with us, and called it a success.

We had been worried about our timeline, but we were only 45 minutes from Brno in Valtice, and we got to Golf Club Austerlitz before noon -- I had a 1 pm tee time, and didn't want to miss it . . . As far as I was concerned THAT was the whole point of the trip. . . 8^D . . .

Turns out GCA is a social mecca for the whole of Brno . . . All but two of the tables were reserved, and as the English-fluent manager showed us to a table he apologetically mentioned that they had only fish this day, but we tried to console him: WE LOVe fish! They had salmon, tuna, haddock, red fish and some other on the menu today, described very interestingly. Mrs took the tuna, prawns, & scallops with potato stuffed zucchini; I took the haddock with parmesan crust and grilled fennel & carrots. It was a chore to wolf down such a feast so that I could still make my tee-time, and it seemed a shame, too, it was that good.

So I played my round http://bohemianduffer.blogspot.com/2011/11/golf-club-austerlitzmoravia-czech.html, then we huddled in the cottage for a picnic of goodies Mrs had gotten at the Potraviny on our way out of Valtice, plus a couple of bottles of wine. The Restaurant and the cottages are just wonderful . . . Very new, clean, and cozy. The WiFi worked verywell, too, so we spontaneously watched a couple of NatGeo programs, about European cannibals and Early European settlers.

After Brekky, with custom made eggs (scrambled with leeks) and wurst, in addition to all the normal accoutrements, it was an easy drive back to Prague . . .
We first stopped by the battlefield Museum in Pracen (deutsche PRATZEN), just to survey . . . the scope of the battle was kinda huge, needed to be for 200,000 men, I guess . . . it's wooded now, but then it was just bald fields, for better vision . . . I bot a book a bout the battle, but what I know now is that I need to re-read War & Peace . . . I assume that's why I even ever heard of Austerlitz, but I couldná told you on a bet.

We returned the car, bot an IHT, and strolled into Las Adelitas for lunch just at 2pm. The parradilla con queso (sort of like fajitas) with a double-margarita made the rest of the day seem to go by really fast . . . .8^D . . .

Cerneho Orla, Telc, Moravia, Czech Republic

2011-11-03T14:10:00.002+01:00

Our next stop was Telc. We missed the pre-lunch tour of the castle cuz we walked the wrong way around the castle (the long way), so first we went to have lunch at a place Mrs had found in the guide book . . . Another place on the verge of shutting down for the winter . . . But the amiable young waiter seemed glad to see us, took our pidgeon-czech order with good grace, and disappeared to get our velke pivos. We just beat the rush. 4 Families walked in right after us, with like, 8 kids, so the kitchen was swamped, suddenly, after we got our order in . . . 8^) . . . By the time they got their food we were done and ready to zoom back across the namesit to the castle tour . . . Mrs had tomato salat and I had Cibulka polevka to start . . . Then we both had Hovezi gulas' with kroketti . . . My colleague at work was a little put out (kroketti with GULAS'?) . . . 8^D . . . BUT I like them!

They wouldn't let us take pictures in the castle again, dangit, hardly worth the trip . . . Guide spoke only Czech . . . 8^/ . . .and after a while, all castles start to look the same, if you know what I mean . . . But there was one really remarkable room -- the Armoury Room ? -- where the Renaissance makeover from Gothic was really extreme . . . With a marble floor that looked like an MC Escher . . . For you americans: that means it looks like the floor in the lobby of the Venetian Casino in Las Vegas . . . 8^D . . .

We spent the night at the Golf Club Telc (http://bohemianduffer.blogspot.com/2011/11/golf-club-telc-moravia-czech-republic.html). . . Very nice, with a jacuzzi . . . That went down really well, almost as soon as we checked in, after the driving and hiking for 2 days in the cold weather . . . 8^D . . . they have a great indoor swimming pool, spa, and a 2-lane bowling alley, but we just figgered doing anyofthat would throw off our schedule so bad we wouldn't enjoy it . . . I mean, what we want to do is jacuzzi, eat a picnic in our pjs while we watch a movie, and old people that we are, if we have too much fun, there isn't enough time . . . 8^( . . . I wisht there'd been time to jacuzzi after my round of golf, but we hadda hit the road.

Konvice, Ceske Krumlov, Moravia, Czech Republic

2011-11-03T13:47:00.001+01:00

To start our Moravian Adventure, we stopped off on the way to see Ceske Krumlov, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We first checked into the Pensione, in Pensione Row, just off the pedestrian zone, then we walked down into the town, we were hungry enough to eat at the first reasonable looking place, but we wound up at the 2nd reasonable looking place, since the first place apparently was already downshifting into winter mode (no tourists). A perfectly acceptable hibernation, to us . . . So we wound up at the Konvice Hotel (the Kettle). Our amiable host endured our pidgin czech with an amused mien, and always spoke to us in English . . . But he seemed pleased we knew what we wanted to order . . . Mrs got a schnitzel with potato salad; I, a pecene kachna steno, with cervene zeli & brambory knidliky. We both had velke pivos. It was all so good, I had to have a sacher torte, too -- we that close to Austria, I didn't see how I could not . . . But apparently we missed a bet there not having one or several of the -nices there: like plum brandy (slivovice), but also others made from berries, apples, etc.

Then we walked the city, toured the castle (no pictures allowed), and the Egon Schiele museum, which was a little disappointing in the small number of paintings on exhibit, and very tame those were . . . Apparently old Egon got run out of more than one town for painting the young girls in the nude (them, not him). . . Was this close ('') to buying a poster, but Mrs is already a little put out with my poster selections lately anyway. Some of the best are in the Narodni Galerie in Prague. http://janikdypoznat.blogspot.com/2010/08/narodni-gallerie-lautrec.html

Ephemerality

2011-10-31T10:45:00.001+01:00

<<Image002.jpg>> From Staromestska . . .

Museum Island - Berlin - Celtic Jewelry

2011-10-23T14:13:00.001+02:00

I like the gold, especially . . .

Museum Island - Berlin - Two eras of Earth Mothers

2011-10-23T14:09:00.001+02:00

Berlin - Lace Shift

2011-10-23T14:06:00.001+02:00

Oooh. How very European . . .

Roman Gold

2011-10-23T14:01:00.000+02:00

I wonder what the premium on 2000 year old coinage is?

Museum Island - Berlin - Livia

2011-10-23T13:54:00.000+02:00

Wish I could find a version of I, Claudius, BTW . . .

Cleopatra

2011-10-23T13:51:00.001+02:00

Unh-unh-unh-unh-uuuuuuuunnnnnnnnhhhhhhhhhh.

Satyr & Hermaphroditus

2011-10-23T13:39:00.001+02:00

What a truly scandalous representation.
I love it.

Museum Island - Berlin - Statuary & Toes

2011-10-23T10:43:00.001+02:00

1) the Goddess of Berlin ... Kore, 6BC Attica, granted her Ephemeral status in Berlin by post-hoc museum goers . .. Her gown used to be bright red, and the other colors as vivid, one supposes...

2) the toes of Kore

3) Aphrodite, steppin' out

4) the toes of Aphrodite

5) Athena, en deshabille

6) the toes of Athena

So what's the deal, you ask, with the toes?

Well, aside from the exigencies of sculpture, which understandably may tend to exaggerate the size of the feet, I was fascinated by the attention paid to toes in these full-sized sculptures, may I say, the loving attention paid . . . I am aware of a sort of creepy victorian-like fascination, as with ankles, but hmpf, there it is. . . What can you do?

I have pointed out before, on IJustThinkItsFunny, that this picture of Marilyn Monroe reveals preternaturally prehensile toes, an attribute, one intuits, of va-va-voominess, if you see what I mean . . . and so, even in these ancien form studies, I have perceived the same . . .

Museum Island - Berlin - Ancient Busts

2011-10-23T09:53:00.000+02:00

1 missed
2 Sophokles
3 Sokrates
4 Seneca
5 missed

I enjoy the contemporaneous portraits of the ancient wise ones,
Especially the ones undamaged by the hammer-wielding blue-noses.
I hate that sometimes my celphone camera misfires and I can't document
Who the bust is.

Pho- Prague na Jirio z Podebrad

2011-10-22T18:03:00.000+02:00

In the shadow of the church, we have found the ultimate hole-in-the-wall vietnamese bistro.

Nem Saigon (the unfried spring rolls) are very good.
Bun bo nam bo (beef noodles) is very good, too, especially with that orange chili bottle sauce I love so much, but some hoi sin wouldn't be out of order, and for the life of me, I don't understand why they don't have any bbq pork bun, instead or inaddition too . . . And it is huge . . . I would love for it to be half the size, with pork instead of beef, with half-sized nem ran (fried meat spring rolls) and grilled shrimp chopped up on it, too . . .like Mai's in Houston, or Phuong Dong in SCX.

Mrs loves the pho ga here, once she dopes it up with some lemon squeezings and some chili relish . . .

Aromi Again

2011-10-22T17:39:00.001+02:00

I should really merge this listing with the main Aromi page, but conditions conspire against me . . .
I'm too lazy . . .

A really excellent dinner with relatives by marriage . . . We graciously allowed the staff to offer us what we wanted, somewhat unknown until they offered . . . If you see how I mean . . .

We started with a sort of caprese salad. . . With genuine buffalo mozzarela . . . Then this huge awesome nibbles plate: tiny fried fish with aioli, crayfish, calamari salad, some other little sorts of amuse bouche . . . Then the main course: each couple split a sea-bass cooked in salt . . . I shudda gotten a picture the way it comes out of the kitchen instead of after they'd pried away most of the salt -- the fish isn't salty at all from the treatment . . . Most of the vegetables were grilled, but the fried zuccini was nice, too.

It seemed wrong not to have dessert.

HI Crowne Plaza Breakfast Buffet

2011-10-22T17:10:00.001+02:00

<<IMG_0459.JPG>> A <<IMG_0458.JPG>> small thing, perhaps one thinks,
but then one enjoys it so much . . .
The round pastry is a Berliner, in the same way of Wiener, Frankfurter,
& Hamburger . . .

Berlin Walkabout - Street Art

2011-10-22T12:22:00.001+02:00

One thing I think, is that the former Eastern Germany is more interesting than the former West Germany . . . That is, there is more creative destruction going on, visibly in the East than in the West, which is not-to-say, stultified, but yet, not as vibrant, a little more messy, hard-scrabble, interesting . . . Dresden, Leipzig, East Berlin, than Bonn & West Berlin . . . But NOW . . . Not 40 years ago, let me be clear . . . 8^)

Prater Garden

2011-10-22T12:17:00.001+02:00

Another place we went to, re-inforced by the recommendations of Eat-Tori http://www.eat-tori.com/, was the Prater Garden . . . We intended to dine on a, if not THE definitive Berlin Schnitzel, but alas, it turns out, schnitzels are only inside, at Dinner, and we were there at lunch, which is outside . . . It was good enough, but typical of our Berlin visit, meticulously researched and planned to no avail, off-center . . .

The beer, was, of course, Excellent. The sausage, potato salad, olives were all very good . . . If we had not been disappointed about the schnitzel we might be more enthusiastic. The tomato soup was without flaw: perfekt.

I took the picture of the amorous sculpture there in the beir garden, I am amused by the resemblance to the hair style advert I saw in the Karstadt in Dresden a couple weeks earlier . . . Maybe there is something about the Deutsche Frisseur process of which I am unaware . . . 8^D

Bonanza Coffee - Berlin

2011-10-22T12:03:00.000+02:00

One of the recommendations I got from Eat-Tori blog http://www.eat-tori.com/ . . . She's an awfully entertaining writer (and I infer, personality) -- like most Ockers . . . 8^) . . . But if we hadn't been going to see the berlin wall section near here anyway, it wouldn't have been a special treat for us . . . The coffee and croissants were good, but they are good everywhere, nicht wahr? We felt out of place among so many hipsters - a lot of english speakers planning recording sessions and late night debaucheries I can only imagine, I imagine . . . That is we sat outside on communal tables -- we're old, we like comforts of even the most rudimentary sort . . . This place is off the beaten tourist track, I think . . . One can judge for oneself whether that is a compliment or a detriment . . .8^D . . .

As we were leaving the wall, a beautiful young woman asked us if we knew where the flea market was, I started to demur, but Mrs piped in, flush with her assiduous research for our trip . . . That's only on Sunday" she said authoritatively, "but it will be down there at the base of the hill." The young woman thanked us, and we turned to go . . . But I had to ask, "where are you from?" "From Israel," she said, and we turned to leave again . . .but I said, over my shoulder, somewhat impishly, "Your English is very good!" Mrs. Laughed, and the young woman rewarded us with a generous smile.

Gendarmerie - Berlin

2011-10-22T11:52:00.001+02:00

Mixed reviews elsewhere on the web . . .but we saw it on the way to our other destination and filed it away as plan b, which became operative when the Plan A place closed lunch at 2pm . . .WTF . . .is this Europe or what? We've been turned away from restaurants for getting there too early for lunch before, but never, NEVER, for being to late . . . 8^D . . .

So we went back to Gendarmerie. The staff was just short of effusive in their friendliness, which had been our only concern, based on the negatives posted on TripAdvisor, etc, so that was fine . . . It's a very Modern, German, Friendly/Cozy place, with that huge mural on the wall . . . There were a few large parties scattered around the large restaurant. I ordered some really good but pricey reisling and we perused the menu . . . After huge green salads our mains came . . . Mrs said hers was "fine" but the half lobster wasn't enough . . . Mine on the other hand, was too much, and -- based on the amount of seafood I have consumed in my life, I think I can say so -- not quite fine . . . I mean: the crab claw meat texture was iffy, and clung to the shell so that I couldn't get at it; the prawns and oysters were "fine" but the sauces really didn't add anything of value to me; the octupus salad was the best thing; the tiny sea snails were excruciating to get at. . . There's a definite knack I lack . . . Getting one out was a chore not worth the reward . . . IMVHO . . .

I felt like it was us, as much as the restaurant . . . Much like the whole trip to Berlin which we had looked forward to for so long . . . Starting when I left my umbrella in the cab because we got distracted by our charming Welsh cab driver . . . Just off in indefinable ways. I think we might have done better on the menu with more familiarity, so I wouldn't warn people away from Gendarmerie, but I would caution them inside . . . The staff was uber-gemuchlich . . . 8^) . . . and as you see, they send you into battle with a full armory . . . 8^) . . .

Dinner on the Late Train to Berlin

2011-10-22T11:21:00.001+02:00

So we took the train after work to Berlin for a long weekend . . . We drank a bottle of bohemia sekt while we watched Reilly Ace of Spies episodes on my laptop, back in 2nd class . . . It was very comfortable . . . Around the time we blew thru Dresden we moved to the dining car . . . This train started in Budapest, and they had no Bohemia Sekt but they did have some Hungarian Sekt, which proved to be an acceptable substitute . . .

What we have come to expect, in this era of reduced expectations, is consistently good, but not remarkable cuisine on the train, but we find the seating more comfortable than 2nd class, and the service is very good and friendly . . . I ordered schnitzel, in honor of our destination, but when it came I was non-plussed -- Mrs' grilled chicken salad was as expected, but my schnitzel was all sliced up and had sauce on it . . . But the first bite blew me away . . . It was so spicy! Piquant! Tangy! It was Hungarian Schnitzel! Ooooh! ooooH! OoooooH! Budapest just moved up on our list of places to visit. I gave Mrs a bite. Her eyes got wide round with amazed pleasure. It was more than paprika: it was Papricka!

Ambiente Fresca, Old Town Prague

2011-10-22T10:41:00.001+02:00

With the fam . . . Totally redone since we been there last. . . Instead of a grotto, now it looks like a suburban basement . . . Not a criticism, just an observation . . . Staff is still extraordinarily friendly and helpful .. . Like with this bottle of chianti they guided us to . . .1.5 liters instead of .75, and a wonderful, chianti-fresh-sourness. . . As always the pasta was perfectly toothsome; the sauces, perfectly palate-some; the ambience, Ambiente. My Osso Buco makes me pity those mere pasta-nibblers tno . . .8^)

This place works on your mind . . . Even if you are looking for it, you feel like you have stumbled onto it, then 3 flights down, it seems other-worldly, then in leaving, one feels sorrow, climbing the stairs, then exiting the long hallway back outonto the bustling staromestska streets.

Jerome AZ from the Asylum

2011-10-18T12:27:00.000+02:00

I think it's from viewing thisisnthappiness.com all the time, with all the hopper pix he posts made me dig this old ún out

Riverside Wall Art

2011-10-10T10:30:00.001+02:00

<<RiversideWallAdornment.jpg>> No <<Riverside-WatchingEverywhere.jpg>>
wonder that figure caught my eye. Just snapped it with the cel phone
camera. Think its awesome.

Meanwhile, in the Kafkaesque way, They are watching us . . .

Jews May Not Enter Park

2011-08-31T14:09:00.001+02:00

Dresden, Riverside

Fancy Peasant Dress Dresden

2011-08-31T14:02:00.001+02:00

Didn't buy one, but we all liked it . . . 8^) . . . In Dresden...

Attention Order of the Carp Members

2011-08-31T14:01:00.000+02:00

There will be no announcement this afternoon...
Thanks for your attention . . .

The Guns of Soumenlinna

2011-07-14T21:14:00.000+02:00

Take the ferry to Sveaborg,

which is what the Swedes called

what the Finns would call Soumenlinna,

by which they meant the Castle of Finnland

a UNESCO World Heritage Site,

as a very much admired example of a fortress

Which, like all admirable defenses,

turns out to be inadequate:

The Great Wall

The Maginot Line

Sveaborg / Soumenlinna . . . .

The Russians simply bypassed it in 1808,

and took Helsinki,

THEN laid siege from the Mainland . . .

Now it is a picnic park,

and a place for weddings or wedding pictures

land from the ferry,

buy bottles of water

and walk the gravel path

to the other end of the island(s).

There,

stand face-in-the-wind

on the sandy dunes

bulwarked with stone and granite

and imagine the star-shaped battlements

bristling with cannon

commanding the harbour

It seems plausible . . .

It seems formidable . . .

But it wasn’t.

Now

the cannons are plugged or spiked

tho’ you can still run your hands inside

to feel the rifling

they lie idle, undone

oxidizing. . .

I think it would be good sport,

once a year, in a ceremony,

to fire one of the guns

like a drill for the admiralty

to demonstrate lethality

all-the-while reflecting

that while it is all so obsolete

in the face of modern war,

that it was so ineffective

in its own time

Tamarind Thai - Helsinki

2011-07-10T11:25:00.001+02:00

We trained from SPb to HEL. Eruditely took the Tram6 to our hotel, hoofed it over to S-Market for some champoo, showered/rinsed to cool off, lay on the bed watching CNNI under the fan, drinking till time for dinner . . . As our last night on vacation, we wanted something good, which came down to either Michelin quality Nokka, that we had seen on our walkaround a few days before, or Thai . . . Finnish Thai being an interesting concept we could not quite grok . . .

We opted for the Thai, after briefly considering Nepalese, which had been recommended to us on the tram, particularly the restaurant we saw on the 6-route (too much like Indian, we decided) . . .

The beautiful, shy waitress took our order, and allowed us to order a little extra spice in our dishes . . . We had correctly deduced that Finnish palates are not suited to bona fide Thai . . . 8^) . . . First clue is in the pitcher of water they bring . . . 8^D . . .

I got Tom Kha Kung, for my comparison to Great Thai Restaurants of the world . . . Which is difficult because the prawns make it better than chicken (Gai), automatically, IMVHO, if you see how I mean . . . But soup-wise, it's an easy call . . . Very, very, very good . . . In the same league as the Bird of Amsterdam and Siam Orchid in Prague (and sawadee and Nit Noi in Houston, if they're still there). Mrs' had something new, possibly a house specialty, a tamarind version of the same soup, which caused her to be silent so long I had to ask if she was ok . . . She just waved me off not to interrupt her . . . 8^D . . . Excellent!

Mrs ordered Pad Thai Kung for her main, which it can be seen in the picture is complete, not some half hearted edition, and further, by the deep color, very rich in spice & flavour . . .

I had a chaeng panaeng curry . . . I think they called it . . . I like a richer, redder color, but they did add some extra thai pepper in it for me, so the end result was entirely satisfactory . . . 4 bites into it, I could feel the endorphins racing thru my blood . . . 8^D . . . The prawns are perfectly cooked, the spices perfectly balanced, the broth creamy & savoury . . . Just about perfect . . . I might've prefered some thai basil in there too, but everything doesn't have to be the same all the time, for me . . . If you know what I mean . . .

I should have taken a picture too of the waitresses' dress . . . One was in like an everyday costume, simple and elegant, the other in a more formal shiny silk yellow gown . . . They were both so beautiful it was an adornment to the food, and the pleasant ambience of the restaurant.

Mrs said in reflection "I'm glad we came to Helsinki", meaning this was an unexpected and unforgettable dining experience.

Taverna Oliva - St. Petersburg

2011-07-10T10:58:00.001+02:00

We had a walkabout St. Petersburg . . . Our heart may not have been in it, after the Incident on Nevsky Prospekt . . . But we were there and hadda make the best of it . . . Cynically, I would say that Prague & St Petersburg are mirror images . . . Where PRG has a medieval, slavic charm marred by soviet era abominations in architecture and culture, tho', SPb has only stray charms in evidence - everywhere -- but overwhelmed by the ordinary , industrial, and dilapidated . . . I can't even be bothered to post the half-hearted pix we took of Nevsky Prospekt (not really a pedestrian esplanade except for a very short stretch), Pushkin, or the onion domes . . . .

But after our walk, we had to eat, and buoyed by our Tandoori Nights experience, we headed to Taverna Oliva, hoping for a similar epiphany . . . The Greek food in PRG leaves us unsatisfied, and the reviews in TripAdvisor and Lonely Planet were very positive . . .

It is quaint inside . . .
But the food, I would say, fell short . . .
The dolmades were less-than-inspired, lacking mint, if not something else, too . . .
The greek salad -- was it just the olive oil was inferior, the ingredients not quite fresh or authentic, it looked alright, just didn't gratify our devotion to greek cuisine . . . Only two olives, too . . . WTF? Only one of those was a kalamata?
The barbecued octopus was almost rubbery (not as good as not-quite rubber), flavor-less . . . I mean I've had octopus that made me slam my head against the table . . .
Mrs's Mossakas Thessalonikas was fishy, to her disappointment, had a fishy taste, but seemed to be all saucy, and no fish . . .

Tandoori Nights - St. Petersburg

2011-07-10T10:35:00.000+02:00

With my tummy still delicate after the horrible Moc Concert, I ate nothing all day, well, a piece of cake with coffee at the Hermitage . . . so there were two things on my mind:
Something good to eat, and,
Something not Russian . . . I am sorry for my short-tempered, short sighted prejudice, but there it is . . .
Mrs Lonely Planet & Trip Advisor both agreed that Tandoori Nights was tops, and a little Lamb Biriyani sounded to me just what the doctor ordered . . .
So I did . . . Mrs got her normal Tandoori . . . a little yellow daal, some garlic naan, raita, mint & tamarind sauces, and we were almost set . . .
The owner came over to check on us . . . uh, the chutneys? He jolted back the kitchen and rushed back out with some AWESOME Mint and Tamarind chutneys . . . I mean, the sauces were nice and mild, but these chutneys would hairlip the commissar . . . if you see how I mean . . . just goes to show, sometimes when in Rome, F*** the Romans . . . 8^) . . . if you see how I mean . . .

I certainly do not want to damn-with-faint-photographic-praise -- only 1 photo here -- this place is world class Indian cuisine, make no mistake . . .

The Hermitage - Matisse . . .

2011-07-10T10:28:00.000+02:00

The reason we came to St. Petersburg was because of the Hermitage Annex exhibit in Amsterdam, which highlighted Matisse, especially Harmony In Red . . . . which apparently had returned home, here . . . so we messed up when we were in Amsterdam last week by not going back to the Annex, because there would have been new works there that we missed, if you see how I mean . . . 8^( . . .

Oh, the dang lights have marred my pic of these portraits of L.Delectorskaya (what a great name!) . . . .

We admired the Conversation tremendously, and perched on the bench to stare at this wall for a while. But we could see the cracking in the oil on this work, very visibly . . . like a dried river bed . . . very worrisome.

We argued for awhile whether the Satyr and the Nymph represents him throwing her down or just jumping her bones . . . 8^D . . . we both can see both POV . . .

The Arab continues to grow on me . . . maybe because my old eyes are fading as bad as matisse’s . . .

The Hermitage - Busts

2011-07-10T09:48:00.001+02:00

Napoleon . . . I guess when you are King of the World . . . certain liberties are permissible with your portrait . . .

Young Marcus Aurelius

A very nice anonymous face

Very nice Aphrodite Torso . . . 8^) .. . .

Ever-favorite Leda & The Swan

The Hermitage - Kadinsky

2011-07-10T09:19:00.002+02:00

I like these unexpected pictures, like early Dalis or Picassos or Kadinskis, where you SEE they can draw – one always suspects that new artists actually cannot, if you know what I mean . . . .

The Hermitage - Modern Statuary

2011-07-10T09:19:00.001+02:00

These amused me tremendously . . .the same model for the first two, for sure, by the same artist . . . I can’t vouch for the third . . . .

The Hermitage - St. Petersburg

2011-07-10T09:18:00.001+02:00

It was hot, outside & inside . . .

Tho there were vents around blowing cool air inside, there were also windows open . . .

I have to wonder whether the art will be ok in the long run here?

The light in there is really not very good . . . not just for taking pictures with my crappy little cel phone, but just for viewing . . . some of it is industrial strength fluorescence, some is start incandescence, some is brown-out dim . . . .

They did have 3 or 4 big rooms of Picassos, famous, familiar variations, but I liked this one because it was, like, transitionally-cubist, or maybe (1909) retrospectively pre-cubist, if you see how I mean . . .

I hate how the black hat picture which I love is marred by the flouressence.

The Hermitage - Psche & Cupid

2011-07-10T09:15:00.002+02:00

It’s amazing how similar this is to the one in the Louvre, both by Canova...
Cupid and Psyche is considered one of the best works by the talented exponent of the Roman school of sculpture, Antonio Canova, 15 of whose works are on display in the Hermitage. Following the fashion of the time and a revived interest in Antiquity, the sculptor depicts an episode from the legend of Cupid and Psyche, in which Cupid brings his dying love back to life with a kiss. The composition is based on smooth rhythmic lines, the harmony of figures and graceful gestures, and it creates an atmosphere of decorativeness. Acquired by Prince Yusupov in Rome in 1796, this sculpture is the second version of the group made by Canova, differing in certain respects from the first, now in the Louvre, Paris.

. . .

COBRA Museum - Amsterdam

2011-07-09T00:22:00.001+02:00

The next day we finally fulfilled a long-time ambition to see the COBRA Museum in Amsterdam . . . Since we had seen the COBRA exhibit at the Kampa, we were anticipating a whole museum full of Appels & Corneilles . . . But they must mostly be out on loan, they had 4 big rooms full of some other, associated artist . . . One of those artists who rely very heavily on Untitled as titles . . . Irritates me, I don't want to invest more effort into imagining what it is than he did, if you see how I mean . . . It was interesting to see that he had also done a picture "Tauromache (with Matador)" as had Corneille, which we had seen at the Kampa, and bot a poster, since we couldn't get a poster of "Le Regard" by Appel . . . Anyway we took no pictures inside, until we couldn't leave because of a rain squall . . . So we had our obligatory coffee & toasti (Amsterdam Compulsory Section) and snapped this interesting sculpture fountain outside, in the rain . . . .

Dinner at Chez Sugar

2011-07-08T15:28:00.003+02:00

The satisfactory-not-quite-excellent cuisine of the train was fine, as when we got to Sugar's house, she and Nine-Inch-Niels had planned a very satisfactory AND excellent repast for us:

Beef carpacio on Grilled Zucinni, with a blueberry-vodka-flambe with yogurt dressing on the side of a Rucula salat . . . I am afraid we were too effusive in our appreciation, to the point where were suspected of insincerity, but it was that good, NIN is so adept and Katherine is so imaginative . . . We swilled the Moet & Chandon we'd brought with us from Paris, at NIN's sommelieric suggestion . . . They'd bought their own wines to pair, but tho't this'd do . . .

The next course was no less amazing, especially paired with the bottle of Chateneuf de Pape we'd also brought, which NIN tho't would go well . . . 8^D . . . Trumpet ear pasta and asparagus & shallot, topped with pork loin and portobello mushrooms capped with melted bleu cheese . . . Gibber, gibber, gibber . . . 8^D

Last was choclate torte with fresh cherries . . . Classic simplicity, or simple classicity, as you like . . . 8^D . . .
I had to break out the armagnac I'd left my previous visit . . . It seemed only right . . .

The Savoy - Helsinki

2011-07-08T15:28:00.000+02:00

After our day trip to Soumalinna Island, we were hungrily determined to dine well, while uncertain where that would be . . . We made a couple of false starts, based on the tendency of some of the tonier places to close for the heat of the summer in july, to return in August, and when we came to the Savoy, there was no hesitatin' . . .

Momentary panic when they asked in perfect English with a raised eyebrow about our reservation, but as it turns out, they had plenty of room, just not out on the terrace, which it must be said, would be worth the trouble of a reservation . . . But seated inside, in the semi-formal dining room was fine . . . 8^) . . .

We asked for prosecco to start, but they had only champoo . . . 8^( . . . 8^D . . . So we made do . . . They brought us the red wine of some unknown vintage (to us), but excellent quality, after we had ordered . . . The menu is indeed as simple as it seems . . .

There was some momentary internal consternation, the way the menu read, especially after the Lappis Mass Quantities, but we needn't have worried . . . The blackened salmon was cut into tiny slices, and served on fruits, veggies, & roe, with flowers and herbs from their rooftop garden . .. The smidgeon of mustard-mayonaise dressing complemented the flavour-medley perfectly. I can only wish that the photo did the dish justice . . . It made Mrs so happy with culinary delight that I too could be happy, if you see how I mean.

The only nit I would pick with the veal entrecote is my own failing in my relative disdain for beet root . . . I get so impatient with people who don't like broccoli or some other vegetable, but this is my prejudice . . . The entrecote itself was perfectly cooked and tender, and the celeric bed was creamy deliscious . . . The pickled celery and radishes were perfect complements . . . A divine meal of exact proportions.

But wait there was more . . . I had dithered on the two menu selections, especially wen I tho't the salmon starter might be too much, but I'd picked this menu (and Mrs had gone along with me) based on the dessert. When the waitress cleared our table of those dessert dishes, I told her that was the best un-sinful dessert I had ever had . . . She smiled and said she would tell the Patisserie Chef, who would be pleased . .. Really, this is one of the menu items for which the words are almost enough: pistaschio cake with tahiti vanilla ice-cream!

Moc Concert - Holiday Inn - St. Petersburg Russia

2011-07-08T13:59:00.005+02:00

frazzled by our
trip from Helsinki to St. Petersburg by train, something about the
constant interrogatories by customs, immigration, & conductors . . . I
mean, it IS a convenience, but . . . So even tho' it was only late
afternoon when we arrived, we hadda raid the minibar for some
re-enforcement before we could even make dinner plans . . . 4 bottles
later, it was decided to dine in, rather than brave the subway again (it
wasn't that hard, but . . . ), but the menu seemed tooo limited, so we
ventured downstairs to the Cowbar, after the other restaurant would
still be closed till 7pm . . .
But we didn't make it to the cow bar, we went next door to Moc Concert,
by mistake . . . I shudda took a hint when no one appeared to seat us
for a while, but that kinda meets my expectations for sovietized
service, if you see how I mean, but eventually, some ravishing young
woman scurried from the back and seated us, with proper queries in
English . . .
We were the only patrons, everyone else looked like an
employee or friend of an employee, hanging out at the bar, all dressed
in some sort of shabby chic: torn jeans, mis-fit tee shirts, etc . . .
Our order was taken with what we tho't were minimal difficulty: the
young woman helped me pick a vodka and guided Mrs to a split of white
wine instead of just a glass, which arrived after a moderate wait . . .
My vodka wasn't cold, a personal disappointment. . . Sigh . . .
I ordered caviar and beef stroganoff, which I figgered would tick a
couple of Russian compulsories off the list . . .
Mrs got borsht & chicken Kiev, tick,tick . . . 8^) . . .
But:
The caviar was very inferior, room-temperature-plus, misshapen, not firm . .
. And instead of nudles I got potatoes . . . Maybe that's the way they
do it but, hmpfh.
Mrs borsht was borsht, and the chicken Kiev was "ok" she says . . .
Later we figured out that the wine was 1500R . . . 40 Euros for a split
. . . That shouda been some very good wine, which it wasn't. . . . on the web, we can see it was a quadruple markup, that is, a full bottle is 1/3 the price . . . 8^( . . .
so,
total rip-off, and they should serve an immodium as a post-prandial cautionary . . .

Lappi Restaurant

2011-07-08T13:59:00.004+02:00

Recommended to me by my golf partner . . . And seeking authentic Finnish food, we went for LapLander cuisine . . .

Mrs got wine & I got vodka . . .

The bread was interesting, rye crackers, rye bread, and potato pancakes.

Then the starter plate . . . Whole little Vendace (ok - might be an acquired taste . . . 8^) . . . ), salmon tartare (absolutely excellent!), salmon mousse (very nice on the rye cracker), vendace roe on cream cheese (very good on the rye bread), reindeer carpaccio, reindeer jerky, morel terrine, lingin berries (all very good in all the various permutations, but we are not fans of jerky, and the carpaccio seemed out-of-place to me with the fish . . . Is this the normal diet-balance of the Lappi?). . . The cheese & cloudberry may be a big hit here, but we were indifferent . . . We were full, too . . . 8^0 . . . With the main course to come . . .

I think we each ate one potato to be a good sport. The smoked whitefish and salmon were ecstasty incarnate, such that we immediately forgot how full we were already and shovelled it in, delicate, succulent, savoury . . . The omelette was good, too, tho, entirely unnecessary to the proceedings . .. We might've coulda eaten another potato . . . But we would've taken all of the chunky morel sauce they would have brought us, it was table-thumping good.

We wisht we hadn't eaten the ordinary sandwich triangles they offered us on the plane trip to Helsinki, so that we would have had room for it all, at least in some more comfort, but it can be said confidently that Lappis is worth the trip . . .

Helsinki Museum

2011-07-08T13:59:00.001+02:00

Somewhat incongruously (to me), the main exhibit in Helsinki was about African Artists . . . This one photographer, Okhai Ojakeiri, from Nigeria, I *Swear* I've seen in an exhibit somewhere else, at least in part . . . He had pictures of men in their many colored finery . . . Like modernized zoot suiters it seemed, and these pictures of Elaborate Hairstyles and Hats of Nigerian women that I found interesting . . .

The animal-skin-body-forms were idealized to some extent, in that they are all adult-young, beautiful, flatbellies . . . But then, I tho't, as an artistic concept, those are the ones who will form the herd . . . The fat, the old, the young, the sick would be winnowed by the predators . . . If you see how I mean . . . .

There was a 10 part (canto) video with music, Muxima, playing . . . The music I think may have been incidental to the story, but it was mesmerizing, like the sort of melodious harmonies with syncopation that caused Paul Simon to make his album . . . I would've bot a cd of the video just for the movie, but they didn't do that.

The Overnight Train from AMS to PRG

2011-07-08T13:58:00.001+02:00

We love taking the train overnight from AMS to PRG . . . People express surprise that we would spend more to take more time to travel, but instead of the humiliating, repressive, cattle-car feeling of flying nowadays (coach class, with the hoi polloi, of course, but even so, in business class, to a degree), travelling in the refined comfort, not to say luxury, of a private sleeping car is as much the pleasure as the origin and destination, for us, if you see how I mean . . . Our conductors, have as a rule, been the very definition of courteous accommodation, that we have come to rely on them . . . So much, that this time we didn't even pack in a picnic, we chose instead to use their dining facility . . . Maybe not again . . . The soup was good enough, tho a small portion but those sausages . . . Blech . . . We polished off our one bottle of champoo too quick and had to buy several small bottles from the conductor, at which he expressed some glee, "You are hungry, too!" he said when I bot two chocolate croissants.

But we were very comfortable, he put up the lower berth so we could sit, then put it down so we could sleep, tho he seemed very busy, taking care of two cars instead of just one . . . I don’t know if that's the new Normal of Austerity, or a temporary labour shortage. . .

Café Kooji - Amsterdam

2011-07-08T13:57:00.001+02:00

the next morning we wandered off for lunch . . . No real mission left to accomplish . . . We had been to China Town to buy 8 Treasures Tea, ArmAndHammer Baking soda, stocking stuffers, etc, swiffer refills from an ordinary store, and browsed SissyBoy and the big department store for some kitchen equipment we didn't find. . . . So just lunch and little walk around the park . . .
Mrs & I had Fennel Soup and Hamburgers, while Sugar had a vege-burger at Koogji, a place we had eaten at before . . . As far as local experience goes, pretty good, makes you feel like a native . . . If you know what I mean . . .
It'd been so hot in Pariz & now Amsterdam that walking thru the shady park was a great relief . . . They do have the drollest statuary here, busts of particularly Dutch looking men . . . 8^) . . .

Brasserie Harkumu - Amsterdam

2011-07-08T13:56:00.002+02:00

For dinner that night we went to a restaurant of Sugar's choosing, NiN may have consulted . . . We met at the American Book Store, where Mrs picked up an Everyday Food magazine and I lopped onto Hugh Lawrie's Murder Mystery . . . We have been such a fan of Bertie & Jeeves, and now House, it seemed only right to give it a try . . .

The restaurant is very techno-posh, a noisy, friendly ambience . . . For starters I had minestrone, Mrs had gazpacho, sugar had caesar salad, and NiN had beef carpaccio -- can't get enough, I guess . . . I don't see how it could have compared to his own from the night before, but he seemed satisfied . . . My minestrone was ok, but does not compare to the hyper-fresh version Mrs gives me when I have been good . . . 8^) . . .

For Mains, Mrs & NiN had Guinea Fowl with a square potato . . . NiN explained to us professionally why it was superior and efficient to be served so, but to us country hicks it still strikes us as funny -- that's not necessarily a bad thing . . . I had some very skillfully prepared Lamb over grilled vegetables, gnang, gnang, gnang! Sugar had gotten some green vegetarian pasta, she said it was good, but didn't finish . . . She's such a petite little thing tho', it may *just* have been too much food. . . .

An excellent repast . . .

The Entirely Satisfactory Cuisine of the Thallys between Paris & Amsterdam

2011-07-08T13:50:00.001+02:00

It is now only 3.5 hours from Pariz to Amsterdam on the Thallys . . .
So the cuisine is faster, too, which I regret for I remember the excellent, not just satisfactory, meal we had on the longer train ride 20 years ago . . . But the sandwich triangles, the tapas in a plastic trey, and the cheap wine were entirely satisfactory . . .. 8^) . . .

Left Bank of Pariz

2011-07-06T21:49:00.001+02:00

So, after the Musee D'Orsay and lunch we toddled over the to Musee d'Orangerie where it seems I took not one picture, either . . . I don't remember any pictures I might have taken that I don't have, but I can't believe there were none . . . Sigh . . . I didn't take any of the huge Monet murals that circle two oval rooms -- if you see how I mean -- no way to do them justice, and I flat don't remember the stuff on the lower floor . . . Just museumed & walked out, I guess . . . We still managed to meander down the seine past all the sunbathers and eel fishers to Pont Neuf and crossed over to the Left Bank . . . Resolved to have a quiche & wine in a street side café . . . We chose Café de Buci, based on some TripAdvisor reviews . . . They had no quiche, but we made do with a carafe of wine, a carafe of water, and a salad with duck breast, liver, & foie gras . . .we had enough shade to make believe we were enjoying ourselves . . . Tick! Another off the list . . .

Musee D'Orsay Restaurant

2011-07-06T21:38:00.000+02:00

And 20 years ago, when we cruised the great museums of Paris we dined here, so, nostalgically, I remembered it as being pretty good and easy to order . . . You could go Plat du Jour, Menu du Jour, or Menu du Season -- that doesn't seem right, but it's on a rising scale of morbid gourmandishness, or gluttony . . .

This time, very ordinary cod & potatoes . . . Even as peasant food, it was just toooo plain . . . Oh, well, nourishing and filling . . . What we did love was the little plastic ice bag they put our POP champagne split in . . . 8^)

The dessert was a petite rien of meringue and custard . . . We had the same in condom . . . Was when I upset my French-only waitress when she kept asking if we wanted glace au crème anglaise, and I just kept saying Oui, not realizing it was a choice . . . I never will learn . . .

Odalisque in Red Kulottes

2011-07-06T21:37:00.000+02:00

Agggh. I can't believe that out of all the treasures in Musee D'Orsay, this is the only photo I came away with . . . Course they sorta frown on photos of the good stuff, so maybe that's why . . . Musee D'Orsay remains my favorite musee in the world, but like a shy lover I can't find the pictures or words . . .8^)

I'll Never Learn, Chapter #21865

2011-07-06T18:04:00.001+02:00

this is out of order, but most pressing on my mind . . .

Came to St. Petersburg, Russia, to attend the Hermitage Museum. Went this morning . . . had late lunch at Tandoor . . . planning to walk back to the Metro and train back to our hotel . . .

Lunch was very good, with a bottle of wine, so we were pleased with ourselves as we strolled in the thick crowds along Nevsky Prospekt . . . maybe too pleased . . . it was so crowded . . . it is the double holiday of St Cyril & St Methodius in the Czech Republic, maybe it is the same in Russia.

A tiny voice was warning me that my wallet was in my hip pocket instead of a front pocket, so I was thinking about moving it, but the crowd was so thick that I didn't wanna . . . dumbass, dumbass, dumbass . . .

There was a surge against us from behind, crowding us, I felt the predictable tug in my pocket. A skinny hand plunged in my back pocket, palm-away, and raked my wallet out. I half spun and swiped with my hand, caught a t-shirt: "YOU SONUVABITCH!" I yelled, and the white-faced young pup in my grasp cringed in front of me, with my fingers twisted up in his shirt -- he'd been trying to dash past me, I think he was as surprised as I was that he had been caught.

Someone else grabbed me from behind and shouted, "NO! He's not the one," (in English, Note!) so I lost my focus . . . I am not in training, and my awareness was down . . .

I know the drill: the dip, the stall, the mis-direction, and disappear, but I still faltered. When I looked back at the interceder, some fat-shit in a red gimme cap pointed with authority back behind me, and I turned, So then the two rabbits had scarpered . . . so I count 4 in the gang, counting the one my wallet was handed off to, at least . . . if there was a fifth with a shiv, the enforcer, well, that would have been too bad . . . but I grieve how I patsied for them. They got 3000 rubles, 200 euros, and 1500 Crowns, fuck 'em.

I have no recourse except to blog the shit out of this incident, to report that to the momentarily unalert, Nevsky Prospekt is a steaming lair of the predatory . . . that the russian grasp on the difference between enterprise and criminality is incomplete, whether overcharging for mediocre wines and rancid food, or the plethora of bureaucratic nicks & dings one experiences just maneuvering thru the dilapidated society, but most importantly, in the elementary understanding that THEIR freedom ends where MY Nose begins, no matter how lax ones definition of Freedom may be.

All the ravishing blue-eyed young beauties, all the kind, menial clerks that speak English, all the genial, heart-broken, golden-souled men that have crossed our path in these few days, notwithstanding -- this place sucks . . . stinks of oppression, depression, desperation, furtiveness, fear, futility, failure, shabby showiness, and insufficient attention to personal hygeine.

I had just finished reading The Russian Debutante's Handbook this week, which some people claim is a great book, but which troubled me in some unnameable way, but now, but now, I think I may articulate what it is, which is that this book perfectly encapsulates Modern Russia, tho' most of it is libra-ported to Prague and the US, the casual, comical (so-called) criminality up and down the whole spectrum of malfeasance coupled with the cynical contempt of the Normal (so-called) and the Pretentious (so-called) is what disquieted me, and now I find a living example . . . .

The Pompidous

2011-07-05T16:23:00.000+02:00

From the Louvre (and Café Marly) we hoofed it over to Musee' Pompidous . . . Wanna see some *modern* art . . . It was excruciatingly hot walking the streets, and even the museum seemed a little oven-y. . . I hope the art is ok . . . So much interesting art that it's like the burnout you get when you go to the grand canyon . . .ho-hum, another amazing vista . . . So many picassos . . . But we'd not seen the drollery with the mannish woman in a red dress before . . . Enjoyed several Modiglianis -- the bulk of them must be hidden away somewhere -- and the minor matisses . . . After seeing Harmony in Red at the Hermitage (Amsterdam), the rest all seem kinda watery and second rate, but we gritted our teeth and enjoyed them anyway . . . 8^D . . .

Café Marly

2011-07-05T16:15:00.001+02:00

After speed-walking the Louvre, well, that gives a boy an appetite, so just around the corner, Mrs had picked out a nice place, Café Marly . . .

Since we had no reservation is was not possible for us to sit on the terrace overlooking the glass pyramid of the Louvre . . .8^( . . .

But inside was quite nice . . .

We started with Moet & Chandon apertifs, certainment!
For which consideration they brought us some nibbles of black olives & peanuts while we scrutinized the menu . . .
Mrs got fennel salad . . . OMG how we love those inventive french salads . . .
I had a cold tomato soup that did not pretend to be a gazpacho, and yet . . .
Mrs had a main of Salmon with citrus zest . . .
I had a Croque Monsieur . . .
And thereby, combined with the coq au vin sous vide I had just had a Mozaika before we left PRG, basically completed the compulsory section of the program . . .if you see how I mean . . .

Lehka Hlava - Prague

2011-07-05T16:02:00.000+02:00

We eat here regularly . . .

After our yoga class, it hleps to burnish our halo to eat vegetarian . . . If you see how I mean . . . 8^)

Usually we have Sylvanske Zelene or Zelenske Gruner, and either the Maly Lehka Hlava or the Velke Lehka Hlava . . .

But sometimes we have both, which we did this time as a photo-op, since we didn't think it had ever been blogged before . . . We love everything except the potato lasagne, which we only like . . . If you see how I mean . . .

Mozaica

2011-07-05T16:01:00.000+02:00

Before we dashed off by plane to Pariz, we dined at Mozaika, to avoid any more airport dining disasters at Letiste Ruzyne . . . .yech . . . Tho' we told them we were in a rush to catch a plane, we had left enough time to linger, to hesitate over the superb (as always) cuisine . . . For myself, coq au vin sous vide . . . For which, to me, must be the pinnacle of some sort of fine dining . . . That is, sous vide is why I go to Mozaika, and why that is what I normally order, and coq au vin is the quintessential, epitomatic delicacy le Francais, is it not so?

Mrs had a dish she had enjoyed before which is salmon wrapped in nori, only lightly cooked, served with wasabi potatoes so green from the wasabit that Mrs WILL eat the potatoes she would normally disdain. . . Another dish that exemplifies the consistent excellence of Mozaika

The Louvre - Sculpture Ancien

2011-07-05T15:59:00.001+02:00

I suppose everyone is grateful to Napoleon for ransacking the ancient world for collectibles, but really, they should send it all back . . . 8^) . . . I waited for several minutes to get a picture of Cupid & Psyche without tourists in the background, without luck.

Aphrodite as always makes an excellent study for sculpture, I am sure you agree . . .

The deer dresser makes for a different kind of venality, I guess . . .

I didn't think I would forget the name of the poet in the bust, but I did . . . .I'm pretty sure the last two are Plato & Heroditus