Springtime in Prague

Spring is here! It has nothing to do with the weather, although it is warm enough today for me to wear shorts. There are other signs, the subtle indicators that the season has changed. I was too wide-eyed last year to recognize the signs for what they were, but now I am a savvy veteran of the seasons.

It is road destruction season. Some bureaucrat in an anonymous building somewhere in the city pushed a button on his desk and thus did spring begin. Across the city piles of stones have appeared next to the patches of sand that used to be sidewalks. Entire streets have been dug up, creating larger piles of larger stones. Trams are diverted from their normal courses while crews stand around watching one guy with an arc welder work on the tracks.

I walked through downtown and the number of tourists has jumped dramatically in the last week, as well. Old Cars, tops down, slowly move through the crowds while tourists in the back seat snap photos. Crowds gather on the hour for the crushing disappointment that is the astronomical clock. Even in Strašnice you will find befuddled-looking folks holding maps of the city. There’s not much to see out in the Haunted City, but there they are. Some of the tourist traffic may be related to Easter holidays; we’ll see if it keeps up.

And here and there the signs are appearing in the windows of bars and pubs: Garden Open. Once more beer is available outdoors, and the city celebrates another winter endured, even as they turn a wary eye toward the river. The water level is high and still rising, and there’s a lot of snow in the mountains this year.

11 thoughts on “Springtime in Prague

  1. Gee, too bad we don’t have a way to divert some water from the Vltava to the Rio Grande. Heron Lake is expecting maybe 50% runoff and Elephant Butte maybe 15%.

    Speaking of the blog, Carol Anne says she was reminded of how Terry Langham taught you and her to make marionettes; you had one with a bottle attached to the sort-of-WC-Fields-like/wino figure and hers was sort of a kung-fu type.

    Carol Anne might wind up not being able to compete in the Adams Cup if she doesn’t get enough crew for a full team. Long story and has me kind of steamed.

  2. Head for a beer garden on higher ground and order two pivos at a time – just in case.

    Make sure it is a beer garden with wireless internet.

  3. I say nay Mr C5K3. You order your beer (A Big Ass Beer) and when it appears, You order a second. Rinse. Repeat.

    /currently drinkin’ a 24oz “Battleship Round” of Heinie.
    //will not admit to drinkin’ probelm!
    ///yes gizo, outdoor beer is best
    ////I savor it on the sand aside the boardwalk
    /////I have not been drinkin’ officer. It’s mah cologne. Like it?

  4. On a side note, Soup Boy created a video to send back to his family, and one of the segments he filmed was a shot of the crowd gathering to watch the famous astronomical clock. He stood directly beneath the clock and shot as the faces of the gathered throng went from expectant to confused to disappointed. It’s hilarious.

    “I’ve been standing here half an hour for that?

  5. According to the fNS (fuego News Service), preparations are under way for the evacuation of 10,000 people down in Znojmo as the waters continue to rise.

  6. The only problem so far this spring, as far as the Beer Gardeb scene goes, is the cold, rainy weather. Been having mulled beeer to keep out the cold.

  7. Hi Brian,

    While I agree with you on beer size (one of the many European cultural advancements is the average size of the beer “vessels” there), we disagree on order styles during a potential crisis.

    Your way would work fine if all the just-in-time supply chain mumbo-jumbo works out. I recommended two at a time “just in case” due to the flood worries.

    I certainly hope that the rinse & repeat method remains viable. I justed wanted Jer to have two beers in hand if civilization in Prague had to be rebuilt from scratch.

  8. Hi Jer,

    If the water gets really, really high, bring a towel with you to the beer garden.

    The uninformed will think its just for the rain. Hitchhiker Guide fans will see you, your towel, your laptop and your two beers, and they’ll wonder what is up.

    If a woman asks you to go Madagascar … well, you know the rest.

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