To my utter horror I noticed that writing has become quite difficult after a pause of more than a year. So yesterday I consulted a can of cider to make a draft of this post and indeed a cup or two helped to formulate at least some lines about the activities of the previous two weeks.
According to the news the past July was globally the hottest ever. I can name a place where the last July was actually on the rainy and cold side so when a couple of weeks ago the temperature finally made the effort to climb over +30 degrees, this sun worshiper woke up from her slumber and decided to head out to visit an artificial little lake and other interesting destinations.
Czech Republic is a landlocked country and doesn't have a lot of inland lakes either. A somewhat muddy and shallow river flows through Prague, so for more watery experiences one needs to find the small and most likely man made little fish ponds in different parts of the city. In the fish pond in Jinonice there is even a turtle. I am quite sure some pet owner, upon realizing that the turtle will probably over live them, deposited it in the pond in cold blood.
Some weeks ago I went out to one of these small ponds with a friend to enjoy an afternoon in the sun far far away out of the reach of the subway lines. Near the lake shore there was an artificial sand beach for volley ball and restaurants and a couple of kiosks were there to serve the thirsty and hungry visitors. There are not a lot of places to sit unless you bring your own towel or chair but for the price of a drink it is possible to utilize the terrace of the restaurant at least until someone comes to kick you out.
The next weekend the good weather continued and I went biking with another friend (yes I have more than one friend). We selected Karlstejn as our destination because being about 35 kilometers from Prague, the distance was most suitable. I haven't yet bought a bike for myself but rental bikes are available at metro station Smichovske Nadrazi, costing 7-8 EUR a day.
Karlstejn is a very well marketed destination for tourists. The castle there, built on top of a hill (in the picture above) dates back to the 14th century. The city around the castle is quite small and touristy. You can find menus in Russian and pay the same price for a meal as in Prague but I would still recommend the place because it lacks the crowded feeling of Prague. On this trip I didn't go to see the castle because the climb ahead didn't much inspire me and also because it was nice to sit in a small cafeteria eating pancakes and fried and chatting with acquaintances and then it was already time to start heading back to the city. The route to Karlstejn was rather challenging with a lot of hills and small pathways through forests but on the return journey we enjoyed flat biking roads with amazing landscapes along the river and a lunch stop to eat fried chicken. The entire route was about 69,4 kilometers and took a bit more than 4 hours. My longest biking trip ever.
The most important event in life last week was a dinner at all you can eat sushi place. Buffet lunches are something I really miss from Finland. There are buffet here too, but the concept is a bit different and there are none close to my apartment for my office. This sushi place is close to the city center and for 625 Czech crowns you can enjoy 5 rounds of sushi. On each round you can order up to 5 different types of sushi but as many pieces as you'd like to. Possibly we were consumed by gluttony the first round ordering a lot of everything, salmon sushi, tuna sushi, fried sushi, squid, etc. The second round was a bit more difficult to digest and towards the end we were scared that the waitress might still be bringing portions we didn't even remember ordering anymore. Like my friend so wisely said, the sushi tsunami under which we were about to suffocate was a lesson in Buddhism; what first appears pleasurable will turn into a painful experience. In addition there was the fear of having to pay a penalty for wasting food, which is a clever idea but very worrisome when your belly is full of rice and on your plate deep fried pieces of banana are still waiting. The old saying "the greedy have a shitty end" seems very true.
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