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TIME EUROPE September 18, 2000, Vol. 156 No. 12 Prague Is More Than Dumplings and Beer Central Europe's most beautiful city can be exotic as well By JAN STOJASPAL 
You've seen the Astronomical Clock, walked across the Charles Bridge and toured Prague Castle. You've had your fill of the roast meats and dumplings that define Czech food. And, frankly, classical music, Prague's other big attraction, leaves you cold. In short, you have Prague fatigue and are looking for something, well, different. Here's a night on the town — entirely on foot — that will show you a hipper side of Central Europe's most beautiful city. The following three places are easy walking distance from each other in the city center. You can hit them all in one night, or pick and choose. Whatever you decide, dinner at Delux, Vaclavske namesti 4, tel. 02 9624 9444, is a good way to start. Its white rococo interior with red velvet chairs surrounded by gilt birds and floral ornaments on the ceiling and walls is way over the top, sort of like sitting atop a wedding cake. The food, however, is a revelation, with no pork chops nor knedliky (dumplings) in sight. The menu features Thai, International and Cuban dishes. At 10 p.m., a minor furniture rearrangement transforms Delux into a hot salsa club. Get table No. 2 if you can, for a good view of the dance floor and a small podium with live jazz earlier in the evening. For something quieter, check out Dobra cajovna (the Good Tearoom), Borsov 2, tel. 02 2222 1324. Pull down a wooden handle next to the entrance and wait for the staff to open. Once inside, choose between two rooms. The English Salon, where small electric lamps illuminate tables made from old tea boxes and glass, is brighter and more formal. The Moroccan Salon, with wooden platforms, rugs and pillows to sit on, is much darker and more laid-back. It is also where you can smoke a water pipe. "We are an alternative to the secular world of Czech pubs and the religious world of gothic cathedrals that dominate the city," says owner Lubos Rychvalsky. Make sure you get your menu in English. You'll need it to guide you through the tearoom's more than 80 beverages. On a hot night, try a Staroborshov — iced Oolong tea mixed in a shaker with sugar — which comes in a tall glass and looks like beer. If you need to warm up, ask for Yogi Tea — tea spiked with a potpouri of ginger, cardamom, white pepper, anise and cloves that's then mixed with milk and honey. Dobra cajovna closes at midnight, just about the time that things start hopping across the street at Karlovy lazne (Charles Spa), Novotneho lavka, tel. 02 2222 0167, a four-level dance club which opened last December in a space formerly occupied by a spa. Hence the two swimming pools which now serve as dance floors. The one on the second floor features mainstream disco, while techno, house and other fast-paced beats rule in the pool on the fourth. The first floor and basement have live music. More mature rockers should head for the third floor, which features golden oldies from the 1960s to the 1980s. The central location of these boîtes frees you from the trauma of dealing with Prague's cab drivers, who routinely overcharge foreigners. Besides, walking through the center of Prague will let you take in its fabled sites — the Astronomical Clock, the Charles Bridge, Prague Castle... TIME Europe home More stories from TIME Europe and related links E-mail us at mail@timeatlantic.com |
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