Birthday in Prague

A great friend sent me a birthday card this year that said she and I have moved into one candle territory.  So right!

Not by design, Dear Husbola and I were going to be in Prague for my birthday this year.  I considered the trip and our favorite city to be plenty of gift for me.  The day turned out to be a dark and chilly Saturday--the best kind in Prague for just poking around

We started with an unexpected antique fair held in the New Town Hall.  We only saw a small brochure--and it turned out to be a very large fair with dealers from all over the Czech Republic exhibiting.  The highlight--an incredible 1800s globe on a metal stand in the shape of Hercules holding the world in his hands--the equivalent of 900 smackers.  Not for the faint of heart.

Then it was time for a coffee.

And cake.  Oh the cake.

The Czechs love their dessert.  And there is this incredible tradition of the Cukrarna.

Although it has changed since the Velvet Revolution in 1989, the traditional way of naming your business establishment is just putting the name of what it is on the sign.  Therefore, it's not "Jaroslav's Meats" but just "Meat".  Not "Beth's Antique Boutique" but "Antiques".  So also named are these incredible historical sugar palaces called "Cukrarna".

There is a fabulous Cukrarna on Vodickova Street in Prague--in the city center.  Now--these differ from a cafe as you will see families with children and old people for the one purpose of having dessert and sweets.  This is not the smoky cafe culture.  This is more "Grandma Taking Out Darling Granddaughter for an Ice Cream" kind of a place.  Sort of the "Woolworth's Lunch Counter" art nouveau style.

This was a Cukrarna off the tourist track.  We were sitting amongst locals out for a treat on a gray day in April.  Best Birthday Ever!