For me, Thanksgiving in the States always marks the beginning of the joyous Christmas season, just as New Years summons its somber conclusion. I was worried that, in the absence of the meal, the beginning of the season would be blurred and I would miss everything. Luckily, I live with some amazing cooks who salvaged Thanksgiving from the throes of Central European culture. Unfortunately, I cannot take any credit for the tremendous meal they prepared, but am proud simply by association. I did, however, purchase some candles with a little Autumn flair to bring full circle the apartment's Holiday atmosphere. Paul pre-ordered and prepared a 16-pound turkey, made stuffing inside and outside of the bird, and championed cranberry sauce, gravy, and mashed potatoes. Lana and Emma made homemade pumpkin soup (starting with the pumpkins), mashed sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, a Lebanese rice dish, and green beans. The one thing that was not prepared in our little kitchen was a pumpkin buy the girls purchased at a local bakery to accompany the homemade apple strudel and whipped cream Lana made for dessert. It felt just like being at home, especially when I was kicked out of the kitchen at crunch time...
The Daugherty clan, in full force, arrived Wednesday morning to visit Tucker for a few days. Tucker's older sister, Nina, studied in Prague through the same program four years ago, so she was excited to visit her ol' stompin' grounds. My mom and Deb's time in Prague overlapped just one day so we made the most of our time together in a pub. Mr. and Mrs. Daugherty, both SLU class of 1975 rounded out the Larry presence in Prague at six, deeming Tucker's younger brother, Tate, the outcast. On Saturday, the Daughertys invited me to join them on their trip to Ceske Krumlov, a small Czech down two hours south of Prague. We had been told that Ceske Krumlov, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the prettiest towns in this part of Europe. Needless to say, our expectations were thoroughly met. The town, nestled in the Czech hills remained untouched by the hand of communist architects, and is one a few places in Central Europe that reflects Bohemian life before the Communist ascent to power in the late 1940's. The town and surrounding setting were truly stunning and the thin layer of clean snow that had just fallen on the region increased the feeling of nostalgia in the air.
The table in all of its Holiday glory. Note the candles and the symmetry they reinforce. To celebrate, we indulged and bought $4.00 bottles of wine.
Lana on the left laboring over the pumpkin soup. Several of our roommates were out of town or out to eat with their families who were visitng, but they still had to cook for eight with the limitations of a humble kitchen and small oven. Paul's beautiful bird on the right. It was his first turkey and was prepared with no guidance but that from and online recipe. Thanks to Paul's culinary brilliance, it was delicious.
2010 Christmas Card: The Daugherty family above Ceske Krumlov. From left to right: Tucker, older sister Nina, younger brother Tate, followed by Mrs. and Mr. (SLU class of 1975).
In the period between the First and Second World Wars, Czechoslovakia boasted the 7th highest GDP in the world. To give you a sense of the country's economic potential before WWII and a half Century under communist rule, the seventh largest economy in the world today is the United Kingdom. Today, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are by no means rich nations; Prague's splendor reveals an urban-rural cleavage that has become an important political, social, and economic issue in a region where per capita income is less than half of that enjoyed in the States. The skeletal remains of an abandoned industrial infrastructure, the physical indicators of lingering economic problems, dot the countryside and taint the landscape's inherent beauty. Small towns, although pretty and quaint in part, always reflect a level of poverty and stagnation in the dilapidated, crumbling buildings that line certain streets. Ceske Krumlov, on the other hand, preserved by its value as a tourist destination offers a look at what many of Czechoslovakia's towns and cities may have looked like before WWII.
The Daughertys rented a big van for the trek to Ceske Krumlov and the drive down reminded me of the "Sweet Child O Mine" scene from Step Brothers. If you haven't seen the movie, watch the clip below if you want to get a sense of our car ride...
Christmas wasn't the only holiday being celebrated at 25 Ve Smechach. Below, Eddie and the two Andrews lighting the Menorah on the first night of Chanukah. The evening was complete with potato pancakes (pictured below) and song.
The first significant snow storm in Prague this Winter dropped about eight inches and drew out the children in all of us. The winter weather was rather magical for a few days until we found out that the local governments don't have room in their budgets for snow removal. If you look closely on the left, you can see all of Lana that wasn't covered with snow. The picture on the right is mid-take down in a street brawl outside our apartment. Because both girls were wearing cotton sweatpants, there wasn't a winner.
To get to know my roommates, whose names often appear in the different posts, here's a shot of (almost) everyone in our apartment. To clarify, everyone in the photo is from Tulane except for Paul and I. From left to right: Emma, Paul (the Thanksgiving cook), me, Mike (Danielle's boyfriend, who was visiting from the States), Andrew Gilboard, Lana, Eddie, and Danielle. Only Tucker and Andrew Mandlebaum (pictured above in the Menorah photo wearing a red hat and shit) are missing. Tucker and I were incredibly lucky to have met this group during orientation and are going to miss them all when the semester is over. The dynamic in the apartment is a perfect blend of work and play, calm and crazy, quiet and loud, and I can't imagine living with a different group..
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