Prague Journal

Monday, July 11, 2005.

My agenda this morning was simple: buy a strudel for dessert, go to the bank, meet Eunice for tea, and get some work done before dinner with Pavel and Ivka. I had sent a revision of the textile company case study on Saturday and had gotten an immediate and positive reply from the editor, who asked for very minor revision. So I was eager to get closure on the case before I leave town (thinking, naively, that this would leave me with only Eunice’s case left on my research to-do list here).
By the time I left to go downtown, it was pouring rain again. I went to three bakeries and none had strudel. I barely had time to go to the bank before I had to meet Eunice. She suggested that I try the rhubarb pie at Carrefour. So, taking her advice, I went to Andĕl to the Novy Smíchov shopping center and braved the crowds at Carrefour. It took me a half hour to get to the store, only about 15 minutes to find the section with pies and desserts, and then over half an hour in line. Instead of walking back to the metro (subway) station, I jumped on the #9 tram to the center, which was, in hindsight, the wrong decision, since it took me over an hour to get home.
Pavel and Ivka showed up at our flat at 7:30 and we chatted briefly over cheese and crackers and beer before walking down the street to Pizzeria Siesta. It was strange to have an evening with them with no kids! And wonderful, as always, to chat about families, life in Prague and the US, and a bit of politics. After dinner, we came back to our flat for rhubarb pie and coffee. Fortunately, the pie was tasty, even if it did take up half my afternoon to get it.

posted by JWinn @ 10:23 PM