Prague Journal

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Saturday, my last day here. The Jaros children are headed to their grandparents' cottages for the weekend, so my goodbye to them comes early in the day. The afternoon was spent with Eva and Helen at the Prague Food Festival at Kampa. By chance I saw Martin with his wife, Jitka, whom I had not met when I was here before, so this was a fun encounter and opportunity to catch up on news of him and new projects, and of course family news.
The Prague Food Festival is a three-day event, now in its 4th year. Each day 12 restaurants offer samples of a variety of Czech, Brazilian, French, Japanese and Mediterranean specialties (30 restaurants participate over the weekend). There was also "an atypical fashion show with a gourmet spirit" featuring wonderfully imaginative costumes (food- or drink-related, of course).
Having seen all the offerings, and eaten our fill, Eva and I took a few hours in the afternoon to visit the Emil Filla art exhibit at Prague Castle http://wwar.com/masters/f/filla-emil.html
Filla, a Czech artist, lived in France, Germany, and Italy from 1907 to 1914. While there, his style changed from Expressionist to Cubism. He became the leading figure of the Cubist movement in both painting and sculpture. During World War I, Filla took refuge in the Netherlands. He returned to Prague in 1920 and began painting still-lifes. His work became increasingly violent in the late 1930’s. Filla was imprisoned in the Buchenwald concentration camp during World War II. After his release, he began painting more naturally, creating some landscapes. Eva and I both preferred Filla's earliest works, to his bolder cubist paintings.

Helen reconnected with Eva and me, along with Honza and Blanka and her husband, at Evald Cinema to see Irina Palm, a British film about Maggie, a widowed grandmother with no savings, credit or job skills, who needs to get money so that her sick grandson can be sent from England to Australia for an operation that, allegedly, is the only hope to save his life. Having been repeatedly turned down by banks, friends and job-placement agencies, Maggie spots a "Hostess Wanted" sign on the Sex World establishment in London, and, in complete innocense, decides to apply. The job, which pays extremely well, involves "wanking" men through a small hole in the wall. Needless to say, at first, Maggie is horrified -- but, with help from a fellow "hostess," pretty soon the cash is pouring in and Maggie -- given the stage name Irina Palm -- is the most popular gal in the joint. I highly recommend this movie! While a bit sappy at times, it is thoroughly enjoyable (especially the scenes with Maggie's uptight friends).

After the movie, Helen and I went back to Kampa for one last drink and jazz entertainment by Petra Ernyeiová and the Jakub Šafr Quartet. I do love walking around Prague, and seeing the view of the city both from the castle and from Kampa, along the river. After only another hour at Kampa, Helen and I said goodbyes and then I headed "home" for a last glass of wine with Eva and Honza. Such good friends. Such a wonderful visit.

So, the taxi will come at 4:15am to take me to the airport for my 6:15am flight home. I’ll be glad to be back in Denver, but I'll also be looking forward to my next visit (next year).

posted by JWinn @ 9:07 PM