The Loneliest Liberal: Local custom

By James Knudsen

Nearly thirty years ago I was driving to St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, California to see for the first time my nephew. Fifteen days ago I watched as that same nephew made his mother, Morissa, a mother-in-law. This milestone occurred in the Czech Republic capital of Prague.
    On September 8, 2017, William Smith (Christopher to family) married Martina Moravcova at the Pavilon Grebovka. Officiating was a local fire department captain assisted by a translator, who helped those of us not fluent in the local tongue. Following the ceremony, the festivities moved indoors and the newly married couple shared their first meal under a common bib, feeding each other the traditional soup.

The happy couple under the common bib

    Later, Chris and Martina were summoned to the steps of the Pavilon, where a bartender presented two shot glasses on a plate. In one shot glass was water, in the other a clear spirit. Tradition holds that whoever chooses the spirit will control the household’s finances. The groom’s family breathed a sigh of relief when the bride grimaced as she downed the potent spirit. The bartender then casually dropped the plate, shattering it on the concrete steps, another tradition. The couple were then given a dustpan and broom to clean up the broken plate, working together to deal with one of life’s little mishaps. The rest of the evening involved more food, drink, and dancing.

Front L-R: Gene Parini & Morissa
Back L-R: Mr. & Mrs. William & Martina Smith

I spent four more days in Prague seeing its sights and eating a lot of pork. The Czech people are fond of pork, and a common dish is the roasted pork knuckle. My first serving, one of three during my trip, was listed on the menu as a “piglet knee.” Whatever the joint, it, along with savory sides of mashed potatoes with ground mustard and a cooked onion salad, was very good.
    The sights included Charles Bridge, the Astronomical Clock in Old Town Square, and Prague Castle, and St. Vitus Cathedral, on the other side of the Vltava River.

Prague by night, along the Vltava

By Andrew Shiva,
Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

St. Vitus Cathedral

I can point to only two unpleasant occurrences during my stay in Prague. One involved an upstairs neighbor who decided to turn his AirBnB apartment into an after-hours discotheque. The other was pure tragedy. It happened on the Prague Metro. A teenager offered me his seat because I appeared old!
    Next month, Portugal!

Copyright © 2017 by James Knudsen