Žižkov café

Yesterday, I wandered through Riegrovy sady in Vinohrady, one of the larger parks in that area, which lead me into the adjacent neighborhood of Žižkov.

I remember back in September 2005, my first trip to Prague, one day I wanted to find the huge TV tower, to see it for the first time. As I exited the Metro at Jirího z poděbrad back then, I could see the tower rising above the buildings, so I walked in that direction… first straight ahead down Slaviková ulice(street), and then I turned right onto the second street, Onřičková. I remember it so vividly, since it was my first foray out into the streets of Prague, outside the tourist areas and into a neighborhood. It all seemed so different to me then.

I remember it was cold and gray that day, and as I turned onto Onřičková, the skies opened up with a torrent of cold rain.. I ran and stopped at the first café ( the only café ) about a block away… to get in from the rain, and sat down and ordered a coffee, waiting for the rain to stop. That was my first time in a Czech café, and I remember feeling uncomfortable. I was a foreigner in a neighborhood café, filled with regulars.

So yesterday, as I walked about, I stopped at the very same café, Café Chef, a white oval sign hung outside saying in red lettering “Segafredo”, a European brand of coffee. Yesterday was the antithesis of my first visit. A warm, sunny July day, with blue skies and as I sat there yesterday, I knew right where I was within the city, I knew this area of Prague, I was comfortable sitting there, and found it amazing that as I sat there drinking an espresso, that I had been to the exact same spot almost 3 years ago, having no idea that within three years, I would be seeking to live in an apartment in this area just a few blocks away.

…in 2005, it was all foreign to me; certainly I did not feel even a tinge of that on yesterday. I sat there, absorbing as much of it as I could.

Life really is quite amazing at times. +73