The Princess of Poland

Kevin’s flight from Warsaw was due in at 10:50 so when I didn’t hear from him by 12:15 I went down to the lobby to wait for his arrival. My old friends Jim and Carol from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, were down there waiting for their friends so we chatted a bit. I was about to walk across the street to the Czech Airlines office to ask if the flight was delayed when I saw Kevin standing by the front desk. He had been here for 45 minutes but couldn’t call up to my room because the staff told him my reservation was canceled and I had gone home. Just after I went down to the lobby he had read my email with my room number in it and called my room and left two messages but I had already left for the lobby.

Kevin told me he had met the princess of Poland, who had attended his seminar in Warsaw. We went for a walk but first asked the concierge to make dinner reservations for us for the next three nights at the three restaurants mentioned in Three Perfect Days, two of which I had been to and agreed were tops: Aqua and Kampa Park. The third, Bellevue, I had tried to get into on the last trip but it was reserved for a private party.

We headed straight for Pravda for a great lunch. I taught Kevin how to pronounce Paøížská Street. Inside Pravda was full but we sat outside in the brisk air since we had brought our jackets and we watched the tour groups filter through the Jewish Quarter. I had gazpacho and a perfect Pacific salmon. Kevin had a burger. He told me about meeting the princess of Poland. Service was provided by a mysteriously smiling young Czech waitress, charming as usual. The bill came to 1190 Kè ($29) for two.

Refueled, we walked back through Old Town Square and did the required pilgrimage to the crystal shops. I took Kevin through New Town, where we stopped at Kaverna Slavia for a couple of Coca Cola Lights. The waiter asked us if we wanted zero-two or zero-three and we said zero-three of course, we’re Americans, so he brought us two large fountain glasses of Coke Light, the name used for Diet Coke in Europe and the JFK Red Carpet Club. Kevin told me he had met the princess of Poland. We got the Czech and then strolled across the bridge and through Little Town where I showed him my favorite candle shop where on my first trip I had bought a huge 30 lb. candle and schlepped it back home to Hunnybear to prove my love for her.

We walked over the Charles Bridge but there was only one musician playing the autoharp with hammers and no Dixieland band. The tourist season was apparently winding down. We walked all the way back to the Marriott and Kevin took a nap while I played some video poker and got hoovered for a couple thousand koruna. As I played I suspected I had made a math error in creating my strategy table so I went to play some blackjack and won back what I had lost at video poker.

At 7:40 it was time for Kevin to meet me in the lobby for dinner. We took the hotel car to Aqua for 300 Kè ($7.50) and were seated in the best table in the house for a phenomenal dinner served by a charming young Czech waitress with a mysterious smile. She recommended the “antipasto,” actually a tasting selection of five appetizers, all of which were phenomenal. We worked our way down the long narrow platter they were served upon as Kevin mentioned to me that he had met the princess of Poland. First was asparagus in a sweet sauce, cooked perfectly. Next came paté de fois gras, then a salmon terrine, grilled monkfish with wheat noodles, and finally a duck spring roll. Yum! As recommended in Three Perfect Days we ordered a bottle of the local Riesling which way dry and delicious. For the main course I had venison with a chocolate sauce that made me grow fangs. Kevin enjoyed the chicken, broiled to a golden brown. As a rule I don’t eat dessert but Three Perfect Days said to order the raspberries au gratin so I did, with a glass of Sauternes. Perfect. The bill came to 3000 Kè ($75) including a 10% tip.

It turned out Aqua had a casino in the back so we popped in and Kevin got hoovered in about five minutes at blackjack while I watched some locals play a blackjack-like game called Pontoon. A five-card hand that didn’t bust got paid 3 to 2 (or “6 to 4” as the felt declared), blackjack paid 2-1, and the dealer won pushes. We walked the short 20 minutes back to the hotel but we walked quickly as it was getting nippy. We headed straight for the Millennium Casino on floor –1 of the Marriott and I made quite a killing at blackjack and even at the evil video-poker game now that I had my adjusted strategy chart. Kevin headed up early, wanting to reflect on his meeting the princess of Poland, and I followed not too long thereafter.


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