John M. Edwards mispronounces the naughty-sounding destination “Kutna Hora” at a train station in Prague, a surreal stage set straight out of the Quentin Tarantino/Eli Roth shocker “HOSTEL,” set in Slovakia but filmed in the Czech Republic. . . . At Hlavni Nadrazi, Prague’s main train station, the large ugly lady in Aeroflot chic flinched when I ordered a roundtrip to the naughty-sounding “Kutna Hora,” mispronouncing my destination on purpose. … [Read more...]
Investigating Legendary Party Thrower Jim Haynes
It was through my fellow American expat friend, “The Famous Zack,” a black Christian science-fiction writer originally from Ohio, with a short story coming up back then in the now-defunct “AMAZING STORIES,” that I first heard about the wild parties thrown by the legendary Jim Haynes, whom some sour-grape artists deemed an apocryphal “traitor.” So well known was Haynes as a manic socialite host that he even felt propelled to write a … [Read more...]
The Best Artist in Slovakia
John M. Edwards pulls up his proverbial time machine into communist Slovakia (1989), where appearances are illusory and life is lived on a virtual movie set. . . . “I AM THE BEST ARTIST IN SLOVAKIA!” The Best Artist in Slovakia bruited. With a cavalier wave of his hand, curved like a grinning alligator shadow puppet, he added in slow mo, “I paint you a picture you would not believe!” “Oh, really?” I said with a terse forced smile. “I really … [Read more...]
Cesky Krumlov: The Real Bohemia
John M. Edwards checks out the new Czech Republic’s “Cesky Krumlov,” where real “Bohemians” come from. . . . On my first visit to communist Czechoslovakia in 1989 (right before the Velvet Revolution), I drove down in my rented and probably bugged Skoda car to the legendary Bohemian locus of magnetic Cesky Krumlov, the most stylish picturesque village in the country. I realized to be truly “Bohemian,” you had to actually be from the … [Read more...]
Viking Voluntourism: Tall Tales of Tallinn
Into the Wild Wild East of “Europe Minor” John M. Edwards becomes a “stringer” and steeps himself in suspense-novel intrigue in the Estonian capital, where a post-communist parable of “The Baltic Dream” seems pegged less to illusory pyrite and more to ubiquitous amber... Of course in Estonia everyone is a spy! Ah yes, so true, and that includes the suspicious-looking mustached man over there, with the Coke-bottle specs and tan Burberry … [Read more...]
Flash and Burn
I am out of the suburbs and into the city—at the center of what I wanted. Staying with my host family forty-minutes from town was a gift. It allowed me to ease in and find a job in a protected place. But, I didn’t leave Asia for the outskirts or to be protected. I left to be exposed to the thriving madness of Europe. The flat I am renting is in the art district of Prague, three metro stops from the city center. The Vltava River is a two-minute … [Read more...]
The Rhythm of Prague
It’s Friday night. I am home alone and I am bored. Sitting still is not easy for me. I have to work at it. Even a good book requires stops and starts before I can slow myself down. I stop reading to check email or to go to the potraviny (convenience store) downstairs. Eventually the turning of pages becomes all the motion I need and I settle into the comfort of stillness. But, it ain’t easy. My plans to stay in on Friday nights never work out. … [Read more...]
Travelling in Prague on a Budget
Why go to Prague? The capital city of the Czech Republic is one of the most picturesque places in all of Europe – with its ancient history and diverse and mixed architectural styles. Prague is not only a sophisticated and calm city, but also extremely hospitable. Delicious Czech food, breathtaking historical monuments, old churches and galleries, traditional architecture – Prague has it all and the city cannot wait to share it with you. … [Read more...]
German food in Berlin
As Berlin is a multicultural capital, its food has many foreign influences; flavors from Turkey, India, Russia, Czech Republic and Poland are combined with the traditional German essence to make a delicious melting pot of flavors. However, despite the international influences, it is still possible to differentiate the most authentic flavors of the German cuisine. You have been roaming around the city for couple of hours and wonder, why do … [Read more...]
Unique and unusual hotels revealed at HostelBookers
HostelBookers, the budget accommodation specialist, works with some of the best and most unusual cheap hotels in the world. Guests could sleep in tree tops in Turkey, shower in a reformed jail in Switzerland or even eat their breakfast while floating on the Danube in Serbia. In Europe, Trulli Holiday Hotel is a charming complex in Alberobello, in the Puglia region. The unique trulli houses are the traditional dwelling of natives and … [Read more...]