Peasants and their Food

The doors of the train opened, a man with a tractor appeared, and the war against Czech hoodlums was on.

The man was wrinkle faced and smoke-creased (reason number 45 to quit Jan One) and with a quote of 200 Czech Krowns, threw our luggage on, gently forced my frugal and frowning brother Christophe into the passanger seat, and off we went. He took us to one taxi stand that insisted we take our Monster Circus into two cars for 1200 Czech. Elder Brother Frugal scoffed, threw up his hands (he's been studying French for, like, MONTHS) and waltzed off. Brother W (the one who voted for W) shuffled into a dark graffitti corner to puff a Marlboro. Queen Maman tried to daintily bat her lashes for a lower price, but to no avail. Wrinkle faced Tractor Man had brought us to his cohorts for a full Traveller Scam and we were stuck. Maman also Frenched her hands and rushed off to find her sons, leaving me with the eleven piece Monster Circus, surrounded by five pummel-faced Prague men. I quickly struck a butch pose, lit a smoke and let it be known that I was from New York. I knew both flying karate as well as a cab rip off when I saw one, so don't give me that shit. They lowerd it by a buck. I was satisfied and puffed my chest.

But then Brother Frugal returned and had gotten a man to stuff a Mercedes wagon for 300. D'accord! Nevermind that we could barely haul the Monsters to the other end of the station, where apparently the Good Man Brigade contingent of the taxi drivers was staked out, seated on the right hand of God. And this Good Taxi Man was a good, good man who took the packing of the car seriously, like any peasant bred father. Brother Frugal tried to get him down to 200, but he made a motion of putting a gun to his head. Indeed, it took a bungey cord strapped around the rear of the car to secure our shameful amount of luggage. But we were off with Good Taxi Man, and it was a happy beginning to Praha.

Some words about Czech food, which gets a bad rap for how much cabbage is served. Dinner at __________ (funny words with funny accents) brought a new Continental flair to Bohemian peasant fare. In other words, the cabbage rocked.