The Unusual Suspects: Take Two by Chipka
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Description
Kača, Kafka, and Štepan are three of the best memories I have of Prague, and it’s no surprise that they’re all associated with the vinara (wine house) U Sudu. In Czech, “Sud” is the word used to describe a keg, thus “U Sudu” literally means “In the keg.” The more innocent of cultural theoreticians may say that the name is derived from the barrel-vault ceilings that define the ant-hill tunnels that now compose the downstairs bars, but more realistic patrons of the place will often say that the name comes from the habit of getting seriously beer-drunk. It is, in many ways, like drinking your way out of a keg. A fun pastime, though it helps to have a bathroom nearby as Czech beer induces a rather strong need to satisfy urinary necessity.
There are three large rooms in U Sudu’s lower reaches. The “Gallery” is the largest, barrel-vaulted room. If there are tourists in the bar, they’re usually in the gallery, impressed at the fact that they’re getting drunk in a room that is 500 years old. Just off the Gallery is the 80s Room. Another barrel-vaulted chamber; it stinks of tobacco smoke and something a bit more…um…herbal. The clientele there is largely Czech, and whenever I needed to find my friends Kača or Štepan, that was where I knew to look. It was also where I hung out with Marcella, Honza, and Hanka in an oddly international play on the tv show Cheers. Honza was the bartender, Marcella was the barmaid, and Hanka was the sultry woman who always smoked the most elegant cigarettes and had a fondness for the Soviet-tv versions of Winnie the Pooh, known in that neck of the woods simply as: “Vini Pooh.”
The 80s room is where you go when you want to hang out with locals and listen to remixes of Sweet Dreams are Made of This or the shrill theme song to a famous Czech children’s tv show. This particularly shrill song marks Last Call. If you hear Včelí medvídci, it’s time to go. Honza, the bartender, is tired and he wants to go home. So it’s best to simply get the heck out of there! Simply finish your beer and head out when you hear children’s TV show music that makes 20-30-something Czechs get all nostalgic.
On the day that I took this picture, it was early evening and so I wasn’t in danger of hearing Včelí medvídci, and getting incomprehensible looks from Honza.
Kača, one of my best friends in Prague (and my boss at the Golden Sickle) was relaxing with Štepan. I think he had the night shift at the hostel, and so he was filling himself up with sufficient amounts of beer and cigarettes before settling down for a long night with YouTube, cigarettes, and bucket-loads of water with lime-slices floating in it. After drinking, Stepan always maintained, water was good to restore the balance of your internal mechanisms.
Kača spied “Frantisek” peeking out of my pocket and decided the he should enjoy the night out. As I had so few pictures of her, I pointed the camera in here direction and well...the real Kača came out. She and Kafka get along well, as you can see here…and from what I’ve learned from Kafka, he misses those crazy nights in a 500 year old cellar with Kača and Štepan, Marcella, Hanka, and Honza…and dozens of other people who smoke like champions. Strangely enough, Pavl was rarely a part of the U Sudu group, but that’s okay…he’d fit right in with them and it’s only a matter of time before the universe settles into that particular conjunction. When it does…something strange may happen, and I suspect this is the true meaning behind the Mayan Prophecy of 2012. It won’t be the end of the world, just the strangeness that'll ensue when Pavl and Kača meet and release a neutrino/positron surge, just to see what it looks like, and to learn whether or not it goes good with beer or tangerines.
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As always, thank you for viewing, reading, and commenting.
Comments (18)
kgb224
Outstanding capture and writing my friend.
MrsRatbag
Chip's World; always fascinating, always leaving me feeling like I'm missing out on life...
durleybeachbum
An absolutely splendid 'ooze', Chip. I shall probably always think of your writings as oozes from now! This is such a characterful pic, wonderful!
mbz2662
A very nice shot of your friends. And once again, we are pulled into your world, if only for a few minutes. Great story :)
anaber
I sit in front of the three of your best memories...and i think that,at least, one of them is always with you...just as he can be...a lot of thoughts, near you, whenever you want, like one hand in shoulder, that never asks for anything.
myrrhluz
Sometimes when you see an image, you get a mental picture that you know is miles away from what was going on. When I saw this, I got the image of her receiving a chat-up-line, showing the picture and saying, "Can you measure up to this?" I should think that would be the end of any pursuer. Excellent image! Love the detail and lighting! Very interesting read, as always!
auntietk
It's a bit surreal to see this, to read your description, and to remember Kafka in a wholly different setting. No beer, no cigarettes, no Czech friends, but a pristine hotel lobby with undoubtedly expensive lighting and Kafka wandering off on his own, undoubtedly looking for Kača and a more familiar atmosphere. It's amazing to me how a photograph taken in a place I've never been can remind me of a wholly different time and place. Excellent image, regardless of my off-track musings!
NefariousDrO
I do so love not only your excellent eye for a great photo, but your wonderful poetic descriptions and stories. I can tell how much you loved living in Prague by the tone of your reminiscences. I'm also very amused at her pose, she must be a very interesting person (although, perhaps, a bit more trouble than most of us might be able to handle?) Wonderful stuff!
CoreyBlack
From the funny stories you've told me about her, especially the one about what happened with the microwave, it's not surprising to see her vamping it up with Kafka, while that other guy looks just a bit stoned. So these are the people you knew in Prague? No wonder you wanna go back! They look like fun, even if it is in another language; of course we all laugh and drink too much beer in the same language.
bimm3d
wonderful photo!!
helanker
Amusing to see what you saw in Prague. You have had a wonderful time there. That is easy to understand, reading and viewing this post. :-)
faroutsider
Czech beer, good friends and a cockroach/human chimera on trial for something he never did - what fun!
Hubba1
Outstanding job!!! Your so talented!
MagikUnicorn
Great story I like the photo too ;-)
ladyraven23452
love it by the way i got my new camer now all i have to do is find out how to us it. book hear i come.
claude19
Dear artist friend, your account has invaded my soul of its strange charm for many Pinut ... In Paris you imagine that there is a coffee unsavory aujiourd'hui where everything is a matter of silver and called "The Barrel" ... always had the image of tponneaux ... tables, desks, chairs, bar ... Please tell us about the young Czechs and heroines to Marlene Dietrich! !: A big BRAVO! Thank you again!
beachzz
Oh,Kafka, I remember his little side trip in that hotel lobby. We thought he was gone. Turned out he just paid a short visit to a few other people. I love seeing your friends---just think how fun it would be if all the people were able to gather in one place at the same time. Talk about ninjas---wow!!
bmac62
Oops, Chip, ...I've been AWOL from your musings lately. Don't know if I told you before but while still in my 20+ year career in the Army (1962-1982) and manning the ramparts in "West Germany" just west of the Czech border with Bavaria, we often ate snitzel and drank Pils, etc. in ancient rooms with vaulted ceilings. In Germany, almost every town has a "Post Hotel" meaning you are on a road where 400-500 years ago...a daily stage coach travelled. the vaulted ceiling basements in these old hotels served as the overnight barns for travellers' horses...each horse had his own vault with feed and water. I suspect the same is true in what was Czechoslovakia. The Post Hotel we frequented was built and opened in 1603...a relatively new place:-))) When I was on duty at night, we'd often monitor the radio frequencies of Czech taxi drivers in Prague. They despised the Soviets and often spoke favorably of the west. We knew if "the baloon went up", the Czechs wanted to be on the side with the west. And the Soviets knew it too, therefore having little or no confidence in Czech army and air force units. All this helped eventually bring the wall down. Love this photo of your friends to include Kafka:-)