Beers and Conversation In Prague

And Vaclav Havel

One thing I’ve loved about Prague is walking by the restaurant/bar on the corner of our block, just below our second-story windows and to the right, and seeing at night, through the curtains, people inside at tables, beers in front of them, chatting. 

They are not there to eat. It’s after the dinner hour. And there is no music playing, no television blasting out ball games. People are there to sit, and talk.

I can’t tell you how radical this seems. Can you imagine an establishment in America, public or private, letting a moment be? This appears to be a thing here in Prague and, I assume, the rest of the country. I see it in many restaurants/bars on the blocks around me here in Prague. 

A few weeks ago when our almost-grown son Max was visiting, he and I went downstairs to Na Křižovatce (that’s the name of the restaurant) and sat across from each other, just talking. It was a nice, if also an unaccustomed, activity. I admit I felt somewhat uncomfortable. I’d probably have felt the same with my wife. We just don’t do that much, meaning sit at a table, talking, with no meal and only our conversation to amuse us. I tried to savor the moment.  My son ordered a local soft drink they had on tap, Kofola, which cost a mere 7 crowns, or 35 cents. He allowed me a sip and I liked it. 

How did this custom here in the Czech republic arise, and how is it continuing to go on? Don’t these people have Netflix subscriptions to attend to? 

I do sometimes at the restaurant downstairs see other activities, other than just conversation. Several times, at a table with men around it, I’ve seen them singing songs. I don’t know how that mixes with the other people at other tables just chatting, but it seems to. I have also seen card playing. But mainly, I see conversation. I do see mostly men. 

At Midday, It’s Still Dinnertime

A neighborhood restaurant is a window into a culture’s eating habits, and so it with Na Křižovatce.