Settling into the city!

Today is not a spectacularly beautiful day! It's dry but a bit grey, so the perfect day for finding a tea shop and sitting and reading. When I was in Barcelona, I had been told to go to a teahouse called Tea Mountain in the Karlin district. So in the summer I had skirted Karlin, today I would go into this mainly residential area.

I had been warned the teahouse was more formal than what I was used to, but that the tea was from many of the farmers that were bought in Barcelona and so it should be good. It was a lovely, it not long walk, from my apartment, but it gave me a chance to see some other areas of Prague, and revisit an Indian restaurant I had been to last September!

The teahouse was beautiful, but empty. I said hello, that the place had been recommended to me, and instead of handing me a menu, I was asked what type of tea I liked. I then got into a conversation, and was promptly handed a canister of tea to sniff. Then another, an another! After about 15 teas, and discussing each of them I called a halt of matters and picked one and sat down on a formal bench table combo. I chose a Taiwan tea called Black Ruby. I was then served, and unlike the other two teahouses, tea was not served in a huge bowl, but a small pot, a jug and a tasting cup. All very sophisticated. The tea was beautiful, I had made an excellent choice, and as I settled down, the now familiar thermos was brought to me so I could make as many cuppa as I wanted. Great, I opened my new book, the play Gertrude the Cry, and settled down to read it. The door went, and I wryly smiled as the lady who had served me in Dobra Čajovna last night walked in and ordered tea for herself!

Tea drunk I wandered back into town and met my friend and we wandered to the bookshops and library of Prague. I had not entertained the idea of going in the bookshops because I thought there would only be Czech books in them, but no. In Prague the bookshops have English sections, even the second hand stores. It was a revelation, no longer would I need to bring a bag of books. Just the one I was reading, and I could buy as and when I needed any others. This was great news indeed, and made me feel even less of a tourist!




Tea Mountain