From Czechia with Love
Counting down on five years of HATM
A year ago we were preparing for HATM’s fourth birthday and I was preparing to shut it all down.1 I was reeling from rejection and decided angrily that if I was expendable, so too would be the things I created and loved. But y’all talked me out of it. I had been saving for a trip to Hawai’i with my then-girlfriend, but seeing as two tickets were no longer necessary, I booked passage to Prague, my first trip to Europe.
I fell head over heels for the city. I’d fancied a visit ever since seeing a video for Never Tear Us Apart by INXS in the late 80s and actually getting there felt like a sort of triumph unto itself. My first night there I had two and a half huge beers and Czech goulash, a meal I’d have multiple times during my eight days abroad.2
I’ve thought about Prague every single day since I’ve returned and tonight I decided to make that goulash. I found a promising recipe online and my son and I went to work in the kitchen. I’ll be damned if it wasn’t identical. It was just like I remembered. One of my favorite meals. My boys loved it and getting them to try anything new is, well, trying. I didn’t make the potato dumplings but that’s next on the list to learn. Here’s the recipe: https://mission-food.com/hovezi-gulas-czech-beef-goulash/
Tonight’s film selection oddly mirrored my trip: Czechia (known here as the Czech Republic) was ruled during the Cold War by the Soviet regime and those memories remain strong in Prague. When I visited I saw anti-Russian and anti-Putin signs and banners seemingly everywhere.
Films like Rocky IV aren’t outwardly “history movies” but they’re pretty significant historical artifacts. My 15 year old commented on this almost immediately tonight when he remarked on the hostility towards the Soviets expressed by the Americans. More than one person linked this to Red Dawn and I think the two are definitely in conversation. There are certainly others.
So since I haven’t burned down Historians At The Movies (yet) I guess that means we have to move forward. And that means doing something special for this week. I’ve decided that with our (yes, our, HATM belongs to everyone) birthday coming up, I’ll write a list of five things each day. Some of these will be reflective, others will be directive (i.e., where I want HATM to go next). But tomorrow we’ll begin with a sense of gratitude and maybe a peak behind the curtain—the five biggest influences on Historians At The Movies.
And yeah, I’ve got a big movie planned for next Sunday.
Thanks for sticking around. We’re only getting started.
Oh, for those of you inquiring about Buster and what he’s like. Best thing I can say is that as a 4 month old lab/terrier puppy he’s pretty much a ballistic missile with baby teeth.
You may remember but if not, here ya go:
The restaurant is Kozlovna U Paukerta. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
1. So glad you didn’t burn it down
2. Back in Soviet days, I hung around Vienna for several extra days, starting each morning waiting for a visa to go to Prague. I finally gave up and continued my European adventures. My mother had lost bed Prague in the late ‘40s. Maybe one day.
3. Gulasch is amazing. Once you’re ultra comfortable with it, try adding some Cajun fodways like crawfish, othe gulf catches (frog legs if you’re like my mother). Is it mixing cultures and food ways, yes. Does it work, emphatically yes
My son spent a college semester overseas in Trnava, Slovakia, in 2002. As part of their language classes at the University of Trnava they went to movies, which he said had Czech subtitles. Still working on their separation, I guess. ;-)
I live near Brooksville, FL. Hope you’ll have a local event sometime. And thx for not giving up.