Olomouc (pronounced ollamoats)

I walk to the town square where there is some kind of talent show taking place under a large white tent. Preteen girls dance to Michael Jackson´s "Beat it" and the crowd goes wild! Next up are boys kickboxing to a death metal song. I´d love to stay, but it is starting to rain. And, more importantly, I need to find Cafe 87 which is where my couchsurfing host, Petra, and I agreed to meet at 5:30. I find a tram heading to her area, Namesti Republiky, and soon enough the cafe appears on my right. Go me! I am proud of myself for having honed the ability to remain calm even when I (temporarily) have no idea where I am!

Petra and I drop my backpack off at her flat. Petra teaches Irish dance and is currently working on her Ph.D dissertation titled The Mating Habits of Blackberries (Upon hearing this, one of our dinner companions will look at her, confused, and say "Wait, what are you doing with phones?") Her flat is busy during my visit. Victor, a couchsurfer from Portugal is here and so is Petra´s best friend, Misha. Prone to bouts of homesickness these days, I think the more the merrier!

Olomouc is a town of around 100,000 people in the Czech Republic´s eastern region, Moravia. Much as I enjoyed Vienna, I usually want a smaller town atmosphere after spending time in a city. Olomouc is home to Palacky University and has the fun, laid back vibe that accompanies such towns. Bookstores, funky boutiques, and low lit cafes stand near baroque fountains and beautiful cathedrals. The contemporary art museum is free on Wednesday (lucky me!). I like the work of Laszlo Feher whos work features simple human figures against a huge canvas of black, yellow, and white. In the afternoon, I climb the stairs of gothic St. Maurice´s church for a cloudy yet still lovely view of the town.

Dinner at Hanacka Hospoda is a hoot. Petra, Victor, Misha, and several students from Palasky university end up staying there laughing and carrying on until closing. Menu items include smoked pig´s knuckle, chicken a la duck (do you really need both at once?), and something called guttery breah of night of lostice. I order sulanky which turns out to be a rather delicious potato dumplings filled with poppy seed dish. Conversation turns to strange things people have eaten and I am dared to eat the fish eye from the guy that ordered the entire fish. Well, I´ve eaten emu, kangaroo, sting ray, snake, and horse on this trip do you think I eat the eye? Of course I do. By the end of the evening we all think we can speak Czech simply by adding "vot" to the end of everything. Petra confirms, however, that there are quite a few czech words where this is true including flirtovot, relaxovot, sportovot, and telephonovot!

I thought the talent show would win for strangest sight in Olomouc. Then I encountered someone in an orange costume that referred to themselves as "Cookie" and thought "no this is the weirdest." The experimantal jazz band at Ponorka bar where the singer read lines from the newspaper was also a contender. But none of those compares to the most random site of all---sitting next to a grocery store, there is an airplane that has been converted into a bar! The sign says "Letka" opens at 9pm but the door is locked when I arrive shortly after that time. I ring the buzzer and a woman comes and opens the cabin door and motions me to come inside. The decor is delightfully lounge-chic with red seats, leather walls, and big black ashtrays atop hexagonal tiled tables. It´s a plane one can imagine Dirk Diggler and Roller girl partying inside. There is even a small dance area with rotating disco light in the back! I cannot decipher a thing on the menu so I just say "beer" and am given a can of Gambrinus and a tall glass for the equivalent of a buck and a half. I wish someone in the place could speak english and explain how this bar came into existence? What is the backstory here?