I say somewhat splurged because the Czech koruna is worth much less than the Canadian dollar and even what seemed to be an expensive restaurant turned out to be a bill of less than $50 for both of us, including my wine.

My sister opted for a not very well done Greek salad, and I for a traditional potato soup with mushrooms. The soup was amazingly substantial with such a rich, complex background of flavours I thought it must have been made with beef stock along with various vegetables, maybe even beef bones.

It was more of a robust mushroom soup than potato, with chunks of vegetables and a great warming effect (it was a rainy night in Prague).

For my main I chose a Char with homemade noodles, olive oil and trout caviar. Traditional Czech is all very meat heavy (goulash, pork roasts, wild boar and duck) so I was looking for something from the rivers or streams! My dish was disappointingly salty, but each element on it’s own was satisfying, to a point. One creamy item would have made a huge difference on the plate, even a cream based coating for the noodles instead of the simple olive oil.

My sister’s roast half duck with traditional Czech dumplings saved the day. I indulged in a couple bites, with sauerkraut: delicious rich, moist and fatty duck meat balanced perfectly with ‘kraut! Mmm.

We split one small scoop of mango sorbet for dessert, to cleanse our palates of our rich and salty meals! A perfect ending.

There’s also a photo of me at the oldest Czech vineyard, near Prague castle!