‘Wonder if anyone will go for themlíko?’ whispered Leo in Anna’s ear and she couldn’t help but smile back at him as they heard both of the middle-aged Englishmen in the party voice their disgust at the idea of a pint which was predominantly foam. ‘If I’m paying for a pint I want a pint,’ one of them said, so loudly that his wife gave him an embarrassed poke in the ribs. ‘Colin,’ she hissed.
‘Well, it’s just a gimmick.’
Anna knew it was this rudeness and Agáta’s forced polite smile that made Leo pipe up, ‘Twomlíkoshere, please, Agáta.’
Anna was a little bit proud of him as Agáta shot him a grateful look.
When the beers arrived, so too did a selection of dishes for everyone to try. Colin eyed Leo and Anna’s foam-topped beer with a sneer. ‘Looks like you were cheated there.’
‘Don’t think so,’ said Leo with his usual geniality, tapping his glass against Anna’s. ‘Na zdraví.’
‘Very good,’ said Agáta, her words warm with approval.
‘Tastes lovely and the great thing is, it doesn’t make you feel bloated,’ he announced to the table at large, with an irrepressible grin that prevented it sounding as if he were giving a lecture. ‘We’ve got a full day ahead of us. I don’t want to peak too early.’ He patted his perfectly flat stomach in a comical gesture that had the other woman laughing, although not Colin.
‘This is very typical Czech food,’ explained Agáta, indicating the plates in the centre of the table. She waved a hand in the direction of each, ‘Pork Schnitzel with potato salad, a selection of sausages with mustard, marinated Hermelín cheese, fried cheese with tartare sauce, and this, my friends, is marinated carp with onions, which is a very traditional Czech dish. It’s normally served as a main dish but I wanted you to try it.’
‘Carp,’ hissed Colin to his wife and friends. ‘I’m not trying that. It’s a bottom feeder, disgusting. Any fisherman knows that.’
‘Shh,’ whispered his wife.
Agáta smiled gamely. ‘The carp is kept in fresh water for a few days, which cleans out the mud from the veins. Try it, it’s delicious.’
‘I notice you’re not eating anything,’ said Colin. Anna couldn’t believe his rudeness.
With another of her gracious smiles Agáta said, ‘If I ate with every tour I would be as big as the castle. Have you been there yet?’
Colin’s grunt was audible enough that Leo leaned over the man, took a piece of the fish and onion, put it on his side plate and then forked some up and tasted it. In the spirit of solidarity, though she wasn’t particularly a fish lover, Anna followed suit.
‘Wow, that is really good,’ she said with genuine surprise. ‘I’m not great on fish but that is lovely.’ She smiled at Colin’s wife. ‘You should try it.’
The woman leaned over her husband and took a piece, while he muttered under his breath.
‘Anna, you’ve got to try this cheese,’ said Leo, immediately handing the marinated cheese dish to her, his face lit up with his usual enthusiasm. Being with him made her so much braver and bolder and without a qualm she took a piece of the cheese. She’d barely swallowed the first mouthful before he was asking what she thought. ‘Do you like it?’
‘Yes, it’s really good.’
Agáta chipped in, explaining how the cheese was produced, her eyes lighting up with passion for her subject. Anna envied her that unselfconscious ability to be herself. She was exactly the sort of person Leo was always drawn to. They were like two sides of the same coin. Bright, bubbly and super-confident.
As they sampled their way through the dishes, Leo’s infectious interest spread around the table and soon everyone in their separate groups began to loosen up and share notes and opinions on the different foods. The atmosphere was warmed by good company and beer. Leo handed the plate of carp across the table.
‘Go on, Colin,’ he said, ‘Give it a try. You wouldn’t want to upset our lovely hostess, would you?’ Once again, as Colin’s wife clapped a hand over her mouth, hiding her amusement, Anna reflected on how her ex-husband was such a charmer.
Colin, shaking his head, took the plate, saying, ‘You’re a one and that’s a fact, lad.’ To his credit he took a mouthful and chomped away as everyone watched him.
‘That wasn’t bad at all,’ he announced to a quick round of applause. He took a quick bow. ‘Not sure I’d choose it again, mind.’
From there they moved on down the street to Nase Maso, a very smart butcher’s shop where Agáta explained how the owners worked with specific farmers in the Czech Republic to ensure the best quality meat. ‘They make their own sausages and smoked meats from traditional recipes. We are here to try their famous meatloaf, which is very popular.’
There was no doubting the popularity of the shop as there was a constant queue crowding into the spotless space, with its white-tiled walls and floors and huge, glass cabinets displaying an array of products. Anna had never thought that a butcher’s shop could be so trendy but they’d definitely nailed it here. As she was examining one of the fridges containing a plethora of interesting-looking sauces and broths that made her mouth water and want to cook, Leo leaned down next to her and said, almost as if he’d read her mind, ‘I could buy some of that beef and some of theLokalsauce. We could have it for our dinner.’
‘Sounds like a plan,’ she said, unconsciously echoing him.
‘Love it when a plan comes together.’
As Leo was buying the food, one of the women sighed. ‘This meat looks amazing. We’re staying in a hotel. Are you in an Airbnb?’
Anna explained – and got quite a kick out of it – that she and Leo were living here for several months.
