Eastern Charm

By Chris Sarcletti

Cities: Prague and Budapest

When arriving in a Central European country, it is easy to feel a bit overwhelmed. The difference betweens the Western world of North America, Australia and Western Europe and the so called “East” begin to become quite evident here. Granted, cities like Prague, Budapest and Warsaw are some of the more “Western” Central European cities, but they are still much different from the romantic streets and canals of Paris and Amsterdam that I am used to. Given the fact that many of these countries have broken free from the shackles of communism over the last 10 to 15 years, this is far from a surprise. It takes years for the changes from communism to a free market society to manifest in society and become obvious to those who haven’t actually lived through them. The depressing “project” like apartment buildings are still present and are hard to miss as you move about these large cities. Many of these buildings look like they could use a serious facelift. However, after arriving in areas closer to the city center, your opinions may tend to shift quickly based on what you see. Not only is the architecture in cities like Prague and Budapest impressive, but the stunning pastel colors of many of the buildings is something I have never seen on such a large scale. However, the beauty of these cities stretches far beyond buildings, monuments, city squares and winding streets. In fact, it unquestionably pervades from the women present throughout these towns.

When I think of some of my experiences in this part of the world, it’s hard for me to forget the unassuming innocence I noticed in so many of the women I saw. What the innocence said to me initially is that these women have no idea how magnificent they really are. Is it because every woman is so stunning? As gorgeous as many of the women are, I cannot say that I believe this to be the reason for their behavior. That said, it is refreshing to see women who can make this kind of impression on men without seemingly being overly concerned about how much makeup they are wearing or checking the state of their outfit every few minutes. In my experiences, many of these women were, in my words, “on display as they truly are”. Their beauty and gracefulness was that much more attractive because they didn’t seem to know they had it. That makes quite an impression upon a man, at least on this one it did. Whether I was ducking into a small wine shop on a charming street or eating in a traditional local Hungarian restaurant, I continued to see things pleasing to the eye. You could say that I became an aficionado of these experiences in a very short time.

Once, while enjoying a pastry at a small bakery in Budapest, it became literally impossible for me to take my eyes off of the women working in the bakery. Keep in mind that I do understand and accept the fact that staring is not socially acceptable, but I had no choice. Granted, I don’t understand why three people were working the counter in a place that couldn’t seat more than 12 people, but I am not one to complain. All of these women were tall, 5’7 or 5’8, with reddish brown hair that is tough to come by in the streets of Chicago. They were slender, firm, gorgeous and unassuming. In addition, they had voluptuous, womanly figures; not the ones of someone who has spent too many or much too few hours in the gym. A smile from one of these women as I exited the bakery was all the encouragement I needed to become quite upbeat for the remainder of the day and evening. Given the imaginary state of my love life at that point in time, a smile from a beautiful woman was more than welcome.

On that same evening, we dined at a very special Hungarian restaurant in Budapest called Bagolyvar. In addition to a truly wonderful meal, I had another “inspirational” experience. To start with, this restaurant specializes in Hungarian cuisine and is staffed entirely by hard working women who prepare and cook the food and service the customers. The waitress that worked our table appeared to be in her early to mid 20’s and she was absolutely stunning. She had reddish brown hair, a beautiful complexion and an innocent smile. As was the case earlier in the day, I had much trouble keeping my eyes off of this woman, and as a direct result I managed to spill some wine on the dinner table. While my face wore the look of one who had made a boyish mistake, her laughter made my humility vanish quickly.

These are only a few examples of many. Once, while in Prague, my friend Andy and I were walking in the area of Wenceslas Square when we ran into a gorgeous Czech girl from a suburb outside of Prague. She needed 10 to 15 dollars worth of Koruna to pay for a train ticket home. She said her purse was snatched and by the looks of it, seemed to be telling the truth. Frankly, Andy and I really didn’t care whether she was telling the truth or not. We were just happy to have a bit more interaction with someone so pleasant to look at and talk to. After prolonging the conversation as long as we could, we gave her the money she requested. She insisted on getting our address because she wanted to pay us back. We declined her offer but both lamented that decision later over a beer as we both had grandiose and unrealistic thoughts ruminating through our heads at this point in time about starting a relationship with one of the many gorgeous women who call Prague there home. Maybe we could write her? Maybe she would come visit? I think we both knew that this was not going to happen but it is fun to dream sometimes.

I know I have rambled too much about this topic. If something can be taken from this “story”, it would be to be prepared and eager, when visiting this part of the world, for what you will see an experience. One other thing, keep your eyes open because there is more to see than architecture.