Retired in Rome Journal: Prague’s run to the West was the fleetest of all
But comparing modern Czech Republic to its communist past is like comparing my Rome to the Roman Empire. Czechoslovakia seems that long ago. I had dessert last night at Cafe Savoy, one of the most exclusive restaurants in Prague. It’s where the movers and shakers meet and eat under crystal chandeliers, in booths of gold-wood paneling with white tablecloths. Opened in 1893, the beautifully hand-painted roof was covered for protection in World War I. During Czechoslovakia’s communism era, from 1945-2002, one of the best restaurants in Eastern Europe was a storage area.
I asked my waiter what he remembers of communism.
“Nothing,” he said. “It ended six years before I was born.”
Welcome to the Czech Republic.
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