At the bus station we are met by Peter Berezny, a friend of a friend of a friend who graciously welcomes us, and with whom we stay while in Prague. He and his wife are from Slovakia, with two beautiful adorable little kids (with whom we play lots of music, though only 2 and 4 years old, both of them are impressive percussionists, and even have a got at strumming a guitar and sawing on a fiddle). They live in a suburb of Prague, in an apartment complex of classically Communist construction. They have a cozy little home into which we are warmly welcomed and though truly strangers at first, we all get along really well. They cook great food, especially a Slovakian specialty which consists of balls of dough cook in a cream sauce and served with fresh cream, bits of bacon, and fermented milk. It is delicious (I know it sounds a bit odd, but take my word for it: amazing). The ultimate comfort food.
Staying with Peter and Jane is a wonderful luxury. To be in a strange new city, and yet to have a welcoming home to come back to, is lovely. We sleep blissfully on the fold-out couch, play music with the little girls, and stay up late watching movies that Peter downloads (he is a technological computer wizard, and works in something with a name that I can't even say correctly, let alone understand). The first night Peter takes us out for a drink, and we go to a wonderful little Czech bar called, with rugged stone wall and great, smokey atmosphere. Downstairs a Czech band plays American folk music in Czech (with mixed results I must admit, and they steam steadily downhill as the evening wears on and they consume more alcohol than anyone in their audience). We are joined by a trio of colleagues of Peter's from Texas (it is an international data company) and we have a good time. We realize, over the course of the evening, that we have gotten very good at this, this strange art and science of meeting new people, random strangers with whom you have potentially nothing in common (not age, not home, not background, not lifestyle, not beliefs, not culture) and yet find something to talk about, and end up thick as theives. And it truly is not just the camaraderie that could be found at any drinking establishment. We really are getting to be very interesting people, capable of not only carrying on a conversation, but actually improving it. We are growing up. It is great.