LIBEN reunited




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I seem to be slowly running out of areas to visit so this week I have decided to go back to the beginning when I first started writing the Blog, way back in 2011 at the same time that I started going out with my SVG (sexy vigilant girlfriend) and I found out that I would be a father again. The blog was a bit of fun to begin with and as I looked back at all the posts, it seems that it has grown and evolved along the way and today's post has been on a gradual journey as we have uncovered more secrets in the streets of Prague.

One of the first areas that I covered was Liben, it was the area that I had recently moved to and was a great starting point because as I thought at the time, I didn't have too far to travel but little did I know of the area and little did I know of how much distance would be covered in the process. In the previous blogs it seems that I have unbeknownst to me had 3 posts on the area of Liben but in fact none of them covered the whole area and the first part actually had parts of Vysocany, but back then I used the grids of a city map to carve up the districts but the Prague districts are a lot more complex than my initial simple idea for dividing the many areas of Prague.

In this post we have included the whole area of Liben and this time I went around on my bike and found the trip was a lot quicker and we have a few surprises for you and also a few of the original favourites from the past, so just to refresh your Liben fun facts: Liben in the past, due to the surrounding hills and river valley was a popular destination for all young lovers and still today there are plenty of nice walks nicely hidden behind Liben bridge and towards Holesovice. The famous playwrite Bohumil Hrabal lived here and you can see many wall paintings close to the bus station of Palmovka and a small museum and wine bar that carry his name. A name synonymous with the 2nd World War Reinhard Heydrich was assassinated close to the Bulovka Hospital though it did take him a while to die and from what I read he only died because of his own stubbornness to be treated soon after the attack. There was also a very large Jewish community that lived in Liben and next to the bus station you can see a synagogue which stands as a reminder of this and finally a new piece of information that I discovered thanks to Google translate is the first tram tracks started in Liben so voila.

Review

Finally i managed to go to La Maler in Liben. Previously there used to be an Italian restaurant there so when i saw the new banners advertising a new restaurant i made it my local civic duty to investigate and see whether it would be an improvement or a disappointment to the area which in my neighborhood hopefully would be the former.

I went there with one of my good friends Martin and as it was my recommendation i was hoping that it would be a good decision on my behalf. On arrival it was clear to see that it had a very strong western as in the wild wild western style with lots of wood and large brass lights and antiques scattered around the floor and walls, The style i would call rustic with a capital R, which reminded me a little of a Harvester restaurant which takes me back a good 25 years so i am not sure if they are still around but they were a chain so i imagine that they probably are, that is not to say that this is part of a chain, quite the opposite i think.

When we arrived there were 5 tables already sitting at 19.00 and we sat at the back, so as to have a good look around and see how the other tables were looked after as well. I ordered a small Staropramen and Martin went for a large Stella, looking around i should of noticed that most of the tables were drinking the wine so with hindsight i should of tried the wine, but i wanted to see if it was cold and tasted good, well it tasted ok but could of been colder considering we were the only people drinking beer but when you go to a restaurant the beer is mostly disappointing, no surprises there really. I went for the ribs with a blackcurrant marinade and garlic bread and Martin whose idea it was to come to a restaurant suddenly decided that he wasn't so hungry and chose a side order of mashed potato with spring onion. The food came pretty promptly and the ribs portion was very generous so i gave a couple of them to Martin, because i felt guilty and a little bit to do with the size of the portion and i was a little afraid that i would not be able to eat them all. The ribs were very tasty and tender though i think that they could of trimmed a little bit more of the fat off as there was just a wee bit too much for my liking though it was very soft so my reason was just a health issue and not that it detracted from the quality of the dish.
       I also had a glass of red wine with my ribs, Frankova to be more precise and it was not too bad as   Czech wines go i have to say. The waitress was alone in the restaurant as far as i could see and we were satisfied with the service and tipped accordingly, well Martin did as he kindly paid for the meal and seeing as he only had a small plate of mashed potato, was very generous of him, so thank you very much Martin for a lovely dinner. I also notice a high chair there so i would go there again with my partner and son. They have a very broad selection of dishes from Czech to Italian and South American to Mexican, well in fact it was just from those types of cuisine so it was only geographically broad so to speak.








Restaurants

Curry House
web: www.curryhouse.cz/
review: www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g274707-d1573305-Reviews-Curry_House-Prague_Bohemia.html


Govinda - vegetarian
web: www.govinda.cz/
review: www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g274707-d739434-Reviews-Govinda-Prague_Bohemia.html


Pizzeria Tiamo
web: www.pizzeria-tiamo.cz/
review: www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g274707-d2054432-Reviews-Ti_Amo_Pizzeria_Ristorante-Prague_Bohemia.html


Masarycka
web: www.masarycka.com/
review: www.ceske-hospudky.cz/restaurace/praha/masarycka-18878


Rana
web: www.pakistanirestaurant.cz
review: www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g274707-d798050-r19864378-RANA-Prague_Bohemia.html


Spadla Pec
web: www.spadlapec.cz/


Com Viet - Vietnamese
web: comviet.cz/index.php?sid=52lk3irkrub4fkadk8mms0e813


La Maler
Cihákova 4


Drevak
web: www.palmovka.eu/


Vecerni Skola
web: www.vecerniskola.eu/


Bars & Cafes

Cafe Decada
web: www.decada.cz


Bar Napalme
web: www.napalme.cz


U Jagusky
web: www.jaguska.cz/


Cafe Martin
web: www.a-mano.cz/os-martin/cafe-martin-treninkova-kavarna.html


Vinarna U Hrabala
Na hrázi 11


Knoflik cafe bar
web: www.facebook.com/knoflikcafe


Restaurace u Rokytky
web: www.urokytky.cz/
review: www.pivni-filosof.com/2008/03/those-good-old-days.html


Na Stare Rane
web: www.stararana.cz/


Bar Bohemia Classic
Kandertova 13
web: www.pivobohemiaclassic.cz/osvezovny.html


Pivovar u Bulovky
web: www.pivovarubulovky.cz
review: www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g274707-d1008284-Reviews-Pivovar_u_Bulovky-Prague_Bohemia.html


Places of interest

Domestav - healthy furniture
Sokolovská 364/202


Sportcentrum Palmovka
web: http://scpalmovka.cz/


Children's centre Kulich
web: www.os-kulich.org


Pivni Mozaika
web: www.pivnimozaika.cz/


Madarsky klobasovy dum - Hungarian delicatessen
web: www.klobasovydum.cz/


Lazerfun - laser games
web: www.lazerfunpraha.cz


Mexicali - Mexican delicatessen
web: www.hot-shop.cz


Trafo - art gallery
web: trafacka.cz


Trapper - knives
web: www.trapper.cz


Culinari Atelier - Cooking school
web: www.atelier-culinari.cz


Celiakie - life - Italian gluten-free products
web: www.celiakie-life.cz


Na Korabe - Sports and entertainment facility
web: http://nakorabe.cz/en_main.php?view=1


Cyklosport - Second hand bikes
web: www.cyklovrakoviste.cz

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