Remembrance: The Yellow Potraviny

When I lived in Prague most of my food shopping was done in a potraviny - a small shop with fresh fruits and vegetables and usually a few other staples, such as milk, eggs, bread, and chocolate. They were quite prevalent - for instance there were three on the block of the street that I lived on. I really liked them because they were so convenient and inexpensive. I also really liked that I could pop in and purchase an orange or an apple. I could only pick out the cherries that looked good. Or I could buy a handful of gooseberries or raspberries. It was pretty neat.

When I moved there, it was already dark when I left work to walk home, so it was sometimes hard to see the landmarks that I wasn't completely familiar with. There were several of my colleagues that lived in the same apartment building as me, although we got off at different times and didn't walk together very often. It really was a simple walk - turn right when you walk out of the office building door until you get to Slavikova, turn left on Slavikova, walk to number 14 on the right. However, the street sign was high up on a building facing away from me. To preserve my sanity (as I was walking in the dark in unfamiliar territory) and to help me remember how to get home I made up a song about the landmark that helped me know when to turn - the yellow potraviny - thus named in my mind because the sign was a faded yellow - but it was big and I could see it. When I had walked far enough that I was starting to get worried that I had missed it I would start singing to myself:

We all live near the yellow potraviny, the yellow potraviny, the yellow potraviny
We all live near the yellow potraviny, the yellow potraviny, the yellow potraviny

Thanks to my song, I only missed the turn once - and very quickly realized it! After a month or so, I didn't need the song anymore because I knew where to turn, but it stuck. And even now in a land where the potraviny doesn't exist I still occasionally find myself singing the song in my head as I start the walk home from work.

We all live near the yellow potraviny . . .