“Young soprano Elizabeth Gentner…has a supple, full-bodied voice perhaps better suited for a larger venue, but displayed a confidence and command of comedy unusual in a performer at such an early stage in her career.” ~Kathleen Whalen, Daily Republic Correspondent
Creative Bargaining
Well, Prague is not a place for the faint of heart.
I arrived at the main Prague train station running late for a performance I wanted to attend. I ran by an ATM and got some Czech Koruna, and headed to the taxi stand.
Now, I speak exactly zero Czech. I’ve sung in Czech a few times but that has very little to do with asking for directions in the language…
I walked up to the first cabbie and said “Dvořák Hall” then pointed to the map I had pulled up on my tablet. (Master level communicating, right?)
He just writes down 680 K on a little pad of paper he has with him… Fortunately, I am good at math to figure very quickly that he is asking for over $35 for a 2-3 mile ride….
So, I laughed at him and said no, shook my head and started to walk away.
Right then another cabbie comes running up to me asking “how much, how much?,” in fragmented English
So, I responded “150”
The second cabbie frowned, but nodded. So, I got a quick ride to where I needed to go for $8!
I learned later that this is a modus operandi for cab drivers in eastern Europe. Get a price before you get in! Buyer beware!
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