I’ve begun to realise how interested I am in Central Europe. I’ve been obsessed with the books of Czech author Milan Kundera for many years, and have published on him, including the article A Big Piece of Nonsense for His Own Pleasure: The Identity of Milan Kundera (48kb PDF), and also enjoy other works, such as Karel Capek‘s War with the Newts.
I also find myself taking every opportunity to eat at restaurants offering Central European food, including Paprika Hussar (Hungarian, sadly closed as of December 2008) and Borsch Vodka and Tears (Polish) in Melbourne, and the Doma Bohemian Beer Cafe (Czech), Una’s (German / Austrian / Swiss) and Lowenbrau (German) in Sydney.
Most recently I had a good meal at the borderline Central Europe Occidental Belgian Beer Cafe on Vulcan Lane in Auckland. Although it’s a chain, the food and service was good, and after a long flight it provided exactly what I needed – great beer and the metre long sausage.
St Petersberg (Russian and Uzbek) in Auckland is also worth a visit.