Europhile: C'est ma vie!

Hanging Out at KFC - Local Culture

So you didn’t know it was considered cool to hang out at KFC? Really? Well, I’ll be. It may be that most of these kids have no idea what a Kentucky is, but they can recognize Colonel Sanders and his chicken at a distance of 500 metres. Why is “Ka-Eff-Tsay” so popular here, when elsewhere it has faded into near-obscurity?

a) Czech cuisine by its very nature involves a lot of chicken, a lot of bread, and a lot of frying. You might say it was a match made in Kentucky.

b) Colonel Sanders is a short, hearty man in a white leisure suit. For Czechs having lived under a communist regime, he represents the exotic joie-de-vivre that is America.

c) It is American, and therefore, cool and trendy. And since there are no Starbucks, the honor falls to KFC.

d) The bright red and white tub of chicken rotating atop its pole can be seen for miles. It’s almost as tall as the communist-era television tower that dominates the west of Prague.

According to travel guru Rick Steves, the statue of Saint Wenceslas is a popular meeting point.

“Locals say, ‘I’ll meet you under the horse’s tail.’”

It isn’t true. They meet at KFC.

posted by europhile @ 05:46