Sunday was a free day in Prague. We slept late and then did some poking through the shopping district. We walked through an outdoor market that sold everything from original art to calendars to spices and fresh fruit. John and I then walked through Wenceslas Square, which is now a long shopping area and then north, through the non-tourist part of the New Town (Novo Mesto) section of Prague. Two hours of walking from the hotel--it was time for a beer! We found Novomestsky Pivovar (New Town Brewery). They had a dark amber beer, which was ok at best. The light beer was somewhat cloudy, and every bit as good as the beer at Herold, with unfiltered notes--another true barn, or "farmhouse beer."
Then we went to Pivovarsky Dum, an American-looking brewpub. The brewer has a reputation of trying many different kinds of beer. There were windows into a fermentation room, where you could see the open fermentation vats. The wheat beer was light in flavor and a little watery--too light to be a true wheat. The banana beer--not a hefeweizen--was the same basic beer as the wheat beer--John thought the banana flavor was light, and I thought the flavor was overwhelming. The cherry beer had a VERY light hint of cherry--pefect, but not overwhelming. The almond beer was the same basic beer as the cherry--it resonated with an almond flavor. It would be good with a chocolate dessert, if you didn't want a heavy stout beer. The nettle beer was flowery, but not like a floral hop--more like what you imagine a spring day would taste like. It had a very light, subtle flavor and was the color of a Granny Smith apple.
We walked for another hour or so and had more beer on the rooftop terrace of the U Prince Hotel on Old Town Square. More walking and stopped for a Kozel (made by Pilsner Urquell) at Pizza Coliseum. Kozel is a dark amber beer, with a light fruit taste and great body, mild creaminess with mild hops and malty at the end--more complex than most Czech beers.
In another 20 minutes, we caught up with some group members and had some Krusovice beer at a bar around the corner from the hotel. This place advertises the cheapest beer in Prague, and they are correct! A half liter was less than $1 USD!!
We had a late dinner at a place called U Proveznice, watching a soccer game between two Slovakian teams. There is a story behind the name (which has to do with a rope maker killing his beautiful wife with his own rope).
Monday morning we traveled by bus to Plzen, to visit Pilsner Urqell--the mecca of pilsner beer. The highlight of the tour was a walk through a small portion of their underground storage barrels, and a taste of their unfiltered beer, right out of one of the barrels. What a treat!
Prague is a beautiful city, with lots to see and do. But most of our group was ready to move on to Germany and something less city like--John is more than ready to be done with the Czech currency (koruna) and move on to the Euro system. John is doing a great job of being the professional tour guide. His laid back attitude is perfect for the group!
Dinner Monday night was at Schlenkerla Tavern and was the group's first experience in dealing with non-English speaking servers and a non-English menu. Lots of good rauchbier and pork. I did manage to find the turkey entree and took advantage of the opportunity!
Yesterday (Tuesday) was our first day in Bamberg. We met Mattias Trum, the owner of Schlenkerla Brewery, which has been in operation for 500 years--he is the sixth generation of his family to own/run the brewery, which is named for his great, great grandfather. We had a wonderful tour and were able to taste the Ur-Bock beer, which will not be officially tapped for the public until the first week of October. Unfiltered, right out of the barrel--GREAT!!!
Next, we went to Klosterbrau, a brewery since 1533, and had a brown beer and a schwarz beer at 11:30 am. Then, on to Greifenklau for lunch and more beer. Greifenklau is everything a beer garden could and should be--lots of trees and tables, an amazing view of a castle across the valley................... oh, and good beer! We had some nice lunch discussion with John from Great Britain, who was on holiday and looking forward to early retirement. After lunch, our guide/storyteller, Chris met us and took us through Bamberg and then to the Brewery Museum and, of course, more beer.
Several of us then decided to see how far we could walk and how much beer we could drink before midnight. We went to Spezial and had a light rauch beer (smoked beer) and an ungestpundet, or unbunged (unfiltered lager). Then to Fassla--best lager so far. Then to Keesman for more beer and several orders of pomme frittes (American french fries). And then to Mahrs Brau--a wonderful beer garden and the BEST ungestpundet. Two members of our group had to take a taxi back to the hotel at this point. We were kinder to them than the men of this group were to one member of the group last year, when they called a cab and left Michael on the curb outside, wearing his Bavarian hat.
The walk home was too far to go without nurishment, so we stopped at a pizzaria and had a Maisel pilsner. It was a very long walk home. After another beer and a cigar, it was time for bed.
We slept in late and are looking forward to a day of poking around Bamberg before we leave tomorrow morning.
