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Bob & Sarah Smith (and gang of Fox
& Crown regulars) visit Prague.
A constant stream of waiters travel back and forth with
huge wooden trays held aloft. Some are ferrying empty
glasses back into the dark interior of the pub, some are
weighted down with bowls of goulash and beer cheese, but the
one we are most interested in is the bloke bringing our
order. Eight glasses of dark foaming beer, a black lager
that has been brewed on the site for centuries.
Such was the scene as we sat around a long table in a small
alcove off one of the many courtyards that make up the
labyrinth that is U Fleků. The pub is very famous and
although it is a bit of a tourist trap it is well worth a
visit.
As we sat supping this traditional Prague brew on a warm
sunny April afternoon in this (albeit partially mock)
medieval setting, the real world seemed almost like a
distant memory, and it was with great reluctance that we
left the place a while later.
After we had freshened up back at our very modern hotel, the
eight of us rendezvoused in the lobby and headed off into
the wonderful Old Town section of the city. Our destination
– a back street beer hall who’s name we have all
forgotten – U Vaj….. something or other. |
The previous night we had
finished off our evening’s drinking in the small street
bar of this establishment. Beyond this though, down a wide
flight of stairs, there is a much bigger room and this is
where we found ourselves tonight.
Enthusiastic waiters greeted us and despite the place being
packed to the rafters they managed to seat all of us and we
ordered our evening meals. Now it has to be said that
traditional Czech food leaves a lot to be desired but when
in Rome (or Prague)…
After the meal we were moved to a more comfortable location
in the pub and given our own waiter who looked after us for
the rest of what was a very enjoyable night.
The beer on sale here is a more familiar one to us in the
UK – Pilsner Uquell. For more information visit: http://www.prazdroj.cz/eng/
This site also features other beers that we sampled in
Prague; Gambrinus and Radagast. We finished the night off in
one of our hotel’s bars with a glass of Budvar and planned
the next day. |
One of the
tourist places that we found ourselves at the next day was
Strahov Monastry and while we were waiting for it to open we
explored the surrounding area.
We didn’t have to walk far before we struck gold – black
gold to be precise – a bar called Klášterní Restaurace
A Pivovar, with a micro brewery on site brewing a strong
black lager, St Norbert ( 14ş ). After a couple of large
ones and some beer cheese (an overpowering concoction of
cheese, garlic, herbs and presumably beer that gave you
breath to strip paint with) we were ready for anything.
Unfortunately Saturday night in Prague is full of stag
parties and all the bars all full to bursting so we ended up
back at the hotel for a quiet relaxed drink or six.
Three days were no where near long enough to explore this
beautiful city and Sarah & I at least, hope to return
there one day
Nazdraví!
Jul '02
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