Thursday, June 14
Now that we’ve decided that we don’t universally hate beer we chose to take a tour of the Staropramen Brewery. We made an online reservation for 1:00 pm. We searched their website and the Internet in general for information regarding how much it would cost but couldn’t find any. We concluded it was free.
As we walked along we ran into an interesting site – The Memorial to the Victims of Communism. It’s a series of sculptures along the bottom of Petrin Hill. There is an inscription that reads…
The Memorial to the Victims of Communism is dedicated to all victims, not only those who were jailed or executed but also those whose lives were ruined by totalitarian despotism.
The inscription is pointed yet moving and the sculptures are very evocative. We liked it very much.
(The Memorial to the Victims of Communism)
All the countries we’ve been in recently seem to have very different perspectives about the countries that occupied their territories: The Bulgarians hated the Turks, were initially friendly with the Nazis and got along well with the Soviets. The Hungarians had few issues with the Turks, liked the Habsburgs and despised the Nazis and the Soviets. The Czechs have nothing to say about the Turks and hated the Habsburgs, Nazis and the Soviets. We find that very interesting.
We finally found the “staircase” down Petrin Hill just a few yards from the memorial. It’s not a staircase at all. It’s a section of crenelated wall that was likely a part of the old city’s fortifications. What we thought were stairs was the parapet that runs along the top. From a distance it really does look like a staircase. It appears that we won’t be able to climb that one.
When we arrived at the brewery’s visitor center we were asked if we wanted to purchase a beer tasting along with the price of our ticket. The tour was not free nor were there going to be any free samples. We had some thoughts about leaving but decided to bite the bullet and paid for the tour and the tasting. Total cost: $12.14. It gets worse.
The “tour” turned out to be a series of short films about the history of the brewery. Automated lights prompted us from room to room where we saw recreations of the brewmaster’s office, the brewmaster’s lab, a fermentation room and a bottling plant. When we entered the fermentation room we thought we smelled something familiar. After the narrator directed us to smell the hops we finally identified the smell – it smelled like our dogs’ ears when they had ear infections. First skunks and now ear infections. Remind us why people like beer again?
There was no guide, very little interesting information and no one to answer any questions. We never even got to see the actual factory. It was all very disappointing.
The “tour” ended in a pub/tasting room where we sampled four different brews. We decided to order some food; we didn’t want to drink all that beer on an empty stomach. Deborah ordered a pickled cheese plate and I ordered some goulash (the food was very good). The four beers were premium (a blond beer), an unfiltered premium, granat (a semi-dark lager) and a dark lager. We both favored the taste of the granat which, at 4.8%, had the highest alcohol content. The brews were good but the brewery left us with a sour taste.
(Beer Tasting)
On the way home we found another Italian salumeria. We bought several cheeses, some spicy salami and a loaf of bread. The prices were much more reasonable than the salumeria we visited last week and the cheeses were much better quality. We’ll definitely go back there again.
Still hungry we ventured into Ellory Café, a chocolate shop that advertised fondue. It was one of those artisanal places. You could see them making the chocolate right in front of your eyes. The smell was overwhelming. We should have split one but we ordered two fondues. Typically you run out of chocolate well before you run out of things to dip. Not in this case. After we finished dipping the fruits and cookies we got two spoons and just ladled the rest into our mouths. Did we forget to mention that it was wonderful?
Distance walked: 4.7 miles
Friday, June 15
This morning we went to the Old Town Hall in the Old Town Square. The building was established in 1338 and is Prague’s oldest town hall. For hundreds of years it was the seat of government, where the king held court and where the assembly met. The building also includes a chapel, a municipal hall and council hall.
The building was constructed on top of five ancient houses that were built in the Gothic and Romanesque styles. They now form the cellar of the Town Hall. At one time the cellars were used as a prison for people awaiting execution. During World War II the cellars were used as a field hospital for the resistance movement. Our tour included a visit to these sights.
In 1410 an astronomical clock was installed at the top of the tower, which in it’s day, was the highest tower in Prague. It has dials that represent the position of the sun and the moon. Today it is the oldest functioning astronomical clock in the world. Every hour all twelve apostles appear through mechanically operated doors. We didn’t get to see the clock in action as it’s undergoing maintenance. In it’s place there is an hourly projection showing the operation of the clock. It’s said to be one of the most underwhelming sights in Town.
(Ceiling Mosaic – Main Vestibule)
We climbed to the observation desk on top of the tower by a series of sloping ramps. It was a clear day and the view was excellent. We took quite a few pictures of Prague Castle, Old Town Square and the surrounding areas.
For lunch we went to the Choco Café. It’s supposed to have some of the best hot chocolate in Town. European hot chocolate is very different from what we are used to. It’s thick and rich and has a consistency similar to warm pudding. Imagine melting a chocolate bar into a cup with a little milk. We tried the dark and the milk chocolate varieties and consumed them with a slice of quiche and a caprese bruschetta. Yeah, it was that good.
(Hot Chocolate)
Distance walked: 5.5 miles