APRIL 10 - Cesky Krumlov

We have all heard that variety is the spice of life, and the small town of Cesky Krumlov provided the perfect seasoning after a hearty spread of big city travels (Tallinn was supposed to provide a similar change-of-pace earlier in the trip, but you may recall that Mother Nature felt it wise to keep us snowed in). Tucked into a hilly valley about 2.5 hours south of Prague by bus, Krumlov is a picturesque village straight out of a fairy tale. Perched above the town, a castle and lookout tower sit atop a rocky crag, while the streets below weave along an 'S' shaped bend in the Vlatva River. Just stepping foot in Krumlov will take you back a few centuries. A tour of the castle and a climb up the tower are pretty much obligatory on any visit to Krumlov, while the other 'sights' are largely limited to the cathedral and a few various museums. But the real draw in Krumlov is the village itself. Just walking the streets will transport you back to a time centuries ago. Three pedestrian bridges cross the river, and by foot, the entire town is walkable in an afternoon. In fact, you are likely to run into the same groups of tourists over and over again, since the small number of streets eventually will wind you back to one another. The streets are lined with shops, tea houses, bars, and restaurants, many with seating on the banks of the Vlatva. The shop owners and waiters were largely friendly (though I'm sure their patience can understandably run thin during the summer months, when the town is famously over-run by tour groups). In contrast to our frenetically-paced previous stops, Krumlov was simply a great place for a leisurely stroll. Adding to the relaxation was our stay at Krumlov House. Carolyn, who runs the hostel with her husband, is an ex-pat who fell in love with Krumlov on a backpacking trip.... and she couldn't bring herself to leave. Her hospitality and insight were very comforting, and it is obvious that she genuinely cares about her guests and her town. She took time to show us her favorite restaurants on the map, and she walked us to our cottage, which was complete with a private backyard and patio on the river and our own kitchen. Not only was this the nicest room of our trip, it was also the cheapest. Speaking of cheap, the value of the US Dollar still goes a long way in the Czech Republic, especially outside of Prague. Shopping, eating, drinking, accommodations, transportation, everything was well-priced (here is to hoping the Czech Republic does not convert over to the Euro anytime soon).


And after our eating binge in Prague, you would think we would need a detox, but the food and drink in Krumlov wouldn't allow for it. Everything we ate and drank was fantastic. Krumlov's local brewery, Eggenberg, provided fantastic beer, and the cocktails at Apotheke were unique, innovative, and delicious. We tried a Czech twist on the mojito, made with honey, lime, mint, balsamic vinegar, Italian liqieur, and stout beer. It may sound odd, but we ordered a second round and took careful note of the ingredients and process so we can try to make this drink when we get home. We also had a run-in with absinthe, which can only be described as highly combustable with a strong taste of ethanol and a hint of lighter fluid. If you like rubbing alcohol or headaches, this drink is for you. 



We ate dinner at Krcma v Satlavske, another medieval style restaurant, where massive portions of pork knee are cooked over a firepit in the center of the restaurant. Squeemish vegetarians beware.


    


And then there were the blueberry stuffed dumplings. Forget what I said about the orange tart in St. Petersburg. This dumpling, served at Na Louizi - a tiny Czech bistro, is unequivocally the most amazing dessert we have ever had. The dumplings were perfectly doughy and moist, and the blueberries were juicy and sweet. When we cut into the first dumpling, it let out a decadent sound (which I didn't even know existed)... a moist, suctioned, squish of the juicy blueberries gasping for oxygen, being released from the air-tight dumpling. In 24 hours, we went to Na Louzi twice, and someday, I vow to make another pilgrimage to Krumov... if only for the blueberry dumpling.


First trip to Na Louzi (lunch - including the dumpling above):

Second trip to Na Louzi (breakfast before leaving Krumlov: two fist-sized dumplings and a pork/kraut omelet.... all for an outrageous $6.00):


     If you are ever in Bohemia, I strongly urge you to go to Krumlov, stay with Carolyn at Krumlov House, and please please please bring back a blueberry dumpling for me. Krumlov recharged our batteries, and we followed it up with an impressive travel day: Breakfast (blueberry dumplings, of course) in Cesky Krumlov... Bus ride ($7)... Lunch (Easter street market, again) in Prague... Metro ($1) to airport.... Flight ($27) on Easyjet... Bus ($12)... Metro ($2)... In time for dinner (Shawarma) in Paris. Gotta love cheap European transportation. So we are ready to tackle Paris and London before we head home. It is sad to see our Easy Go backpacks getting empty, but our light packs have left us with loads of memories. And here are the latest mileage figures: April 10 Walked - 8.15 miles Total walked - 152.48 miles April 11 Walked - 8.50 miles Total walked - 160.98 miles

APRIL 8-9 - Prague

The medieval spires of Tyn Church rise high above Prague's Stare Mesto (Old Town) Square. Inside the church resides the grave of astronomer Tycho Brahe, who was buried there following his rather unfortunate death in 1601. Tycho was dining with the Bohemian emperor, but it was apparently improper to excuse yourself from the table in the Emperor's presence. Full of food and beer, Tycho followed protocol and refused to leave the table to use the facilities.... until his bladder exploded, killing him instantly. I must admit, I'm glad we left Prague when we did. Otherwise, I may very well have been a victim to the same fate as Tycho. Here is the Cliffnotes version of what you are about to read below: Prague was 48 hours of unabated gluttony.

Our time in Prague overlapped with the Easter holiday, and the city was holding an Easter Fair throughout the week. In the Old Town Square, dozens of kiosks were set up for crafts, a petting zoo, and dozens of street vendors selling sausage, fried cheese, freshly-made potato chips, crepes, trdlnik (a hollow pastry dooked over a hot coals), dumpling casserole, garlic cheese fry bread, chicken skewers, roasted nuts, chocolate dipped fruits... and we managed to sample it all... and now my body hates me. To help you visualize, here is a montage of each dish we ate at the street fair during our stay:

When we weren't busy eating the street food, we were likely in one of Prague's fine pubs. Czech beer is some of the most delicious in the world, and a half liter costs anywhere from $1-$3, depending on how far from the touristy city center you journey. 48 hours.... I lost count after my 7th liter. A few of the pub highlights:

 U Fleku is Prague's oldest brewery, dating back to 1499. They serve one kind of beer only - their own dark lager, which unfortunately cannot be purchased anywhere outside of the brewery. In a country known for fantastic beer, this brew stood head and shoulders above the rest. And the way they serve it is genius... since there is only one type available, the 'beer waiter' (different from your 'food waiter') walks around with huge trays of beer and just sets a new one in front of you as soon as he sees your last glass is empty. If you don't turn the beer down, he puts a hash mark on the bottom of a sheet of paper sitting next to you... this acts as your running beer tally. When you are done, you hand the paper over and anyone can ring up your bill. Throw in a wandering accordion player, multiple rooms surrounding a beer garden, great food (side orders of dumplings and kraut was cheap and a great compliment to the beer), and communal tables where you become friends with everyone sitting around you, and this place has the perfect formula for hours of a fantastic time.

 

Pivovarsky Dum is a brewery and gastropub known for brewing interesting flavors of beers. Their fantastic traditional Czech beer has a strong flavor of grain and barley, not at all hoppy. And we had to try some of the unique brews - the Coffee beer smelled like a fresh cup of joe and went down smooth. The Sour Cherry beer was surprisingly enjoyable, too. I'm not one for fruity beers, but this one was just subtly sweet, making it a light, refreshing change of pace. We will have to go back one day soon to try the Nettle, Vanilla, and Banana beers.

Klasterni Pivovar Strahov is a monastic brewery, sitting in the shadows of an impressive Cathedral. They don't brew traditional Czech style beers, but their Unfiltered Amber, Unfiltered Dark Lager, and the season Easter Brew were all tasty.

Vlarna u Sudu and Nebe Kremencova are both traditional Czech cellar pubs, each serving some combination of the well-known macrobrews: Pilsner Urquell, Krusovice, Kozel, and the real Budweiser (Budvar). Dark, rustic, and smoky, these bars provide a uniquely Czech experience.

The infamous meat platter at U Sadlu

And I must pay hommage to dinner at U Sadlu... every trip to Prague requires a stop at this medieval-style restaurant. It is just outside the city center, so it is not as touristy or expensive as some other medieval-style establishments. The first joy of U Sadlu is reading the menu - the names of the dishes are translated directly from Czech, so you get some interesting titles, such as: Dishes from the Water Realm, Soup from Boiling Pot, Cold and Warm Treasures, and (my favorite) Meat of Apocalyptic Piglet. U Sadlu is well known for the gigantic platter, apparently designed for two very hungry people - duck, chicken, ribs, pork, potato dumplings, bread dumplings, speck dumplings, red kraut, white kraut, creamed spinach, veggies, mustard, and horseradish. Throw in another liter or two of Budweiser and some garlic soup, and you can imagine, I was ready to pass out on the table by the end of the meal.

U Sadlu - the damage

U Sadlu - the aftermath

Yes, we managed to do some cultural activities while in Prague. We climbed the hill to Prague Castle, watched the performers on the 8th century Charles Bridge, scoped out the Jewish Quarter, and walked for miles along the River Vlatva. In fact, we managed to walk 25 miles in Prague (albeit mostly between bars and restaurants). But Prague was all about eating, and like Tycho, the consumption almost killed me.

Bad memories

I must say, this gluttonous trip was much more enjoyable than my last trip to Prague. Summer 2005 - it was the first night that my law school classmates (Lucas & Emily) and I were together in Europe, so naturally, we wanted to spend a night out on the town. We went to Central Europe's largest dance club, a 5-story meat-market next to the Charles Bridge. Despite being a few drinks deep, I remember standing in a circle with Lucas, Emily, and Lucas' sister & friend, all singing and dancing to Gangster's Paradise, when I felt a blow to my face... I thought someone had thrown a bottle, but apparently, some dude had sucker punchd me, cutting me just above my left eye. I wasn't sure what had happened, but I look down and saw the blood gushing off my face and onto my shirt, jeans, shoes. Security immediately grabbed me and pulled me off the dance floor, shoving me into a dimly lit bathroom, where they handed me a cocktail napkin for the gushing wound. The napkin was saturated in about 3 seconds. They then hand me a couple piece of toilet paper, pulled me out of the bathroom, down a flight of stairs, and they pushed me out the front door onto the sidewalk. I didn't know if my friends knew where I was or what had even happened. I then found a British guy out on the street, who had also fallen victim to the same serial sucker-puncher (British guy's front tooth got knocked out). Then, Lucas came out the door in a rage, because the same guy sucker punched him in the jaw. Emily followed outside, all of us reunited. I asked for some ice to help stop the swelling, and the generous bouncer gave me one cube. As a bunch of first year law students, we were intent on seeing that justice was served. We told the bouncers that we wanted the police called, but they told us that they would tell the police that we caused the fight... scrap that plan. After several more minutes of talking with the bouncers, Emily finally sweet talked one into spilling some info. They had caught the puncher and they "took care if it". Pressing a little more, the bouncer directed us to the alley behind the club, where we found the perpetrator lying on the concrete in far worse shape than any of us. I probably should have gone to the hospital for some stitches, but I was slightly afraid that a Czech hospital at 2am could lead to some sort of unnecessary amputation. Instead, I bandaided up and the cut and black eye eventually healed.

Fortunately, no punches were thrown this year. I lived to tell about the punch in 2005, and I lived to tell about the gluttony this year. Time to move on to Cesky Krumlov, but I'm excited to one day return to Prague for another test of survival. I'm just elated because my bladder is still in one piece. April 8 Walked - 13.16 Total walked - 132.14 April 9 Walked - 12.19 Total walked - 144.33

The Charles Bridge crossing the Vlatva

U Fleku

Klub Architektu, another cavernous restaurant with delicious food, such as: