Archive for May, 2007
Trip Log: Czech Republic
May 3rd, 2007Time for another trip. We are now in the Czech Republic, staying mostly in Prague. Since this country is the birthplace of beer, this online journal will be centered around beer. So expect lots of entries about the beers we try and the breweries we visit.
But just to show you we’re doing some normal activities, here is a picture of us early in the morning on the famous Charles Bridge (6am, before it fills with people). It was very cold, which is why we look so stiff!
Trip Log: Czech Republic 2
May 5th, 2007We took a choppy 3-hour bus ride to the city of Ceske Budejovice to visit the Budweiser Budvar brewery. The Czech Republic is most proud of this brewery as it was the country’s first beer — and if their name sounds familiar, it’s because of the American beer with the same name. The Czech Budweiser claims they were the first company, and the Americans claims theirs was first. The two companies are still locked up in trademark disputes (however, I suspect the Czechs were first…but what do I know.)
Trip Log: Czech Republic 3
May 9th, 2007Fooball (aka, soccer) — Europe’s favorite sport. We decided to experience the action of a match first-hand, so we went to see AC Sparta Praha play (AC Sparta Praha is usually the top-ranked team in the Czech Republic). A short metro ride took us to the Toyota Arena where, to our amazement, we found out the match wasn’t sold out. Two tickets cost us only $9 (American dollars)!
Trip Log: Budapest
May 10th, 2007Budapest — the capital of Hungary (in case you didn’t know). It is equally pretty as Prague but without the tourists and huge crowds. Most people don’t know that it is made up of two sections, Buda and Pest — each formerly independent cities on their own — separated by the Danube River. On our first day in Budapest, we took a boat ride on the Danube both to relax and see the best parts of the city.
Trip Log: Budapest 2
May 11th, 2007Budapest is apparently the food capital of Central Europe, and with tasty dishes like veal stew it is easy to see why. Something else they are famous for is palinka, a traditional fruit brandy that is very flavorful and strong.
I only know this because our last night in Budapest we were taken to dinner by friends of friends, who live there. As a sort of appertif (pre-meal drink) our friends recommended we each drink palinka, and we did — Ricky had apricot and I had plum. Even though the drink was very strong, neither of us tasted any alcohol. Here are some photos of the event.
Before (with an apricot in Ricky’s glass and a plum in mine):
Trip Log: Czech Republic 4
May 15th, 2007As our final hurrah in Prague, Ricky and I wanted a beer at the Golden Tiger. That name is the translated version of its Czech name (U Zlateho Tygra), and this pub is well-known for being one of the few very traditional pubs still in Prague; in fact, then-President Havel (of Czech Republic) brought Bill Clinton here in 1994 to show him what a true Czech pub was like.
By the Numbers
May 24th, 2007Here are some stats regarding my last few weeks of traveling.
Overall:
- Number of countries visited: 5
- Number of new continents visited: 1
- Number of new passport stamps: 18
Czech Republic:
- Total number of beers we had: 64
- Total liters of beer we drank: 20
- Unique types of beer we drank: 25
- Number of new beers we tried: 22
Not too bad…
List of Beers in Czech Republic
May 24th, 2007The last post made me want to list all the different beers we drank on the trip, starting with the first beer in the San Francisco Airport — Sam Adams. Here is the full list:
- Sam Adams
- Boddindgton
- Carling
- Pilsner Urquell
- Velkopopovicky Kozel
- Budweiser Budvar
- Gambrinus
- Stella Artois
- Staropramen
- Staropramen Dark
- Pivovarsky India Pale Ale
- Stepan Svelty
- Pivovarsky Master 18
- Primator Weizen
- Krusovice
- Singha
- Pivovarsky Klasiky Lezak
- Pivovarsky Banana
- Pivovarsky Sour Cherry
- Pivovarsky Koffee
- Pivovarsky Nettle
- Pivovarsky Blueberry
- Kozel Dark
- Dreher
- Kaiser