Franconian Beer Message Board
OT: Prague |
| Posted by Barry Taylor on 2019-05-23 07:04:16 |
| Never one to miss the odd OT posting! So, now back home after a great month, first couple of weeks in Franken, then on to Prague. This time, I opted not to stay in Holesovice, not out of any negative reason but, after 3 times, I thought that a change of scenery would be good, so I opted for Vrsovice. I was really lucky that my stay coincided, firstly, with Mark and Dorothy and then with Fred. It was really good to have others to go to the pub with - a plethora of lone sessions can get a bit wearing and all 3 were great company. I'll not attempt to describe all the sessions that we enjoyed - to be honest, I don't remember a lot of them that well! But, to be sure, the beer business in Prague (I didn't get out of town) is certainly booming. As I've remarked elsewhere (FB), there do seem to be a few trends, notably, the growth in availability of ales of various types (IPAs, APAs, etc., etc.), the increase in new venues and, like in the UK, a sort of age line, where the new pubs attract, predominately, the younger set and, the more established bars, perhaps an older age group. However, there were plenty of young people in longer established bars, such as Hostomice Nalevarna, Napalme, U Tunelu, etc., which are among my favourites. A lot of the newer bars seem to follow the UK micropub style - fairly basic and, in the case of Dva Kohouti, decidely industrial. That there's money in this business seems to be indicated by the crowds in the new places and upmarket developments like the one in Karlin (it must have cost a mint to set). Also, there's an increasing tendency in newer places to serve beer in 0,4L pots, which, to my mind, is a rip off, specially when it's not clearly indicated. In addition, the price of beer seems to be creeping up but perhaps those with longer experience of beer in Prague would have views on this matter. A couple of places were selling Faro from Oud Beersel at Kc 40,0,10L - I wonder who would bother to order 0,10L of beer!? As regards my favourites, they remain Hostomice Fabian and Uneticke - as far as I can recall, I only drank one non-lager/pilsner; I've no problem in finding ales of all types in my home town, so really can't see the point in going to Prague to drink them, any more than I would in Franken. But, each to her/his own. Once I got to know Vrsovice, it turned out to be a good venue. The local Bernard bar serves very competent beer, there is a Pilsner Urquell Tankovna place, and a couple of specialised newish bars, including Zupaty Pes, run by a Russian guy and serving a profusion of ales, plus a bottle shop, which Fred hasn't added to the directory yet, but is worth a visit. It takes less than 10 minutes to walk to Krymska are area, which has a profusion of bars and restaurants, mostly worth a visit (get off at Ruska, visit the three bars near the tram stop, then walk up Krymska for the Bad Flash Bar and others before getting back on the tram at Krymska). I went to two Fortuna Premier League football matches - at Bohemians 1905 (tiny run down stadium), who are likely to be relegated, and Slavia (very nice modern all-seat stadium but only about a quarter to third full), who will probably be Champions. I was very unimpressed by the standard of football and find it hard to understand how Slavia gave Chelsea a run for money. But, it was a good experience and certainly indicated the way that Czech football has declined in recent years, while ice hockey has blossomed. So, as usual a lovely experience; I probably rode as many trams in two weeks as some Prague citizens do in a lifetime, though they are incredibly well used and provide excellent coverage and great value for money (especially for us old folks). I've managed to bring quite a few Kcs home with me, which means that I'll have to go again! |
| Followups: |
 OT: Prague by Mark Andersen on 2019-05-23 07:52:34 |
| OT: Prague by Mark Andersen on 2019-05-23 07:53:34 |
| OT: Prague by AndyH on 2019-05-23 08:20:47 |
| OT: Prague by Jason on 2019-05-23 09:03:16 |
| OT: Prague by Barry Taylor on 2019-05-23 13:03:43 |
| OT: Prague by FredW on 2019-05-23 13:15:39 |
| OT: Prague by Mosquit on 2019-05-23 13:38:06 |
| OT: Prague by Barry Taylor on 2019-05-24 04:10:43 |
| OT: Prague by Nick B. (formerly in Erlangen) on 2019-05-26 01:15:45 |
| OT: Prague by pivnizub on 2019-05-29 03:10:38 |
| OT: Prague by Barry Taylor on 2019-05-29 06:14:57 |
| OT: Prague by FredW on 2019-05-29 08:13:14 |
| OT: Prague by pivnizub on 2019-05-29 13:20:57 |