Just finished a three-day sojourn in Prague - my first visit to what is surely one of Europe's most beautiful cities. Strolling across the Charles Bridge at dusk must be quite romantic, but as usual I was alone and my loved one is many miles away. Still this beautiful city offers much having avoided the demolition that so many Eastern European cities endured in WWII or dismemberment by its former Soviet occupiers. The narrow cobbled streets house a myriad of restaurants, bars and the ubiquitous tacky souvenir shops. The architecture is that wonderful juxtaposition of styles that illustrate a city that has evolved over centuries rather than planned over decades and its inhabitants are a pleasant bunch who have an almost English affinity for their beer which is very good indeed. Prague is a very cosmopolitan city with English heard almost as often as Czech.
Despite being an independent country for only 14 years, since the "Velvet" divorce from Slovakia after 80 years as Czechoslovakia and about 400 as part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Czech's are proud of their beer, ice hockey and football teams. The best bit is that one of the most popular beers is called Budweiser Budvar which has no link whatsoever to the producers of fizzy, brown water in St. Louis. This has been a source of frustration to the much larger, but much younger American company. The real Budweiser has been brewed for centuries initially at the request of the King of Bohemia in 1265 when St. Louis was merely a bend on a river. Having sampled both products all I can say is quality beats quantity every time - so Czech it out!
Posted by: |