If you go down to the woods today...

Today was a bit of a magical mystery tour as we had no idea where we were headed. Our destination was Allariz, a town in the province of Ourense. We parked at a campsite and loaded our gear on to a 4x4. We headed off on the 10 minute walk along a heavily wooded riverbank, quite idyllic, picturesque and totally isolated. Our lodging was to be a converted mill with all mod-cons well, except Internet, TV and a very limited phone coverage.  No probs. We unpacked and set up for a late lunch. As there is a high risk of forest fire and this part of Spain is notorious for them, Xose wisely vetoed my idea for a Bar-B. We had an electric grill, marinaded slabs of steaks, I’d love to see the animal they came from. We also had ‘Patacas con Grelos’ prepared by Sebas, this is a local dish and any Irish person would immediately identify boiled spuds and cabbage though Grelos are similar, they have a much more delicate taste and it grows as individual leaves – actually not like cabbage at all.  All this was washed down with a selection of wine from Laguardia, there is method to the madness. It was time to go on a photo-shoot as the sun was going down and the light coming through the trees was splendid. It’s also the time of day when all sorts of flying creature make an appearance and being beside a river the effect was multiplied. We had dinner inside and finished off the rest of the food and wine. All this fresh air and good food can be very tiring and although the boys were settling in for a traditional evening of ‘tertulia’ beside an open fireplace, yes, we lit a fire in the house! 40ºC in Madrid and I sleep with two blankets. Nothing left to do the next day except clean up, pack up say our goodbyes and head back to Madrid. A footnote to this was when we got back to the campsite, part of the reception office had collapsed, not in a very dramatic way you understand but enough to excite the local constabulary and the locals. Some masonry had fallen on Xose’s car and chipped the windscreen, we left them to the form filling.

A 'rest' day in Santiago

Today was a rest/sightseeing day. I took off around town and spent a pleasurable time visiting the sights; the food market, the cathedral, all the little narrow streets, hidden corners and squares as well as dispatch the obligatory postcards. I also managed to re-trace last night’s steps and visited some of the bars in daylight hours. I also made it to Sebas’ bar – ‘O’Ponte’, it’s a bit off the beaten track but well-worth the visit for the amenable host and he also has a weekly jazz session. I lurched home.

Renewing acquaintances in Santiago

Next stop was Santiago de Compostela, a truly magical city. I’ve been here before, the last time as a pilgrim on the ‘Camino’. Willy worked here for over a year and has a network of very interesting friends some of whom I’ve got to know over the years and it is always helpful to have an inside track on the local gossip. Our hosts were Xose, his charming partner Rocio, and man-about-town, bar owner, musician, actor and above all, ‘Galego hasta la medula’, Sebas. Time for a trip around town, bar hopping between showers. First stop was Plaza do Obradoiro in front of the cathedral, this is where all the pilgrims end up. We ended up in a series of bars all ‘round town, I recommend ‘O’Beiro’ for the fine selection of wines and tapas, ‘Derby’ for pure classic café atmosphere and wonderful beers, ‘Bar Tolo’ as a late-night venue, great music and for my money, better décor than ‘Morticia’ in the previous post. It also afforded me the opportunity to prove, yet again, how inept I am at ‘Futbolín’. We also had the local tapas; Octopus, ‘Tigres’(Mussells in a hot sauce), ‘Queso Tetilla’. Then, Sebas, Willy and myself ended up in a great place with a charming barmaid who I knew in another life. We ambled home for the sleep of the just.

Following the Camino

Today’s was a very long drive, made even longer by road works. We followed the ‘Camino de Santiago’ by and large so I’ve seen what’s in store for me when I come to do these sections. At Astorga, we left the main road and followed the Camino over one of its higher points – El Cruz de Ferro beside El Acebo, another interesting visit is to the town of Compludo, buried deep down in a valley. It has a water-powered forge but has only been open once out of the three times I’ve been there. Next stop was Molinaseca where some neighbours from Madrid are from, well, Juanco the husband is. The town was buzzing with holiday makers, a wedding, and the ‘returnees’. The local wine is called ‘Clarete’ so we had to have a sample of that. Our destination was Ponferrada, the capital of the ‘Bierzo’ region of Leon, once an important industrial and mining town, unfortunately this has all gone and given the current economic situation, things are bleak. Our hotel was ‘Hotel Temple’, close to the centre and the railway station. It’s a curious mixture of mock-medieval mixed with 70’s design. Lots of chains, swords, and suits of armour all tastefully designed to look like something out of an José Luis López Vazquez farce. The bar is noteworthy as an American low-bar. It’s a ten minute walk up to the old-town, right beside the impressive Templar castle. Juan Carlos and his wife Misa brought us to a local bar – no tourist would find it – called ‘El Bodegon’, this Spanish word means wine cellar or a still-life painting. This place was anything but a still-life. It was packed with locals all tucking in to the variety of tapas of which they were only three types; a special Patatas Bravas, Calamar, and Mussels. Then off for a little tour around the town and to visit some places that Willy had earmarked for attention, first off was the ‘Tiki bar’ with excellent R n’ R in a Hawaiian setting, very typical of the region. Final halt was ‘Morticia’, one of the famous late night stops in town. As the name suggests it’s motif is Hollywood B-movie (and not so) Horror. The music, once again, was excellent. We bade farewell to our hosts and returned to our particular B-movie, mock medieval, retro mansion.

A winehouse sort of day

Got up early to try out some new photo gear and a few ideas that I’ve been reading about. This digital photography lark is a bit more complicated than I thought. We drove to Elciego, a short distance, to see the Frank Gehry hotel in the Marques de Riscal winery. We visited the installations and it’s well worth the visit. This is wine-production on a grand scale with warehouses and cellars crammed with fermentation tanks, Barrels where the wine is being aged and racks of bottles waiting to be released on to the market. We went back to our hotel for a visit to their installation. The modern winery is being upgraded so the charming Elena took us around the old winery under the hotel. Not as impressive as Marques de Riscal but what was lacking there was more than made up for by the wine tasting hosted by Elena. We tried some wonderful wines from this producer; Bodegas Palacios and had a chatting and putting the world to right, as you do with a glass of class wine and good company. Time for a serious visit to the town. Our intention was to go wine tasting and trying out the variety of ‘Pintxos’ on offer. A few notable bars were visited, among them the cellars of ‘Los Pajares’ hotel. The waitress was superb and recommended several wines as well as other bars in town, ‘El Bodegón’ and ‘El Pórtico’ among them. We completed one circuit of nearly every bar in town and then started again, by this time we were making a few friends around town, Tomás in ‘El Pórtico’ being one. We started a third circuit but called it a day – a very successful day at that.

An Enological encounter

For various reasons, Willy and myself are heading off on another brief road-trip. This time in Spain and focussing on wine and food, strangely enough. Our first port of call was a town called Laguardia in La Rioja Alavesa. That’s the Basque part of La Rioja wine region. After a tortuous escape from Madrid we finally entered the Province of Logroño via the Puerto de Piqueras and the spectacular canyon that is Viguera. Straight through and on to Laguardia where we checked in to our hotel, in a vineyard. In fact the hotel is the old winery. A small and very personal hotel and we were shown to our room, the best one in the house, therein lies a story but I’ll tell you when I see you. It’s a ten-minute hike uphill to get to the town but well-worth it. This is serious wine territory and everything is local – no dud or dodgy stuff here. I don’t really know a lot about wines, colour of the label and price are my criteria, but I’m willing to learn. The Essex Youth Orchestra was in town, playing in one of the churches, Essex girls playing the flute – love it. Back down to the hotel for a slap-up meal. Apart from producing great wine, the local produce is also top-class and, we were invited to a bottle of the special House reserve. Happy days.

Day 12, Do the maths - I added an extra day. Munich to Madrid and what the event cost.

Another wicked breakfast in Schmausefalle and back up to clean up and pack. The receptionist obliged us by ordering a taxi to catch the Airport shuttle from the Space-Station that is the Hauptbahnhof. Checked in and time for a ‘Currywurst’ at Smokey Joe’s a curious mix of an American Dreamliner caravan with wings and a Pratt and Whitney motor attached to the front. I evilly ordered the hottest sausage available. The rest is history. Lufthansa brought us safely back to Madrid (free beers) and in jig-time we were skulling pints at ‘The Lock Inn’ and I carried on to the Moustache competition at O’Donnell’s, where I came 3rd.


The Bill;

We flew by Lufthansa – one of the last remaining classic airlines, the other being KLM well, in Europe.

The car came from Sixt and was a brand-new VW Golf Diesel with GPS

Hotels were booked through www.booking.com, www.expedia.com and through local tourist offices, and were about 75€ for a double room, breakfast extra, booking.com only handle rooms.

Total cost per person – 2,000€ with all the sausages and beer you can eat and drink.

Day 11, Rest day in Munich, time for beers, postcards, museums, steaks and mackeral and beers and a sausage

This is what I call a rest day, no driving or travelling and we don’t have to check out of the hotel. Willy has gone to explore the museums and I chill out in the hotel after a great breakfast with possibly the best scrambled egg I have ever tasted, well since I used to holiday in my Grandparent’s farm. Ablutions were dealt with and it was time to write postcards so I went to the bar attached to the hotel, though not really. Schmausefalle is a well-run restaurant which is obviously very popular as it was packed with the lunch crowd, www.kleineschmausefalle.de. Three glasses of beer and 31 postcards later, I’m ready to take on the town. I didn’t get far as my route into the centre took me past the Deutsches Museum, a science museum par excellence http://www.deutsches-museum.de/ and I couldn’t resist a visit to oogle over aeroplanes, boats, steam engines, and I have to go back. Time was tight and I had to move on. I threaded my way up through town, stopping at a few local bars, finding the post-office, and finally meeting up with Willy back at the ‘Augustiner’ for beers and people-watching. An incongruity of this town is the amount of Muslim women walking around in various stages of sartorial hijab in a town that worships beer and sausages.


We headed back via the Viktualienplatz a great open-air food market with bars and terrazas attached, it does close down a bit early but we hit ’Nordsee’ for some lobster and smoked mackerel, my favourite fish in the Galaxy. The wine was a bit of a rip-off but the food was top class. We went back to the hotel restaurant the afore-mentioned Schmausefalle for one of the best steaks I’ve had in months that, coupled with the local Spatenbrau and liqueurs, sent this happy camper off to bed, very happy.

Day 10a - The Hofbrauhaus tapes

A little of what you fancy does you good. The Hofbrauhaus on a Thursday night.

Day 10 Disneyland, in more ways than one.

The dining-room in the Ludwigshof is tiny and communal, Willy and myself made quite an impression and scared all of the children away. Most families took their breakfasts to their rooms which was ok by me. Our next stop required a loop back through Austria and more picture-postcard, Heidi-like, train-set scenery, really beautiful and we had good weather for it. As we re-entered Germany and approached our target, I spotted it through the trees and started to crack up. Willy asked ‘Why the joviality?’, ‘Just you wait’, I replied.


Neuschwanstein is the castle used as the model for Disney, it was built in the middle of the 19th Century in a mock Medieval style but today it was encased in scaffolding and draped in tarpaulin – not great. Not great also was the fact that there were thousands of people there, hundreds queuing for entrance tickets, toilets, horse and carriage rides, sausages, you name it, there was a queue. By unanimous verdict we vetoed the visit to the supposed castle/building-site and queued for beer and sausages instead.

Straight back to Munich and our final hotel the ‘Golden Leaf’ on Mariahilfplatz http://www.golden-leaf-hotel.de/. Very pleasant but the only other hotel on the whole trip to want to charge for wifi, and both in Munich. The staff were great and pointed out that the wifi was a rip-off but that’s what head-office says. Time to hand our car (a brand-new VW Golf Diesel) and say goodbye to Betty our trusty GPS, we might have had our differences and I might have shouted at her but we grew very close, Betty and I.

The drop-off for the car was the Hauptbanhof, one of the great railway stations of the world and we walked back down to the Marienplatz, the centre of town.We stopped off at ‘Augustiner’ on Neuhauserstrasse http://www.augustiner-restaurant.com/, what a mega-bar, it just goes on and on.

One of the high points of the trip has to be the visit to the Hofbrauhaus, http://www.hofbraeuhaus.de/ The Number 1 Beerhall in the World and one of my top 5 bars that I have ever been to ( there is still no Number 1). The atmosphere is amazing, it must be on top of a lay-line or in the electro-magnetic pulse from another Galaxy. Both locals and tourists mix together to enjoy the great beer, the wonderful food, the Ooompah Bavarian Band, and the shop (hehehehe). We had the full 1 Litre ‘Stein’ of beer as well as a selection of sausages, washed down with, oh, another beer. The great thing, for the owners, is having a shop on the way out. After such a good time you just want to keep on shopping so, I am suitably attired and equipped with Hofbrauhaus merchandising for the foreseeable future. We started walking back to the hotel but our instructions were a tad askew and we ended up asking for directions and the very obliging couple brought us in their car, straight to the door. Wonderful, or Wundershoenlich as I have invented.

Day 9 Where Eagles Dare

Wonderful breakfast in the hotel, more of those great sausages, so it wasn’t a one-off last night, they do the wurst business here. A quick hop across the border and we’re back in Germany again, this time to go to Berchesgaten and more specifically, to the Kehlsteinhaus or Eagle’s Nest as it is known. This was a 50^th birthday present to Hitler and the idea of Martin Bormann. It was used for receptions and formal dinners, the fireplace that Mussolini presented is still in situ. You arrive to a visitor’s centre with the interpretive museum, you get the bus ticket and it’s a 20 minute ride along winding alpine road with spectacular views of the valley below, until we disappear into the clouds. On arriving, the next step is to walk down a very long, dark tunnel until you take a brass lift (Yes!) to the top. It’s now a restaurant and doing very nicely thank you. As it was clouded over there was nothing to see and we weren’t going to lunch there so we beat a hasty retreat back down to the car-park for Beer and sausages. We drove back down the valley and Willy commented that it all looked just like a big train-set, true. Our hotel for the night was in Garmisch Partenkirchen which should have been a straight forward drive along the ‘Alpenstrasse’ but Betty had other ideas and sent us to Munich before turning us around back to Garmisch, the next time I must learn how to change the settings on the GPS. This is a picturesque Alpine town where the men wear Lederhosen and the sheep, what few we saw, trembled. Our Pension was the ‘Ludwigshof’ and it fitted our needs perfectly, there was even an extra bed so Willy could get further away from my ‘Schnorkling’. We went out for a stroll and found ourselves in the Irish Bar which was named, curiously enough ‘Irish Bar’. The barmaid was from South Dakota and I should have got her name because she recommended where to go for dinner and thanks to her we ended up in ‘Werdenfelser Hof’. There was a one-man orchestra playing, the type with samplers, drum box, 3,000 programmed songs, he played Johnny Cash and Elvis. All this was a fine accompaniment to a Schwienehaxen each, more wonderful beer and a shot of ‘Berentz’ Apfelkorn (the best in the World). Time for a nightcap back at the Irish Bar. Tomorrow more and it’s our last day on the road.

Day 8 and the sound of Mary Poppins

Even Robbie got into the Picnic

The best sausage on the trip, so far.

Willy at large

The first item on today’s agenda was a visit to the Budweiser Brewery and so we duly presented ourselves. Unfortunately, the individual tour starts at 14:00, too late for us, but the charming girl at the visitors’ reception said there was an organised tour starting at midday and if the tour-guide was amenable, we could join that. We waited and waited and waited through a spectacular thunder, lightening and torrential downpour until the receptionist told us that there was little likelihood of the tour turning up. At least we got as far as the Brewery gate. Time to head to Austria, Salzburg to be precise.
It being a Tuesday and in honour of MMDDMM (https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/142368199169732/) and the fact we were on the road, a picnic was called for so, already amply provisioned, we pulled into a rest-area and had the super road-side monster munch. We hit Salzburg and found our hotel, The Star Inn Gablerbrau http://www.h-rzn.com/a400032/index.htm?lbl=ggl without too much trouble. The building has been renovated and has only been open for two months (they’re still working on the bar/restaurant). You get an idea of what these people are at when you see a pristine, well-kept, immaculate establishment with nothing out of place, a bit too clinical for my half Spanish neuron but hey, it works and was spot-on. Another place with free Wi-Fi, up until now the only hotel that wanted to charge us was the ‘Munich Inn’. Time for a stroll around this splendid town, home of Mozart and the Von Trapp family though thankfully, not at the same time, there might have been blood spilled. Salzburg is a very elegant and cultured city, it oozes from the walls. Most people here spend their time drinking Spritzers, coffee and gorging on massive slabs of chocolate cake with marmalade. We did find the bar though; Zipfer Bierhaus http://www.zipfer-bierhaus.at/ where the atmosphere was as impeccable as the service. We entered a new world as both Willy and myself voted the local sausage as THE BEST so far on the trip. There is apparently, a word in German that describe the consistency of a sausage when it breaks open with a ‘snap’, it’s called ‘Knacken’ and baby did these puppies have loads of ‘Knacken’.  There’s not much else to do in Salzburg unless you want to go to mass or listen to Mozart or drink coffee or have alarming quantities of chocolate cake but we did stumble across a bar which I think was called ‘Stadtwirt’ close to the hotel with what could only be described as an ‘eccentric’ barman so we stayed there for the rest of the evening, quaffing pints of the local, a pleasant brew called ‘Stiegl’ which slipped down all too easily knowing full well that we were within (choose your length of measurement) of the hotel. 

Day 7 and going Bohemian

Masné Krány

MainSquare, Budweiss

Bar 13, forever a favourite

We leave Prague with the hope of returning and head South towards České Budějovice (computer says no, it's called Budweiss in German). We are soon driving through the rolling farmland of southern Bohemia and in no time we are in town. After a few wrong turns and upside-down maps we found our hostal – U.  Vlka and our room was huge, about the same size as my house. It’s just outside the small but beautifully formed old-town, 3 minutes walk. Language is a bit of a problem in a place like this but negotiations were successfully concluded via a smattering of basic English, German, and graphics oh, and a bit of theatre. It was lunchtime so we headed down-town and our instincts took us to a restaurant called Masné Krány http://www.masne-kramy.cz/. It had been the butchers market but was renovated while still keeping the original alcoves. A very different atmosphere and very tastefully achieved. Service was top-class and the food was excellent. I had strips of beef in gravy with a cranberry sauce on the side, they’re very big into their berry sauces here, or should that be ‘berry big’ Someone had to say it. The local brew is, of course, Budveiser, the Original, so it flowed. Another curiosity in these parts is that they just keep bringing you beers, even if you don’t ask. I went for a stroll around the town and picked up a map at the tourist office. I asked them where the best traditional Czech bar and cuisine could be found and they duly recommended the place we had just been – nice one. I had spotted a bar earlier  which had whetted my appetite, ‘U Tří sedláků’ on  Hroznová 37 and had a wonderful few pints there, as everyone else seemed to be doing but I’ll credit them with multiple neurons. Went back to the Hostal, pried Willy away from his iPad (actually, I had the mega-siesta) and headed back into town. Everything shuts up early here so we ended up on a fancy terraza on the main square where we were served the most revolting lime-flavoured beer, the taste stayed with me for hours. The high-point of the evening was, without doubt, discovering ‘Bar 13’ on Plachélo 15. Pints at 18CK, that’s about a Euro and the Barman had no intention of closing. Choice conversation ensued and we ended up wearing the seat cushions on our heads, as you do in České Budějovice  (computer says no, it's called Budweiss in German)..

Day 6 Pleasant Sunday in Prague

A rest day from driving and time to take a hearty breakfast at leisure, a hearty long shower and step out into the Prague afternoon. First stop was one of the bars we were in last night 'U Pinkasu' http://www.upinkasu.cz/ the story being that a lawyer from Prague while visiting Plzn, chanced upon their wonderful therapeautic infusion, he brought some cases of Pilsner Urquel back to Prague, his mates were well impressed and put in an order for any subsequent visits to Plzn. Lightbulbs go off and he decides to open the first bar in Prague with Pilsner Urquel and make money out of his friends, the rest is history. Then, one of the essential visits was to the old Jewish cemetery. They kinda nailed us as you have to buy the entire museum/Synagogues/Cemetery visit and pay a supplement to take photos, only in the cemetery. The visit to the Synagogue Museum was interesting as I had never seen the everyday utensils, both religious and domestic, from Jewish Central Europe. All this was 19^th and early 20^th Century. Quite a learning curve. Time for lunch at one of the Terrazas, Klobasa and beer, a Sunday lunch special.  We then visited a French bar so Willy could try the Stella Artois and we got talking to a Dutch couple who were in town for the weekend, they had taken the bus from Arnhem and were not looking forward to the trip back, after a weekend of sausages, horseradish (Kren) and beers, I don’t envy their ride home, about 10 hours. Willy wanted to visit Franz Kafka’s house back on the other side of the river so, Radka, Tony, Willy and myself met up at ‘Lokal’ again, this time to sample local specialities thanks to Radka’s inside knowledge. We had ‘Utopenec (Drowned Men)’, a type of sausage marinated in vinegar and peppers, Syrecky, a strong cheese, and Hermelín, a type of Brie, all washed down with copius quantities of Pilsner. This bar has the feature that the whole beer dispensing process is visible. The bar front is made of glass so you can see the 500 ltr tank which is re-filled fairly regularly I would imagine, as well as a demon-looking cooling system. We wended our way back into town and visited several more wonderful bars where the tourists don’t go, among them; U Ferdinanda and a wonderful place called U Medvidku. I also got a chance to take a photo of the humans gawking at the famous clock as it went through its hourly motions. We ended up in a local late-night bar close to R+T’s house, my kinda place. It had the peculiarity in that the owner stopped serving beer at 23:00 and we could only have Plum schnapps. Something which gives added snoring power, to which Willy will attest.

We climb the mountain. Day 5

Totally missed breakfast today, which is a good and a bad thing. A good sign because it means we’re becoming human again and bad because we need our vitamins, minerals and caffeine. It was sorted and all in good time to start the day’s activities. First stop was the Brewing museum right beside our favourite bar ‘Na Parkánu’, the tour is interesting with all sorts of beer-making equipment on display. One of the hidden jewels of this place is a fully working mini-brewery, capable of producing 30ltrs of beer a day, it took 8 years to build and it’s a serious piece of gear. Another curious item is a reproduction of a bar in Prague in the 30s, complete with Kafka lookalike. The highlight of the day and one of the high points of the trip was the visit to the Pilsen Urquel brewery. The tour takes an hour and a half and is an essential box to tick for any beer connoisseur. Brewing is not a very visual process. Stuff gets boiled up in big copper kettles, more stuff is added, it’s strained, cooled, more stuff is added and then it’s left to do its business. The bottling plant is where they bring the humans who are easily mesmerised by the sight of tens of thousands of bottles whizzing around like a time-lapse traffic jam. Our guide (Ana or Eva, sorry), took us through the whole process and her well-practised patois produced the memorable phrase – ‘Never trust a skinny Brewmaster’. We visited part of the maze of tunnels under the brewery which was originally used as the fermentation area but a small part of it is only used to brew a special visitors batch which we duly sampled – pure un-filtered, unpasteurised Pilsner Urquel – Delicious! The entrance ticket also included a glass of beer in our favourite bar so it was back there for a beer and a sausage. I hope you’re beginning to see a pattern emerging here. Pack up and Prague-bound. It’s only an hour away and after some wrong-turning and swearing, we found ourselves at the Louis Leger Hotel, a good big room with plenty of space for Willy to hide from my snoring.


We have some friends in Prague in the shape of Radka and Tony. They have just moved here and hopefully it’ll be long-term. Radka is from Brno, just down the road while Tony is from Derby. He is a true Beer-Hound and no better place than Prague where he is busying himself compiling a list of bars and beers. We visited a few of them on the first night, Kulovy Blest and U Pinkasu among others and a welcome change from the tourist traps around the old-Town Square they were. Our last port of call was ‘Lokal’ http://ambi.cz/, right on the other side of Charles Bridge. So it was two very satisfied but weary travellers who made the long walk back up to the crib.