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.

Look! No border guards, day 4

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Plzn




 

Up with the lark and down to the restaurant (a few minutes walk away) for a typical German breakfast¸ cold cuts, cheese, eggs and bacon, just the thing to get you ready for the task in hand which was Pilsen in the Czech Republic. Time for a few photos and change money. The smart Czechs aren’t in the Euro. I also came across a plaque in memory of Von Stauffenburg, one of the organisers of the plot against Hitler ‘Operation Valkyre’. It’s a couple of hours drive away so in no time we were pulling into one of the Beer Meccas. Betty got turned back at the border, ie. She only has a map of Germany so it was back to the tried and trusted custom of ‘Ask a policeman’ or in this case, the desk sergeant at the local police station. It wasn’t that complicated as were only one block away but it took three of Pilsen’s finest to figure out how to get there. Our hotel was the well-appointed Rango, right by the main square http://www.rango.cz/?akce=en_restaurant. I am immediately reminded of the beauty of Czech women. It was a ghost town and I thought the crisis had hit here worse than the  8^th AAF in ’45 but no, it turned out to be a mega-bank-holiday weekend ‘a la Española’. It didn’t take long to stroll around the old town and take in the architecture, the main square and it’s church, with the highest spire in Bohemia the locals proudly boast. First stop was a Bar/Restaurant called ‘Svenk’ after the Czech cartoon character. Klobasa is the sausage of choice in the Czech Republic and who are we to argue, so a couple were hastily dispatched. We then landed into what has to be the best bar in Pilsen – ‘Na Parkánu’ close to our hotel and attached to the Brewery museum. It was buzzing, the service was excellent, gotta love those Czech girls, and the food was a healthy traditional Czech mix. This time it was the turn of ‘Koleno’ or Codillo in Spanish or Pork Knuckle in the English. A hefty dish whose main mission is to send you to bed early which it accomplished admirably, all the better for what’s in store for us tomorrow.

The Beerhunters, Day 3

We were rudely awakened to the flashing of lightening, the crashishing of thunder and a torrential downpour – all at 06:00. Luckily by breakfast time it had all subsided and we were able to enjoy a full buffet in the elegant dining-room, this place has class. Did they know what they were letting themselves in for? First stop was a visit to Durer’s house, just inside the City wall. Most of it has been lovingly though not painstakingly, restored. The exhibits and the print-shop as well as the studio/workshop are very interesting to printmakers and gawkers alike. The audio-guide is noteworthy for it’s high cringe-factor. The next stop was courtroom 600, scene of the Nuremberg Trials. The courtroom has been refurbished as there are still criminals in these here parts though thankfully not up to the Genocidal levels of previous detainees. It’s still a very spooky place. The exhibition upstairs is well-worth spending some time at, something we didn’t really have, but enough to get an idea of what were the first cases for crimes against humanity.


Another stop on the history trail was the Zeppelin Field, so called because Count von Zeppelin landed one of dirigibles here in the 20’s. It’s more notorious fame is as the rallying point for the famous Nazi rallies of the 30´s when, hundreds and thousands of Party members would come and march up and down and pay homage. Strangely, a lot of it is still intact with the arches being dismantled a few years ago for ‘Health and Safety’ reasons – they could have saved us a lot of hassle by not building the thing in the first place. The space is now used as a fairground/rock-venue and grandstand for the Nuremberg 200 motor race which had just taken place. Read into that what you will.

It was a short hop to our next port of call, Bamberg, only 60 km to the North. We were accompanied by a wonderful ‘Son et Lumiere’ of a typical Central European thunder storm ahead of us most of the way. Bamberg is a beautiful German town, Medieval and Quintessentially Frankish with houses built down to the river’s edge, over the river and in some cases on the bridges. Bamberg is famous for beer and its Breweries, some of which are still located in the old town. In fact, some of them were located within stumbling distance of our ‘Pension’ – Scheiners am Dom - http://www.scheiners.de/ quite the designer hostal. The specialist beer in this town is ‘Rauchenbier’ or a smoked beer, a bit strong and with a heavy peaty taste though I wouldn’t recommend a night of it. There are however, several other types of beer available which were sampled but whose names escape me, funnily enough.

Sausages, Beer and Girls, whichever comes first

Here we go again, Willy and myself off on our annual jaunt. This time it’s Germany, Czech Republic, Austria and then back to Germany – they will want their car back.


True to form, I was a basket-case at Barajas Airport on Tuesday morning, having decided I was going one final mission and might never return. Bring on the Teleport. It was thanks to Lufthansa and their ravioli that I arrived in one piece in Munich. We picked up the car from Sixt – hassle-free, and headed off in to town with the aid of a new Betty (Betty is our GPS, but this one is German with a Spanish accent). Our Hotel was located somewhere central in Munich, close to the Hauptbanhof and Istanbul. It was very average( www.hotelmunich-inn.de ) but as all I needed was a clean bathroom and cleaner sheets I was happy out. Willy was trying unsuccessfully, to get his phone activated , something which frustrated him for nearly 12 hours, it’s nice to know someone else can get frustrated for 12 hours, I could go all Woody Allen, but I won’t.I couldn’t get my one brain-cell working so I was no use. By the way, I will be giving a fuller critique on the hotels and restaurants on TrypAdvisor when I get back to Madrid.

Thankfully, next day finally dawned and, after our fond farewells at the hotel, we headed of to the first to the first of the day’s stops. Dachau Concentration Camp on the outskirts of Munich.. Not the first of the Nazi’s Camps but it was the first ‘Model’ Camp where tens of thousands died through malnutrition and thousands of Russian P.O.Ws were summarily executed. This War thing will be a recurring part of the trip, and I make no apologies. We will re-trace the footsteps of some of the most evil people to walk the Earth.

Anyway, on to Nuremberg and to this beautiful, majestic, walled city, the home of Durer, beer and sausages. We stayed in the Burgschmiet Hotel ( www.hotel-burgschmiet.de ), a class place, beautiful rooms, first rate breakfast and only a stone’s- throw away from one of the most spectacular entrances into the city, through one of the big arched gates right into where Durer lived. Everything is right about his town, smashing buildings, a very laid-back vibe (sorry for that, I an over 50) and, as usual a wonderful selection of local beers, wines and food. We ate a wonderful place called Hutt’n on Bergstrasse 20, www.huetten-nuernnberg.de recommended by the lovely receptionist at the hotel. The problem is that now my snoring is back up to cruising speed, something which somehow, annoys Willy.