This is the final installment of the account of my first visit to what is now the Czech Republic. The visit took place back in 1984 and was jointly organised by CAMRA Travel and Cedock - the official Czechoslovak Tourist Agency. Please note, the photo's illustrating this post were taken on my recent trip to Prague. (I have yet to scan in the transparencies I took on the original visit).
Our first full day in Prague started with a guided tour of the city, by coach, followed by a stroll across the world famous King Charles Bridge. This was followed by lunch at another of Prague’s best known taverns, U svateho Tomase (St Thomas’s to you and I). The pub was formerly renowned for a strong dark beer, but brewing unfortunately ceased during the 1960’s. Nevertheless the beer it did sell was very palatable, and from memory the food was not too bad either, in fact it was probably the best of the entire trip!
From U svateho Tomase, our guide led us, on foot, up towards the Castle District of the city. After a step climb, we were rewarded with a spectacular view of the city, which looked an absolute picture in the reflected glow of the October sunshine. I could have stayed admiring the scene for sometime; it was certainly a magical moment so far as I was concerned, and one of the highlights of the trip.
My recall of what happened next is somewhat vague. I do know that our guide took us to another pub in a square, opposite a church. There was something significant about both the pub and the church, but by now many of us had seen enough culture for one day. Consequently a group of us gave the guide the slip, and wandered back in the direction of Prague’s imposing Castle. En route we discovered an absolute gem of a pub, complete with stone-flagged floors, low, vaulted stone ceilings and scrubbed wooden tables. A black and white television was showing a football match, and a crowd of excited drinkers were busy cheering on their favourite team. This was a real “locals’ local”, but they made room for us in the cosy back bar and we received a really friendly welcome.
Regrettably I did not make a note of the pub’s name, or the beer that it served, but the two half-litres of Pilsner-style beer I enjoyed there were probably the best I sampled on the entire trip. The time we spent in that plainly furnished, unspoilt pub, followed by our stroll through the quiet, vehicle-free streets of this ancient part of Prague was the second magical experience of the day. As we continued our way towards the castle the only sounds, apart from the tramping of our feet, were the bells ringing out from the nearby St Vitus Cathedral. The bells drew us towards this massive building, and we stepped inside its ancient doors for a look round. As a service was in progress we did not stay long, but wandered back to Hradcany Castle which is actually four palaces rolled into one.
One of these, the Vladislav Hall, is where the kings of Bohemia were formerly crowned. At the time of our visit, most of this vast complex of buildings was closed off to the public. Armed sentries stood guard over what must have been government departments, or perhaps residences.
Fortunately, one member of the group we were with had had the presence of mind to check beforehand the rendezvous point for our coach. We found our driver, plus most of our party waiting for us, and once all were present, we set off for the next stop on our Cedock-arranged itinerary. This was yet another of Prague’s famous taverns called U Kalicha, the legendary haunt of Czechoslovakia’s best known fictional character, the Good Soldier Svejk.
After the wonderful pub we had just visited, U Kalicha was a bit of an anti-climax and something of a tourist trap. Even in those communist times it was being milked for its literary connections, although it is doubtful whether Svejk’s creator, Jaroslav Hasek would have found much that he was familiar with. The Pilsner Urquell beer was very palatable though, even if the food was not. I must admit that with our bellies full of beer our behaviour rather let us down. I don’t know exactly whose idea it was to start a bun fight, but that is what happened. The bemused Czech waiters seemed to take it in good heart, as the bread rolls started flying through the air, although I cannot vouch the same for our tour guide. In a country where food shortages were fairly common, it was certainly not a very tactful or indeed polite thing to do, and twenty-five years on I am not proud of my behaviour that night.
We were driven back to our hotel, but found our plans to visit the bar we had discovered the previous evening spoilt. It was closed, and to add further insult there was no draught beer available in the hotel bar either. We managed to obtain some bottled Budweiser Budvar though, and after a half-hearted attempt to chat-up a group of Swedish girls, we retired to our shared hotel room where we polished off the remainder of the beer.
Before finally turning in for the night, we had taken the lift to the top of the hotel where there was a western-style night club. The idea of this place was to take hard western currency off hotel guests, and consequently there were western night club prices to match. I have never been a fan of such places, finding them both expensive and lacking in any real character. As they never seem to sell any proper beer I have usually given these establishments a wide berth. This one was no exception and, as it did not sell beer of any description, my companions and I did not stay long. Some of the party did however, and had we been paying a little more attention we would perhaps have noticed that the seductively clad female clientele, euphemistically described as “ladies of the night”, were also there to take hard western currency from visitors. At least one member of our tour group succumbed to their charms as we were to find out the following morning.
This was our last night in Prague, and after checking out of the hotel the following morning we indeed discovered that one member of the party was missing. He had last been seen the previous evening in the company of one of the aforementioned ladies of the night! This delayed our departure somewhat whilst he was rounded up, but when he eventually appeared, looking somewhat sheepish, we were able to set off on the long journey back to England.
Our coach parked down by the River Vltava in the centre of Prague, and we were allowed a couple of hours for final sight-seeing or shopping before departing for home. So far as shopping was concerned, we could find little of interest in the shops. The scarcity of fresh fruit and vegetables in the shops and street markets was another thing we noticed, and may have accounted for the poor diet that the Czechs endured.
The journey home took us back through Pilsen, and we stopped for lunch (and yet more beer),in the same Pilsner Urquell Brewery Tap that we had visited a few days previously. I had a quick, but abortive look around Pilsen for some suitable presents, but again could find nothing suitable. Instead I purchased a case of Pilsner Urquell beer, as did most of the party. As it was forbidden to take Czechoslovak currency out of the country (not that anyone would want to, as it was worthless in the West), my friends and I pooled our remaining Czech Crowns in order to buy yet more beer, but this time for drinking on the way home!
The border crossing again took an age, although the customs officers found the amount of beer onboard our coach highly amusing. The regulations in force at the time only permitted the export of sufficient beer for “personal consumption”, but after taking one look at us, the officials decided that this was indeed the case! With that we crossed back into the West and had an uneventful journey home, after a most interesting and enjoyable visit behind the Iron Curtain.
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