The highlight of Prague was our food and beer tour. For those who don't know, the Czechs drink the most beer per capita among all European countries. That's quite a reputation to uphold, and we got a good glimpse of how they do it.
We started the drizzly day with a nice walking tour of the city, which included the Charles Bridge, Jewish Quarter and Old Town Square. There were so many beautiful gothic buildings to take in…
The Vltava River
St. Vitus Cathedral
Paris Street
We're still randomly recalling how our Prague tour guide, whose accent was very thick, told us about the Charrrrrrrrrles Brrrridge.
Love locks near the bridge.
The Ultimate Cinna-buns
The Gothic Church of Our Lady before Týn
HAM!
The most intricate clock I've ever seen... First installed in 1410, this Astronomical Clock was built to foretell the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
It was a nice rainy afternoon!
Our hotel in Prague was particularly nice because it included access to a full-service gym with a jacuzzi and sauna, which is how we decided to spend our afternoon before the food and beer tour. I was never a big fan of saunas – I generally prefer cold vs. hot, and saunas pretty much represented fiery hells on earth to me – but thanks to Alexandra's insistence, I have to admit that my opinion has changed. Instantly, my muscle aches and joint pains from hauling around luggage and not getting enough sleep over the prior weeks went away, and I felt noticeably better over the next several days.
So enough about sweating profusely... After spending time getting healthier, it was time to get fatter! We met our food and beer tour group at Wezciknsi Square, then hopped on the metro to a neighborhood a few stops away and pub-crawled our way back to the Old Town. The tour was a lot of fun. Our guide, a college student born and raised in Prague, was very knowledgeable about local watering holes. In case you’re wondering, he says it’s normal for him and his friends to drink a couple beers by the end of lunch every day. Wait, every day? "Oh yeah, every day!"
One of the Czech craft brews that I tried was a 'California IPA,' which was very nice – very fresh and hoppy. Actually, we got pretty lucky. It was harvest season for hops, so we got to try a couple different fresh-hop IPAs – no surprise, they were my favorites. Everything was really good, including the food pairings (grilled pork skewers, pickled sausages, oil-marinated cheese, etc.). We met some fun people too!
