BORDER CROSSINGS AND BORDER COLLIES
Sunday, November 5th, 2006So we got the bus to the border of the Czech republic It was COLD on the little mountain pass, but just above freezing as we got off the bus and walked down the street to the border. Unfortunately the little pedestrian entrance was closed (off season), so we had the indignity of approaching the auto lane entrance, which kind of felt like walking up to a drive thru window. I was in my sandals and was way under dressed as we had actually thought that morning while sitting at the bus station that we should stay on the Polish side of the border for 2 more nights, but then noticed the bus we were catching went all the way to the border. So we rethought the crossing as we knew the weather was supposed to get worse in a few days (and it did). Luckily, the border guys were pretty mellow as this is an EU-EU crossing with little action these days, but I did take the first opportunity to put on warmer clothes prior to our hike down to town. We then had a nice hike down into Harranchov, which is a very pleasant little mountain-ski resort town that seems to be about 25% German, as the border of Germany is only 10 miles away. (This is where Poland, Germany, and he Czech Republic meet if you want to get your maps out )
The first thing I realized in the Czech Republic was how close you are at all times to great beer. In fact as I was changing under a little awning, a woman opened the door and asked if we wanted anything (beer and vodka) from a little shack we though was closed. Beer is certainly easier to find than water, gas, or juice.
I’ll be honest, I’ve never been a huge fan of pilsners and have always thought that many highly touted European beers were overrated, including Pilsner Urquell. As my friends at home know, I am a loyal American microbrew fan, and generally prefer a good Pale Ale. Well, there is something amazing about the Czech beer (and the 60 or so breweries) that is hard to describe, but I think half of it comes down to ingredients, freshness, and volume, They drink a lot of beer here, about 60 liters per capita per year. That is a lot of beer. Well, in order to keep this quantity maintained on a national level, it appears to me that Czech society has developed the following adaptations.
1) Drink Early and Often – We have seen (many) people drinking half liters of beer at 9 a.m. and beer is a staple of lunch, dinner, and of course, beer drinking time (which is always).
2) Local Breweries – I have had about 10 different kinds of Czech beers here and they were all good and fresh. And some are so fresh that you just find yourself sliding glass after glass down without even a small burp. It really is wonderful stuff.
3) Border Collie Bartenders – I have run into 2 marginally neurotic bartenders serving beer in two very hardcore drinking restaurants-bars. One guy in Harranchov was the most dedicated beer artist that I have ever seen in my life, and may ever see.
He poured perfect Pilsner Urquell from 4 beautiful brass taps and twitched like a Border Collie as he watched the entire room drink their beer, just waiting for the next call to serve up another fresh half liter, since it took about 5-10 minutes to properly pour a beer. I had the luxury of siting in front of him at the bar as Cheryl was making phone calls down the street and it brought tears to my eyes. Here is a guy who really loves his work. I think they may have served other beverages in this little bar, but there was no sign of anything like wine, spirits, or even another type of beer. Pilsner Urquell (12 degrees I believe) A very slight angle on the glass, not the heavy tilt used by many lesser beer-tenders in the US to limit the head and pour faster. And he pauses in the middle of the beer as he often is working on pouring 3 or 4 beers at once. And when he is done, you get a perfect mug of beer with the perfect few inches of head rising just above the lip of the glass. Beautiful.
Olomouc is a big surprise and just a perfect little university town to explore for a few relaxing days as we prepare for Vienna and India a bit. It snowed on Friday which made the trees and foliage just glisten in the late fall sunlight. Prague was great too, as our neighborhood, Vinohrady, reminded us of San Francisco with more efficient transit. Wonderful buildings, parks, and wandering around a city that seems to be doing it right. We really dodged the crowds too, which always makes things more intimate and personal. And just to close the loop, we left Harrachov on a series of local trains that ended with the most crowded 4 hour train ride of my life, along with a track construction bus transfer in the middle. We took it in stride though which clearly shows our level of mellowness, and all I could think was that it was good preparation for India. The IPOD really helped here.
LITTLE VISITED STATUE IN PRAGUE CASTLE
So we’re off to Vienna on the train tomorrow and fly to India on Thursday. Luckily, Cheryl just caught a major planning glitch, as I thought I had read that you could get a tourist visa on arrival in India. Doohhh, not true! So we just printed out visa applications and it looks like it will be no problem getting visas in three days in Vienna. It would have been fun to get sent back from the airport or deported as their website states will happen if you land without a visa. Ooops…maybe its the beer…
Visas aside, I am getting a grasp on our next destination after 10 hours on the Internet this weekend. I have booked two overnight train tickets and a place to stay in Varanasi, which is where we are headed on Saturday night from Delhi. There is still only one problem, as I have tried to book 10 hotels-guesthouses in Delhi and they are all full, so we have no place to stay upon our midnight arrival. There are 2 dozen 4 and 5 star hotels (although most are booked) that want 400 dollars per night and up. It’s crazy as I think some event must be going on there. Of course, there are tons of places in the 10 to 25 dollar range, but each one I search on the web about comes up with horror stories. There are virtually no places to stay between 25 and 400 dollars a night which I guess sums up the imbalances in wealth in India quite well. I’m freaking out a bit about this, but I know it will work out. Worst case, we just take a trustworthy tout to a lousy place our first very short night and then find something better the next morning by walking around a bit. We thought about sleeping in the airport until a morning train, but it seems a shame not to at least spend a day or two experiencing the chaos of Delhi. Clearly things will be better once we are out of Delhi.
Wish us luck……but we ARE excited! And this is what it’s all about.
Now wait a second…..what the hell am I doing sitting in this Internet cafe on our last night in the Czech Republic? There is a place here in Olomouc, Czech that also has a crazy beer server, so we might just head back there tonight.
So much beer and so little time.
rich.coffin