Bewildered in Brno

25-08-12

BRNO

After an interesting train journey (included a bus and a very helpful conductor) we arrived in Brno and with only a small amount of criss-crossing sub terrarium walkways, made it to sunlight and on to our hotel where we had thought we had booked for three nights but turned out it was only two. No problem, we will extend for an extra night at reception. Is this possible? Yes. Ok, we will book for an extra night then. Yes, you must make reservation. Yes, I would like to make reservation. Ok, when you would like, you can make reservation. I would like to make reservation now. Yes, if you like you can make reservation tomorrow. Now? Yes, when you like, you can make reservation. What about now? Yes, when you would like to extend, you can make reservation, if you like we can give you room for 86 Euros. That sounds fine, can I extend my reservation for one more night? Yes, when you like you can make reservation. Now? After you make reservation. Ummmmm.....ok.....no problem...!

Kathy fixed it up the next morning.

The brochure for the hotel proudly stated that it was quite old but it had been upgraded and modernised in 1986. I think 1986 in Czechoslovakia was a bit like 1974 in Darwin. Luckily we had a cyclone to clean that up.

We went for a wander and found Cafe Tripoli and my plans to take a bus out to the Moto GP track to watch qualifying dissolved into afternoon pizza and wine alfresco.

We caught up with Ros, Sam and Lance for ribs and beers and slivovice.

 

 



 

TODAYS BEER

STAROBRNO

A little light making it a good afternoon beer to accompany pizza.

Very good for seeing one's reflection in

Lugging to the Lesni

24-08-12

HORNI LIPOVA

We put Prague behind us and jumped on a series of trains to Horni Lipova where the Pension we may have booked into (who can tell what you have written in a foreign language sometimes) chose not to man the reception desk and didn’t respond to the bell. We pushed on into the village and came across another Pension that had a restaurant, a bar and room for us in the attic. We dumped our bags and made our way up the 4 kilometres to the Lesni Bar. We enjoyed a few beers, a few nut liquors and a few snags and skipped merrily back down the hill to the village only having to guide Kathy out of a cyclists path only once. The restaurant at the Pension did a marvellous job of dinner and we slept happily and soundly in our attic.

We made it! Yay!

 

 

 

TODAYS BEER



Not a bad drop, could have done with slightly colder stream to cool it down. There is no bad Czech beer.
The nut liquor was excellent.

Checking out Czech

22-08-12

PRAGUE – KUTNA HORA

Took a day trip to Kutna Hora to have a look at a Cathedral and a church decorated with the bones of 40,000 people

 

Kathy loved Saint Barbara Cathedral

Ooooohhhh....creepy!!

BEER OF THE DAY
BUDWEISER
It's good. Really good. Smooth with a refreshingly bitter aftertase. Lives up to the rep.

 

 

23-08-12

PRAGUE – KARLSTEJN

Day trip to Karlstejn to have a gander at the castle.

TODAYS BEER
LARLSTEJN LAGER
A locally brewed lager that definitly deserves better that being served ina plastic cup. Whole bodied and tasty with a head that stays to the end.

Castles and Cafes

21-08-12

PRAGUE

I’m beginning to suspect that the breakfast standard for the whole country needs a bit of a lift. Still no steak tatare.

A trip up the funicular went some way to getting us over the disappointment of breakfast. We had marvellous views over Prague and the castle from a cafe served an excellent lunch....and beer.  We spent the rest of the evening wandering aimlessly and generally getting lost. Dropped into the Hotel Europa for a coffee.

TODAYS BEER
KRUSOVICE
A gorgeous drop that you don't mind lapping through the creamy head to get to. Best enjoyed overlooking the city of Prague.

Plastered in Prague

20-08-12

PRAGUE

After the disappointing breakfast, we decided to leave and jumped on a train to Prague. We spent the afternoon wandering the streets of the city in awe, what an amazing place. Finished off the day with a dinner cruise on the river Vltava and after a walk over the Charles Bridge, late night drinks at the old town square where the tourists gather every hour to watch the astronomical clock pulsate or something. I don’t know, it was very late, it could have been throbbing or spinning for all I know.

Kathy wants to get bags with wheels next time.....and go on an organised tour....probably without me.

 

This could possibly be the Charles Bridge. They all sort of blend in.

BEER OF THE DAY
I don't know. It was probably Pilsner Urquart again. I lost my notes.

Pilsners in Pilzen

19-08-12

PILZEN

Awoke in reasonable order, suffered through another barely adequate breakfast, packed our gear and headed for Czech.

We’re in Bohemia baby and we’re rapt!

Sunday in Pilzen is not the most exciting place to be. Especially with the temperature nudging 40decC. The walk from the train station was particularly concerning. Boarded up buildings, graffiti everywhere and long grassers pissing in the streets. Nevertheless we pushed on and were pleasantly surprised with our hotel built in the remains of a fortress with an excellent terrace overlooking the park garden.

We set out for a bit of a look around the city and somehow ended up at the Pilsner Urquell Brewery. We had a few beers and when we left the brewery, Pilzen looked a little better.

Woke the next morning to a breakfast of boiled eggs and croissants and ....whaaaaaat?........hang on! Where’s my smoked salmon and caviar? Outrageous! There will be an email to tripadvisor on this one!

At the gates of the Pilsner Urquel brewery

TODAYS BEER
PILSNER URQUEL
Clear, tasty, refreshing, clean after tase, excellent head, all good! No wonde Czechs drink 150 litres of beer per head per year on average.....and it's cheaper than bottled water!

Drinks in the Danube

18-08-12

REGENSBURG

Spent the day moving slowly around Regensburg looking for places to sit down for a little while. Finished the evening off with a Rocksit by the River Danube. Had a reasonably early night.

Beers in the Danube

Kathy got in the way of a really good photo of the Cathedral

Grooving at the Gaubodenfolkfest

17-08-12

REGENSBURG

Woke up full of excitement. Today we were going to the Straubing Gaubodenfolkfest. I could hardly wait. We scoffed our way through a rudimentary breakfast of bacon, eggs, smoked salmon, caviar, steak tatare  and berry baked cheesecake and rushed to catch the train. We arrived at Straubing and followed the crowds to the Gaubodenfolkfest and set about looking at tractors and such. After a short time, I’d had enough. I can only tolerate Kathy’s obsession with agricultural machinery for so long. Off to the beer tent for us!

After a couple of litres and a few snags, we were joined by Ros, Sam, Scott and Lance where the men had big beers and the girls disgraced themselves with small bubbly pink liquid.

As the day drifted into evening, the tent gradually filled and the oompah band made way for the main act. Somewhere around this point we decided to join most of the crowd by standing on the benches. I apologised many times to the girls seated behind me for landing on them repeatedly. They were quite battered in the end and decided it would be safer for them if they just stood on the benches as well thereby braceing me from further falls....or you would think.

Kathy did an outstanding job not only getting us back to the train station but on the right train and to our hotel room where I awoke somewhat dazed the next morning. Luckily we had smoked salmon and caviar to get us though.

 

 

 

 

 



"Oh nein, ist das fette Schwein geht auf uns wieder fallen!"



There was no time to review a new beer today. I was very busy.

Relaxing in Regensburg

16-08-12

REGENSBURG

6 hours of train rides to get to Regensburg and checked into a really cool hotel. it was built back in the early 1800's and has fantastic high ceilings and chandeliers.

After a bit of a rest, ventured out to walk around the old city.

Found a camera shop and brought a new camera. Found an Italian restaurant and had ravioli and pizza. Found a brewery and had beer. Found the Hotel and went to bed.

Today I put in the hard yards and had an extra beer.

TODAYS BEER (no.1)
THURN AND TAXIS
A locally brewed Wiessbeir beastie that has a yeasty whack. A herbal after taste that's not entirely convincing. Maybe 1 more to make sure.

TODAYS BEER (no.2)

SPITAL

"SPITAL"? Who would call a beer Spital?

Could a German beer consumed at the brewery overlooking the Danube be bad?

Another gem!

 

Shhhhhhh Zurich

15-08-12

ZURICH

A little bit after sunrise, we made it to the top of Rochers de Naye, gave ourselves a wheezey hurrah and went for breakfast. We packed up the remaining 78 litres of alcohol, waved goodbye to the mormouttes and took the geared train back down the mountain.

We said emotional goodbyes to the group at the Montreux train station and made our way to Zurich where they had some nice churches and excellent beer but no camera shops.

The hotel we stayed at backed onto a square with restaurants, pubs and clubs. We were a little worried that we may be kept up late that night as our window overlooked the area.

The locals were all out lazing around al fresco at the cafes until the rain came along in the evening and washed them all away.

Somebody tried to make a dent in the grog hoard.

TODAYS BEER
TUCHINEN BRAU
My goodness, this beer knows what it's on about! Great structure, full flavoured, excellent colouring. I might have another one.

Mountain Marmouttes

14-08-12

ROCHERS DE NAYE

I woke up really early(who can sleep when there’s a family of vengeful, hungry marmouttes 50m from your yurt?)  and decide to walk up to the peak of Rochers de Naye to watch the sunrise over the Swiss Alps. Decided better of it, had a wee over the cliff and went back to bed.

Awoke later at a reasonable time and saw the sun fair clear of the mountains. Activity day with flying fox(not for me thanks)  and archery (kicked arse), lunch and walks around the valley that really should have been left for people who were good at these things....and have sunscreen and hats......and less alcohol the night before. Saw some nice cows.

Finished the day with a meal at the restaurant with awesome views over Lake Geneva. Apparently they were the same views we saw the night before but with less alcohol.

Still no camera shops on the mountain.

 

 

 

 

Sam telling Ros how to wear the harness correctly







High altitude!

13-08-12

ROCHERS DE NAYE

Caught the geared train up the mountain to Rochers de Naye and checked into out yurts. It was decided that the sleeping arrangements would be girl yurt, boy yurt. Fair enough, the boys finished unpacking and arranging the yurt to everyone’s satisfaction and wandered over to the girls yurt to see how they were fairing only to find packs tossed aside and the girls lounging about quaffing schnapps. It was 11AM.

Fair enough, it was Ros’s birthday.

The boys had no choice, we had 128 litres of alcohol and 2 days on the mountain. The afternoon and evening are vague but I’m pretty sure we climbed mountains and dined on marmouttes.....or fondue. I may have been tossed off a bench by Kathy.

No camera shops on the mountain.

 

 

 

 Ros was fully stoked to be in her yurt.... or yourte!
That was before she knew that there were marmouttes!

The MOL of Montreux

12-08-12

MONTREUX

Decided that the Youth Hostel is ground zero for loonies and odd balls. We had a mad old lady (MOL) with a yoghurt fetish and the royal family from Djibouti staying there. The MOL distributed her time in between abusing the staff, ranting to other guests and muttering to herself. I liked her.

The Djibouti royal family generally sat around dressed in their formal attire drinking coffee and remonstrating with the staff about the general lack of service in the Youth Hostel.

Kathy and myself opted out of the Chocolate train experience and chose to investigate the treasures that Montreux . We visited the Chateaux Gillon then caught a funicular up the side of the mountain to Glion where we enjoyed an excellent lunch with views over Lake Geneva. We then took the bus as far as Vevey to look for a camera shop. The final members of the group arrived in Montreux and we all enjoyed dinner on the water front. Some of us were so hungry they ate a horse.

TODAYS BEER
FELDSCHLOSSCHEN
Smart, complex, a bit hard to get your tongue around. Clear taste with an aroma of indifference....or is that impartiality?

Yodelling our arses off

11-08-12

MONTREUX

Luzern to Montreux via Interlaken. Stopped in Interlaken so Ros could buy some shoes, had some lunch with the snow capped peak of the Jungfrau in the distance. Unsucessfully searched for a camera shop.  Cracked a bottle of old pear schnapps on the train.
Walked 1hr to Youth Hostel after Sam said it was an easy walk. Allright for him, he made Ros carry his bag as well as her own. We then went back into town for dinner with Robbo and Caroline. Sam not happy with just having an argument with the Youth Hostel receptionist decided that the waitress at 4 seasons pizza needed a bit of attitude as well. Currently in Monteux Youth Hostel sweating our rings off.

TODAYS BEER
ROGENBRAU
A whimsical, airy creature this one. I was like squeezing juicy alpine clouds into my mouth.

Bridges and Beers

10-08-12

LUZERN

Up early, off to Luzern via Karlsruhe and Basel. Met with Sam, Ros and Scott at the hotel. Realised later that Ros, Sam and Scott were on the same train as us from Basel to Luzern but wern't good looking enough to get up the very pointiest end. Had drinkies in the Hotel bar, and lunch by the lake. Checked out the Chapel Bridge and the wounded lion(helped by the Chinese guide with a red flag), had more drinkies, back to hotel for more drinkies. Met up with Lance, then finished with late night pizza and red wine. Chucked my camera at reception.

TODAYS BEER
ALPENBEIR
Clear and refreshing as a glacially fed moutain stream.

Giddays and goats

9-8-12

BAD SCHORNBORNE

Kathy decided that she needed a soak in the local hot springs with all the elderly locals. It was beautiful, it looked like a scene out of Cocoon. I decided that a decent coffee and a beer would be a better way for me to spend my morning. Invigorated, we decided that walkies to the winehaus in next village sounded like a good idea. We were informed that we would have a good view of the gliders taking off from the adjacent airfield. We walked through a very quiet forest where there were probably witches and goblins as it is a very old forest, luckily we had the Madonna statues to protect us.  We had a meal and wine and schnapps.....and schnapps. On the way home Kathy was trying out the giddays on the locals. Kathy had a bush stop, we talked to some goats. Decided we were moving to BAD SCHORNBORNE and buy electric bikes and spend our time going from pub to cafe to winehaus. If we go really fast the witches and goblins won’t be able to catch us.

The whole day was a sham, there were no gliders at all.

 

 

How's this years vintage looking Kathy?

 

 

TODAYS BEER
PALMBRAU
Fair dinkum, it sang of mountains and glacial streams. There were fraulines skipping through alpine meadows. My eyes moistened up a little bit.

Madonna Miracles

08-08-12

BAD SCHORNBORNE

Walks around the outskirts of the  village and found some Madonna statues left behind by gypsies that some people now find worthy of pilgrimage and prayer and have set up shrines  If you pray there, miracles will happen.

We then took a train trip to Bruchsal. Checked out the Schloss and finished the day with drinks at Cubaina before heading back to Bad Schornborne. Brought a phone card that needs a multilingual gymnast to activate. If you need to cal me my number is  1800buggeredifiknow

TODAYS BEER

HOEPFNER PRIVATBRAURERIE

A stern drop with serious intentions. No freindly banter with this chap, just drink and scowl. Prost!

Bad, Bad, Bad Schornborne

7-8-12

BAD SCHORNBORNE

Arrive Frankfurt . catch series of trains to Bad Schornborne  only requiring one mad dash for train change which I had to hold up for Kathy. Had a little sleep during the day and finished the day with drinkies at glashaus.

TODAYS BEER
HOEPFNER WEIZEN

Refreshingly pleasant with an excellent head. Perfect for long summer evenings.

Sweating in Singers

05-08-12

SINGAPORE

Arrived ok got the MRT ok got lost wandered the streets of Singapore, sweating our rings out carrying backpacks around for an hour 10 o’clock at night looking for our hotel. Current roadworks inthe area had caused some roads to disappear making locating the hotel a little trickier than it shoud have been. We are starting to  consider the  wisdom of the planned Luxembourg walk where we would have to carry the packs for up to 16kms a day for 5 days..





6-8-12

SINGAPORE

Wandered streets until time to go to airport to catch flight to Frankfurt.

Will Singapore ever be exciting? I saw a man spit in the street without being arrested! Maybe it has hope?



TODAY'S BEER
TIGER

Pretentious, struggling with it's colonial past, unsure of it's identity, tastes of insecurity and a lack of direction with an aftertaste of apathy. More like stray tabby than a tiger.

Plans, preparation and pilsners

I spent some time reseaching the trip.
It was really important to me that in the countries that I visited, they really understood that I put in the effort to understand their culture.
I personally found it rewarding and my wholeness as a human being will be enhanced by the experience.

Or I may have used it as an excuse to drink beer in the morning.
.