New Year in Czech
The plan to go to Czech Republic was, well, as you can imagine- spontaneous!! I was planning to reunite with someone I had met in mexico and we wanted to find somewhere kind of central to Europe but a btit different too. We decided to visit Beroun, a town about 40 mins from Parague city but close enough to national parks, castles and Karlovy Vary- where 'Casino Royale' was filmed. We hired a car for the 6 days which was so worth it because It meant we could drive from Beroun in to Prague and back, in and around various towns in the hills including Karlsteijn and Karlovy Vary of course, quite easily. The town of Beroun was nothing amazing like Prague itself, but considering we had both been to Prague before, we thought it would be cool to have a different experience especially for New Year- although we didnt have high hopes for entertainment in Beroun.
During our time in Beroun we discovered a few local places to eat and drink local beer/cheap wine as well as indulge in our favourite fried cheese, almost every day. We discovered a local brewery set in the middle of an industrial area just off the main road (random eh?) where we spent a fun evening drinking whiskey on the rocks and eating a made up veggie platter which was delicious. We had one of the worst chinese meals of our life in this town, despiote the hangover, when even bad food tastes good, but enjoyed the luxuries of Karlovy Vary the most. It was a 2 hour drive each way and was so worth it. The town itself was set on the river and the architechture was so picturesque, and was dotted with many thermal spas and quaint cafes. We had a lovely coffee and ice cream sundae in the Hotel Pupp Cafe (Film location for Casino Royale)- I was craving a sundae having watched 'The Irishman' the night before and seein Al Pacinos character eating them in almost every scene. The cafe was so classy and there was even a queue of people waiting for a seat, it was that popular- lucky we didnt have to wait more than ten minutes.
We drove the narrow roads of thre high up national park which took us through some quaint ghost towns but with magnificent scenery. We had dinner in a lovely country pub and went for a lovely New Years Day hike to a castle in Karlsteijn. New Years Eve dinner was in a very american style diner in Beroun, considering everything else was closed or not appealing. We found ouselves on a bit of a 'pub crawl' if you can call it that, through the town, even sneaking into a couple of private functions hoping they wouldnt notice the dodgy foreigners. They did!! We ended up back at the brewery mentioned earlier, which didnt have many people but luckily the night was saved when the Beroun fireworks began at midnight. We had no idea this was going to happen, but It was a very nice feature of the evening and a nice way to start the new decade.
My favourite part of the trip was the fireworks and Karlovy Vary and my worst part was probably the chinese meal we had - if I can even call it that. Beroun and surroundings were beautiful, the roads were so easy to drive but it was bitterly cold. Our Hotel 'Hotel Grand Litava' set right in town, was very good value and had a great location, but there was not much entertainment or facilities for guests. I got to try a few craft beers in Prague city and visited the cafe where Einstein used to go as well as the Lennon wall (one more time). 6 days in the Czech countryside was fun, different and with the car at hand we had so much freedom to explore the many places around us.
During our time in Beroun we discovered a few local places to eat and drink local beer/cheap wine as well as indulge in our favourite fried cheese, almost every day. We discovered a local brewery set in the middle of an industrial area just off the main road (random eh?) where we spent a fun evening drinking whiskey on the rocks and eating a made up veggie platter which was delicious. We had one of the worst chinese meals of our life in this town, despiote the hangover, when even bad food tastes good, but enjoyed the luxuries of Karlovy Vary the most. It was a 2 hour drive each way and was so worth it. The town itself was set on the river and the architechture was so picturesque, and was dotted with many thermal spas and quaint cafes. We had a lovely coffee and ice cream sundae in the Hotel Pupp Cafe (Film location for Casino Royale)- I was craving a sundae having watched 'The Irishman' the night before and seein Al Pacinos character eating them in almost every scene. The cafe was so classy and there was even a queue of people waiting for a seat, it was that popular- lucky we didnt have to wait more than ten minutes.
We drove the narrow roads of thre high up national park which took us through some quaint ghost towns but with magnificent scenery. We had dinner in a lovely country pub and went for a lovely New Years Day hike to a castle in Karlsteijn. New Years Eve dinner was in a very american style diner in Beroun, considering everything else was closed or not appealing. We found ouselves on a bit of a 'pub crawl' if you can call it that, through the town, even sneaking into a couple of private functions hoping they wouldnt notice the dodgy foreigners. They did!! We ended up back at the brewery mentioned earlier, which didnt have many people but luckily the night was saved when the Beroun fireworks began at midnight. We had no idea this was going to happen, but It was a very nice feature of the evening and a nice way to start the new decade.
My favourite part of the trip was the fireworks and Karlovy Vary and my worst part was probably the chinese meal we had - if I can even call it that. Beroun and surroundings were beautiful, the roads were so easy to drive but it was bitterly cold. Our Hotel 'Hotel Grand Litava' set right in town, was very good value and had a great location, but there was not much entertainment or facilities for guests. I got to try a few craft beers in Prague city and visited the cafe where Einstein used to go as well as the Lennon wall (one more time). 6 days in the Czech countryside was fun, different and with the car at hand we had so much freedom to explore the many places around us.