Tag Archives: Czech Republic

Eastern Europe

Cheap thrills in the Czech Republic! Part six

We woke to sunshine and slightly warmer temperatures on Sunday morning.  I was glad to see it.  After breakfast and a walk with the dogs, we started to plan our day.  We were about to leave for Plzen when Bill looked out the window and noticed a couple of guys doing yard work, blocking the gate to the yard.  I guess it’s not a problem to do yard work in the Czech Republic on Sundays.  They were done soon enough, so we headed back to Plzen, parking in the same garage we used on Saturday.  Bill discovered a handy footbridge from the garage to the other side of the street.  Like I said in an earlier posts, things are surprisingly civilized in the Czech Republic these days.

Cathedral of St. Bartholomew.

We wandered around the Main Square in Plzen and I noticed people were climbing the tower at St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral.  I am in piss poor physical shape these days, but somehow I can’t resist climbing a tower, even if I’m sore for days afterwards.  So that’s what Bill and I decided to do.  We walked up 301 steep, narrow steps to get to the highest point in Plzen and the highest church spire in the Czech Republic itself.

I paused to take pictures of the bells… and catch my breath.

It costs 50 Czech crowns to torture oneself in this manner.  You pay at a station about a third of the way up.  Once you get to the top, you are treated to views of the city, which can be exhilarating, depressing, or terrifying, depending on your point of view.

Yes… it’s a very steep climb!  There are pictures of the views from the top at the bottom of this post.

I found it harder and scarier to go down than to come up the stairs.  Yes, climbing the stairs up was harder work and got me more winded, but coming down was really scary.  You’re already tired from the climb up and the steps are really narrow and steep.  I found myself holding on to the bannisters for dear life as I slowly made my way down each step, praying I didn’t miss one and take a fall.

On the way down the tower, we ran into a couple of police officers.  I wondered why they were going up there– although they did look pretty fit.  Bill said maybe they were taking a “break”.  Or perhaps they were checking for snipers?  I don’t know.  If I had to walk up those steps every day, I have no doubt I’d be in shape in no time.  However, two days later, I’m still a bit sore and the climb itself was kind of hard on my knees.  I’m glad I did it once, but I’m not sure I want to do it again!

Just as an aside about Czech cops… I happened to catch a TV show that appeared to be inspired by our own Cops TV show in the United States.  Although I didn’t understand anything that was being said, it was interesting to watch how Czech police officers handle their arrestees.  I noticed the guys being arrested were cuffed, put in the back seat, and strapped in with a seatbelt.  The cops didn’t bother buckling up.  Somehow, I figure the seatbelt was used less for safety reasons and more for security.  Or maybe they don’t wear seatbelts because they need to be able to react quickly.  Who knows?  Personally, I hate the damn things, but if I don’t wear mine, Bill turns into Pat Boone.  Besides, cars today are like nannies and will beep at you incessantly if you don’t use them.

Inside the cathedral.

After the tower experience, we walked into the cathedral.  Supposedly, you have to pay to see it, but I never saw anyone collecting money for admission.  Anyway, there’s a gate at the front of the cathedral, so you can only peek in there.  I’m not sure it’s worth the 35 Czech crowns they supposedly collect for that.  I did manage to get a few photos.

Then we went searching for lunch.  I thought we might try Buddha, an Indian and Nepalese restaurant I noticed near the Brewery Museum.  It smelled delicious and they had an English menu.  I also knew Bill would get a thrill because he loves Indian food and I don’t.  Alas, they were closed on Sunday, despite their sign signifying otherwise.  Oh well.  If we go back to Plzen, we’ll have to try it.  It gets great reviews on TripAdvisor.  Even without the reviews, my nose told me it was a good place to eat.

It was okay that we missed Buddha, though, because I found another fabulous restaurant.  I had actually noticed it as we walked into town.  I am naturally attracted to alcoves when we travel.  I like to explore things that aren’t on the main drags.  This restaurant was actually on the main drag, but had its entrance in an alcove.  Called U Makicke Brany, the outside of the restaurant looks distinctly Eastern European.  The inside is very inviting, with cavernous ceilings and an upscale bar area.  I was especially attracted by the great music they were playing… lots of classic rock!  Good music, excellent beer, and delicious food is an invitation for me to pig out, which is exactly what I did.

Bill looks at the menu.

 

U Makicke Brany offers menus with German and English translations, which was a huge help.  I can often figure things out in local languages, but Czech is a mystery to me.  Our waitress and the bartender also spoke English and/or German, which was also helpful.  Actually, speaking some German is useful in the Czech Republic, because even if someone can’t speak English, chances are they will know some German.  I have noticed it on all of our visits.  Bill can speak basic conversational German and it does come in handy when we go to the Czech Republic.

I loved the bar!

And the beer…

But I especially loved the garlic soup!

 

As we were looking at the menu, I noticed the restaurant offered garlic soup, which is apparently a popular hangover cure in the Czech Republic.  I noticed the Brewery Museum restaurant also had it on the menu.  I was intrigued by the ingredients, which looked really good to me.  There was garlic, potatoes, barley, bacon, and croutons.  It sounded perfect for cold weather.  But I also knew I wanted dessert and I knew the main course would also fill me up.  Thankfully, Bill was happy to order it with two spoons.  Our waitress was adorable and beamed when I enthused about that soup.  I think she and the bartender had some chemistry going on.  I noticed they seemed to be enjoying each other’s company.

This garlic soup was delicious!  I need to find a recipe.  It wasn’t too garlicky, but had just enough of an essence.  The croutons tasted homemade and buttery, which really added to the comfort level of the soup.  It smelled amazing, too.  

Bill sensibly followed up with a chicken Caesar salad.  It also had bacon in it.  Bacon makes everything better, right?

I went with smoked duck breast and gravy.  I told you, I love duck… even though they are so cute and cuddly.  I wish my tastebuds hadn’t evolved before my ethics did.  The duck came with baked potato discs that absorbed the gravy in a most appealing way.  Or course, I was thinking to myself that green vegetables had been missing from my diet while we were in the Czech Republic.  I’ll have to make up for that this week.

For dessert, we shared cheesecake with blueberry sauce.  This was just the right size.  Not too big, heavy, or rich.

And I had one more dark beer for the road… a Master, which packed a good punch.  Between us, we had five beers, a bowl of soup, a salad, an entree, and dessert.  It set us back less than $40.  Cheap!

A few shots of the outside.  In the summer, they also have outdoor seating.

I noticed the street name as we waited to cross the street.

Views of Plzen on a sunny day.

Inside the tower as I recover from the climb.

We decided to go back to the dogs and watch more of the Olympics, since by the time we were finished with our sumptuous lunch, it was mid afternoon.  Once again, we were too full to go looking for dinner.  Instead, we had more croquettes.  Even as I was cursing myself for being so lazy on this trip, I realized that with better planning, we could really fill our days up in this part of the Czech Republic.  Not only is there Plzen, which in and of itself offers a lot to do, there’s also Karlovy Vary, which is a beautiful spa town, and of course, Chodova Plana, which offers Chodovar.  If we’d wanted to, we could have spent a week and not done the same thing twice.  Maybe that’s why we didn’t go out as much as we should have.  There were so many choices that we were overwhelmed with making decisions.

Bill and I mostly stay low key on our trips, anyway.  We kind of like to soak up the atmosphere, people watch, and do the odd activity, sandwiched with good food, beer, or wine.  We also love meeting new people on our trips.  We almost always have something interesting happen to us, if only because we’re less focused on seeing things and more attuned to simple experiences.

Sunday night, Bill discovered where he could find Chodovar beer in Plzen.  It was available at Billa, a grocery chain in the Czech Republic.  On Monday morning, as we were leaving Plzen, we drove to a really seedy looking part of the city, complete with communist era apartment buildings.  I remarked that it will take a long time before those vestiges of communism will go away.  Those buildings are ugly, but functional.  I used to live in a couple of them myself, when I lived in Armenia.

I enjoyed a Chodovar last night!

Bill scored seven bottles of Chodovar and a few bottles of the awesome flavored sparkling water from there.  I found myself planning another trip in my head.  Next time, maybe we’ll return to Chodovar, which offers a good centralized location for notable cities in the area.  Maybe we’ll spend a few more days, just wandering the beautiful countryside, touring breweries, and hitting the spas.  That’s the life for me!

Those buildings aren’t going away…

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Eastern Europe

Cheap thrills in the Czech Republic! Part five

There was one thing I remembered from our first visit to Plzen.  In 2009, I remember Bill driving down a main drag and seeing a large “Thank You, America” memorial.  Unfortunately, I had forgotten to bring my camera with me on that trip and, at that time, didn’t own a smartphone.  I was hoping we’d get to see the “Thank You, America” memorial on this trip, since it kind of makes me feel a little pride for my country.  It was built in 1995, fifty years after the United States Army, led by General George Patton, liberated Plzen from the Nazis.

Sadly, we missed the memorial, not because I didn’t have my camera, but because apparently it recently disintegrated.  I can’t help but be reminded that the memorial’s decline is not unlike the decline in the United States right now.  It seems almost symbolic.  But anyway, for those who would like to see a photo of Plzen’s “thanks” to America when it was still standing, follow the link.

I am heartened to report that the memorial is being repaired and will be reconstructed with French marble, which I guess is sturdier.  I guess the materials available in 1995 were of poor quality, which doesn’t surprise me, since in 1995, the United States was sending Peace Corps Volunteers to the Czech Republic.  That was a time when things weren’t as prosperous in the Czech Republic as they are now.  Anyway, the memorial will be back at some point, probably as good as new.  Hopefully, our country will likewise be repaired in the coming years.  Incidentally, there is also a museum and memorial for General Patton, for those who are interested.  In fact, I saw a lot of references to America in Plzen, including a street named for Franklin D. Roosevelt.

We came back to our little cottage with beer, wine, “crocketts”, breakfast pastries, and other odds and ends.  I had looked in vain for Chodovar beer in the Kaufland.  They didn’t have any of that.  They did have some interesting wines, though.  We picked up a couple of bottles from Bulgaria, as well as a couple of Czech wines.  We tried the Bulgarian merlot, but the others will have to be tested later.

Potato croquettes.  We discovered these on an earlier trip to the Czech Republic.

Because we were really full from lunch and it was cold outside, we decided to stay in and watch the Winter Olympics on the big TV.  We had “crocketts” for dinner.  What I call crocketts are actually potato croquettes.  They are all kinds of delicious.  We discovered them in June 2008, when Bill and I visited Passau, Germany for my 36th birthday.  Passau is not far from the Czech border, so on the big day itself, we drove into the Czech Republic and visited Ceske Budjovice and Cesky Krumlov.  We had lunch in Budjovice, which is where the “original” Budweiser is made.

I don’t remember exactly what we had for lunch on that visit.  I probably had duck because I love it.  But I do remember that whatever we had came with a side of potato croquettes.  Our waiter pronounced it “crocketts”, which we thought was funny.  I know you can get potato croquettes in Germany, but somehow they seem different in the Czech Republic.  I actually went hunting for them at Kaufland.  It wasn’t easy, but I finally found them in a sea of frozen pommes.  There were only a few bags.  I guess the Czech people love them, too.

We watched skiing, including multiple replays of Czech skier Ester Ledecka, an adorable snowboarder and Alpine skier who won gold in the Super-G competition.  She was so cute, because after she finished her run, she looked absolutely stunned to be in first place.  She had borrowed the skis on which she won her medal.

We also watched multiple interviews with Czech men’s figure skater, Michal Brezina, who is married to a retired American skater and trains in California.  I got a huge kick out of his hair.  I probably enjoyed that as much as I did his long program.  It was a treat to get to watch the Olympics, since we don’t get local TV.  I guess if we could watch them at home in Germany, we might have been more inclined to eat dinner on the town.

After a few hours of Olympic coverage, chowing down on croquettes, and drinking Bulgarian wine, we went to bed.  I was determined to do more on Sunday.

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Eastern Europe

Cheap thrills in the Czech Republic! Part four

I mentioned in previous posts about our Czech Republic trip that this is a country that loves its beer.  Czech citizens drink more beer per capita than any other country, including Germany, Ireland, and Belgium.  This is a country where beer costs less than bottled water and they’ve been making beer since 993 A.D.  So it’s not surprising that a lot of beer lovers come to the Czech Republic to taste their suds and visit breweries.

Bill and I had every intention of touring Pilsner Urquell’s brewery, which is based in Plzen.  On our last visit, back in 2009, we toured Plzen’s awesome Brewery Museum and really enjoyed it.  But as we approached Pilsner Urquell, I noticed how huge the place was.  Then I noticed all the tours were timed, because they are offered in different languages.  We could either take a 1:00pm tour or a 2:45pm tour.  We could tour Pilsner Urquell or Gambrinus… I actually found myself a little overwhelmed.  I need more than a weekend to do all of this stuff!

The big gate at Pilsner Urquell in Plzen.

Bill figures out the map at Pilsner Urquell.

 

It’s a big place!  Free parking is available there, but there’s also a large parking garage nearby that is super cheap.  Bill paid about 70 cents for several hours of parking on Saturday.  The parking garage also has clean WCs.  I was surprised by how civilized it was.

 

“Man, that’s good beer!”

My stomach started rumbling and we decided we’d rather have lunch first.  We walked out of the Pilsner Urquell complex, crossed the large, busy street, and headed toward the Brewery Museum, which has a restaurant.  We ate in the restaurant the first time we visited Plzen, so we knew we’d find English menus there.  It was very busy; consequently, lunch was a leisurely, but delicious affair.  I really love Czech cuisine, which is somewhat like German cuisine, but with more or different seasonings.

The Brewery Museum’s restaurant has very good food.  We were spoiled for choice.

 

I eventually settled on duck leg confit with onion gravy and bread dumplings…

 

Bill had pork with mashed potatoes and gravy.  That pork was delicious!  Very tender and flavorful.

 

Although it’s a good idea for me to eat before I try to sightsee, I also have a tendency to take too long at lunchtime, especially when there’s beer being offered.  We each had a Pilsner Urquell, but then we tried a lovely dark Sladko, pictured below.  It was rich, malty, and kind of like a beery milkshake.

Oh, this was sooo good!

By the time we were finished with lunch, the urge to tour a museum or a brewery had left us.  However, I do want to get back to Plzen if only so we can take the Historical Plzen Underground Tour, which is offered by the Brewery Museum.  I wish we’d done this on Saturday, because it’s only 50 minutes and offers a look at about one kilometer of Plzen’s 14 kilometers of underground tunnels.  Actually, looking around Plzen, I could see that any visitor who likes beer will be kept busy for several days.  Trying to make a choice of what to see seemed overwhelming, although having seen the Brewery Museum during our first visit, I would definitely recommend that to any visitor.  It’s very well-done and translations are offered in 15 languages.  Pilsner Urquell also offers a virtual tour online, for those who’d rather not tour the facility and say they did.

An example of Czech advertising.

I actually took this photo to remind me that there are things for young people to do, too.  Plzen has a zoo and other activities for kids.

One of the prettier views in Plzen.

St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral.  It dates from the 13th century and opened in 1529.

Around the square.

Off in the distance, a brand new bride and groom were having a photo shoot.  I felt sorry for the bride, because it was really cold outside and she only wore a wrap around her shoulders to cover her dress.  Kudos to her for not freezing!

For the kids to play on…

The guys in this photo were all dressed in medieval garb.  Bill said they were probably going to spar with each other.

By about 3:00pm, we decided to go to Kaufland to pick up a French press for coffee and maybe a few odds and ends for dinner.  The Kaufland reminded me very much of a Real on Saturday.  It was packed with people.  Still, we managed to find what we needed, including a bag of “crocketts”.  I’ll explain that in the next post.

I got a kick out of this wienie eating dude.  We bought some of his franks.

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Eastern Europe

Cheap thrills in the Czech Republic! Part three

Saturday morning, we woke up bright and early.  Bill went hunting for a bakery and didn’t find one.  He did find a small mom and pop shop, though, where he found some rolls that kind of resembled hot dog buns (but tasted much better).  He had scored some ham, cheese, and eggs the night before at the neighborhood Coop, which is tiny, but has the basic stuff.  Our rental had one of those coffee pod machines, which my coffee purist husband hates.  He resolved to pick up a French press later.

After breakfast, we beagle proofed the house and set off for Plzen.  Bill took a couple of turns and we suddenly found ourselves confronted by a truly awesome sight…  Who would have thought that little Senec would have an Airpark?  We pulled up at the same time a young family with a little boy arrived.  The boy was obviously very excited to check out all of the old planes, helicopters, and tanks.  I was excited, too.  Some of the stuff they had there was flat out awesome.  The fact that we weren’t expecting to find this place made it even cooler.  I mean, where else but in a former communist country would you find huge airplanes on display on the side of the road?

The boy rang the bell and a tall, older woman came out.  She didn’t speak any language other than Czech and the signage was mostly in Czech.  I think I saw one or two English signs and a few more German signs.  The rest was all local lingo…  Fortunately, my husband was a tanker in the Army, so he knows about this stuff.  He especially took great pleasure in telling me about the tanks.

There are a couple of areas in the park that cost extra to visit.  There’s one area that requires a guide and has a plane you can pay extra to see the inside of.  Since the lady on duty didn’t speak our language, we decided to stick with the basic tour.  It was pretty frigid outside, anyway.  There were a couple of planes where you could climb up on ladders and look into the cockpits.

I should mention that the Czech Republic has kind of a special place in Bill’s heart.  At the beginning of his Army career, back in the mid to late 1980s, he was posted at both Ansbach and Vilseck.  Part of his job, in those days before the Berlin Wall fell, was to guard Germany’s border with the Czech Republic.  He said there were times in that era when he and his buddies were sure the Russians would invade and they’d be killed due to being outnumbered.  I remember so well what it was like for Bill the first time he crossed the Czech border in 2008.  He said it was very surreal, since he could easily remember a time when that was an unthinkable thing to do.  I must admit, having grown up during the Cold War era, it’s a little strange for me, too.

The entrance.  It even hearkens back to the days before communism fell.

Stalin is watching you!

Missiles!

For an extra fee, you and three friends can climb the steps and see inside this Soviet era plane.  Since I flew in one in 1995 on the way to Yerevan, Armenia, I didn’t need to see it.

Extra charge for this exhibit… maybe if it hadn’t been so cold outside… and our guide could communicate with us or vice versa.  But we were content to look at the planes over the gate.

Bill was explaining the finer points of missiles to me.

We spent about a half an hour here, I think… give or take a few minutes.  It was really cold out and I had to rely on my eyes to tell me a truncated story.  Still, I think this would be an awesome place to explore on a warmer day with your buddies who are fascinated by aircraft, tanks, missiles, war stuff… you know, stuff military folks dig.  It’s well worth a visit if you visit Plzen.  I think it was probably the highlight of our Saturday, which turned out to be a lazy day.  After we checked out the planes, we drove to the city with big plans of touring Pilsner Urquell’s brewery or a brewery museum or something.  But we got waylaid by lunch.  More on that in the next post, which I’ll probably write tomorrow.

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Eastern Europe

Cheap thrills in the Czech Republic! Part two

After we decided we wanted to go to the Czech Republic, Bill and I had to determine where in the country we wanted to go.  I was actually kind of wanting to visit Brno, which is a city we hadn’t seen before.  It got some great write ups that made it sound like an appealing place to see.  Unfortunately, we were constrained by the brevity of Bill’s time off and the fact that we’d need to bring our dogs, Zane and Arran, with us.  I did consider another visit to Chodovar, but again, thought of the dogs.  Although Chodovar allows dogs to stay in its hotel, Zane and Arran do better in lower density populations.  They aren’t exactly quiet.

I went to Booking.com, to look for appropriate accommodations near Chodova Plana and found a couple of possibilities.  The place that won our business was Vila Verunka, a little freestanding house in Senec, a suburb of Plzen.  I was won over by the fact that it offered free parking, free WiFi, and didn’t charge extra for the dogs.  It’s not that I mind paying pet fees; it’s just that I’ve found that people who don’t charge extra fees for pets tend to be less nervous about them staying.  They’re usually dog lovers who won’t freak out over normal things that dogs do.  That appeared to be the case at Vila Verunka, too.  The owners were very welcoming to our dogs, which I always love to see.

A lot of people like Air BnB.  I haven’t tried it yet, mainly because their Web site makes it hard for me to find exactly what I’m looking for.  I tend to be specific about what I want in a rental.  Although Booking.com doesn’t seem to have as many properties as Air BnB does, its search process is easy to use.  And, if I end up really hitting it off, sometimes the owners will just tell me to text them personally.  Such is the case in Ribeauville.  We’ve stayed at one guy’s apartment three times in the past year and he’s given us his number and told us to text him next time we want to rent from him.  I’m sure it’s because he makes more money that way, but if I’m honest, I kind of like having our French friend Yannick on speed dial.  😉

I could tell Senec would be a suburban location.  The price was definitely right, though.  For three nights in a two bedroom house, we paid the Czech crown equivalent of 288 euros.  Although we paid in the local currency, it turned out we could have paid in euros or even by credit card.  We didn’t have quite enough Czech crowns when we arrived because Bill stopped at the border and changed money at an exchange– something he shouldn’t have done, because they’re very expensive.  The owners were cool, though, and came the next morning for the money, after Bill had a chance to hit the bank.  Apparently, that house is popular with business people.  The owners asked us if we were there on business or filming something.  They seemed surprised that we’d go to Plzen for fun, although if you’re a beer lover, it’s a must see place.

Below are some pictures of the accommodations.  Everything was very clean and appeared to be new.

The living room.  There’s a gas fireplace, which we didn’t use.  I liked how carefree the couch was.  Very durable material that didn’t embed dog hair.  I will probably be in the market for a new couch when we move out of Germany.  I’m going to look for one upholstered with that material.

The bigger bedroom.  The mattress was a little hard, but the bed was nice and big.  There were flatscreen TVs in both bedrooms.  There’s also a single daybed in this room that could accommodate another person.

This property doesn’t have a shower.  Instead, there’s a bathtub with a handheld sprayer.  Also, the toilet is in a separate room.  The sink is in the washroom with the tub and the washing machine.

Nice kitchen, although the microwave was in a cabinet over the fridge.  Bill had to get it down when we wanted to use it, which was kind of a pain.  We’re both short.  It would have been nice if the microwave were on a cart or a table instead of a high cabinet.  There is a coffee pod machine, so Bill went out and got a cheap French press because we don’t like coffee pods.  Otherwise, the kitchen was well appointed, although lacking coasters.  The water in this house is not potable, though.  I think it may be because the house has a cistern, which means it uses rainwater.  Our first German house had a cistern that we could turn on and off.  

The toilet.  There was a curtained off “closet” with cleaning supplies.  No sink in the WC.

The other bedroom.  Somewhat smaller.

Another view of the living room.  There’s another daybed for another person to sleep on.  Nice flatscreen TV, though there were no English channels.  We watched the Winter Olympics in Czech, which was more interesting than it sounds!  WiFi in this house worked great!  No issues whatsoever.

Washing machine.

The outside of the house.  The picture doesn’t show how big the yard is.  It’s fenced in and has a picnic area and grill.  There’s also a swing set and the owners will rent you an inflatable pool for your kids.  There’s also a very small pond, which was frozen over when we visited.

Another shot of the house.  It backs up to a wooded area where there are trails suitable for walking your dogs.  Otherwise, you can turn them loose in the large, fenced yard.

This house is in what appears to be a developing subdivision.  There are several homes being built now.  In the neighborhood, there are a couple of small markets and a restaurant or two.  We didn’t explore much of Senec, although we did make a very cool find on Saturday morning.  More on that in the next post.  Here’s a hint, though… if you like old aircraft from the Cold War era, you might want to take a peek!

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Eastern Europe

Cheap thrills in the Czech Republic! Part one

My husband Bill and I just got home from a long weekend near Plzen in the Czech Republic.  It was not our first visit to the area, but it was the first since 2009, when Bill and I celebrated President’s Day weekend and Valentine’s Day in Chodova Plana.  Chodova Plana is where Chodovar, a brewery and “beer wellness land”,  is located.  We had really been looking forward to visiting Chodovar and enjoying a soak in one of their beer baths, which we learned about while watching a drinking show called Three Sheets.  It was my very first visit to a beer spa.  I have since become something of a beer spa connoisseur.

I remember that trip very well because Bill had just gotten back from from a TDY assignment for EUCOM.  Just before he got home to pick me up for our trip to Chodovar, Bill received a cryptic email from his narcissistic former boss, who had tormented him for six months in Iraq.  The guy had asked Bill how he was liking Germany.  Bill said he loved it here.  The guy then said that sometimes the Army takes you in places you don’t expect to go.  Indeed, that cryptic email set off a series of moves that would keep us hopping through three states over five years.

After our fabulous weekend in Chodova Plana, during which we visited Karlovy Vary, Plzen, and Marianske Lazne, soaked in beer, got massages, and bought art from a Russian painter, we found out that we would be leaving our Germany assignment prematurely.  Bill had been requested by name for his next assignment at FORSCOM, which was at that time located at Fort McPherson, near Atlanta, Georgia.

We knew we would not be in Georgia for long, since Fort McPherson was slated to close in 2011.  Indeed, we were only there for 16 months before we moved to Fort Bragg for 28 months, then spent a year at Fort Sam Houston.  Then, Bill mercifully retired, and we wound up back here in Germany.  If we’re still here in August, and I’m sure we will be, this will have been the longest period we’ve spent in one place since we got married in 2002.

You might say that visit to the Czech Republic and the email that preceded it even inspired me to start blogging.  It was when we were living in Georgia that I started thinking about how my best laid plans had gone horribly awry and I wound up an “overeducated housewife”.  I no longer really complain about it, though.  I have a pretty good life, at least right now.  I’ve gotten to see and do some pretty cool things because I’ve followed Bill around for the past fifteen years.

In any case, since we’ve been back in Germany, I’ve made a point of getting away as often as possible to see places in Europe I either want to see for the first time or revisit.  The Czech Republic was one of our favorite places when we lived in Germany the first time.  We barely got two years out of our first stint here, yet we still managed three visits to the Czech Republic.  Although getting there takes the better part of the day by car, it’s pretty much all autobahn.  And though the Czech Republic still has plenty of remnants of its Eastern Bloc past, its people are warm, friendly, and downright cool.  Plus, if you love beer– and Bill and I do– it’s a must see country.  The Czechs drink even more beer than the Germans do.  In fact, they drink more beer per capita in the Czech Republic than anywhere else in the world!  Plzen is also the city that birthed a very popular beer style, the trusty pilsner.

I’m surprised to admit that we’ve been back in Germany since 2014 and this past weekend was our first time back to the Czech Republic since our return.  And… it was all we’d hoped it would be!  God willing, we will get to stay here a bit longer so we can visit a couple more times.  There’s a lot to see and do in the Czech Republic and, for you bargain hunters out there, it’s pretty damn cheap!

Just before he left to go pick up some groceries at the Real, Bill informed me that over our three nights in the Czech Republic, we spent a grand total of $635!  That figure includes what we spent to rent a freestanding house, two extravagant lunches, groceries, gas, excursions, and lots of beer!  Granted, the weather kind of kept us from doing a whole lot, but we did enjoy ourselves for not much money.  So if you’ve been wondering about the Czech Republic and want to go somewhere besides Prague, stay tuned to this series.  I’m already dreaming up more trips to this formerly forbidden place.

But I won’t be traveling by plane… especially not one of these!

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Valentine’s Day dinner at Refugio 2018… a big “meh”…mi

I did try.

Ahh, Valentine’s Day…  a greeting card holiday that has caused quite the angst in many a young person.  Since I haven’t been young in awhile, I’ve made it a point to try to do things on Valentine’s Day.  My husband, Bill, is very obliging.  Most years, he brings me chocolate, a mushy card, and/or flowers.  We also usually go out to dinner.  I’ll put on a relatively pretty dress and fix my hair.  He’ll put on fancy clothes I bought him for Christmas.  We’ll hit the town and try to be fancy.

“When in doubt, pinky out…”

Last year, our Valentine’s Day celebration took place at Refugio, a restaurant at Hotel La Casa in Tübingen.  I remember we had originally made other plans for Valentine’s Day dinner 2017, but I was swayed by the ads I kept seeing on Facebook for Refugio’s event.  They were having a concert with a virtuoso pianist and singer, plus a set dinner.  Last year, we had to reserve in advance and the hotel mailed us actual tickets to the dinner.  I remember having a pretty good time, even if I don’t always have the best luck with “set dinners”.

Fast forward a year.  It’s Valentine’s Day again.  Somehow, we let our plans get away from us.  Bill was too busy to bring me flowers, chocolate, or even a mushy card.  Two days ago, I visited Hotel La Casa’s Facebook page and noticed they were doing another Valentine’s Day dinner, albeit with less fanfare than last year’s celebration.  I asked on Facebook if they still had reservations open.  They responded that they did, so I asked Bill if he wanted to go.  He said yes and emailed them a reservation request for 7:30pm.

Last night, Bill came home from work and changed from work clothes to…  work clothes.  I changed out of my nightgown, put on pantyhose and makeup, and curled my rapidly greying blonde hair.  The dress I wore last night was a purple velvet number I bought for our latest Scottish cruise.  I decided I should wear it instead of the black dress I usually wear when we go out.  Bill doesn’t like it when I wear black on Valentine’s Day.  I will admit it was nice to wear something different, although that dress doesn’t show off my cleavage, which might be my most alluring feature.  I threw a wrap over it– a pretty red silk/cashmere one that Bill bought me on a business trip to Vicenza.  The same guy was probably selling them in Stuttgart.  I have to admit Bill did pretty well with that purchase.

We headed to Tübingen, arriving on time for our reservation at Hotel La Casa.  This was our third visit to the hotel’s restaurant.  I keep thinking I’d like to book a weekend there, since it’s a charming boutique/spa hotel.  Even though we only live about a half an hour from Tübingen, I know I’d find plenty to do.  Tübingen is a great town and one that is close to our hearts, since we lived very close to there when Bill was in Germany with the Army (07-09).  Before I was an annoying blahger, I was a bored housewife who had lots of fun times in Tübingen.

Things got off to a reasonably good start.  We parked in a nearby garage and walked a couple of blocks to the hotel.  A friendly receptionist welcomed us and took our coats.  We were directed to a four top table in the lower level of the dining room.  Our table was in front of a very comfortable couch like seat.  I remarked to Bill that the chairs looked like they might be new (although I see from previous reviews that they aren’t).  They were very luxurious and comfortable, even though I shared the “couch” with the lady sitting at the next table.  There was a cylindrical pillow dividing her space and mine.  The concept reminded me of an order divider one finds on conveyer belts at grocery stores.  I kind of liked it, since I’m territorial.

Although the seating was very comfortable, the person who set the table kind of made things difficult for me.  You see, the “couch” also had a barrier of sorts on the outside, which meant that in order to access the place set for me, I had to awkwardly scoot across the couch.  Likewise, if I wanted to get up to use the ladies room, I had to scoot the other way.  It wasn’t unlike trying to get out of a window seat on an airplane, although at least I didn’t have to climb over anyone to do it.  Every time I slid across the couch, my dress and panty hose shifted and I just knew I’d end up with static shock.

Our table was also located right next to a very tasteful divider that blocked the way to the ladies room.  Had that divider not been there, it would have been easy to get to the restroom.  Although I was really tempted to just duck past it, I decided to be classy and walk past the small fountain in the middle of the dining room, up the stairs, past the pianist and bar, down more stairs, and then down another flight of stairs to the restroom.  Fortunately, I didn’t wear heels last night, so it was no big deal.

Bill takes in the scene.  I was momentarily amused by the unicorn horn like napkins on the table.  I did refrain from putting one to my forehead, which is a good thing.  A tuxedo clad gentleman sitting behind us kept shooting us looks.  Or maybe he was just looking at the pianist.

A server brought us some bread and we ordered two glasses of champagne and some sparkling water.

We enjoyed the bubbly with the amuse, a heart shaped savory bread with a bacon wrapped date and a goat cheese spread that was hidden under the petals of the flower.  The amuse wasn’t bad.

 

Service was rather leisurely.  Well, for us it was, anyway.  I’m sure the servers didn’t think it was leisurely at all, as four of them looked after everyone in the restaurant.  I don’t think they had a full house, but the dining room was fairly busy.  They probably could have used at least one more set of hands.  I finished my champagne and kind of wished for a glass of white wine to go with the next couple of courses.

Meanwhile, the pianist was playing a curious selection of hits.  He’d play a romantic song, then lapse into “Just a Gigolo” or a James Bond theme.  I noticed the adorable elderly couple next to us were really enjoying the pianist’s musical stylings.  They burst into applause when the pianist stopped for a break.  I mostly enjoyed the pianist too, at least at first.  More on that, later.

After the elderly couple applauded, they got up to leave and bid us a pleasant farewell.  They were so cute.  I hope if Bill and I make it to true elderly status, we’re still going out and enjoying dinners on the town like that couple was last night.  It was lovely to see, and probably my favorite part of our evening.

Our server brought out the first course, two sea scallops on vegetables with a heart shaped “frame” of smoked salmon.  The scallops were “speared” with lemongrass, in the style of an arrow.  I enjoyed the scallops and the horseradish themed dressing that came with them.  This wasn’t too bad.  I did order a glass of white wine at this point, which the server promised he’d bring for me.  I finished this course before the wine came… (and have actually only now noticed that the salmon was arranged in a heart shape.)

Then came course two, a tomato soup with “trout chips”, a soggy heart shaped piece of bread, caviar of some sort, and a basil leaf.  It wasn’t bad, but really didn’t blow my mind…  and I also finished it before my wine came.  I had to remind the waiter to bring it.  And then when he brought the wine, it also didn’t thrill me.  It was a very buttery, locally produced grey burgundy that was slightly effervescent and kind of mediocre.  It wasn’t bad, but I like my white wines crisper. 

 

Before dinner started, we made sure to tell the waiter that I can’t eat mushrooms.  He said he would make sure my main course didn’t have them, which led me to believe that if we hadn’t asked, I’d be presented with a plate full of fungus.  I know it sounds silly, but mushrooms are the one food that make me want to run screaming from the room.  They give me the creeps (long, ridiculous story that makes me look even crazier than I am).  Anyway, more than once, I’ve been unpleasantly surprised by fungus on my plate.  I didn’t want that to happen last night.  We made very certain to confirm and our waiter assured us it was no problem.

The main course, beef filet with vegetables and a heart shaped puff pastry garnish.

 

Bill’s dish was the same as mine, which immediately made me nervous, since the waiter had originally indicated that mushrooms had been part of the dish.  The beef was covered with a an unappetizing light brown sauce.  It made me suspicious.  I asked the waiter again about the ‘shrooms.  He said there weren’t any.  Bill tasted the beef and said he couldn’t taste the nasty little parasites.  I tried the beef, too.  I don’t think there were mushrooms in the sauce, but unfortunately I was so turned off by the thought of them that I couldn’t really enjoy the main course.  I ate maybe a third of the beef and half of the vegetables.  In retrospect, I should have asked the waiter to hold any sauces.  I’ll remember that for next time.

On the positive side, the waiter did pour us a lovely Italian primitivo, that was very nice on its own.  I wish I’d thought to take a picture of the bottle because that was a wine I would love to drink at home.

“The Winner Takes It All” is a beautiful song by ABBA with a melody that lends itself to piano.  However, it seemed an odd choice for Valentine’s Day.
 
 

And the appropriately jazzy “Moon Over Bourbon Street”, is also a little creepy…  

While we were finishing the main course, I noticed the pianist’s song choices were getting a bit strange.  I can’t be sure, but I think I heard mashups of pieces that included “Moon Over Bourbon Street” by Sting and, curiously, “The Winner Takes It All” by ABBA.  I was especially perplexed by the ABBA song.  I happen to love “The Winner Takes It All”; it’s a beautiful song with a lovely melody.  However, although the song itself is moving, the lyrics are about divorce and the loss of love, so I wasn’t expecting to hear it on Valentine’s Day!  Ditto the Sting song, which is romantic and interesting, but it’s basically about a lonely vampire who is tormented by his urges to destroy the things he loves.

Dinner ended with a dessert panoply, which we shared.  There were two scoops of gelato– strawberry and mango, I think.  Two frozen chocolate mousse bars, fresh berries, a rather dry, heart-shaped chocolate brownie, and what tasted like a strawberry mousse.  The gelato was a little soft, like it had been sitting out a bit before it reached our table, but it could be they just had the gelato out of the freezer for easier scooping.  I was glad the brownie wasn’t a lava cake.  The whole thing was capped off by a heart shaped piece of white chocolate.

 

Around this time, I was starting to get a bit antsy and, if I’m honest, kind of annoyed about how dinner turned out.  I also felt a little guilty, since not enjoying Valentine’s Day is truly a first world problem.  For many years, I didn’t even have anyone to celebrate Valentine’s Day with.  Now I have a sweet husband who is willing to indulge me.  Yes, I know sometimes I’m an asshole.  We all have our moments.  Unfortunately, then Bill and I started talking about my hair, which is now natural and rapidly going grey.  Bill saved the conversation by reassuring me that he loves my hair.  The neurotic moment mercifully passed and we decided to call it a night.

Bill called for the check, which came to 179 euros.  He paid our waiter, who reminded me to take the rose in the vase, which I did.  After a quick visit to the restroom before our drive home, we stopped at the coat rack.  Normally, a staff member gets your coat for you, but I guess they were busy.  So Bill and I helped ourselves and, as I was struggling to put my coat on, our waiter came over to say goodbye without offering assistance.  That was no big deal, I guess.  Maybe you could say it sort of capped off my overall impressions of the evening– a big “meh”.

But at least the rose is pretty! 

And my hair does look blonde in this photo, which was taken last night…  so I’m going to resist the urge to break out the hair color.

I did notice a couple of patrons ordering from the regular menu.  Or, at least it appeared that they did.  I never think to ask about doing that, especially since having worked in restaurants, I know that kind of screws up things for the kitchen.  Sometimes it’s hard to go from server mentality to guest mentality, even if you’ve been out of the business for a long time.

I’ll be the first to admit that my attitude sometimes sucks.  I certainly wouldn’t say last night was a disaster.  In fact, having once worked as a waitress in a nice restaurant, I should have realized that if you really want to have a good time at dinner, it’s best to avoid eating out on popular holidays like Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day.  Those are the days restaurants have “special menus” that can lead to disappointment, since you don’t necessarily have a choice in what you’ll be eating.  Those days are also when people tend to go out to eat, which means service can suffer.

Since this was our third time eating at Refugio and the first two times were good, I can truthfully say last night was probably an aberration.  No one can bat a thousand every day.  As always, it was a treat to be out with Bill, who is my favorite person.  That, in and of itself, makes any Valentine’s Day a success.  At least he was home and not deployed or TDY, right?

This weekend, we are going to the Czech Republic, staying in a town very close to Plzen, which is an excellent venue for beer lovers.  I probably like beer even more than I do wine, so I’m expecting to have a good time.  We visited Chodovar, a beer wellness land/beer spa/ brewery in the Czech Republic in February 2009 and, for many reasons, had an unforgettable experience.  So I suspect we’ll make up for last night this weekend, if all goes according to plan.  I don’t know if we’ll manage to hit the beer spa (or a wine spa, for that matter), but I’m sure we’ll find great things to do.  And this time, I won’t forget to bring my camera, like I did last time.

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A comparison of European beer spa experiences…

Now that Bill and I have experienced three different European beer spas, I think it’s time to compare them.  Although we’ll probably visit other beer spas while we’re living in Germany, the three we’ve done so far have been sufficiently different that it makes sense to write about them now.

I know a lot of people wonder what possible benefit one could get from soaking in beer or a beer/water mix.  Having now done it three times, I can honestly say that after each soak, I have had soft, shiny hair and smooth skin.  In fact, I have a sore on my back that was slow to heal and I have noticed that it seems to have finally scarred over after this weekend.  Was it really the beer that did it or just a coincidence?  I don’t know.  The main reason I like to go to beer spas is because I am a hedonist and I love beer.  And hell, it’s just a lot of fun!

The first beer spa we went to was Chodovar in Chodova Plana, Czech Republic.  Our visit was over Presidents Day weekend 2009, which also happened to be Valentine’s weekend.  We were very lucky to be able to book the beer baths there.  If I recall correctly, we managed to snag the last available appointment.  At that point, Chodovar had only been in the beer spa business for three years, though the brewery has been making suds for centuries.

Chodovar’s beer spa was the cheapest of the three we’ve attended and that’s probably still true today.  However, I noticed some differences between the experience in Chodovar and the experiences we had at the Landhotel Moorhof and the Starkenberg Brewery.  First off, the Chodovar experience is less private, though you’re supposed to bathe in the buff.

There are several pewter tubs in a room and sheets are drawn around them for privacy.  That makes it practical for the proprietors, who can offer beer baths to several people at the same time.  However, the mood is markedly different, since you hear people giggling and splashing in their tubs as they drink beer.  It’s more of a fun experience than a relaxing spa experience.  Also, after twenty minutes in the tub, the water cools down a bit and you’re ready to get out.  Then you go rest in a quiet room, swaddled in a thick blanket as you drink another beer.

After we had beer baths, Bill and I had massages.  I had a “complete” massage, which was about an hour’s worth of kneading and rubbing done by a young Czech man who spoke no English and actually watched me undress.  Ultimately, he did a very good job and was professional, but it was a little weird and awkward.  Bill had a partial massage on his back done by a woman who spoke a little German, but no English.  Again, a good massage, but a little awkward.

When Bill and I did this in 2009, we each had our own tub, though they were located side by side.  There is one double tub at Chodovar, but it was booked.  In a way, I think maybe I might prefer having a separate tub.  Younger, hornier folks might beg to differ.  Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera when we went to the Czech Republic for our spa trip, so I didn’t get any photos.  Suffice to say that I’d happily visit Chodovar again, though I think I’d rank it third in my list of beer spa experiences thus far.  I do see that they’ve expanded since our last visit, adding a pool and wellness area that looks very inviting.  Maybe it’s time to book another trip!  For a picture of the beer baths, click here.

Our second beer spa experience was at the Landhotel Moorhof near Franking, Austria.  The Moorhof’s beer spa is very different than Chodovar’s.  First off, the Moorhof’s beer spa doesn’t seem to be a focus of the hotel’s marketing.  Yes, they advertise it and even offer beer cosmetics for sale, but it doesn’t seem to be the main reason people stay there.  I was surprised by that, since the Moorhof is in a rural area that isn’t saturated with touristy activities.

The Moorhof beer spa experience is more private and seems more health focused than Chodovar’s.  There is one room with three beer baths and one that has just one bath, making it perfect for couples.  At the Moorhof, we wore bathing suits, although if we hadn’t wanted to wear them, we probably could have gone without them.  I think I would have preferred not wearing the suit, since the hops mixture used in the spa gets all over it and it’s not so easy to rinse out.  I liked that the spa tub was more like a hot tub than a regular bathtub.  The jacuzzi action was noisier, but at Chodovar, you hear cheesy pop music and giggles from other people.  At the Moorhof, you hear the motor of the spa and your sweet one’s loving words.  Or maybe you hear dirty jokes, as it was in my case.

After the beer bath, we rested in a straw bed for a half hour.  That was pretty nice, more comfortable than I expected it to be, and I preferred it to the communal experience at Chodovar, where several people were resting in the same room at the same time.

The beer spa was a little more expensive at the Moorhof and I wish we’d had our massages around the time of the beer bath rather than hours earlier.  However, I will comment that the massage therapist was a little less awkward than the one at Chodovar.  She spoke some English and was very competent.  She also seemed a little more conscious of modesty.

Our third beer spa experience was at the Starkenberger brewery in Tarrenz, Austria.  This experience was my favorite because it was pure hedonism.  Basically, it consisted of Bill and me frolicking in a big vat that was once used for fermenting beer and is now a “pool”.  There were no massages offered at this experience (at least not professional ones), but we were allowed to soak for up to five hours and drink all the beer we wanted.  In fairness to the other beer spa experiences, I can pretty much say that this was not really a health promoting activity.  However, it was a whole lot of fun!

Of the three beer spa experiences, Starkenberger’s was the most expensive.  It was also the most memorable and unique.  And, to be honest, for what you get over five hours in the beer bath, it may have even been the most cost effective, especially if there are four people (the maximum allowed) in your group.  That being said, I do want to comment that the Starkenberger experience may be the most risky.  There is a danger of drowning because you are pretty much left to yourself.  Remember, you’re drinking as much beer as you want and hanging out in hot water deep enough to swim in.  The beer is pretty potent and if you’re not careful, you could find yourself in real trouble.  Practice the buddy system!

Bill and I were actually talking about this last night… how amazing it is that you can go to a beer bath in Europe and be trusted not to either damage the property or drown yourself.  In the United States, you surely would have been asked to sign a waiver before jumping in the beer pool and/or there would have certainly been an employee there to supervise.  In Europe, it seems like people are expected to be responsible for themselves and not do stupid things.  Frankly, I find it a very refreshing attitude.

I don’t know when our next beer spa appointment will be, but I am always on the lookout for new spas to try.  And I see that since our last tour in Germany, there have been quite a few more that have popped up.  I am sure this won’t be the last time I write about bathing in beer or any other exotic substance.  For now, Starkenberger wins the prize as my favorite of the beer spas we’ve been to.

Edited to add: We have now been to four beer spas, having visited the one at Hotel Diana in Seefeld (much like the one at the Moorhof).  Starkenberger remains my favorite of all four experiences so far!

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Chodovar… a beer spa in the Czech Republic

This is the review I wrote about the Chodovar Beer Spa in the Czech Republic.  It was a great place to check out Czech beer!

Checking out Czech beer in more ways that I ever thought possible

Feb 16, 2009 (Updated May 15, 2009)
Review by    is a Top Reviewer on Epinions in Hotels & Travel

Rated a Very Helpful Review

Pros:Fun, very reasonably priced, beer baths

Cons:Glitchy online booking, not near public transport, slightly corporate feel

The Bottom Line:Czech out Czech beer at Chodovar!  It does your body good, both inside and out!

This review will definitely NOT be lean n’ mean!Those of you who have been around for awhile may remember a now defunct shampoo called Body On Tap. Created in 1978 by Bristol-Meyers products, Body On Tap’s list of ingredients included beer, a not so secret ingredient that was supposed to make hair soft and shiny. I remember seeing the ads for that shampoo as a little kid and hearing the warning that I shouldn’t drink it! I always wondered if beer really did do such great things for the hair.

Thirty years later, I’ve just had the chance to find out about the wonderful things beer can do for my hair and skin. My husband Bill and I took advantage of President’s Day weekend at Chodovar Beer Spa and Brewery in Chodova Plana, Czech Republic. Let me tell you, the folks at Chodovar are onto something. Business is booming at their beer spa and when we were done there, my hair was definitely better off for the experience.

The Chodovar Brewery

The Chodovar Brewery, located just beyond the German border, has been around since 1573. In 1992, the Chodovar brewery became a limited liability company owned and operated by four partners: RNDr. Tomáš Zuckermann, Jiøí Plevka Sr., Jiøí Plevka Jr. and Jan Plevka. As Bill and I drove through Chodova Plana and the surrounding areas, we could see that many of the local bars and restaurants served Chodovar beer.

Though the Chodovar Brewery has been making “suds” for centuries, it’s only been in the beer spa business since 2006, when it started offering beer baths as a spa treatment. I learned about the Chodovar beer spa watching the Czech Republic episode of Three Sheets, a travel/drinking show that was aired on the now defunct channel MOJO HD and is currently available to be downloaded on iTunes. The host, Zane Lamprey, traveled to Chodovar for a beer bath as a means to cure the wicked hangover he got from drinking too much Czech beer and absinthe. Because Bill and I are living in Germany and we had already been to Prague and Cesky Krumlov, we decided the long weekend was the perfect excuse to try out this unusual mode of beer tourism.

The hotel

It’s safe to say that the Chodovar Brewery pretty much makes up the whole town of Chodova Plana. Luckily, the Hotel U Sladka, owned and operated by the brewery, is part of the Chodovar beer spa experience. The three star hotel is a fairly basic but very economical affair. There are currently 120 rooms. Singles, doubles, triples, and even quad rooms are available.  Pets can also be accommodated for a small fee.

Bill and I booked a double. Our room was small, but very clean. It had a direct dial phone, television with about ten Czech channels and the hotel’s own brewery channel, and free Internet access (bring your own cable). The bed was the typical European type, two twin beds pushed together. It wasn’t the best bed I’ve ever slept on, but it was comfortable enough. There was also a very cheap minibar stocked with Chodovar products (beer and mineral water).  Beer was priced at 20 Czech crowns ($1) and mineral water, including a delicious orange variety, was 18 Czech crowns (about 90 cents).

The bathroom had an excellent shower with great water pressure and a knobby floor that massaged my feet. There was a towel warmer and two soap dispensers full of Chodovar’s own shower gel… made with beer, naturally! Bill and I came home with a whole range of Chodovar beer cosmetics: shampoo, shower gel, balsam, bubble bath, and even the makings for our own beer bath.

Breakfast is included in the price of the room. It consists of a variety of delicious sausages and salamis, cheeses, hard boiled and scrambled eggs, breads and pastries. You can get a thermos full of Tchibo coffee or use the coffee machine, which makes espresso drinks and hot chocolate. Tea and juice are also available.

There is free unsecured parking in front of the hotel or you can park in the secure lot behind the hotel. The secured lot costs 70 Czech crowns a night (about $3.50), but the lot is locked and presumably very safe from criminals.

Booking the Beer Spa

The first thing to say about the beer spa is to make sure you book it in advance! The Chodovar Brewery has a revamped Web site that will allow you to book online. My advice is to skip the Web site and call the hotel directly. Bill and I decided to visit Chodovar a bit on a whim and requested a reservation ten days in advance. We tried to use the Web site, but got nervous when we didn’t get an immediate confirmation. We called the reception about an hour after we booked and were told that they hadn’t yet received our request through their Web site. We ended up booking our room and beer bath over the phone.

I didn’t actually get a confirmation from the online service until the next day. The receptionist didn’t realize we had already booked over the phone and wrote that the beer baths were fully booked through the weekend. She explained that they recommended booking the beer baths up to four months in advance. I don’t know if that’s really necessary, but I will say that there were no free appointments for the baths the whole time we were there.  In other words, if we had just shown up at the hotel, we probably would not have gotten into the spa.  It was a good thing we called and snagged our spot when we did. We had gotten the last available appointment on Saturday.  It didn’t appear to me that treatments were offered on Sundays.

There are several single tubs available and one double sized tub for couples.  Those who want to use the double tub may want to bear that in mind when planning a trip to Chodovar.

Our Beer Bath experience

Since the double sized tub was booked, Bill and I arranged for two single baths. The smell of fresh beer wafted through the air in the foyer as we rang the doorbell by the spa. We were welcomed by a very friendly spa worker who asked us to remove our shoes. She showed us to dressing rooms and asked us to completely disrobe and wrap up in a sheet. The dressing rooms have lockers and showers in them.

Bill and I came out of the dressing rooms looking like we were headed to a toga party. Another spa worker showed us to our individual tubs, which had already been prepared for us. She drew a curtain around us, leaving the one between the tubs open so we could share the experience!

Our large tubs were full of a warm, foamy, mixture of the spa’s own dark bath beer and mineral water. It smelled of beer, but not offensively so. I found the bath very pleasant and relaxing, as pop music played over the sound system and other couples took their places in their own beer baths. One thing Bill and I both noticed was that we floated a bit! While we soaked in our baths for 20 minutes, we each sipped a .33 liter glass of non-pasteurized Chodovar beer. Supposedly the beer works as a digestive. All I know is that after drinking that beer, I really needed to pee before I got out of the tub!

After 20 minutes, a spa worker pulled the plug on our tubs. We wrapped up in our sheets again and she led us to a dark, quiet room where there were a number of lounges separated by soothing lamps. We laid down on the lounges and the spa worker swaddled us in a fleece quilt, where we were supposed to rest for another twenty minutes. The spa workers served us another glass of beer, which made me have to pee even more! I ended up getting up a little early so I could go relieve myself.

My impressions of the Beer Baths

The extreme need to whiz kind of dampened my ability to relax during the beer bath treatment, but I’d definitely do it again. The bath was very relaxing and fun. And ladies, I recommend letting your hair get wet. After my hair dried, it was incredibly soft and shiny. My skin also felt soft and smooth.

Massages and other spa stuff

Bill and I booked massages, which are also very much in demand. At first, the receptionist told me that because they were booked, we could each only get so-called “simple” massages, which last for 20 minutes. But then she told me that a time slot for a 50 minute “complex” massage was also available. Bill had never had a massage before and was a little skittish about it, so I took the complex massage while he stuck with a simple one. In addition to simple and complex massages, there are also lava stone and foot massages available.

The first thing to know about massages at Chodovar is that they involve almost completely disrobing. The second thing to know is that the Europeans have a lot fewer hang ups about nudity than Americans do. Bill got his massage from a lady, while mine was given by a young man. Neither spoke much English, though the lady did speak a little German. The man who gave me my massage saw me in nothing but a pair of undies, which frankly made me feel a little bashful. However, he was very professional and gave me a very thorough massage.  He was also quite pleased when I gave him a tip.  The last thing to know is that the pervasive scent of human body odor pretty much trumps the scent of the beer bath… or at least it did when I had my massage.  Luckily, my nose shut off halfway through the treatment.

In addition to massages, Chodovar also offers what they call “remedial packs”, which basically involves being wrapped up in malt draff. Bill and I did not try this treatment, though we thought it sounded interesting.

Dining options

I mentioned that the Chodovar Brewery is pretty much the only game going in Chodova Plana. We also couldn’t help but notice that the management seemed very big on marketing and looked like they’d taken a few corporate cues from Anheuser-Busch (now owned by InBev). In any case, there are two restaurants run by the resort. There’s Stará Sladovna (Old Malt House), which is in a brick house located right across the secured parking lot, and Ve Skále, which is about 250 meters from the hotel and housed in an 800 year old cave-like rock labyrinth that used to serve as a beer cellar. Ve Skále also houses a very small museum and gift shop, where patrons can buy Chodovar’s beer cosmetics, apparel, and other paraphernalia.

Both restaurants serve traditonal hearty Czech food, which means lots of meat, poultry, potatoes, and gravy! And there’s also plenty of beer on draft, as well as mineral waters and bottled non-alcoholic brews. Ve Skále is definitely the more unique option, but it’s a little bit of a hike from the hotel that I didn’t find very pleasant in the frigid cold.  If the weather had been warmer, it would have been a nice walk.

Be advised that smoking is allowed in both restaurants and seating is such that you might find yourself sharing a table with people you don’t know. Both restaurants feature long tables with benches and chairs. During our two occasions dining at Ve Skále, Bill and I shared our table. The first time was with a young Czech man who seemed very intent on showing his date how smart he was. The second time was with a German man from Berlin who seemed surprised to find Americans in Chodova Plana. We did not share our table at Stará Sladovna.

Food is very reasonably priced. For example, our first night, we ate at Stará Sladovna and had two good sized entrees and four beers between us. We left the restaurant very satisfied and only spent about $25. But as it’s a brewery, we did find that the servers really pushed the beer! We didn’t find that a bad thing since neither of us had to drive anywhere afterwards.  We also noticed that the male members of the staff really appeared to enjoy the brewery’s product.  My beer gut definitely had lots of company.

Things to do around Chodova Plana

At this writing there’s not that much to do in the town of Chodova Plana, though I’ve heard the management has big plans for expanding Chodovar’s facilities. Brewery tours are available every day at 2:00pm, but Bill and I decided to skip it since we figured it would either be conducted in German or Czech.

Luckily, Chodova Plana is within driving distance to several decent Czech cities. After our beer spa treatments, we drove to Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad), which is about an hour away from Chodova Plana. The drive to Karlsbad from Chodovar is very scenic. You drive through a lovely evergreen forest flanked by a rushing stream that winds its way to a large lake. We thought the drive was especially gorgeous since there was a lot of snow on the ground. Karlsbad is a well known spa city and we saw lots of people using little ceramic pitchers to capture and drink spring water from fountains scattered around the downtown area. The architecture in Karlsbad is very beautiful and one can purchase spa wafers and Becherovka liqueur there as well as take in a massage or spa treatment at one of the many outlets. Shopping also appeared to be great there.

On Sunday, we drove to Plzen, which is also roughly an hour’s drive from Chodova Plana. Plzen is not as beautiful as Karlsbad is, but it is a place to go if you’re into beer. We ended up touring the Pilsner Urquell beer museum and ate lunch at the museum’s restaurant, where we got free samples of Pilsner Urquell beer.  Plzen is also a good spot for history buffs.  It did my heart good to see a huge memorial thanking American soldiers for liberating the city on May 6, 1945.

After our brief visit to Plzen, we drove back to Karlsbad, where we bought a painting from a Russian artist who was selling his wares on the street. The artist lives in Prague, which is also within a reasonable driving distance.

The area also offers excellent opportunities for hiking and viewing wildlife.  We spotted birds of prey, herds of deer, a couple of foxes, and, on the way into Plzen, two rather discreet prostitutes.  If you like castles, old churches, and museums, you’re also in luck.

In conclusion

We had an awesome time in Chodova Plana at the Chodovar Brewery– Beer Wellness Land. And our trip was very affordable. For three nights of lodging, parking, two beer baths, two massages, an array of beer cosmetics, and two beers and two mineral waters from the mini bar, we spent the Czech crown equivalent of $309!  Factoring in food, beer, and the painting we bought, we spent a grand total of $570 on our three day weekend.

That said, there are a few caveats I will issue to American travelers. First, it helps to speak a little German if you don’t speak Czech. We only ran into one employee who spoke English, although English menus are available in the restaurants and some of the promotional materials are written in English. Second, the closest ATM is located about 3 kilometers from the hotel. The hotel does accept credit cards, though I read in another review that one of the restaurants doesn’t yet take them. Third, it’s best to have a car. The town is a bit off the beaten track and I didn’t spot any public transportation facilities nearby. And finally, while Chodovar’s Web site offers online booking, it’s probably best to call them for reservations. We found their online booking system to be a bit glitchy.

Overall, Bill and I had a fantastic experience and would recommend Chodovar to those who love beer, spas, or both!

Chodovar’s Web site: http://www.chodovar.cz

The Web site for the Russian artist who sold us a painting in Karlsbad: 

Here’s the Czech Republic episode of Three Sheets!

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Real Bud…

When I was a young woman in my 20s, I thought American Budweiser was the shit! I drank it all the time and thought it was an iconic brand… an excellent beer! I even worked for Anheuser Busch at one point… Okay, so I worked at Busch Gardens. You still couldn’t avoid the beer culture working at the theme park, even if AB beers suck in general. American Budweiser has been sold in America for a long time… since 1876.

Courtesy of Wikipedia

In June 2008, my husband and I were living in Germany. For my 36th birthday, Bill took me to Passau, Germany, to spend a long weekend. During that weekend, we took a day trip into the Czech Republic. One of the places we visited was České Budějovice, the town where the real “Budweiser” has been made since 1785.

Courtesy of Wikipedia

On my 36th birthday, Bill took me to the city where real Budweiser is made and we had a delightful lunch…

As you can see, it was someone’s wedding day…

A brass band was playing near the town hall…

At lunch, I had duck and croquettes… and a big glass of authentic Budvar beer. It puts American Budweiser to shame!

I wish we could have spent more time in České Budějovice. It was a neat town. Instead, we went to Český Krumlov, which is a very charming town that reminded me of a theme park because of all the foreign visitors and the fact that so many people were dressed in medieval garb.

Church overlooking the river and kayakers.

Yes, I did climb this tower… Phew!

Bears were guarding the moat.

I thought the people in medieval garb were employed by the town, but it turns out my birthday is just in time for their summer solstice festival. It was very cool! I love this photo.

The Czech Republic was one of my favorite countries to visit when we were in Germany. I’d go back in a heartbeat!

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