When I first traveled in the Czech republic in 1996, it was a
land of beer fountains and meat mountains, and I ate and drank myself into a stupor over the course of several days. We even spent an afternoon at the pivovary (brewery) in Ceske Budeovice, a stuporous occasion t
hat left me almost unconscious on the floor of the bus back to the train station. I returned in 2000 to spend what would be the most outrageous year of my life there, you may recall such blast from the past episodes as Meat Night, and Oktoberfest, with many more of my past exploits yet to be unveiled. As I just told you, this last trip was Avivas first to the Czech Republic, and we were going primarily to attend Pavlas wedding, as well as do a bit of touring, as Czech is one of the most beautiful places in the world, after all. And its got such great castles ...
land of beer fountains and meat mountains, and I ate and drank myself into a stupor over the course of several days. We even spent an afternoon at the pivovary (brewery) in Ceske Budeovice, a stuporous occasion t
hat left me almost unconscious on the floor of the bus back to the train station. I returned in 2000 to spend what would be the most outrageous year of my life there, you may recall such blast from the past episodes as Meat Night, and Oktoberfest, with many more of my past exploits yet to be unveiled. As I just told you, this last trip was Avivas first to the Czech Republic, and we were going primarily to attend Pavlas wedding, as well as do a bit of touring, as Czech is one of the most beautiful places in the world, after all. And its got such great castles ...We woke up the morning after arriving feeling surprisingly rested, and went to meet up with the whole crew (Pavla, Petra, and Robik) over at Pavlas place in Modrany. Martin was originally going to join us, but he had attended his own bachelor party the night before and was 
in no condition to go sightseeing. An hour drive took us to Kutna Hora, once (around the 13th century) a major silver mining town, second in importance only to Prague within the whole of Bohemia. It was during this time of plentitude that the town built the magnificent church of Saint Barbara ... must have been because 
these days the town, a lot more run down and caters mostly to tourism. And you would think, in an area full of tourists, that the overpriced meals would at least be reasonable. But no such luck ...
Our first Czech meal was very disappointing ... for the Czechs. Despite their tepid response to the meal, I had not had real Czech food in quite some time, and I attacked my poor excuse for goulash
with relish. After looking back on the meal after eating dumplings all week, I can say now that it was quite poor ... but at the time I loved it. After lunch we walked back to the church, taking a number of pictures along the way. We explored the church for a short time, then spent a good hour wandering through 
Kutna Hora and the nearby town of Sedlec, until we reached the unique ossuary (kostnice sedlec) that was the real purpose of our visit. I had been to the kostnice a number of times but Aviva wanted to see it and I was happy to go, because each trip to Sedlec was a truly unique experience. The reason the ossuary was so bizarre is that it is full of decorations made of bones, including a large scale Schwartzenberg family crest, several large bone urns and a chandelier made from at least one of each bone in the human body.After the ossuary, we walked back to the cars, stopping for a some coffee on the way.
Another hours ride took us back to Prague, where we all had dinner at Hanas before going out for the evening. This nights entertainment was to be found in Lochkov, not Prague, and soon enough we trundled out to visit Pavla's father Josef at the pub he managed by the village soccer field. It was a short walk to Josefs bar, and once we arrived Josef, who was thrilled to see us, shuttled us off to the second of the two small rooms and brought out beer, and several bottles of strange alcohol, including jaegermeistre and stara myslivecka, a type of pine alcohol that went down surprisingly easy and was a bit stronger than I expected. We all drank beer and took shots with Josef and the other soccer fans who came in to talk with us, a surprising number of whom spoke passable english. The night passed quickly and too soon we had all had too much to drink and headed back to Hanas, planning to meet downtown the next day to tour around the city center ...
in no condition to go sightseeing. An hour drive took us to Kutna Hora, once (around the 13th century) a major silver mining town, second in importance only to Prague within the whole of Bohemia. It was during this time of plentitude that the town built the magnificent church of Saint Barbara ... must have been because 
these days the town, a lot more run down and caters mostly to tourism. And you would think, in an area full of tourists, that the overpriced meals would at least be reasonable. But no such luck ...Our first Czech meal was very disappointing ... for the Czechs. Despite their tepid response to the meal, I had not had real Czech food in quite some time, and I attacked my poor excuse for goulash
with relish. After looking back on the meal after eating dumplings all week, I can say now that it was quite poor ... but at the time I loved it. After lunch we walked back to the church, taking a number of pictures along the way. We explored the church for a short time, then spent a good hour wandering through 
Kutna Hora and the nearby town of Sedlec, until we reached the unique ossuary (kostnice sedlec) that was the real purpose of our visit. I had been to the kostnice a number of times but Aviva wanted to see it and I was happy to go, because each trip to Sedlec was a truly unique experience. The reason the ossuary was so bizarre is that it is full of decorations made of bones, including a large scale Schwartzenberg family crest, several large bone urns and a chandelier made from at least one of each bone in the human body.After the ossuary, we walked back to the cars, stopping for a some coffee on the way.Another hours ride took us back to Prague, where we all had dinner at Hanas before going out for the evening. This nights entertainment was to be found in Lochkov, not Prague, and soon enough we trundled out to visit Pavla's father Josef at the pub he managed by the village soccer field. It was a short walk to Josefs bar, and once we arrived Josef, who was thrilled to see us, shuttled us off to the second of the two small rooms and brought out beer, and several bottles of strange alcohol, including jaegermeistre and stara myslivecka, a type of pine alcohol that went down surprisingly easy and was a bit stronger than I expected. We all drank beer and took shots with Josef and the other soccer fans who came in to talk with us, a surprising number of whom spoke passable english. The night passed quickly and too soon we had all had too much to drink and headed back to Hanas, planning to meet downtown the next day to tour around the city center ...
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