By: MJ + PJ
Before we started this adventure we talked to others, hearing insights about all sorts of things from those who had traveled. Those people usually identified an experience, or a location, or something about the people or culture, regarding the places they spoke about. One couple we spoke with prior to departing Colorado had talked about their Prague experience and the beer and taverns scattered through the city.
Visiting Prague was a chance to see some of the old beer establishments, to visit the region to see Kutna Hora, and to experience Eastern European culture. Russia, Poland and other countries were on our list but they would not fit in the 90 visa days we had in Europe this time. We had visited The Bear pub while in Oxford, England, and had some difficulty fathoming that it was in operation in the era of the Mayans and before the Americas were discovered by Columbus. Some taverns in Prague spanned a similar era.
One cold evening, as we wrapped up a day wandering Prague, we realized that one such tavern was on our walk home. The timing and circumstances were perfect – it offered a reprieve for this cold and hungry trio. The tavern we stopped at was U Fleků, Est. 1499. We didn’t know what we were in for exactly, but that’s not a reason to not step over the entrance threshold. As it turns out, their bold and distinct entrance threshold matched the experience awaiting within.
We were not surprised that the inside appeared old and well visited. It was warm and cosy, in a busy but almost hectic sort of way. We indicated that we’d like to sit and eat, and so were ushered into a room where the tables were full and an accordion player circled. Our table was small and against the wall – the perfect vantage point from which to sit and soak in the atmosphere. It was noisy with all the talking and laughing and accordion music. This was what we imagined the beer halls of neighboring Germany would be like in full swing.
The dark house beer was served within seconds of us being seated. This is no exaggeration. We had been presented with a beer choice (dark or light?) as we were trying to get settled at the table. Before we had glanced at the revealing pictures on the front of the menu, we realized that we were in for a good time. Less than a minute had passed since we walked in the room. They don’t mess around at U Fleků!
Sometimes the circumstances of the day and being able to finally stop and wind down makes any beer taste good. This beer needed none of that. There’s a reason they have been making this beer for centuries. The dark beer was in the style of a dark larger, or Schwarzbier. Who knows what their light beer tasted like – we’ll have to go back! When you find a good thing, you stick to it!
At U Fleků you have to protest against beer if you want the staff to stop putting it in front of you. Our first protest was either lame or we acted indecisively, so they laid down another two pints. After some observation we realized that they bring (not offer or ask) you new beers once your glass is 3/4 empty. You have to pay attention!
Were we hungry? Indeed. The menu was broad enough, but it obviously catered to what was preferred and consumed – they have had 520 years to work this out. The food was rich and delicious despite looking simple. Licking the plates clean seemed a bit rude – we didn’t, but we could have. It reminded us of the traditional lunch at the Kutna Hora tavern we had visited a few days earlier.
What made U Fleků catch our attention was that we felt like observers in the midst of culture happening around us, but not outsiders. We felt like guests, but not patrons. We felt included and satisfied, but not bound to anything besides the moment. We walked out all the richer for the experience, appreciating that what our friends had described to us in Colorado was indeed the reality.
We hope AJ likes beer when he comes of age. This would be the perfect place to reconvene in a few decades time to talk about this adventure, as adults, with further time and experience under each of our belts.
