Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Není Pivo Jako Pivo:There's No Beer Like Beer
Tips
This seemingly absurd local proverb makes sense when you first taste the
cold golden nectar
(pivo)
from its source and realize that you've never really
had beer before. While Czechs on the whole aren't religious,
pivo
still elic-
its a piety unseen in many orthodox countries. The golden Pilsner variety
that accounts for most of the beer consumed around the world was born
here and has inspired some of the country's most popular fiction, films,
poetry, and prayers.
For many Czechs, the corner beer hall (
hospoda
or
pivnice
) is a social and
cultural center. Regulars in these smoke-encrusted caves drink beer as
lifeblood and seem ill at ease when a foreigner takes their favorite table or
disrupts their daily routine. For those wanting to sample the rich, aromatic
taste of Czech lagers without ingesting waves of nicotine, dozens of more
ventilated pubs and restaurants have emerged since the Velvet Revolution.
Alas, the suds in these often cost as much as five times more than those in
the standard
hospoda.
While always informal, Czech pubs observe their own unwritten code of
etiquette:
• Large tables are usually shared with strangers.
• When sitting, you should first ask
“Je tu volno?”
(“Is this place taken?”—
yeh
two
vohl-no). If it's not, put a cardboard coaster down in front of you
to show that you want a beer.
• Don't wave for a waitperson—it'll only delay the process when he or she
sees you.
• When the waitperson does finally arrive and sees the coaster in front of
you, simply nod or hold up fingers for the number of beers you want for
you and your companions.
• If there's a choice, it's usually between size—
malé
(mah-
lay
) is small,
velké
(vel-
kay
) is large—or type—
svêtlé
(svyet-
lay
) is light,
cerné
(cher-
nay
) is
dark.
• The waitperson will make pencil marks on a white slip of paper that
remains on your table.
• If your waitperson ever comes back for a second round, order enough for
the rest of your stay and ask to pay. When he or she returns, say,
“Zaplatíme”
(“We'll pay,” zah-plah-
tee
-meh) . . . you might not see him
or her again for a long time.
According to brewing industry studies, Czechs drink more beer per capita
than any other people. The average Czech downs 320 pints of brew each
year; the average American drinks about 190. Of course, a Czech
hospoda
regular will drink the year's average for a family of six. Pub regulars do not
huge place with a maze of timber-lined rooms and a large, loud courtyard where an
oompah band performs. The ornate, medieval-style wood ceilings and courtyard
columns are charming but not very old. Tourists come here by the busload, but dis-
paraging locals who don't like the German atmosphere avoid the place. The pub's
