As night comes calling on the “City of a Hundred Spires,” my mates and I — 25 travel writers and photographers invited by Insight Vacations to sample a portion of its Bohemian Rhapsody journey through the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary — climb aboard the luxury motor coach for a quick ride through Prague’s Old Town district (c. 10th century) to the New Town district (c. 14th century).
Destination? U Fleků, one of central Europe’s oldest continuously brewing breweries at 500+ years and counting, and the Czech Republic’s largest restaurant.
Dinner and suds are on our host’s euro — one of many Insight “signature” moments — ensuring this intrepid “band of merry media” gets merrier and merrier as the night rolls on.
Blending water, hops, yeast and four kinds of barley malt, U Fleků has been brewing its distinctive dark lager beers since 1499. It also serves up mouth-watering, traditional Bohemian dishes from it’s busy kitchen that can handle a capacity crowd of 1,200 foodies seated at long wooden tables spread around eight different, thematic halls — we laid claim to the Kaberet room — and an outside garden.
In between mugs of lager, hearty plates of goulash, speck dumplings and potato pancakes, apple strudel, and shots of Becherovka and Medovina, we lock arms and rock to and fro as brightly colored accordion and tuba players pop in and out all night long to serenade us with traditional beer hall tunes.
With the Czech Republic boasting the highest per capita consumption of beer annually — around 40 gallons or 160 liters per citizen — it’s no wonder that U Fleků is this nation’s iconic watering hole, for locals and tourists alike, and a fitting place to close out our two-night stay in Prague.
For complete information on Insights’ premium and luxury-escorted itineraries, including the Bohemian Rhapsody and 100 other journeys throughout Europe, just click HERE, or call toll free 1-888-680-1241, or contact your travel agent.
See you bright and early tomorrow morning when we place Prague in the rearview mirror and set the GPS for a fairytale town-slash-UNESCO World Heritage site: Cesky Krumlov.
Nighty-night.
©The Palladian Traveler | ©Tom Palladio Images
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It’s not good to read your posts when I’m hungry. What a fun evening.
It certainly was, Jill.
It’s not just anywhere you can experience Lady Gaga songs
accordion-style as you imbibe crazy-good dark beer! Cheers!!
Back atcha, Jennifer, with a huge “Na zdraví!”
Sounds excellent, and I just love how you are able to capture the feeling with your images.
Thanks, Shane.
An excellent tour stop. I don’t know what I appreciate more, the description of the city or explanation of the consumer consumption of the beer. lol
Thanks, Fred!
You might want to check your dates as what is the oldest brewery in Europe as I was under the impression that Weihenstephan in Freising, Germany was the oldest continuously working brewery in the world beginning in 1040. I am certain the U Fleku was greath tho and lots of fun!
Jeannie — Duly noted. U Fleku is one of Central Europe’s oldest continuously brewing breweries at 500+ years and counting.
Wonderful to read about your experiences, and of course your images are telling too.
Thanks, Sally. Much appreciated.
Excellent blog as always. Love the photos. Orna
Thanks, neighbor!
Sounds like a fun venue, Tom. Do they cater to the independent traveller, or is it sold out to tour parties?
KRP — Open to the general public my friend.
I don’t know about swaying to and fro with the music after a few beers, I’d get dizzy. Wow! This sounds pretty wonderful.
Angeline — You’d do just fine, and the accordion player can hold you upright if you need assistance. 🙂