The Prague B-eer-log 2009 episode 1

In essence we started as we inevitably would go on. The in-flight magazine pointed us to a street named Borivojova which it claimed had more bars per sq metre than anywhere in the whole of the Czech Republic and that was a claim we were compelled to investigate.

Armed with Shane's apparently weather-proof and indestructible map we headed to the area. It was 3.30pm when we reached the first bar the map recommended, indicating another problem we could've foreseen - the dubious wisdom of carrying an indestructible map that recommends and locates pubs. I'm reliably informed that the translation of the pub name was the 'rose & crown' but in retrospect this appears unlikely.

I do know for sure that we drank a pint of Staropramen, as we felt it was too early for Leffe, and they had no other 'dark beer'. This is one of the other pitfalls of Prague, the deadly dark beer. It's not lager and it isn't ale, but it is very easy to drink. Our first beer cost 23 czk koruna which, with the exchange rate being around 27.5 to the pound, equated to approximately 84p. A fairly, if not ridiculously, cheap pint and you can clearly see where this city break is going.

From there we headed to Borivojova, a fairly unimpressive looking street that didn't seem to live up to its reputation. It wasn't exactly Broad Street, let's put it that way. This said it didn't take us too long to find a pub, the Houdku for a pint of Kozel for 24 czk Koruna. We consulted the menu and wondered if the Czech to English translation had been handled by a drunken scouser, the vegetarian section being headlined: 'I haven't got meat like'.

It's hardly fair to ridicule their more than adequate English when my Czech, even after three visits, only amounts to a couple of words but we still laughed at the 'fried onion in barter'. Up the street was the appropriately named Bowbar, so called because it has a bowling alley within. A swift pint of Kozel Svetly whilst 3 middle-aged Czech couples had a bowling session (in the middle of a Thursday afternoon) was followed by a walk down the now darkened streets trying to determine which of the bars was actually open.

We stumbled into Club Shotgun, having rung a buzzer for entry. Once within we didn't like the look of its underground ambience and turned to head for the exit. Thinking that we'd have to click a switch to get out I managed to turn off the lights before we quickly tripped back up the stairs. Bar Hospudke was nearby for a welcome pint of Krusovice and to ponder over whether the graffiti in the toilets was fascist or anti-fascist. I suspect the latter but we'll never know for sure.

Our wanderings took us further into unknown territory as we headed back to the hotel but followed the light from a large building we subsequently discovered to be an observation tower, apparently the highest building in Prague. Odd that we'd never seen it before but we decided not to pay the entry fee as it was already dark outside; instead we peered up at the statues of babies climbing the tower (see poor photo alongside) and made a vague suggestion to come back on Sunday.

Instead, surprisingly, we went into a bar, U Sadu, to be grunted at by the owner/barman and served our most expensive beer yet - the name of which escapes me. I can just about remember the vast quantity of crap hanging from the ceiling in this odd restaurant/bar - birdcages, chairs, oars. Massively inexplicable quantities of junk suspended over our heads.

Thursday evening continued in much the same manner with a trip to one of our favoured bars from a previous visit. The Pivovarsky Dum brews its own beer and specialises in exotic flavours. The current special was 'lime' which I enjoyed, alongside the old favourite 'cherry' and a pint of dark. Shane had a pint of 'nettle' just to be contrary I think, it was a nice green colour though - as you'd probably expect.

We meandered past the imaginatively named 'The Pub' and were keen to go in there, particularly when we saw the beer taps on the tables, but there were no seats available so instead a pint of dark Bernard in a 'wine bar-esque' setting was followed by a pint of dark Budvar elsewhere and a meander around Wencelas Square.

At this point, in order not to bore you with repetition, I will retire to 'refresh' my memory and continue with this travelogue at some other point.