24 September 2011 - Trains!

Luzna Train Museum

There was an open weekend in the nearby town of Luzna, and a group of us from Josef’s village decided to go for a few beers and some lunch and check out what the museum had to offer. The little village was packed and we ended up parking on the road behind a long row of cars that decided to do the same thing. We checked out the prices to enter the museum, and had a look though the gates to see if it was worth going to, then headed to the pub.

I realize that I don’t have any pictures of us drinking, because that’s what happens in Czech Republic. If more than 2 people are together for more than 30 minutes, a beer appears. There have been many occasions that have ended in drunkenness, but unfortunately, none of those times have I had a camera about. I must remedy this.

Where was I? Oh yea, the pub! Josef and I were a bit hungry and it didn’t look like our companions were about to move anytime soon, so we got ourselves some sausages. Typical Czech variety, it tasted like a cross between a nice Portuguese sausage and something a bit spicier. It was nice a meaty with an excellent smoky flavor. This was served with a couple pieces of Czech bread and mustard. The combination is heavenly and it cost us about $2 each.

Fed, watered (beered) and ready to go, we decided to check out the museum while we were there. After admission, our first stop was at a honey wine stall. The taste was very honey like, and a bit alcoholic at 18%. It was super sweet and served warm. The bees were around in full force trying to get their honey back!! Yum, very yum.

There were a lot of trains in this train museum. Everyone was selling model trains and there were a bunch of kids that looked to be in a “train club” at the helm of a huge model set (which I realize I didn’t get a picture of, oops). Old trains, new trains, trainy things, trainy bits - it was all there and in Czech, so please excuse me if I don’t go into many details.

Back to the pub to pick up our friend who had decided that beer was better than trains. He was already well inebriated. From there we went to the next pub on the way home and had a few more beers, and then to the next pub on the way home for a few more beers. At that point, I had stopped drinking and was really hungry. So, our inebriated friend ordered me some fried chicken at the pub. This looked good on the outside, but it was raw on the inside! It got sent back, thrown in the fryer again and re-presented to me…still a bit raw! You gotta love Czech Republic – waste not, want not. They’d never get away with it anywhere else, I believe.

The other night, some old farts from the village bought me some liqueur at the local watering hole that was made from cherries. It was a nice deep red color and smelled like chocolate and cherries. They must not serve many shots in this pub because there was an assortment of a dozen fruit flies floating around in my shot. I asked Josef if this was “normal” and he laughed, told the lady and she took the shot back. She must have only skimmed the top of the glass with a small spoon because soon enough, it was back, only with fewer flies. I figured two flies weren’t going to do me any harm and sipped them down! It was some good liqueur, though. I’d want to drizzle it over some nice vanilla ice cream.