“Wherever beer is brewed, all is well – wherever beer is drunk, life is good” – Czech proverb.
There was beer. Lots of it. And then there was music. Lots of it. After all, when you think about the fact that the Czech Republic drinks more beer per capita than any other country in the world and is estimated to have more musicians per capita than any country in the world that is a potent combination. Throw into this a bunch of fun-loving tourists and the experience can only be described as surreal.
Live music and great beer with a bunch of fun-loving tourists made for a fun afternoon
Where else in the world would you have a room full of beer swiggers pounding out lyrics to popular music being played live by an accordionist, each group singing in the language most familiar to them – Spanish, French, Italian, English, Czech, etc. From Spanish Eyes to Y Viva Espana to Que Sera Sera, it was a smorgasbord of music – and beer – that created a magical bond despite the countries and seas that separated us all.
The clock that marks the entrance to U Fleků
It had been a lovely balmy day in Prague as we walked down to U Fleků, not knowing what to expect. My recently acquired Christmas gift 1000 Places To See Before You Die had listed this destination for its beer-swilling, fun-making, stein-wielding experience. Rustic and quaint in parts, we had hardly made it to a table when U Fleků’s 13% alcohol dark lager descended on us, the servings of which were thereafter punctuated with shots of the local Becherovka herbal liqueur. And with it was wonderful servings of traditional Czech food. We were here for the experience and took it all in, wondering about the amount of beer that was possibly consumed when it was full house at this 1,200 seater beer house.
Tracing its history to 1499, U Fleků is said to be the only brewery in Central Europe that has been brewing continuously for over 500 years. They brew around 2,500 hectoliters of their own beer a year and serve over 2000 glasses of beer a day. Apparently record consumption hit an all-time high when the Rolling Stones played in Prague and 5000 litres of beer was drunk in one night alone! Interestingly, although Czech Republic is home to Pilsner and the original Budweiser beer, U Fleků serves no other beer but its own which is brewed using purely natural ingredients – water, hops, yeast and four kinds of barley malt.
We trundled out, hours later, carrying an experience that would warm our taste buds and ears for long and recalling a comment that being in U Fleků was just like being in the UN Cafeteria given the nationalities and languages that surround one.
A rather unusual entrance to a charming tavern
But how different was this, if slightly raucous experience, to what we would experience a few years later in Folkklubs Ala Pagrabs, a delightfully charming tavern in Old Town Riga. Looking for a local experience and excited by the 28 tap beers on offer (the largest in Riga), we knew we had picked right when we made our way through a quirky entrance and a maze of corridors into an underground tavern with a great selection of food, beer…and locals. We had just about ordered our food and drinks, when we were joined by a young local fascinated as much by us and our decision to visit Latvia as we were about him and the life he led. He talked to us about the challenges of being young and educated in Riga and the dearth of jobs that was forcing youngsters to immigrate to neighbouring countries.
He told us about his job as a croupier for an online casino firm that catered to the UK market. He worked crazy hours and into the wee hours of the morning. He was proud of the fact that when he was at work, he had a full on British identity – name, accent and all. He even gave us a demo of his very authentic British accent and a glimpse of what his work was like. While he enjoyed the stature (even if slightly anonymous) his job gave him, deep down he felt a sense of alienation and had become a loner. Late night work and the fact that weekends were his busiest days kept him from socialising with his friends. Working through the night, he would spend part of his day whiling away time at pubs. In fact when we went back to Folkklubs Ala Pagrabs a second time, he was there again, this time in a wonderfully pieced together upcycled denim jacket. I was fascinated with what he shared with us, a reminder of what I had read of and heard about during the early days of the call centre industry in India.
Seven pairs of jeans came together to create this fun jacket
I would later read that gambling and casinos are big in Latvia. The country has become an epicentre for live casinos catering to the European market. Apparently Riga holds the largest live dealer studio in the world, in terms of square footage, table numbers and dealer numbers. According to the European Casino Associations, six operators in Latvia currently hold an online gambling licence and online revenue soared 98 percent in 2015, to €11.5m, with online casino dominating the market. Our friend was probably in the right place, at least for the time being.
Two beer havens…two very different experiences and again as a Czech proverb goes, “A fine beer may be judged with only one sip, but it’s better to be thoroughly sure.” And in that process of being ‘thoroughly sure’ many worlds can open up before one.