Prague Travel: A Visit to
an Authentic Czech Beer Hall – U Medvidku!
My local experts Jitka Simkova, owner of Prague
Walks.com, together with her colleague Karel
had given me a great introduction to Old Town Prague.
The day was getting late now and the air was definitely
getting cooler.
View of the Old Town Bridge Tower from the Charles
Bridge
We had turned around in the middle of the Charles
Bridge and started walking eastwards again. As Karel
had another appointment he said goodbye, and Jitka
and I continued our walk through the narrow streets
of Prague. We strolled through the cobble-stoned
Karlova Street (also referred to as Charles Street)
that was teeming with people. I marveled at the
many bars, restaurants and souvenir shops. Many
of the shops sell marionettes, a typical Czech souvenir.
Jitka added that years ago one would have mostly
seen imported Russian matroshka dolls, but nowadays
Czech crafts and the tradition of marionette-making
have returned. The Don Giovanni Marionette Theatre
is also located on this street.
Marionettes - a traditional art form in Prague
Karlova Street is also part of the Coronation Route,
or the Royal Route, that Czech Kings took for their
coronation proceedings. The route started at the
medieval Powder Tower, passed through historic Celetna
Street, across Old Town Square and then Karlova
Street to the Charles Bridge from where the royal
procession went through Lesser Town on the other
side of the Vltava River, finally all the way up
to Prague Castle.
More marionettes
On a side street we stopped at the House of the
Golden Snake which Jitka explained was the first
coffee house in Prague in the 17th century. As we
were walking through the streets I commented that
I had been reading that Prague is now the sixth
most popular urban tourist destination in Europe,
after London, Paris, Rome, Madrid and Barcelona.
This was not at all surprising to me because Prague’s
extensive historic architecture, the many sights
and the great entertainment opportunities make it
a world class tourist destination.
View of the eastern bank of the Vlatava River
Steps away I looked up and saw a sculpture of Siegmund
Freud hanging in the air, about five or six stories
up. Neither one of us had an explanation for this
surprising sculpture.
Siegmund Freud, suspended in the air
As we were walking through the old streets of Prague
Jitka also pointed out the Police Headquarters which
is a building that many people have very dark memories
of. Even Vaclav Havel, the first democratic president
of the Czech Republic, was incarcerated here. My
expert guide mentioned that the country has seen
a lot of change in the last 20 years, morphing from
a Communist one-party state under Soviet influence
to a free-market oriented Western democracy. Most
of the changes have been good, but some people in
the Czech Republic have had problems adjusting to
the new changing times.
Stone sculptures on the facade of the Police Headquarters
Jitka also explained that beer making and beer
drinking are great Czech traditions. The most well-known
Czech beers are Pilsner Urquell and Budweiser (the
original Budweiser, not the American brand brewed
by Anheuser-Busch). In keeping with this theme,
our destination tonight was a typical Czech beer
hall called “U Medvidku”, which means
“By the Bears”.
U Medvidku, an authentic Czech beer hall
We entered this large building which stems back
to the 15th century, and took a seat in the corner
by the window. Dozens of locals were spread out
in this 550-seat restaurant which has a very cozy
feel due to the vaulted ceilings. Jitka explained
that this is one of the most historic restaurants
and beer halls in all of Prague.
Milan welcomes us with some Czech beer
Milan, the restaurant manager, came over, and started
to give us a tour of this historic establishment.
We walked through another room with vaulted ceilings
where an accordion player was playing a tune that
sounded very much like “Roll out the barrels”
that had the entire crowd singing and clapping with
him. People here mostly seemed to be locals and
they were definitely having a great time!
Czech beer: a source of happiness and health
We came into the microbrewery portion of the restaurant
where Milan explained that the restaurant brews
two types of beer on site: Old Gott, a lager beer
with 5 % alcohol, and X33, a dark malty beer with
a 12.6% alcohol content, according to Milan and
Jitka, the strongest beer in the world. Only 800
litres of Old Gott are brewed here a month, and
250 litres of the strong X33 beer. Milan had me
taste the X33 variety, and given that I don’t
usually drink alcohol, I started to feel light-headed
very quickly. I did though really enjoy the sweet
heavy taste of this brew, and Milan added that women
usually prefer the X33 beer while men indulge in
the Old Gott brew.
Old Gott and X33: all brewed at U Medvidku
Then our restaurant guide Milan took us upstairs
into the attic which holds a large room with impressive
Gothic-era wooden truss ceilings. Milan explained
that this is the cabaret room that can be rented
by private groups for special events. Back downstairs
we checked out U Medvidku’s store: a large
refrigerator holds an extensive selection of Czech
beers, according to my experts the most outstanding
beers in the Czech Republic. Pilsner Urquell is,
of course, famous all over the world, as is the
original Budweiser beer. Other brands on display
include Red Drak (the red dragon), and Kelt, a dark
yeast beer with hemp.
The upstairs cabaret room with the Gothic wooden
ceiling
I was also intrigued by a display of beer cosmetics.
Jitka explained that beer makes a great cosmetic
ingredient, and not long ago the first beer spa
was opened in the Czech Republic. Apparently Czech
doctors recommend drinking two beers a day to stay
healthy. Jitka added that members of the Czech nation
are the biggest beer drinkers in the world, ahead
of the Bavarians, who are actually not a nation.
Finally, she indicated the “beer is the Czech
Herbalife” which made me laugh out loud. Obviously
brewing and drinking beer is an essential part of
the Czech national psyche.
Beer brewing equipment at U Medvidku
On our way back to our table, Milan showed me the
large storage tank that holds Pilsner Urquell, one
of the main staples at the U Medvidku Beer Hall.
I also watched how beer is drawn from the tap in
the expert Czech manner. Then it was time to order
dinner and I requested Milan’s advice. He
suggested that we try a few typical Czech dishes:
pork tail with garlic, potato pancake and marinated
cheese, with a delicious fruit dumpling for dessert.
Marinated cheese
Pork tail & potato pancakes
Fruit dumpling
The meal was delicious, and the marinated cheese,
despite its very strong smell that reminded me of
Limburger, tasted great, and I enjoyed my first
foray into Czech cuisine. Milan had put two additional
pints of beers on our table, and despite the fact
that I normally don’t drink alcohol, I seemed
to develop a bit of taste for this Czech national
drink. Jitka and I had an enjoyable conversation
about life in Prague and shortly before 10 pm we
were ready to head home.
Prague's Old Town Hall
Jitka took me back through the narrow, romantic
streets of Prague to Wenceslas Square and headed
home. I decided to take a brief walk through Old
Town which looked so appealing in the warm soft
glow of the night-time street lights. The streets
were still teeming with life; locals and tourists
were out and about, enjoying Prague on this Monday
night. The night-time view of Old Town Square, anchored
by the landmark buildings of the Old Town Hall and
the Church of Our Lady before Tyn, was priceless.
Prague definitely lives up to its reputation of
being one of the most beautiful cities in the world…
