Having managed precisely two posts on this blog in the last two years, I have decided it's make-or-break time and that if I can't make a slightly better fist of this in 2010 than hitherto then it's time to knock it on the head. So here goes.
Like many of the good citizens of this fine country, I like nothing better than a glass or two of good Czech beer after I finish work for the day. Or sometimes even before or during, but that's not the issue here. The issue is that pubs, at least in some parts of town, seem to be turning into an endangered species. The reason? Lack of customers? In this country - you've got to be kidding! Pressure for healthy living? Forget it. No, it's the curse of the goddamn herna bar.
I was told not long ago that Prague has more of these places (a herna translates as 'gambling room', according to Fronek, the nonpareil of Czech-English dictionaries) than the whole of Germany, which is a truly scary thought. These places are generally open 24/7 and add whole new dimensions to the word 'sordid'; smoke-filled, full of bleeping fruit machines and the like, many of them offering free drinks to the saps who go in and lose on the machines, and they are EVERYWHERE. From the railway station in Olomouc to the building where I work is two stops on the tram or a 10-minute walk, and at the last count there were NINE of them on that short road. The alternatives, if you want a beer, are few and far between.
It would be bad enough if that was all there was to the story, but what's even worse is that it's not just a question of new places opening up but, sad to say, older and better places are going down the herna route as well. In an earlier post on this blog I sang the praises of a new home-brew pub that had opened up in the town, the Svatovaclavsky Pivovar; let's scratch that. Last time I stuck my head through the door I was greeted by a phalanx of gambling machines and a distinct dearth of tables, beer, customers etc. Sad.
Next time I'll find something more cheerful to write about. If there is a next time...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Completely agree - they are bad business.
However, in the case of Svatovaclavsky pivovar, if you go a bit further in, there's a large upstairs section with barely a fruit machine in sight! Maybe worth another go ...
Post a Comment