I penned this essay early in December, 2009. A little tale about what best to drink in Czech Republic during the cold December days ...
Lesson in Winter # 1: Surprising Secrets to Staying Warm
Well, my secrets are really no surprise nor secrets to your average Czech. But for a Filipina, these past couple of weeks between autumn and winter in Prague have presented a bevy of beverages to me which are actually great ways to staying warm that I never would have heard about otherwise.
They are alcoholic beverages served steaming hot! According to my source, drinks such as Hot Wine might be a blasphemy to your average French or Italian (well, it does tend to be slightly warmer in those parts than of Europe, anyway), but I found these drinks a delight as a kick-off point in Prague and Brno!!! I found the idea really strange at first, but once I had that drink in my hands with only 5 degrees outdoors, that hot Svařak (pronounced [svarjzhahk]) made a lot of sense to me.
In temperate and warm Manila, it makes a lot of sense to grab an alcoholic beverage on ice, like your average vodka tonic. I've heard many a European in Manila screaming indecencies at the warm temperatures of wine served in the Philippines (after all, 'room temperature' in the Philippines is far different from 'room temperature' in Italy).
But grabbing that steaming cup of Svařak and feeling it going down was exquisite, warming you to the core, your red mulled wine coming in rich berries and cinnamon scents, while your Bily Svařak (White Mulled Wine), if you're lucky, can come to you in sweet, fruity notes. Amazing!
One of my favorites was definitely Horka Medovina (translated as Hot Mead) - wonderful! Just think, Harry Potter at that pub that Rowling writes about, and the butterbeer the minors drink together with Rosemerta's Mead that the adults have access to. It tastes just like Rowling describes, and to begin with, I have never encountered Mead in the Philippines - a pity. It could be I've been looking in the wrong places though, eh? Anyway, to discover mead (an alcoholic beverage distilled from honey) was such a sweet pleasure. It goes down like your Strawberry Wine from Baguio City (Philippines), just as sweet, but has that sort of thickness of golden honey. Delicious. It's great chilled, or hot. And on a cold day out in Brno, a cup of Horka Medovina was where it was at.
Another classic is the Grog - hot rum infused with tea and lemon. Yikes. A very manly and strong drink, but one cannot have been in Czech Republic during the cold season without trying at least a cup. I tried one while out in the zoo (the only animals in a good mood this time of year were the polar bears and the wolves).
To cap things off, a glass of warm Punč served by my host family over dessert. Oh-ho, not your average fruit punch with apple bits swimming in it. This was a syrupy alcholic concentrate served together with hot water, a slice of lemon and a teaspoon of sugar. Warm, steaming hot, with that slice of alcohol sliding down your throat, warming you all over as you sip it in the comfort of a warm living room, while outside, the sun sets far too soon. But still, there you are with the comfort of warm Czech drinks, your Czech adoptive family, and all is well.
Postscript:
I almost forgot, lest you think I've become an alcoholic here in Czech Republic, there is a great little trick I learned here, which is a great comfort drink when you're coming home after a cold day into your warm apartment - a cup of hot milk with three large teaspoons of honey! Really nice warm-you-up drink to cap off a day, soothe your senses (not to mention your aching muscles - aching from the cold), and still reminds me of mead, with the milk so rich in honey tones. Yumm.
They are alcoholic beverages served steaming hot! According to my source, drinks such as Hot Wine might be a blasphemy to your average French or Italian (well, it does tend to be slightly warmer in those parts than of Europe, anyway), but I found these drinks a delight as a kick-off point in Prague and Brno!!! I found the idea really strange at first, but once I had that drink in my hands with only 5 degrees outdoors, that hot Svařak (pronounced [svarjzhahk]) made a lot of sense to me.
In temperate and warm Manila, it makes a lot of sense to grab an alcoholic beverage on ice, like your average vodka tonic. I've heard many a European in Manila screaming indecencies at the warm temperatures of wine served in the Philippines (after all, 'room temperature' in the Philippines is far different from 'room temperature' in Italy).
But grabbing that steaming cup of Svařak and feeling it going down was exquisite, warming you to the core, your red mulled wine coming in rich berries and cinnamon scents, while your Bily Svařak (White Mulled Wine), if you're lucky, can come to you in sweet, fruity notes. Amazing!
One of my favorites was definitely Horka Medovina (translated as Hot Mead) - wonderful! Just think, Harry Potter at that pub that Rowling writes about, and the butterbeer the minors drink together with Rosemerta's Mead that the adults have access to. It tastes just like Rowling describes, and to begin with, I have never encountered Mead in the Philippines - a pity. It could be I've been looking in the wrong places though, eh? Anyway, to discover mead (an alcoholic beverage distilled from honey) was such a sweet pleasure. It goes down like your Strawberry Wine from Baguio City (Philippines), just as sweet, but has that sort of thickness of golden honey. Delicious. It's great chilled, or hot. And on a cold day out in Brno, a cup of Horka Medovina was where it was at.
Another classic is the Grog - hot rum infused with tea and lemon. Yikes. A very manly and strong drink, but one cannot have been in Czech Republic during the cold season without trying at least a cup. I tried one while out in the zoo (the only animals in a good mood this time of year were the polar bears and the wolves).
To cap things off, a glass of warm Punč served by my host family over dessert. Oh-ho, not your average fruit punch with apple bits swimming in it. This was a syrupy alcholic concentrate served together with hot water, a slice of lemon and a teaspoon of sugar. Warm, steaming hot, with that slice of alcohol sliding down your throat, warming you all over as you sip it in the comfort of a warm living room, while outside, the sun sets far too soon. But still, there you are with the comfort of warm Czech drinks, your Czech adoptive family, and all is well.
Postscript:
I almost forgot, lest you think I've become an alcoholic here in Czech Republic, there is a great little trick I learned here, which is a great comfort drink when you're coming home after a cold day into your warm apartment - a cup of hot milk with three large teaspoons of honey! Really nice warm-you-up drink to cap off a day, soothe your senses (not to mention your aching muscles - aching from the cold), and still reminds me of mead, with the milk so rich in honey tones. Yumm.
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