To get the typical Czech pub experience these days, one must now leave Prague far behind.
When I first began visiting this fine city more than a decade ago, traditional Czech pubs were on every corner. They were smoky, served cheap beer, and full of all walks of Czech life, from students to pensioners, artists to soldiers, and everything in between.
Today, however, most pubs in the center of Prague are now overpriced tourist dives that lack the charm and character of their communist era predecessors.
So, what to do?
Traveler extraordinaire Rick Steves has a solution: leave town.
The Czech Republic is blessed with numerous small towns simply oozing with character. Although many have moved with the times, a leisurely drive through the countryside will reveal those that haven’t. You probably won’t be able to pronounce their names, but you will be able to locate the local bar and pop in for a pint. If you’re lucky, you just might get a surly, communist era waitress who ticks off your 50 cent beers on a small slip of paper left at the table. Take a deep drink and you may just travel back in time.