Knowing the weather was not going to be the greatest during our visit to Karlovy Vary, we intentionally chose to do several indoor tours rather than looking for outdoor activities. Luckily the dates and times we chose for the tours coincided with some of the worst weather.
The Moser Glassworks Tour (350 Kč each, or free with a Region Card) was an obvious choice for us, largely because when we vacationed in Prague years ago we also did a glassworks tour, at the Rückl factory in Nižbor. Upon arriving at Moser we learned that we were the only folks on the English language tour that morning.
We spent about 30 minutes in the glass works, walking around the furnaces and glass blowing stations, receiving explanations and instructions along the way. It’s pretty cool seeing the glass being blown into various items. Most of what we saw being made was ordinary glasses.
I felt bad for the employees who have no choice but to put up with tourists watching and taking photographs of them working, but I suppose they are used to it. We tried to be considerate.
After leaving the glassworks we headed over to the Moser Museum. There we had a choice to grab an audioguide or not. We didn’t, but the audioguides are just sitting on a table and can be picked up at a later time if you change your mind. Our tour guide left us to wander the museum on our own. It’s not very large, and only took us about ten minutes to slowly walk through. I suppose you could spend 30 or 40 minutes in there if you tried, but I can only look at glass objects for so long, no matter how fascinating they are.
On the way out we managed to bypass the café and sales gallery without making a purchase. Whew.
That afternoon we rode a bus to the far end of town to see the Karlovy Vary Art Gallery (60 Kč each, or free with a Region Card). Truthfully we did not expect much, and the gallery just barely managed to meet our expectations. The current exhibit, featuring Jan Pohribný, consists of two large rooms of landscape photographs with graphic art imposed on them. I kept thinking how great the photographs were and how good they would look without the weird graphic art.
As the art exhibit was not to our interest, we were out of there in about 15 minutes … only because we went really slowly as it was cold and wet outside.
The following morning kicked off with a tour at Becherovka (250 Kč each, or free with a Region Card), a manufacturer of herbal liqueur. There were ten folks on our 50 minute tour, which is a good number. Each tour accommodates up to 45 people, but any more than about 20 would quickly become too crowded as the spaces are not that large.
The company was started by Jan Becher, who originally named his brew English Bitters. The liqueur has been in continuous production, using the same secret formula of herbs and spices, since 1807.
Over time the company changed the name of the product from the aptly descriptive English Bitters to Becherovka and expanded into making different varieties. Honestly, had we known Becherovka was originally English Bitters, I’m not sure we would have gone on the tour.
The tour involves watching a short film, spending time in the small two room museum, learning about the manufacturing process in the historical basement that housed the original production centuries ago, followed by a tasting. Unfortunately Becherovka is no longer manufactured at this location, so you do not get to see the actual process.
For us the highlight was sitting in the Becherovka Bar in front of a tasting row consisting of four shots and a stack of spit cups. Our guide candidly told us that herbal liqueur is not for everyone and we could spit it out if we desired. Her speech served to strengthen our resolve not to be “those tourists”.
We sampled four Becherovka varieties: Lemond, Original, Unfiltered, and the Cordial. The Lemond is actually pretty decent. As expected, it has a light lemon flavor. The Original was tolerable and definitely bitter. Not spit out bitter, but more “wow this is strong” bitter. Unfiltered did not taste a whole lot different, meaning again it was really bitter. But we got it down.
The Cordial was tough. Really tough. The fact that we didn’t spit it out is a small miracle. It is much sweeter and has the wine taste of a cordial along with the herbs. And still bitter. Ugh.
Afterwards everyone was given the opportunity to purchase a shot of KV14, the premium aperitif, for 40 Kč. Stephanie being Stephanie thought this would be a good idea. She grabbed 40 Kč, walked up the bar, and bought herself a shot. I think she was the only one in our group who did so.
If Stephanie had not actually paid for the KV14, I think she would have spit it out. It was a tough down for her. I really enjoyed watching her suffer through it.
We thought that the overwhelming taste of all Becherovka varieties is clove-like. Even though bottles of Becherovka will not be gracing our home, we nevertheless enjoyed the tour, mostly watching each other react to the shots.
If we had become fans of Becherovka, we probably would have stopped in the gift shop on the way out and eaten lunch in Becherplatz. Instead we walked to the Bagel Lounge, where we paid somewhat high prices for frou frou bagel sandwiches.
Our two days of activities in Karlovy Vary (Imperial Spa Tour, Diana Funicular, Butterfly House, Moser Glassworks Tour, Art Gallery, and Becherovka Tour) would have cost 1,130 Kč each (about $50) instead of the 450 Kč paid for a Karlovy Vary Region Card. It was a great deal for us.
For our last night in Karlovy Vary we decided to try something different, staying at the Grandhotel Pupp. While the hotel has several high end stores, a small casino, bar, two restaurants, and a café, the lure was the spa. Stephanie spent the afternoon getting a massage while I relaxed and watched a soccer game.
We went to dinner at U Křížovniků, which was the only restaurant along the river that did not appear to be entirely touristy. We were rewarded with great food in a quiet environment.
The next morning it was back to the bus station for a 90 minute ride to the Prague airport, a night at the Holiday Inn Express, and the beginning of a 26 hour journey back to Memphis.
Garrett and Stephanie
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Reading about your time in Karlovy Vary is rather interesting especially Stephanie’s last very very special Bitters! However, I was impressed with the photo of the town at the top of your blog. All of the buildings seemed to be painted in pastels. It comes across as a clean and pristine area…lovely!!
That Region Card sounds like a great deal!
Karen