Late summer is burčák season in the Czech Republic, and with burčák comes the vinobraní, the wine festivals. While Little Brother was here, there was one in Náměstí Míru and Havličkovy Sady, but they were badly overcrowded. So last weekend, I visited the one at Prague Castle:
Now, burčák is partially fermented young wine; while other nations sell new wine, under EU regulations, only Moravia can call it burčák, and it can be sold only from August 1 through November 30. Burčák is sweet and light and little fizzy and goes down very easily. I’m solemnly assured that there is no hangover like a burčák hangover. Lore has it that, because it is only partially fermented, it continues fermenting even after you’ve consumed it. But people swig it down like soda, some drinking it directly from the one-liter bottles in which it is sold for home consumption. Moravians will also tell you that "you can’t expect to be healthy unless you drink at least seven liters of the young wine each year".
While I had visited Prague Castle before (of course!), I had never actually visited the gardens. They are seriously lovely this time of year:
This vinobraní was a small one: only about a half dozen stalls selling burčák, a couple of food and (non-alcoholic) drink stands, and a couple of pottery stands:
One of the things that continues to amaze me here is the patience of Czechs when they have to stand in line. I never notice any fidgeting or restlessness or grumbling, even at the longest and most slowly moving of lines. I don’t know if it’s just a holdover from Communism or what, but if you want to buy burčák at a vinobraní, it’s definitely necessary:
Besides the stalls, there was also some live entertainment, provided by a group of students. Unfortunately, I was never able to get into a good position to see them, much less take any pictures. There’s only this one shot, as they were shutting down:
The cathedral of St. Vitus looms over the gardens:
