Pub Life

I'm just not a pub guy. I have only been to a few pubs in my life.

And now my son and his wife own one here in the Czech Republic.

The pub is an old and well known pub in the region. It is the only pub in the whole village. The village has 56 people now that the guy they called "grampa" died last spring. The village is named Lhotka. To give you an idea of how nondescript that name is, the literal translation of "Lhotka" into English is "little village." So, the village is not even big enough to have a name other than "little village." The sign outside the village says "Entering Little Village." That's it!

But the pub is a regional pub, having been famous for many decades, even under the communists, as a place for people to hang out and discuss different ideas. It was far enough from Prerov that the authorities did not seem to bother it much.

Steve and Eva had their wedding reception in this pub. (Eva told me today that her first time in this pub was when she was one year old.) So, suffice it to say, it has been part of the people for quite some time.

The pub was getting older and the owners were having a hard time keeping it up. The old owner died, leaving his wife to make do. She finally decided to sell out. With months of work, Steve and Eva revived it, and now have a business that more than supports them and their daughter. They live in the back, with a garden and a little bunkhouse, and all that. More about the pub is on facebook at: U Olinka.

At any rate......This is what goes on in this pub.



There are half a dozen people who show up every day it is open, and sit for five hours or so, just visiting with each other, talking about their lives, politics, tennis, whatever.

There are a few people who come to play pool.

Many bicyclists stop by for a few hours while on their rides.

A couple of nights ago, in honor of the Fourth of July, Steve lit off a bunch of fireworks.

During the darker days in winter (It does not get dark here during the summer until 10:30.) every Wednesday is Movie Night. They use a video projector attached to the computer to show something or another.

Bands looking for a venue regularly hook up with Steve and Eva and play through the night. They pass a hat to pay them off. And there are a few bunks in the back where the band can sleep a while before heading home.

There is one woman who comes twice a day to have a pitcher filled up, and then goes home and drinks it down.

Another guy comes weekend nights just to sit quietly by himself, read his magazines, and drink beer. He spends his week as a manager of an important company, and just does not want to talk to a lot of people on the weekend!

Outside there are a few benches. Families bring their kids, sit under the Cherry trees, and drink beer, and discuss life. Last night one bunch brought a bunch of kebabs and grilled them under the trees. Another guy showed up about ten. He had been at a farmers market all day and still had a couple of dozen grilled mackerels unsold. So he gave th away. 

It seems that many of the folk are related. Or at least it seems to me. Eva's parents are wonderful people, very outgoing, and here three or four nights a week. The guy who built the pubs kitchen was there. 

The conversation is loud, and smoky. There is some sentiment that the country should go "No Smoking in Pubs," like the rest of the world has done, but it has not happened.

Steve has had as many as 245 people at one time. More typical is fifteen to thirty. There were 65 people here the other night. Many of them left just before 9:00 when the last bus left the village. Others stayed on, though till 3:00 am.  Although the pub is officially open from 5:00 to 10:00 Wednesday-Thursday and 2:00 to 12:00 or so weekends, Steve and Eva keep it open as long as people are enjoying themselves.

There is non alcoholic beer, and since the drinking and driving laws are very strict here, it is not unusual. It seems that Steve knows people who have a few beers in the pub, gone to sleep in the bunkhouse, woke up many hours later, and driven off. Caught in a minor traffic infraction, they have lost their license. Steve says that the allowed maximum is 0.0 per cent alcohol.

There are also shots of some Czech concoction called Slivovice that I tried years ago at Steve and Eva's wedding. It seems real popular with some. I refrain. I am still alive.

The beer continues, with the tap almost constantly running. Of course it takes about five minutes to pour a beer the real way. The foam is very thick, and one pours, lets it settle, and pours some more. As I said, it takes about five minutes between the time a beer is started until it is ready to be served. This is preferred because. "It lets the gas out " 

Steve and Eva serve the local brew, Zubr, named after the European Bison.

At any rate, as I said in the beginning, I am not a pub person. I just could not sit and visit that long. But for those who can, they certainly seem to enjoy this place. It is a Public House in the truest sense. Steve and Eva work hard to make it a nice place for all.