Tag: craft beer

The Things We See: Wanderings in Peru

In my move to Peru, I did not expect to see the same kind of things I have seen while traveling around the world. I knew that there would be many new and exciting things that I would get to experience while roaming around the sixth continent I have been to, and it was during this Spring Break that I really got to go out and see them. Of course, the first thing I had to put on the list was an alpaca, either that or a llama. I wouldn’t really be in Peru if I had never come across one of these.

And of course, I came along a lot of them. This is nothing unusual for me because there were many a farm in both Oregon and Colorado where I got to see them running around, but the amount of them is greatly increased in Peru. There are many different kinds of them as well from domesticated ones to ones out in the wild roaming free.

No matter which ones I came across, they were pretty tame, and the domesticated ones will even allow you to come up to them and pet them. There is always the chance that you will anger one of them and they will spit at you, but then again, you can say that about any other domesticated animal.

The biggest difference is the landscape that comes with animals. It is high dessert, and once again, both Oregon and Colorado boast that they are also the same kind of environment. However, there is a lot more sand in the high desert locations of Peru, and it is feels a little more desolate. This might be because the Andes are much higher than anything that can be found in North America. I went on a long road trip from Arequipa to Colca Canyon, and the highest point I reached was well over 16,000 feet and there were still mountains and volcanoes around us that reached even higher. I had to keep an active eye on some of the volcanoes because there were times when smoke would billow out of the top of them because they are still active though none are threatening to explode anytime soon.

All of this comes in a land steeped in history and tradition. In the mountains, I could imagine the people traveling across the vast plains to get from one location to another while carrying all of their good on llamas or alpacas. They would arrive in places in time for the market, and to join in the celebrations that take place annually. These celebrations still take place today. I stumbled upon one of these in my travels as I could to see a whole parade of people preparing to show off the local traditional dance, and it wasn’t just the older generation that did this. There were dancers from the age of five all the way up to the mid-fifties, and each one of them impressed me with their ability to dance.

This is not to say that new traditions are not being formed as well. Peru has built a craft beer scene that could rival any other country. It is seen wherever you travel to as there are a variety of beers and ciders to experience. They are also very proud of the beers that they have crafted as they should because they are great. It is a great way to enjoy an evening after one has wandered around to see all the crazy things that this country has to offer.

It just means that each night I get to crawl into bed to dream about what new and exciting things I will get to see tomorrow. It has been fun moving to this part of the world, and I cannot wait to see what else it has to offer. I have only scratched the surface so far, so I hope you join me over the next couple of years as I explore it further.

Thanks for reading, and until next time, get out there and see what your part of the world has to offer.

Prague on Three Legs

It was not the first time that I had been to Prague, and I hope it will not be the last. The city is a great place to visit, and both of the times I have made it out here, they have been very enjoyable. There was a big difference between the first and second trip though. On the first trip, we were able to get around town rather easily because we were younger and in better shape. This time, one of us had just had surgery and we were forced to make adjustments to go around town.

One of our four legs was in a boot, and we had to either use crutches or a wheelchair to get around. In a city that was made long before handicap accessible was a thing, and streets are still made of cobblestone, we knew that it was going to be a challenge, but should that have been a deterrent from going out and enjoying the city anyways?

There is a lot that can be seen in Prague, and it does not always involve going to museums and cathedrals. A joy can be experienced just by wandering around the streets and seeing what there is to see. We had decided that this would be our goal this time around, and we borrowed a wheelchair to make this an easier endeavor.

It did help to move from one place to another, but the cobblestones were not always easy to navigate, and if the crowds that Prague experiences during the summer were around, it would have added another level of difficulty. Despite this fact, it did change the way I would have looked at this city. Instead of running around to see all of the important sights, I had to pick and choose what I would do, and make sure that they were accessible for the situation that we had found ourselves in.

Because I slowed down, I started to notice little things about the city that I might not have noticed before. The buildings were no longer just about the architecture, but was now also about the art that I could find on those buildings. I could pay attention to the people and the way they moved through their natural day instead of being shuffled around with the crowd of other tourists who managed to come to this place at the same time. In a way, I got to experience more of the real Prague better than if we did not have this small little problem to deal with.

The places that I did go to visit had a different quality to them than the regular sights that pack in the people. One of my favorites was a quiet English bookstore near the center of town called The Globe. It was a little harder to get to because I had to push the wheelchair down skinny lanes of cobblestones, but when we got there, its quiet atmosphere, great adjoining cafe, and collection of books was inviting. I especially loved the collection of English translated books by important Czech writers, something that is hard to find in my travels. I loved the fact that I was able to be introduced to a new writer that I might have never heard about.

If reading is not your thing, there was also the option of many of the beer halls that can be found throughout Prague, the oldest being U Fleku. They all brew their own beer, and in the traditional ones, you are offered two options, light or dark. The beer was also relatively cheap, compared to many other places in the world, and to enjoy it in an atmosphere that recalls up medieval times just adds to the experience. Some of the places will even allow for you to arrange a tour of the facilities to demonstrate to you how they have been brewing beer over countless centuries.

Despite all of the delicious beer that has been enjoyed by countless people over many generations, Prague has also joined the craft beer revolution. There are a few brew pubs where you can whet your whistle with an IPA, stout, or hefeweizen. They are not as plentiful as the traditional beer halls, but with a little effort, we were able to find a couple of them. Most of the time, this took us out of the older parts of the city, but it was nice to see what Prague looked like to the common citizen who lived there, plus, we got to enjoy a couple of good beers in the process.

Prague is a European city that is filled with many different hidden gems. It is part of the reason that it is included on many people’s wishlist when they make their way out to this continent. Even if you don’t have enough time to seek these special places out, there are so many other places to go that the crowds usually go to.

It is a great city, and I am glad that we did not let a little thing like a bum leg stop us from enjoying it. The trip helped me realize that I need to take advantage of any opportunity that might come my way. I might not have had the typical experience that most people had when visiting Prague, but I still had a great time. I’ll just have to come back again when I won’t have to push a wheelchair around.

Until next time, get out there and experience the world any time you can.

What I Will Miss from America, the Beer – The Move Day 26

The new Jackass Hill Brewery in downtown Littleton, Colorado

One of the things I love about coming back to the States is the fact that every where I look there is another microbrewery, or place that serves craft beer. The selection is so great especially in states such as Colorado and Oregon where the craft beer revolution started, that sometimes I have a hard time deciding on which one I will pick to enjoy. Most of the time I just pick the most bitter IPA because that is usually my favorite, but lately I have enjoyed a few porters because I have had a hard time finding them lately, and every once in a while when a brewery get ambitious and make a triple, I jump on that opportunity. The craft beer revolution has sunk its claws into the fabric of the American culture and it will not be going away any time soon. The bigger domestic breweries are even feeling the sting of this shift in American tastes that they are not making the profits that they once did, and I am under the mindset that I would rather spend five dollars a beer on a couple of these craft beauties than spend it on three of the flavorless mass-produced lagers that give money to a large corporation that does not care about its craft.

This flavor explosion can also be found in many cities in Europe, especially further north, but the rest of the world has not yet caught up yet. Korea was getting better every year that I was out there to the point where I was able to find good beer even in the neighborhood that I lived, and the convenience store across the street even started to stock IPAs on the week that I left. They still had a way to go to reach the same level of even the states in America just starting to understand this revolution, but I could see that it was on its way. Japan had also had a few places that was making its own beer, and I have really enjoyed those small little brew-pubs that I have found out there, but I do not know if it has gotten to the point of have beer festivals, and having certain beers on tap no matter where you go. But they also have a couple of other drinks out there that compete with the typical beer, and it might make it a little harder for the craft beer revolution to make stronger in-roads there.

I am a little worried about Thailand though. The domestic beers are huge out there, and they are so cheap that people just consume them at a regular pace without ever worrying about finding something that might have a little more taste. I have been told that there are a couple of places that produce their own beer, but they are further downtown, and will require a bigger effort to make it there if I want a good beer. I have seen them for sale at the grocery store, but the selection is still relatively small. The revolution is still trying to find a foothold in this part of the world, but it is at the same place that Korea was at four years ago. I will just have to be patient, and eventually I will see more and more options made available, but it won’t be at the same level that I see in my home state or in Oregon where breweries are basically across the street from each other and trying to compete for your business.

It is the small adjustments that I will have to make as I make the move, but it is only a small concession. The bonuses will far outweigh this small disadvantage, and I am sure that I will still love all of the other things that I find out in Thailand.