Melnik

On the long train ride back from Kutna Hora, Megan and I read through the guidebook that we had carried there. One of the more interesting and easily reached places is a small town just north of Prague called Melnik. There is of course a cathedral of note, a small castle (really more of a palace), but most interesting is that it lies at the heart of Bohemian wine country. Generally Bohemia is not known for wine, but this little town and the fields that surround it are dedicted to this and have been for centuries. Most of the vines orginated in the burgandy growing area of France. After the last few weeks of heavy walking, Megan and I thought wine country sounded just fantastic, so on Saturday morning we got up and headed to the bus. It was a quick one hour ride and we had stopped to get a map in advance this time, so that we might not get lost repeatedly. Melnik was actually quite small and we managed pretty well. Shortly after we arrived, there was a small parade through the center of town and we stopped in the square to watch it pass. After that we went for a little lunch, which unfortunately took forever, but soon we were on our way to the wine cellar. The church was definitely worth seeing, and has an attached bone church, which we missed (though I have heard it is unimpressive compared to the one at Kutna Hora). We went into the castle and found the area for the wine cellar tour. Here's how it works. You pay some money and they send you alone into the wine cellar to look around and read about it's history and the history of the region. Then you go back to the shop and they hand you a small wine glass, and send you down into another part of the cellar where there are several barrels topped with the various vintages from the winery. They give you a description of the different wines to read and leave you alone to taste and try them. Megan and I managed to get through most of them and it was fun to try them and compare them. Oh I almost forgot, they give you little bits of bread to clean your palate between bottles. Finally the place was closing up, and Megan and I had to make our way back to the bus and head back to town. we cooked dinner that night creating a fun little chicken parmesan, and then we were both beat so we crashed out. Pictures..