Pig Slaughter

Friday was the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution that freed the Czech people from Soviet rule and Communism. My school was closed as was nearly everything else in the country. So we decided to travel into southern Bohemia and visit České Budějovice.

This town is the original home of Budweiser. Although that beer doesn't even rank among my top 200 American beers, it is quite nice here! The main difference seems to be that this beer has flavor and the American version does not! BTW - Budějovice means Budweis in German and Budweiser in English.

As we entered the main square in Old Town we found a beautiful old fountain and took a seat to gawk at the brilliantly colored buildings in one of the Czech Republic's biggest squares. We made our way past the 14-century tower guarding the back side of the square and past the imposing Town Hall with dragons flying out of the wall towards the 13th century monastery at the edge of the Old Town along the river. We walked along the river a ways with massive swans following close behind and then ducked into an alleyway that popped us out right next to the Harley-Davidson Museum. The what? Weird!

We then strolled down the very narrow streets of the Old Town and ultimately onto the main road. From there I could hear music and laughter from somewhere nearby.We ducked under a low archway to discover what looked like a private party or BBQ. There were people talking, eating, singing, dancing, kids playing, etc. We stood quietly peering around the corner until a guy in a chef's uniform began speaking to us in Czech. He quickly determined that we couldn't speak Czech and told us in his best broken English to join them and have some soup.

We thought fine! Soup and beer sounds good. He says that they have slaughtered a pig and it's a party for the town! He proceeds to tell us that the soup is made from PIG BLOOD! Gretchen kindly told the guy that I would love to try it and he promptly made me a bowl. The party momentarily stopped everything to watch me take a sip. Very weird stuff. Some kind of charcoal-based liquid with a somewhat grisly somewhat chewy I don't know what inside...

Anyway, I put the soup down and drank my beer. Then went into the hall to listen to two old Czech men playing accordions and singing loudly and wearing huge smiles. Another older man sat alongside singing while the butcher and a random woman sang and danced while tenderizing the meat. Another woman just drank and sang...loudly!
A proper Czech party with proper Czech people and proper Czech food! Classic!