31 December, 2010
This post is dedicated to Jiri (George) Stransky, Kamila Otavova, Petr Zrink, and Petr Machalec who introduced us to the MAGIC that is distilled plum liquor.
We first met George, Kamila and Petr x2, at the end of the Tiger Leaping Gorge hike in China's Yunnan Province back in September. By chance we shared a dinner table and got to talking...and drinking. Our friendship formed quickly as we talked about dried pork skin treats, Leslie Neilsen, George and Kamila's house plans with a room for the Petrs, and the art of buying knock-off goods in Beijing. That was the night Devin and I had our first, but not last, taste of homemade Czech slivovice "imported" by Petr M & Co.
They didn't think we'd like it...but we did. It's strong, really strong. But it's smooth. And Petr had added a bit of honey to sweeten the deal. I think they were impressed when we had a second shot.
Jump ahead a few days and we met the foursome again, further south in Lijiang for a quick round before Devin and I had to catch a train to Yangshuo, where we planned to meet up again. (Our train took a collective 32 hours. They were smart and took a plane.)
In Yangshuo the six of us spent two evenings atop Monkey Jane's Guesthouse - the roof overlooking the city and the surrounding karst peaks. We had a blast...and of course, more slivovice. (We had to toast the Mid Autumn festival with something, right?)
It was in Yangshuo that we had to say goodbye to our friends. We were traveling south towards Vietnam and they were heading northeast to Shanghai and then home to Czech Republic. As a parting gift, they gave Devin and I a .5L used water bottle of slivovice.
Three months later, we still have the bottle...it's empty now...we just finished it. It's been to 8 countries, on 10 planes, countless buses and trains, all the while stuffed in the depths of Devin's pack. It's quite crumpled and smashed, but never leaked a drop. It's been sampled by travelers from all over the world, with varying reviews. (We think this is due to the fact that it's gotten stronger over time in the plastic bottle - seriously.)
This post is dedicated to Jiri (George) Stransky, Kamila Otavova, Petr Zrink, and Petr Machalec who introduced us to the MAGIC that is distilled plum liquor.
We first met George, Kamila and Petr x2, at the end of the Tiger Leaping Gorge hike in China's Yunnan Province back in September. By chance we shared a dinner table and got to talking...and drinking. Our friendship formed quickly as we talked about dried pork skin treats, Leslie Neilsen, George and Kamila's house plans with a room for the Petrs, and the art of buying knock-off goods in Beijing. That was the night Devin and I had our first, but not last, taste of homemade Czech slivovice "imported" by Petr M & Co.
They didn't think we'd like it...but we did. It's strong, really strong. But it's smooth. And Petr had added a bit of honey to sweeten the deal. I think they were impressed when we had a second shot.
Jump ahead a few days and we met the foursome again, further south in Lijiang for a quick round before Devin and I had to catch a train to Yangshuo, where we planned to meet up again. (Our train took a collective 32 hours. They were smart and took a plane.)
In Yangshuo the six of us spent two evenings atop Monkey Jane's Guesthouse - the roof overlooking the city and the surrounding karst peaks. We had a blast...and of course, more slivovice. (We had to toast the Mid Autumn festival with something, right?)
It was in Yangshuo that we had to say goodbye to our friends. We were traveling south towards Vietnam and they were heading northeast to Shanghai and then home to Czech Republic. As a parting gift, they gave Devin and I a .5L used water bottle of slivovice.
Three months later, we still have the bottle...it's empty now...we just finished it. It's been to 8 countries, on 10 planes, countless buses and trains, all the while stuffed in the depths of Devin's pack. It's quite crumpled and smashed, but never leaked a drop. It's been sampled by travelers from all over the world, with varying reviews. (We think this is due to the fact that it's gotten stronger over time in the plastic bottle - seriously.) We've been savoring it and taking small sips on special occasions, making sure we'd have enough left to toast our friends on New Year's Eve...
We did have enough left. We're so happy our paths crossed at the gorge...
Happy New Years guys!
(Important toasting protocol: eye contact.)
(I told you it's strong.)
(Tip some out for our homies.)
The End...of 2010
1 comment:
Hello guys,
we just came back from Kitzbuhel (Austria)from new year skiing party. We also drunk a lot of slivovice :) It was amazing 7 nights. We slept in the mountain cottage and we had a nice view on valley. You are still in our minds. WE HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON :) Take care and have save rest of your trip.
George and Kamila
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