Together with Worldee I went to South Moravia with a clear goal - to get to know the stories of local entrepreneurs. We therefore visited several local businesses, where we heard from their owners and, of course, sampled their products. The wine was flowing, but it was far from just that - Moravia has more to offer.
Our first stop was in the almond café of the company Mandlárna. We heard the story from the owner about how she legalized the almond industry and after tasting several spirits, liqueurs and the almonds themselves, we went on a tour of the Almond Orchards in Hustopeče, where 50,000 almond trees stood in the last century - now there are 1,500.
These orchards are open to the public and you are also allowed to pick your own almonds, as they are not used by the Mandlárna itself to produce their products, but by the people who come to pick them. We toured the orchard, tried peeling almonds with a hammer and a stone, climbed the local lookout tower and then continued our journey.
We were waiting for a three-course menu in the Amande restaurant. The vegan menu consisted of a starter of vegan cheese, almonds and strawberry topping, the main course of pasta with spinach, olives and sun-dried tomatoes, and dessert could have been fruit sorbet - I skipped that as it wasn't the weather I was in the mood for ice cream.
If you are also interested in the vegan menu, then be sure to call the restaurant at least a day in advance.
A hearty lunch needs to be washed down with something, so our next steps led us to the Sonnberk Winery. This was one of the nicest stops of the whole Moravian trip for me. We tried picking the grapes and crushing them with our own hands and after pressing we could taste the fresh juice. Good, but extremely sweet! The bourbon they brought us afterwards suited our taste buds better.
After a gentle wrap-up, we checked in at our accommodation in Ambrose's yard. There was also a workshop on kombucha production, which I like very much and thanks to the workshop I learned a bit more about it. František from Lok Lok told us about the history of kombucha and its health benefits and then demonstrated what kombucha production looks like. For me, the SCOBY mushroom used to make kombucha is simply fascinating!
After the workshop, hunger struck, so we grilled the prepared barbecue baskets from Ambrose's yard right in the courtyard. The classic basket was modified to vegan and I expected to grill some ordinary vegetables and that would be it. In the end, it almost was, but the seasoning of the vegetables, mushrooms, potatoes, and some tomato sauce was absolutely delicious and I definitely didn't feel like I had a sloppy dinner.
After the barbecue, we still had one last program of the day - what else but wine. A wine tasting from Kolby winery was waiting for us in the cellar of the yard. We then talked until about one in the morning, when we finally decided to go to bed, so that we would be at least a little bit ready for more adventures.
A baroque apartment was waiting for us in Ambrose's courtyard. Two bedrooms, a kitchen with a dining area and a bathroom. Beautiful! When we saw the bedroom, we thought that this accommodation was exactly the kind of place where a freestanding bathtub would be lovely, so we peeked into the bathroom...and there it was! :D
The first day ended with wine and the second day began again. Not just any wine, but apricot wine! I'm not much of a wine drinker in general, but I really liked this apricot wine from Lacina winery. Of all the ones we tasted over the weekend. In addition to the wine tastings, you can also go to the Lacina's to see an experiential exhibit about the history of this winery, which goes back over 100 years.
A short trip to the Slunečná lookout tower followed, where we climbed up to see the surroundings and hurried back to the car - partly because of the cold, partly because of hunger. From the lookout tower you can see, among other things, the Drunken Cellars, which you definitely won't miss while looking around.
Hunger drove us to Němčičky, to the chapel of St. Anthony of Padua. Here you will find a blue maringotka called Mezi rowky, where you can order something to drink and eat. I opted for tea and a tempeh sandwich. The latter is on the regular menu, no need to call ahead.
Wine was still scarce, so we went to the Velkopavlovice vintage. We saw a festive parade full of beautiful traditional costumes, listened to a dulcimer band, drank a litre of bourbon and drove back to Ambrož's yard for another barbecue and a good night's sleep in a baroque bed.
After arriving at our accommodation we went to see the Pouzdřanská steppe, which is a short walk from Ambrož's yard. Although the sunset was not very good for us, the view of the surroundings was nice anyway!
In Ambrož's yard you can order not only a barbecue basket, but also a breakfast basket, in which you can find bread, jams, granola, a mixture of nuts and dried fruit, fresh fruit and cider from vegan-friendly foods. If you buy some plant-based yogurt or milk, you'll eat enough :)
On the last day we started with a trip to Starovičky, where the Lavandia lavender farm workshop is located. Over a cup of lavender coffee, the owner told us a bit about how the farm is run and his story resonated with me - the farm employs people with various kinds of disabilities, grows lavender as part of organic farming, produces its own products (some in collaboration with other local businesses) and burns the lavender stems that are not used to make products, thus producing energy for itself. I love environmentally and socially responsible businesses!
From the lavender workshop we went for lunch to the Na 17ce restaurant, which surprised us with its appearance right at the entrance. Beautiful front door and a divine oldschool bike inside. And the food? Great! Anyway, like Amande's restaurant, call at least a day in advance if you want the vegan menu.
Our last stop was the Herůfek chocolate factory, where the owners gave us a tour of their factory. I personally love going to different factories as I love to see how the products are made. And to see how chocolate is made? Wonderful! But it was not only beautiful to look at, but also to listen to - the Herůfkas have a slightly different approach to chocolate production. They have made their own cocoa bean processing machine, they team up with other local businesses such as Lavandia or Eska restaurant, and most importantly and most interestingly for me - the Herůfkas support direct trade, which is one level above fair trade. This means that they ideally buy their cocoa beans directly from the farmers, and they know some of them because they have gone to see them.
Finally, one more interesting fact about the chocolatier - the Herůfkas have been involved in a project to ship cocoa beans from Belize to Europe by sailboat, i.e. without greenhouse gas emissions.
Together with Worldee I went to South Moravia with a clear goal - to get to know the stories of local entrepreneurs. We therefore visited several local businesses, where we heard from their owners and, of course, sampled their products. The wine was flowing, but it was far from just that - Moravia has more to offer.
Our first stop was in the almond café of the company Mandlárna. We heard the story from the owner about how she legalized the almond industry and after tasting several spirits, liqueurs and the almonds themselves, we went on a tour of the Almond Orchards in Hustopeče, where 50,000 almond trees stood in the last century - now there are 1,500.
These orchards are open to the public and you are also allowed to pick your own almonds, as they are not used by the Mandlárna itself to produce their products, but by the people who come to pick them. We toured the orchard, tried peeling almonds with a hammer and a stone, climbed the local lookout tower and then continued our journey.
We were waiting for a three-course menu in the Amande restaurant. The vegan menu consisted of a starter of vegan cheese, almonds and strawberry topping, the main course of pasta with spinach, olives and sun-dried tomatoes, and dessert could have been fruit sorbet - I skipped that as it wasn't the weather I was in the mood for ice cream.
If you are also interested in the vegan menu, then be sure to call the restaurant at least a day in advance.
A hearty lunch needs to be washed down with something, so our next steps led us to the Sonnberk Winery. This was one of the nicest stops of the whole Moravian trip for me. We tried picking the grapes and crushing them with our own hands and after pressing we could taste the fresh juice. Good, but extremely sweet! The bourbon they brought us afterwards suited our taste buds better.
After a gentle wrap-up, we checked in at our accommodation in Ambrose's yard. There was also a workshop on kombucha production, which I like very much and thanks to the workshop I learned a bit more about it. František from Lok Lok told us about the history of kombucha and its health benefits and then demonstrated what kombucha production looks like. For me, the SCOBY mushroom used to make kombucha is simply fascinating!
After the workshop, hunger struck, so we grilled the prepared barbecue baskets from Ambrose's yard right in the courtyard. The classic basket was modified to vegan and I expected to grill some ordinary vegetables and that would be it. In the end, it almost was, but the seasoning of the vegetables, mushrooms, potatoes, and some tomato sauce was absolutely delicious and I definitely didn't feel like I had a sloppy dinner.
After the barbecue, we still had one last program of the day - what else but wine. A wine tasting from Kolby winery was waiting for us in the cellar of the yard. We then talked until about one in the morning, when we finally decided to go to bed, so that we would be at least a little bit ready for more adventures.
A baroque apartment was waiting for us in Ambrose's courtyard. Two bedrooms, a kitchen with a dining area and a bathroom. Beautiful! When we saw the bedroom, we thought that this accommodation was exactly the kind of place where a freestanding bathtub would be lovely, so we peeked into the bathroom...and there it was! :D
The first day ended with wine and the second day began again. Not just any wine, but apricot wine! I'm not much of a wine drinker in general, but I really liked this apricot wine from Lacina winery. Of all the ones we tasted over the weekend. In addition to the wine tastings, you can also go to the Lacina's to see an experiential exhibit about the history of this winery, which goes back over 100 years.
A short trip to the Slunečná lookout tower followed, where we climbed up to see the surroundings and hurried back to the car - partly because of the cold, partly because of hunger. From the lookout tower you can see, among other things, the Drunken Cellars, which you definitely won't miss while looking around.
Hunger drove us to Němčičky, to the chapel of St. Anthony of Padua. Here you will find a blue maringotka called Mezi rowky, where you can order something to drink and eat. I opted for tea and a tempeh sandwich. The latter is on the regular menu, no need to call ahead.
Wine was still scarce, so we went to the Velkopavlovice vintage. We saw a festive parade full of beautiful traditional costumes, listened to a dulcimer band, drank a litre of bourbon and drove back to Ambrož's yard for another barbecue and a good night's sleep in a baroque bed.
After arriving at our accommodation we went to see the Pouzdřanská steppe, which is a short walk from Ambrož's yard. Although the sunset was not very good for us, the view of the surroundings was nice anyway!
In Ambrož's yard you can order not only a barbecue basket, but also a breakfast basket, in which you can find bread, jams, granola, a mixture of nuts and dried fruit, fresh fruit and cider from vegan-friendly foods. If you buy some plant-based yogurt or milk, you'll eat enough :)
On the last day we started with a trip to Starovičky, where the Lavandia lavender farm workshop is located. Over a cup of lavender coffee, the owner told us a bit about how the farm is run and his story resonated with me - the farm employs people with various kinds of disabilities, grows lavender as part of organic farming, produces its own products (some in collaboration with other local businesses) and burns the lavender stems that are not used to make products, thus producing energy for itself. I love environmentally and socially responsible businesses!
From the lavender workshop we went for lunch to the Na 17ce restaurant, which surprised us with its appearance right at the entrance. Beautiful front door and a divine oldschool bike inside. And the food? Great! Anyway, like Amande's restaurant, call at least a day in advance if you want the vegan menu.
Our last stop was the Herůfek chocolate factory, where the owners gave us a tour of their factory. I personally love going to different factories as I love to see how the products are made. And to see how chocolate is made? Wonderful! But it was not only beautiful to look at, but also to listen to - the Herůfkas have a slightly different approach to chocolate production. They have made their own cocoa bean processing machine, they team up with other local businesses such as Lavandia or Eska restaurant, and most importantly and most interestingly for me - the Herůfkas support direct trade, which is one level above fair trade. This means that they ideally buy their cocoa beans directly from the farmers, and they know some of them because they have gone to see them.
Finally, one more interesting fact about the chocolatier - the Herůfkas have been involved in a project to ship cocoa beans from Belize to Europe by sailboat, i.e. without greenhouse gas emissions.
itinerary by Dewii
Together with Worldee I went to South Moravia with a clear goal - to get to know the stories of local entrepreneurs. We therefore visited several local businesses, where we heard from their owners and, of course, sampled their products. The wine was flowing, but it was far from just that - Moravia has more to offer.
Our first stop was in the almond café of the company Mandlárna. We heard the story from the owner about how she legalized the almond industry and after tasting several spirits, liqueurs and the almonds themselves, we went on a tour of the Almond Orchards in Hustopeče, where 50,000 almond trees stood in the last century - now there are 1,500.
These orchards are open to the public and you are also allowed to pick your own almonds, as they are not used by the Mandlárna itself to produce their products, but by the people who come to pick them. We toured the orchard, tried peeling almonds with a hammer and a stone, climbed the local lookout tower and then continued our journey.
We were waiting for a three-course menu in the Amande restaurant. The vegan menu consisted of a starter of vegan cheese, almonds and strawberry topping, the main course of pasta with spinach, olives and sun-dried tomatoes, and dessert could have been fruit sorbet - I skipped that as it wasn't the weather I was in the mood for ice cream.
If you are also interested in the vegan menu, then be sure to call the restaurant at least a day in advance.
A hearty lunch needs to be washed down with something, so our next steps led us to the Sonnberk Winery. This was one of the nicest stops of the whole Moravian trip for me. We tried picking the grapes and crushing them with our own hands and after pressing we could taste the fresh juice. Good, but extremely sweet! The bourbon they brought us afterwards suited our taste buds better.
After a gentle wrap-up, we checked in at our accommodation in Ambrose's yard. There was also a workshop on kombucha production, which I like very much and thanks to the workshop I learned a bit more about it. František from Lok Lok told us about the history of kombucha and its health benefits and then demonstrated what kombucha production looks like. For me, the SCOBY mushroom used to make kombucha is simply fascinating!
After the workshop, hunger struck, so we grilled the prepared barbecue baskets from Ambrose's yard right in the courtyard. The classic basket was modified to vegan and I expected to grill some ordinary vegetables and that would be it. In the end, it almost was, but the seasoning of the vegetables, mushrooms, potatoes, and some tomato sauce was absolutely delicious and I definitely didn't feel like I had a sloppy dinner.
After the barbecue, we still had one last program of the day - what else but wine. A wine tasting from Kolby winery was waiting for us in the cellar of the yard. We then talked until about one in the morning, when we finally decided to go to bed, so that we would be at least a little bit ready for more adventures.
A baroque apartment was waiting for us in Ambrose's courtyard. Two bedrooms, a kitchen with a dining area and a bathroom. Beautiful! When we saw the bedroom, we thought that this accommodation was exactly the kind of place where a freestanding bathtub would be lovely, so we peeked into the bathroom...and there it was! :D
The first day ended with wine and the second day began again. Not just any wine, but apricot wine! I'm not much of a wine drinker in general, but I really liked this apricot wine from Lacina winery. Of all the ones we tasted over the weekend. In addition to the wine tastings, you can also go to the Lacina's to see an experiential exhibit about the history of this winery, which goes back over 100 years.
A short trip to the Slunečná lookout tower followed, where we climbed up to see the surroundings and hurried back to the car - partly because of the cold, partly because of hunger. From the lookout tower you can see, among other things, the Drunken Cellars, which you definitely won't miss while looking around.
Hunger drove us to Němčičky, to the chapel of St. Anthony of Padua. Here you will find a blue maringotka called Mezi rowky, where you can order something to drink and eat. I opted for tea and a tempeh sandwich. The latter is on the regular menu, no need to call ahead.
Wine was still scarce, so we went to the Velkopavlovice vintage. We saw a festive parade full of beautiful traditional costumes, listened to a dulcimer band, drank a litre of bourbon and drove back to Ambrož's yard for another barbecue and a good night's sleep in a baroque bed.
After arriving at our accommodation we went to see the Pouzdřanská steppe, which is a short walk from Ambrož's yard. Although the sunset was not very good for us, the view of the surroundings was nice anyway!
In Ambrož's yard you can order not only a barbecue basket, but also a breakfast basket, in which you can find bread, jams, granola, a mixture of nuts and dried fruit, fresh fruit and cider from vegan-friendly foods. If you buy some plant-based yogurt or milk, you'll eat enough :)
On the last day we started with a trip to Starovičky, where the Lavandia lavender farm workshop is located. Over a cup of lavender coffee, the owner told us a bit about how the farm is run and his story resonated with me - the farm employs people with various kinds of disabilities, grows lavender as part of organic farming, produces its own products (some in collaboration with other local businesses) and burns the lavender stems that are not used to make products, thus producing energy for itself. I love environmentally and socially responsible businesses!
From the lavender workshop we went for lunch to the Na 17ce restaurant, which surprised us with its appearance right at the entrance. Beautiful front door and a divine oldschool bike inside. And the food? Great! Anyway, like Amande's restaurant, call at least a day in advance if you want the vegan menu.
Our last stop was the Herůfek chocolate factory, where the owners gave us a tour of their factory. I personally love going to different factories as I love to see how the products are made. And to see how chocolate is made? Wonderful! But it was not only beautiful to look at, but also to listen to - the Herůfkas have a slightly different approach to chocolate production. They have made their own cocoa bean processing machine, they team up with other local businesses such as Lavandia or Eska restaurant, and most importantly and most interestingly for me - the Herůfkas support direct trade, which is one level above fair trade. This means that they ideally buy their cocoa beans directly from the farmers, and they know some of them because they have gone to see them.
Finally, one more interesting fact about the chocolatier - the Herůfkas have been involved in a project to ship cocoa beans from Belize to Europe by sailboat, i.e. without greenhouse gas emissions.
Together with Worldee I went to South Moravia with a clear goal - to get to know the stories of local entrepreneurs. We therefore visited several local businesses, where we heard from their owners and, of course, sampled their products. The wine was flowing, but it was far from just that - Moravia has more to offer.
Our first stop was in the almond café of the company Mandlárna. We heard the story from the owner about how she legalized the almond industry and after tasting several spirits, liqueurs and the almonds themselves, we went on a tour of the Almond Orchards in Hustopeče, where 50,000 almond trees stood in the last century - now there are 1,500.
These orchards are open to the public and you are also allowed to pick your own almonds, as they are not used by the Mandlárna itself to produce their products, but by the people who come to pick them. We toured the orchard, tried peeling almonds with a hammer and a stone, climbed the local lookout tower and then continued our journey.
We were waiting for a three-course menu in the Amande restaurant. The vegan menu consisted of a starter of vegan cheese, almonds and strawberry topping, the main course of pasta with spinach, olives and sun-dried tomatoes, and dessert could have been fruit sorbet - I skipped that as it wasn't the weather I was in the mood for ice cream.
If you are also interested in the vegan menu, then be sure to call the restaurant at least a day in advance.
A hearty lunch needs to be washed down with something, so our next steps led us to the Sonnberk Winery. This was one of the nicest stops of the whole Moravian trip for me. We tried picking the grapes and crushing them with our own hands and after pressing we could taste the fresh juice. Good, but extremely sweet! The bourbon they brought us afterwards suited our taste buds better.
After a gentle wrap-up, we checked in at our accommodation in Ambrose's yard. There was also a workshop on kombucha production, which I like very much and thanks to the workshop I learned a bit more about it. František from Lok Lok told us about the history of kombucha and its health benefits and then demonstrated what kombucha production looks like. For me, the SCOBY mushroom used to make kombucha is simply fascinating!
After the workshop, hunger struck, so we grilled the prepared barbecue baskets from Ambrose's yard right in the courtyard. The classic basket was modified to vegan and I expected to grill some ordinary vegetables and that would be it. In the end, it almost was, but the seasoning of the vegetables, mushrooms, potatoes, and some tomato sauce was absolutely delicious and I definitely didn't feel like I had a sloppy dinner.
After the barbecue, we still had one last program of the day - what else but wine. A wine tasting from Kolby winery was waiting for us in the cellar of the yard. We then talked until about one in the morning, when we finally decided to go to bed, so that we would be at least a little bit ready for more adventures.
A baroque apartment was waiting for us in Ambrose's courtyard. Two bedrooms, a kitchen with a dining area and a bathroom. Beautiful! When we saw the bedroom, we thought that this accommodation was exactly the kind of place where a freestanding bathtub would be lovely, so we peeked into the bathroom...and there it was! :D
The first day ended with wine and the second day began again. Not just any wine, but apricot wine! I'm not much of a wine drinker in general, but I really liked this apricot wine from Lacina winery. Of all the ones we tasted over the weekend. In addition to the wine tastings, you can also go to the Lacina's to see an experiential exhibit about the history of this winery, which goes back over 100 years.
A short trip to the Slunečná lookout tower followed, where we climbed up to see the surroundings and hurried back to the car - partly because of the cold, partly because of hunger. From the lookout tower you can see, among other things, the Drunken Cellars, which you definitely won't miss while looking around.
Hunger drove us to Němčičky, to the chapel of St. Anthony of Padua. Here you will find a blue maringotka called Mezi rowky, where you can order something to drink and eat. I opted for tea and a tempeh sandwich. The latter is on the regular menu, no need to call ahead.
Wine was still scarce, so we went to the Velkopavlovice vintage. We saw a festive parade full of beautiful traditional costumes, listened to a dulcimer band, drank a litre of bourbon and drove back to Ambrož's yard for another barbecue and a good night's sleep in a baroque bed.
After arriving at our accommodation we went to see the Pouzdřanská steppe, which is a short walk from Ambrož's yard. Although the sunset was not very good for us, the view of the surroundings was nice anyway!
In Ambrož's yard you can order not only a barbecue basket, but also a breakfast basket, in which you can find bread, jams, granola, a mixture of nuts and dried fruit, fresh fruit and cider from vegan-friendly foods. If you buy some plant-based yogurt or milk, you'll eat enough :)
On the last day we started with a trip to Starovičky, where the Lavandia lavender farm workshop is located. Over a cup of lavender coffee, the owner told us a bit about how the farm is run and his story resonated with me - the farm employs people with various kinds of disabilities, grows lavender as part of organic farming, produces its own products (some in collaboration with other local businesses) and burns the lavender stems that are not used to make products, thus producing energy for itself. I love environmentally and socially responsible businesses!
From the lavender workshop we went for lunch to the Na 17ce restaurant, which surprised us with its appearance right at the entrance. Beautiful front door and a divine oldschool bike inside. And the food? Great! Anyway, like Amande's restaurant, call at least a day in advance if you want the vegan menu.
Our last stop was the Herůfek chocolate factory, where the owners gave us a tour of their factory. I personally love going to different factories as I love to see how the products are made. And to see how chocolate is made? Wonderful! But it was not only beautiful to look at, but also to listen to - the Herůfkas have a slightly different approach to chocolate production. They have made their own cocoa bean processing machine, they team up with other local businesses such as Lavandia or Eska restaurant, and most importantly and most interestingly for me - the Herůfkas support direct trade, which is one level above fair trade. This means that they ideally buy their cocoa beans directly from the farmers, and they know some of them because they have gone to see them.
Finally, one more interesting fact about the chocolatier - the Herůfkas have been involved in a project to ship cocoa beans from Belize to Europe by sailboat, i.e. without greenhouse gas emissions.
