Shots as Medicine?
It began simply enough. On our first bus ride I had brought some Kirsch filled chocolates from Switzerland to share. No biggie. Then Jana pulled out the Becherovka to give us a taste of a traditional Czech liqueur. I'm not much of a drinker, so I wasn't that interested in even trying it. But then she told us about its importance in Czech culture. But not just cultural significance, spirits also have a medicinal value for Slavic and Hungarian peoples. Now she had my interest, and I started to realize that if we really wanted to connect to the people and their culture on this trip, we were going to have to embrace this tradition. Taking shots at random points throughout the day was not what I expected in terms of making a cultural connection, but the funny thing was that no matter how many shots I took, I never felt drunk. I did feel more in tune with our hosts. And most importantly, I never got sick!
We were soon convinced that this was the only way to travel and stay healthy,
so our battle cry quickly became, "Shots on the Bus!"
Shots on the Bus are a Thing...
We soon learned to think of our shots not as alcohol, but rather as "medicine". We were told frequently to drink up for our health. Who were we to argue?
We were introduced to Tatras Tea in Slovakia on a quick stop at "The Ranch". We were really starting to bond because we all felt so healthy!
Shots were not always pleasant and not always limited to the bus. Any mode of transport would do. This was on a boat.
My last shot on the bus. Grappa with herbs on our way from Croatia to Slovenia. It was about 10:00am.
This was our last shot —blueberry grappa at our farewell dinner in Lake Bled. We also tried a honey mead. And had a last toast to our wonderful trip.