Nakládaný Hermelín: Marinated Cheese from Prague

Štefánik Bridge in Prague, Czechia

August 9, 2026

Whenever Phil and I travel to an unfamiliar city, we start with a food and culture walking tour. It’s one of the fastest ways to get our bearings and begin understanding the place, its food and its people.

In Prague, our guide began the tour with beer.

The meeting point turned out to be Loď Pivovar, a brewery boat moored beneath Štefánik Bridge on the Vltava River that runs through the center of the city. It seemed entirely fitting that our first lesson in Czech culture arrived in a glass mug of Czech pilsner crowned with a thick, stable head.

I learned, to Czech beer drinkers, that foam is not mere decoration. It lends the brew a creamy mouthfeel and preserves its effervescence from first sip to last.

So, raising our mugs, we followed local custom. Before clinking glasses, each person looked their companions directly in the eye. Only then did we offer a cheerful “Na zdraví!” and take our first sip.

Then our attention turned to the food.

The dish before us was Nakládaný Hermelín, one of the Czech Republic’s most popular pub snacks.