Today Barnaby set off to explore the cellars of Tokaj to find out just what makes the wine here so golden and yummy.  Having studied the works of the 16th century alchemist Paracelsus, who believed the wine contained actual gold, he thought he could come to a more scientific conclusion. Probably something to do with botrytis.

But when Barnaby saw it (we wouldn't let him actually drink it. Not after Poland) he refused to believe it was anything so unsophisticated as rotten grapes.  We have bought several cases for him to continue his analysis.

Louis XIV is said to have called the sweet wines of the Tokaj region of Hungary "the wine of kings, and king of wines", and they've been used as diplomatic sweeteners at the highest levels for hundreds of years.  We went to find out what makes them so great, and discovered that they are still the king of wines - perhaps these days even more so than ever before.  However, they now seem to be the wines of very different kinds of kings... 

Barnaby has been relieved to find that Hungarians love coffee as much as he does, and serve all manner of espresso-based drinks in very upmarket cafés.  Here in Eger he and Matt needed big lattes after all the wine tasting yesterday.

Barnaby supposes that the Hungarian passion for coffee must stem in some way from the presence of the Ottoman empire here some 500 years ago.  The trend is so pervasive that even McDonald's has caught on - there are 'McCafes' complete with Starbucks-style faux leather armchairs in every town.  Barnaby is tempted to make a profound observation about imperialism, but hasn't quite worked out what it is.

Today Barnaby discovered that in Poland they make Miodula - a vodka made out of honey.  Yes, a vodka. Made out of honey.

Bears are quite keen on honey.

Barnaby is quite keen on vodka.

You get the picture.

Today we are taking him to safety in Slovakia.