I was in Ireland in May and within a stone's throw of Waterford, home of the famour Waterford crystal, but I didn't have an opportunity to visit. Here at Prague, our bus took us just outside the city to a cyrstal factory, where we took a tour of the facility and hear lectures regarding the crystal making process. It was most interesting.
We were able to watch glass blowers begin the process by blowing the molten mix into bowls, bottles and more. We also toured the workshop where workers (artists) etched the glass with intricate designs - by hand, no automation. Fantastic.
No hard sell but for those who wanted to purchase crystal the factory made that easy with a fully stocked gift shop. Each of us did get a small cyrstal object as a souvenir. My gift was a small elephant, so I joked with the local staff, telling them about American politics and the use of the elephant and donkey as party symbols. I cautioned them that a Democrat among us may want to exchange the gift elephant and ask for a donkey. Just kidding.
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