Kev and I had a few days to kill between the wedding and the Youth Forum in Germany so we looked at a map to decide where to go. We realised that were very close to the Czech Republic but the only place that I had heard of (apart from Prague which is on the other side of the country) was Pilsen, which is known for it's beer. This sounded like a great idea when we were still in Italy. It kinda lost its appeal though, the day after we drank beer all day at a German wedding. Luckily the novelty returned once we got there.
Oh, it is such a beaut place. We were so pleased to find that the hotel we booked was opposite the cathedral in the town square.
Pilsen - The view from our hotel room
Cathedral of St Bartholomew
We spent a lot of time wandering around the lovely old town. We also ate heaps. The are really good at serving humungus amounts of food - and really large beers.
We went on an historical underground tour. This sounded fascinating, but it was pretty dumb. Just before it started we were surrounded by a loud group from some foreign land. I was glad that we had booked the English tour so that we wouldn't have to be underground with this noisy mob. In fact, it wasn't an English tour...it was a tour where everyone is given a person electronic guide so we were all together. The commentary took longer than the tour though, so we couldn't listen to all of it. We had to wear hard-hats which was a bit stupid. They sit so high off your head that we kept hitting the ceiling which we wouldn't have done if we weren't wearing the darn things. But it gave opportunities to laugh at each other, so it was worth it.
Underground historical tour of Pilsen
After the tour we went to a pub for lunch. We were obliged to, because we were all given a voucher for a free beer so we had no choice. I decided to order the special that was recommended on the menu - the knee of a pig. I thought it best to order a side of chips as well. When the three plates arrived (pig, veges, chips) we were in shock. The pig was bigger than my head. It was sooooo delicious. I couldn't eat it all so Kev helped. I also had my free beer to wash it down.
A couple of pigs
We also visited the Pilsen Brewery. We had to. You can't not. It was wonderful.
Kev in front of the main gates of the brewery
We joined an English-speaking tour (a real one) that lasted almost two hours. It was fantastic. We saw how they bottle the beer, how they brew it, the history, etc. It really was great.
The bottling room
These barrels are bigger than we are.
Underground cellar where the beer ferments
We were given a sample
After the tour, Kev was still hungry so he had pizza for dinner. I was so full after my pig-lunch and beer that I just had an icecream for dinner.
Hungry Kev
We had such a wonderful few days in Pilsen. It was a shame it was so short.
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