Hostel Prague Lion

... plus a large hop warehouse fire and the worldwide hop supply was dwindling while growers had to replant. Now the hops are back and it isn’t quite a crisis anymore.

We are finally down to the cellars after going past the large copper covered tanks where the beer is mashed and hops added. Down here we are treated to a new beer. It has not yet been filtered and pasteurized but boy is ...

... in it's main square.).

The brewery tour was 90 mins long and I'm sure the gentleman conducting the tour was the human muse for the creation of 'The Count' on sesame street, his hair didn't move, sadly there were no mirrors anywhere so I couldn't check for a reflection... He was a brilliant tour leader and was happy to answer any ...

... I got squished. He thought of soccer matches where people are literally squished to death and briefly considered punching through the window to pull me out. But it seemed too dangerous and so he stayed there hands on the window watching and hoping. Then, he saw the cop take my hand and get me out of there. Relief filled him and he turned to run to the door and meet me.

But when he got there he joined a crowd of people trying to do ...

Today we went to the Pilsner Urquell brewery in Plzen. Pilsner, the type of beer, originated here, where Pilsner Urquell was brewed from local crops and local mineral water. The tour was awesome. We saw the traditional brew kettles and the modern ones, as well as a very modern new packaging plant. We also tasted some unpastuerized beer directly from fermenting barrels.

Arrived in Karlstejn on the "City Elephant" train at 1.20pm and walked 2km to the Karlstejn Castle. Went on the 2.30pm English tour of the castle which took about an hour. No photography allowed inside the castle. Took in the views over the town before walking back to the train station and catching the train back to Prague.

... shopping cart in a grocery store. You can almost always see people walking their dogs. Pedestrians have right of way, though drivers may not like it. They should wait for you at every corner, but many will not if they can avoid it. Most busy corners have painted walkways, and you should be able to enter any time and cross, unless there is a cross light. But you want to keep an eye out for drivers who don't like to stop. In closing, let me mention that many people of all ages give ...