Angelo Hotel Plzen

... of old time beer making equipment, and beer bottling equipment and capping. We also got a small coin which was used in payment in olden times. Workers with this coin were entitled to a beer. We turned in our coins to get a nice beer. As we were running behind, our guide asked if it was ok for us to eat here as well. We each got a nice bread bowl full of goulash soup and then a plate of bread ...

... I would - as they were pretty impressive, but then you all know how to use google!!<br> <br><br>We then had a tour of the fermentation tanks and details of the vital ingreadients (water, malt, special yeast and bacteria...). The tour concluded in obvious fashion - with a taster straight from the keg, poured by the most photographed man in Plzen!!<br>

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.<br>

... we camped at this weird, seemingly abandoned hotel. After we ride miles out of our way to get there this lady tells me in broken few words and mostly hand gestures that we can't stay there it's only for people of an association. I'm not sure if it was my puppy dog eyes or my deadly looks but in the end she let us camp out back. It was kinda weird because we were the only ones there.

... nipped in the bud. Czech is a whole different ball game. Like cricket. It sorta resembles something familiar, but you soon realize everything is differnt. Differnt field, different rules, different variations on familiar things. Even the liquid refreshment is different ...rather than breaking the action for tea, they break for beer here. And sadly, I have NEVER figured out cricket. Perhaps the beer will do the trick and I will eventually remember how to say hello without my crib notes.

... are very impressive, the parks are very nice to lie in on a spring day, but after that there is not a lot else so it's 4:00pm and I am sitting in our beer hall tapping out another travel blog while Gaynor has a nana nap upstairs (told you she wouldn't be able to handle it... ;). We leave for Cesky Krumlov tomorrow, which should be interesting as we are being screwed by our hostel... I don't think they have reckoned on a spurned Gaynor before...

... few kms outside of Wurzburg, I noticed a couple of signs that said "Ausfahrt", with arrows indicating various exits.  I asked Byron if we were going the right way, since I was sure I had spotted a couple of signs for this Ausfahrt place the day before on our way out of Frankfurt.  "Do all roads in Germany lead to Ausfahrt?", I asked?   Well, it took him ...

... music. Afterwards we had a wonderful lunch at a small basement pub near church. From there we ambled through the town to the Stavovske divadlo where Mozart's Don Giovanni premiered in 1787. We had tickets for Chorea Bohemia. We all thought it was going to be a choral concert. Instead it was a delightful folk program of dancing, singing, and instrumental music. 25 people made up the group. We were most impressed with their ability and professionalism. The program was very ...

... giving us maps, directions on how and where to buy a used cell phone, how to get to Tesco (the local discount store, that was formerly a K-Mart, in the heart of City Center. We left the school and walked to Tesco. Couldn't find the phone store. We bought two bath towels, two wash mitts, and a kitchen towel. By this time we were starving so we, horror of horrors, went into Tesco's food place. It was a Little Caesar's Pizza joint! Well, we bit the bullet and had a slice and a ...

... at them (after they took away all his other weapons). We were not allowed to shoot pictures inside, so these were done on the sly. The tour guide had no clue (yeah, right...). Befitting a hunting castle, there was a bear enclosure (but no bears visible), a display of (damaged) hunting birds - Pose with one!, and a watchdog. Time to hit the road, Northward to Berlin. After ...