Best Western Hotel Panorama 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!!


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!!

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.

... 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.

We finally made it to the Czech Republic after a delightful delay of German bike touring. We waited an extra day to cross the border so that we could early in the day....just in case anything went wonky....only to find the border crossing unmanned. No papers, no stamps, no inspections, no officials, no nada. Czech Rep. is a different world...sorta like going from the US into Mexico, and pretty much what you might expect from Eastern Europe. Pastoral landscapes, small villages, and old ...

... never drink beer the same way again. By this time we were famished and decided to grab lunch in the brewery's restaurant/beer hall. The restaurant was absolutely incredible, huge plates of traditional Czech cuisine with enormous never ending mugs of beer; it was quite possibly the best meal I had during my entire stay in Europe. After the meal we went back to Zach's Pub for a nightcap where we met some people from Ireland and we ...

... one.. ther were 4.. then through a varietz of stumbling and fumbling around with mz excellent czeck language skills <sounds like MLOO= VEET=Ah EN=Glee=ski> meaning do you speak english... what can i saz.. im a master of language. Anzwazs I ended up in pilsen by oh around 3pm.. lucklz i found mz hotel.. yes HOTEL easilz. You guzs know how i like a bargain.. so for 25 a nite.. and ...

... I thought I would do my normal wander aimlessly thing in town, but it was so cold here this weekend. I ended up going to a couple of museums. Emily this week had some friends stay in our room with us. That was... ummm, MISERABLE. These rooms are almost too small for two people, let alone 4 girls and all their ****. I absolutely didn't want to be at home this weekend. I came on this trip to learn things about myself, this week's lesson is I LIKE MY PERSONAL SPACE! I also ...

... the way back to Prague from Chesky Krumlov, the tour guide pointed out the beautiful rosy color in the sky. She said that this color only appears at Christmastime. It is like a dusty rose color and eventually moves from the east to the west. Truly beautiful with a snowy landscape beneath it. Christmas for us was a real treat. Prague is a beautiful city, but it is especially magical at Christmas. For one thing, Christmas doesn't start in September. Hardly any decorations were up ...

... yesterday is slowly drying. (We did laundry in the kitchen sink and had it hanging all over the rooms.) Another breakfast at home then on to the #9 trolley to downtown. We had hoped to take the Gray Line Bus tour but it was sold out. Instead we got on the Red Line of the Metro and went across the river to the castle area. We had a wonderful walk around the area. Decided against going into the castle because that will be part of the tour tomorrow. Lots and lots of people, even ...