Hotel CD Plzen

... part of the plant but one line was running so we saw the bottles scuttle past on their way to being filled.<br><br> We wound our way through the plant and saw a multimedia presentation on the brewing of Pilsner Urquell. They mash it or boil it three times which is unusual. They also hop it three times. Using Saaz hops from the region. A few years ago, there were several natural hops ...

... in it's main square.).<br> <br>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 ...

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>

(76 miles) Slowing ourselves down has really helped us go longer while feeling like we are riding less. Today we entered the Czech Republic and found out that the roads are not as nice and little towns are run down. It's interesting the change. Everything is much cheaper here as well. We find ourselves dodging potholes more and eating out more. However so far I have taken less pictures ...

... charm, but with a patina of decay, the legacy of communism and several subsequent political unheavals. This country has one of the most fascinating political histories and we look forward to learning more as we explore. We are already crashing our way through Slavic Languages 101. I was getting a little cocky in Germany, where I was starting to get by pertty well after only a week, because there are enough similarities to English to start connecting dots. Well, THAT has certainly ...

... quite a hangover, we found out that the Solni Pension was sold out for the day, a fact that would have been nice to know before hand. So we quickly ate the breakfast of bread and vegetables and wandered around until we found a room at Pension City. We met this cool kid named Thomas who works at the pension a couple of days a week; he had nothing but hilarious words coming out of his mouth... "What do I think of the EU? ****ing EU ...

... my train. I was pretty mad, but then, by the luck of the Europeans, I remembered that we went into daylight savings time the night before and I was able to catch my train. When I got on my train I was just sitting there reading. Announcements in Czech kept buzzing in and out but a little more frequently than usual. Of course, I couldn't understand what was being said so I just kept on trucking along in my ...

... visited the vast 9km underground tunnels where the beers are fermented and even had a beer straight from the tap. Quite tasty. Another highlight was a bar called simply The Pub (Pilsner Urquell Bar). Each group sat at a table with its own beer tap. Every time you wanted a new beer, you could pour it yourself and everyone could see how you were progressing on a big screen at the front of the room.

... time seeing everything but the castle and theater. They don't have any electricity or plumbing so they are closed for the winter. The courtyards, however, are open. We had lunch in the dungeon of an old jail. The lighting was at a minimum and all the rooms were stone with barrel-vaulted ceilings. The lunch was cooked over an open wood fire that you first saw when you entered. We had a wonderful Czech lunch with soup, vegetables, potatoes with sheep cheese, and grilled ...

... On the way to a phone we had tried to get money from Fred's cash card. The machine ate it and he got a message saying: "Contact your banking institution. HOT CARD!" Now we really were nervous! Finally we got the right numbers and cancelled our Visa and Master Cards. We called Joanne at Landmark and she cancelled the cash card. She promised she would have the Landmark cash and credit cards sent to her and she would then express mail them to us in care of ITC. MS didn't have any ...