Hotel Central Plzen

... 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 ...

... 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.

(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 ...

... 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.

... in circles I noticed a tall steeple rising above the skyline of Plzen, and it struck me that the tallest building in Plzen is the St. Bartholomew's Cathedral located merely one block from Solni Pension. It was like my guiding light and led us through the city into our pension. By this time I was drenched in sweat and demanded a beer immediately. We trudged around town until stumbling upon Dominika where we knocked back a few $1.50 ...

... All of a sudden we hit a stop and tons of people start to get off the train. I keep watching and I notice that everyone is getting off the train. I don't know if it is a coincidence or if something happened that was explained in all those cryptic Czech phrases. So I am just sitting there contemplating to get off the train or not. I decide **** it, this train is supposed to go to Plzen, I look at my time ...

... in the front row of the box. There were only two rows of chairs. It turned cold while we were in the theater so we headed for the Metro and home. Monday was a cold and blustery day. It started out beautiful and turned to snow by evening. We spent the day in the Little Quarter, Mala Strana, and Palace area. By the time we finished touring, it was dark and starting to snow. We took the tram back to the Old Town Square and the Christmas Fair. Just as we hit the square the ...

... Thursday Breakfast in the room. We can't find Silk or its counterpart or skim milk, so we had yogurt and fruit on our cereal. Took the tram back to town to buy more basics. We also took a look at the Tesco supermarket. It is in the basement of the store. Security is heavy. The aisles are very small and it is really hard to move around. The prices seem good if you are willing to put up with the crowds and the long check out lines. We also stood in line at the T-Mobile shop ...

The greatest gift ever to bestowed on mankind!!!!! With my mother having delusional thoughts that the "tea-houses" were a pseudonym for some hash house in the back blocks of the Czech Republic, how on earth would she comprehend that her eldest son had travelled 189 kilometres, a three and half hour journey by train to be more precise, to the West Bohemian township of Plzen, for no other apparent reason than to visit the finest monument ever to be ...