Hotel York 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&#8217;t quite a crisis anymore.<br><br> 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.).<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>

... crowds of Prague. We ate well at a pub (is there anywhere else to eat?!) on the decking (it was a very hot day) and wandered back to the car through the huge town square (really, it seemed to large to be strictly useful) and headed back to the nursing home. We were clearly eagerly anticipated, and conversation bubbled along easily. For those who ...

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.

Back to we Prague, after a great trip. I don't think it could have been any better actually. If it had of been a week later almost all the leaves would have been gone from the trees which made it so special. It was right on the change of season. My last mail was a bit rushed due to extortionate rates at the email centre/Bagel restaurant so here I am to plug in a few details.. The walk through the vinyards wasn't just any old walk, we were walking along the fomer Iron ...

... and pictures and hopefully I will have plenty of opportunities to upload data about this outwardly over ambitious excursion around the sub-continent. As far as I can see, the IT revolution has hit India big time, so there shouldn't be too many circumstances when I can't update the blog. A Packed Itinerary Maps can be downloaded from the blog to see a much enlarged view of my route around India. The hotels are left to chance with the help of ...

... serious floods. The main square is stunning!! Very unfortunate about the masses of tourists and silly stalls selling junk filling the whole area. They also have an astrological clock which goes off every hour though you are lucky to see it through the hundreds of people that crowd around every hour to watch it ding 14 times.(Actually went off 14 times at 2pm which is the first clock I have ever heard ding according to the 24hr clock, interesting). Must say the clock in ...

...and I'm here! No problem in customs even though I have a one way ticket. One co-owner picked me up from the airport. I shouldn't see him much as he's always going to be in the office next to the school. The school, and as a result the flat I live in, are in a nice safe part ...

... it. It doesn't have central heating, so there are electric heaters attached to the underside of each pew seat. Believe me, if you are sitting in the wrong spot you either get a very cold or very toasty bottom. We like the pastor and the people, but attending the service is almost like going to a pre Vatican II Roman Catholic Mass. The minister wears Roman style vestments and sings the Introit, Collect, Gradual, and blessing of the Bread and Wine. He does lots of genuflecting ...