Jesse and I left Prague for a day trip to the home of Pilsner beer, Pilsen (or in Czech: Plzeň, Czechia). About an hour or so away southwest of Prague by rail, we took a morning train after we navigated our way to the ticket counter, bought two tickets, and were soon off.
It was a cloudy day in Prague, and no brighter in Pilsen, but within minutes after arriving and leaving the train station we could see our beer mecca, the Pilsner Urquell Brewery. It smelled just like it did when we lived in the Soulard neighborhood of St Louis, where the Budweiser Brewery is located, and the same potato-esque beer-making smell was present.
Our first stop after passing under the golden archway was the tasting/tap room, where a contender for the best bartender in all of Czech Republic poured us the freshest beer we could ask for.
After our beers, we walked into the center of town, over a funky bridge, past the FC Plzen soccer stadium, and across a small in-town river.
The square had many pretty buildings with the Cathedral of St. Bartholomew at its center.
We also stopped to see the Great Synagogue, Europe’s second largest. It was impressive from the outside; but the inside was even more so; they even hold classical concerts here as it is no longer a used Synagogue. It was as beautiful a religious house as I have seen.
Jesse made us a reservation at a local eatery for lunch, and we shared much good Czech food and prepared for our Pilsen Underground Tour. About an hour in length, we were led by a local woman through the old underground tunnels that were used to store goods, food and drink over the years, dating back to the 1400s. We were given hardhats as more than once we scraped the top of some short passageways. It was informative without being too serious, and after lots of walking and ducking, we used our free beer passes (a part of the tour) to enjoy some fresh Pilsner as we talked about the underground tour and how good our lunch was.
We slowly meandered our way back to the train station, intent on visiting the Pilsner Urquell gift shop (where we procured some t-shirts) and visited the restaurant for a quick snack before our train back to Prague. After buying return tickets, we settled in at the Pilsen station to wait for our train.
We had a great time in Pilsen and highly recommend it to anyone who loves beer (and even to those who don’t!).
Phil's WayPastCool 