Today's Date

Despite the lingering thread pointing to Germany at the end of my last post, it is not yet time for Germany; it is time for our last day in the Czech Republic. One thing that was notably absent from my recounting of Prague, but previously mentioned, was the cultural prevalence of beer. What better, then, than to visit Plzeň, where Pilsner Urquell is brewed, and czech it out for myself? 'Urquell' literally means 'original source,' and according to the tour guide as well as Wikipedia, 'most popular lagers produced in the rest of the world are based upon this original beer.' But, this is getting ahead of things.

After a two-hour early morning train ride, Matt and I arrived in Plzeň and were instantly greeted by the wafting scent of the famous brew. This fragrance would wend its way around the city, disappearing just so it could reappear and remind us of its presence. Though our main objective was the brewery, the tour was three hours after our arrival, and the town was ours for the exploring. I guess I shouldn't call it a town; its population exceeds 100,000. Still, because we mostly saw the Old Town Square and surrounding areas, despite the city's vast industrial expanse, it felt like a town.

As usual, a Gothic church loomed over the otherwise open square, today peppered by vendors and pony rides and cotton candy and popcorn. Brightly colored buildings, at once quaint and ornate, bordered the square. It just felt so quintessential. Andean performers created an out of place soundtrack to the experience. We entered the church and discovered that we could go up the tower, the tallest in Bohemia at 102 meters. At the top, I marveled. I looked out over the expanse of Plzeň, buffeted by the wind, and breathed, and sat, and breathed. The Andean music tinkled up from below and somehow it almost fit now.

After visiting the Great Synagogue we returned for the tour. The brewery produces Pilsner, Kozel (a dark beer), Gambrinus, and Rategast (a non-Alcoholic beer), but it is now part of the SAB Miller conglomerate, which is also responsible for delicacies like Steel Reserve, Keystone, and Miller High Life. During the tour we rode in the largest elevator in the country, which fits approximately 75 people and was probably bigger than my dorm room. We tasted barley, malt, and hops. Later, even more excitingly, we tasted unfiltered, unpasteurized Pilsner straight from a giant fermentation barrel. After the tour, led by Ignacious, on his first day and in his lucky shoes, we returned to the square. We visited the City Hall and found a moving memorial to WWII soldiers. Plzeň was liberated by troops led by Patton, and the city has always had very pro-America sentiments. There is actually a monument to Patton somewhere in the city. Here, however, we found photos of mostly American soldiers, how they looked then and now, alongside their written memories of their tour of Plzeň.

By the time we headed back to Prague for the night, hunger had set in, and I gave in to Chinese takeout for the train ride back. It was the first Chinese food I had had since leaving the US, and one of only a handful of occasions when I had eaten 'foreign' food while in Europe. Matt and I snuck up on Ellie on our way back to the hostel and, reunited, the three of us went for dinner/snack at the restaurant we visited on our first day in Prague. Farewell, Czech, soon, finally, hello Germany.