Tip #2: Don't Forget To Visit Your Country!

Being in Europe, I have been constantly surrounded of sights and sounds from many... many different cultures. From the Polish humor in Krakow to the Buda and Pest parts of Hungary - from the restoration of Dresden to the classical music of Vienna - I've spent many weekend so far away from the Czech Republic. As the semester settles down, however, I'm reminded just how far from "home" I am by simply living in Prague. Therefore, tip #2 - don't forget to visit your country.

Plzen, Czech Republic:
Plzen is based around one main thing: beer. What... isn't most of Czech Republic based around beer? Well yes, but this city is king of kings. Lord of lords. The home of all that is good with beer. Let me explain.

Beginning in the mid-1840s, Bavarian brewers began to experiment with different ways to brew better quality beer. Their solution was to turn to the caves. While using bottom-fermenting yeasts (which improved both the beer's clarity and shelf-life), the modern day Pilsner Urquell was born on October 5th, 1842 thanks to a man named Josef Groll.

Unlike in Mr. Groll's time, we now have modern day refrigeration - eliminating the need for cave dwelling, bottom-fermenting yeast beer. When visiting the current day Pilsner Urquell brewery, however, little has actually changed - both system and quality wise. During our tour of the factory, we started by viewing the bottle room. Here, recycled bottles are run through a thorough wash. No beer could actually be seen in this area because this isn't where the bottles were filled. Unlike in the United States, most beer is served in glass bottles and then recycled - eliminating the constant waste that aluminum cans create.

(Random tangent - aluminum is pronounced completely differently by people in Europe. As well as thirty and albino. Oh, and pants do not exist here. They're trousers. Thanks to my friends David, George, and Henri, I am much wiser).

Anyway, I can hardly begin to describe how intricate of a process simply washing that many bottles can be. So here's a picture:

After touring the top part of the premises, we ventured downstairs to the prior location of beer brewing. Through the entire basement was an elaborate setup of hallways - all leading to more barrels of beer. Most of the hallways are no longer used since refrigeration does not require that ice be constantly placed around the barrels, but the area is still massive. One area specifically - the ice room - was enormous. During the winter, people would move snow and ice into the room. When the temperature began to increase, the ice and snow would keep the underground tunnels as cold as they are today with refrigeration. With how quickly snow and ice can melt, you can only imagine how large of a room was required to keep the entire beer stock cold during the summer months.

Of course, not all of the original techniques from the 1840's have been thrown out the window (or down the cave in this case). In all honesty, a lot is still similar. As you can see in the picture below, some of the same wooden barrels are used to ferment small bunches of beer. This is usually not the beer that gets put in bottles, but rather used for tour groups such as us to compare the difference between the processes. But who really cares about technology? It's all about the classic methods. Enjoy the picture!

Ok, not ALL of Plzen has to do with beer (just most of it). The town, like many Czech Republic cities, has many sights that aren't found in the standard tour guide. One example is the tower we climbed in the main square. Over 660 steps later, we were left with this beautiful view of the city below. The parts of Plzen that don't have to do with beer are breathtaking.

Before returning to Prague after our day trip, we stopped by a local hot-stop: the Pilsner Unique Bar (the P.U.B. for short). Pay attention Americans, because this concept will NEVER fly in the states. It's pretty simple. You walk in with your group of friends (anywhere from 2-10 people is typical) and find an empty table. At each table, a tap is located. Within minutes, a bartender bring you some empty glass mugs and... well... you're on your own. By simply picking a number on the tap so that paying can be split between people, you are in charge of your amount of beer consumption right at your table. Hopefully the picture I took of a good friend Pat will help.

While the beer is flowing, the total liters are tracked on a counter at the top of the tap (think gas station meter). In addition, the table's total consumption is tallied and projected on a huge screen located in the bar. This screen keeps track of not only the total liters drank by each table and compares it to those in that bar, but also to other tables around the Czech Republic. That's right... we were drinking in Plzen and competing against others drinking in Prague. Going to happen in the states? Never. A Czech favorite? Absolutely.

Detenice, Czech Republic

As with the Plzen trip, this one day vacation was based around local favorites. In the rather small "village" as the internet likes to call it of Detenice - Skoda is the word. For those of you not famaliar with this word (myself included until I stepped foot in Prague), here's a history lesson.

As with many car companies in Czech Republic, Skoda began as a bicycle repair shop. In 1894, a 26-year-old man named Vaclav Klement needed to fix up his only mode of transportation. To fully grasp the rest of the story, you need to understand that at this time, the now Czech Republic was part of Austria-Hungary and the Czech language was merely hanging on by a thread. If it weren't for a few well-known books that were written in the language, it would no longer exist. This being said, Mr. Klement wrote to the bike manufactures (in Czech) and hoped to receive some spare parts. The reply - written in German - simply told Vaclav that if he would like a response, he should send a letter written in a language they could understand. Talk about great service... Vaclav quickly decided he would take matters into his own hands and, with the help of a friend known as Laurin, the two developed a bike/motorcycle hybrid surprisingly called the motorcyclette.

From then on, Laurin and Klement company was transformed into the well-known Skoda business of today. The cars are of course extremely popular in the Czech Republic and Eastern Europe, but reach as far as the UK and Denmark because of their dependability.



A no-so-recent Skoda original

After a short lunch at a restaurant with gyros (such great food here!), we went for a hike. It seems that while Czech people love their beer, they also adore their walking. I'll try to bring this concept back to the USA with me. (No promises). While the weather was not ideal for such a travel - with both chilly temperatures and rainy conditions - the view could not be altered. After only a few minutes of being dropped off of the bus, pictures were being taken in every direction.

Once we reached a sign that said "caution - very dangerous" we continued up the mountainside (sorry Mom - they told me to!). I'd have to say, the long and dangerous walk was worth the view. :)

Thanks to the rain, my travels back down the mountain were just as eventful - only in a less splendid way. While I thought I'd be smart and avoid the increasingly steep and slippery stairs (which were wooden, half broken, and had no handrail - again, never in the states), my choice of path did not prove to be any more supportive. I took a bit of a tumble... or should I say slide down a 10 meter slope. I was completely fine, but my bookbag and shoes (should have listened to Chad when he said moccasins were bad for hiking!) were not so lucky. Oh well, it made me fit in perfectly at our next stop: medieval tavern.

The highlight of this part would be hard to determine. It could easily be the extremely large platter of food we were served and then ate with our hands. Or it could be the fire dancers and breathers that came to entertain us every 30 minutes. Or it could be the crazy awesome decoration around the entire 5 room tavern. Oh, or when we all got on the tables and started dancing (after everyone was finished with their food of course). You pick. :)

Kutna Hora, Czech Republic

After a day of rest (can you believe I did all of this on a Thursday-Sunday?!?), I headed out to my final destination - Kutna Hora.

Our first stop was like most places in Europe - a church. Before visiting Prague, I'd heard that every church is beautiful and is only topped by the next one. Now that I've been to ones in 5 different European countries and many... many different cities, I can absolutely vouch for that fact. The church we visited in Kutna Hora (wish I could remember the name) was terrific. Enjoy a few pictures I snapped:

This one is currently the background to my laptop. I'm so amazed at the height of all the windows in European churches. Seems that their doors are always short and the windows are always massive. Works for me!

After getting a little lost, we stopped by a local shop for food. The typical meal around here is goulash with dumplings, so we that is of course what we were served. This one was very delicious because of the extra onions. I think I could get used to the food here.

Last place (and for sure the highlight of the day) was what is known as "The Bone Church". Throughout the entire Ossuary, you will find human bones decorating every inch of the building. From the entrance way (seen next) to the chandelier in the picture following, every bone in the human body is claimed to be found in this chapel. It is estimated that bones from nearly 40,000 people are represented in this building and that under the chandelier and between the Baroque candelabras lies the bodies of 15 citizens.

While the whole ordeal seems extremely creepy at first glance, the overall feel of the chapel is not one of death and dying, but rather of rejoice and God. In all actuality, it was considered an honor to be part of this church even after your death. As with most places in Czech Republic, it's all about the history and what can be seen through it... Hope you enjoyed my tour around Czech! :)

Until next time,

Chelsea

Czech Phrase of the Day:

Jak se jmenuješ? (What is your name?)

Ja' jsem Chelsea. (My name is Chelsea)