Plzen

  Plzen, Czech Republic
Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Our arrival to Plzen was synonymous with some very sad news from home. My Grandpa Allan had passed away. He had been suffering for some time with various illnesses so although the news was devastating, I know he had a long and wonderful life and all the family have many happy memories of the time we shared with him.
As a tribute, we visited a traditional Czech restaurant that night and strangely there was a meal called 'Grandfather's beef stew'. It seemed fitting that I order it and it turned out to be one of the best meals I had on my trip! Dumplings with a rich, tasty stew with a lovely glass of red wine to go with it!

The entire reason for our trip to Plzen was for Andrew to visit the Pilsner Urquell brewery so the next day, we ventured through the hallowed gates for our brewery tour.
We visited the vast 9km underground tunnels where the beers are fermented and even had a beer straight from the tap. Quite tasty. Another highlight was a bar called simply The Pub (Pilsner Urquell Bar). Each group sat at a table with its own beer tap. Every time you wanted a new beer, you could pour it yourself and everyone could see how you were progressing on a big screen at the front of the room.