Despite being heralded as a "little mother with claws", I was looking forward to leaving Prague. I got an early Sunday morning train to Karlstejn, known to be a popular tourist spot, so I was glad to be there when the main attraction - the castle - opened for business. It was a bit of a fairytale castle on a hill, but really not that breathtaking - especially inside. So after the tour I got back on another train this time to Plzen (Pilsen in German), and found a hostel with ease around lunch time.
After a bite, I went first to the brewery museum in town (not very special) then headed over to the Pilsner Urquell brewery for a tour. They've been brewing this stuff for a very long time - initally (around 1500AD?) there were something like 100 brewers in town, all with grants from the then Emperor, but eventually they realised most of the produce was crap so they came together and formed Pilsner Urquell (which is German for Plzensky Prazdroj; meaning something like Plzensky water of life). Nowadays the company is owned by a multinational conglomerate (SAB Miller) and is a really spick and span brewery, with a lot of the plant very new. The tour was interesting, particularly watching the bottle plant in operation, but the tasting
at the end was of course a highlight.
The following day I got a train to Ceske Budejovice - where I proceeded to the brewery of Budejovicky (= Budvar Budweiser) after finding accommodation. In comparison to Pilsner Urquell, this company is actually state owned, which is reflected in the operations (not as spic and span). Also by the fact that we got two cups of beer to taste at the end! So my opinion of Czech beer? It's good! As soon as you get out of Prague it's cheap too, generally around $1.50 per half litre (from the tap that is). There's something about it that really makes it a golden nectar - its quite refreshing I think. Another thing I found is that no matter what kind of pub/bar/restaurant you go too, your beer is poured perfectly - every time. They take pride in their beer, it's part of their culture, and it shows with every glass.
The following day I headed out to Cesky Krumlov with a Romanian traveler I'd seen the brewery with. Another 'fairytale' spot, the entire whole town is UNESCO heritage listed. The interior of the castle was far more interesting than Karlstejn, full of plenty of grand, priceless objects. Afterwards we wandered around town for awhile before getting lunch. I had my first pork knee on the trip - presented with a big knife skewering it to a wooden board - an excellent meal, enough for 3 probably, but I didn't leave anything behind.
After a night back in Ceske Budejovice, I had an alpine start to get a 5:30am bus to Telc. The main square there is stunning - like stepping back in time. Pretty much every building was re-done in the Renaissance style after a fire had ripped through there, and they haven't been changed since. The chateu was also quite stunning on the inside, but there wasn't all that much else in the town to see, and so I got another bus late that morning to Brno, the second largest city in the Czech Republic.
My first visit in Brno was to a crypt in the Capuchin Monastery. It's apparently quite unique in that bodies were mummified there, but completely naturally. That is, no preparation, and a reliance on good soil and plenty of venting. Well, the bodies are still there - pretty creepy really. Towards the end is a room where several onks are laying, their bodies on the soil as part of their vow to poverty (ie no coffin for you, buddy). Written on the wall (in Czech) are the words: "As you are now, we once were, as we are now, you shall become."
The next day I headed out to some caves, Moravian Karst, with Maurizio, also staying at my hostel. We toured the main (ie touristy) cave. Yes, there were concrete walkways, lighting all the way through, but in no way did it detract from how spectacular it all was. It was quite a big system, with multiple chambers of some incredible stalactites/mites. The highlight for me was halfway through, when you come out of the (flourescently lit) darkness into the bottom of a 120m cavern that is open up the top. The transformation from dark, to shaded ferny plantlife, to tree filtered sunlight up the top was jaw dropping. After that, we all jumped in a boat for a trip along an underground river/lake system back out to where we started.
That night, my second and last in Brno, turned into quite a bumper when we stumbled across a van with 'AUSTRALIA MATE!' written on it. Of course, I had to stop and say G'day, and it turned into an hilarious night of drinking by the van, in fold out chairs, in the middle of Brno. The two Aussies driving it had just pulled up in front of a bar upon arriving in Brno, not knowing right from left, and so we ended up attracting quite a few crowds over - 'Are you from Australia?'. By the end of the night, well affter the police had moved us on (I was surprised it took them so long actually) we were well versed in saying "Casey Stoner Number One!". Everyone thought we were there for the weekend's moto gp...
After a bite, I went first to the brewery museum in town (not very special) then headed over to the Pilsner Urquell brewery for a tour. They've been brewing this stuff for a very long time - initally (around 1500AD?) there were something like 100 brewers in town, all with grants from the then Emperor, but eventually they realised most of the produce was crap so they came together and formed Pilsner Urquell (which is German for Plzensky Prazdroj; meaning something like Plzensky water of life). Nowadays the company is owned by a multinational conglomerate (SAB Miller) and is a really spick and span brewery, with a lot of the plant very new. The tour was interesting, particularly watching the bottle plant in operation, but the tasting
at the end was of course a highlight.
The following day I got a train to Ceske Budejovice - where I proceeded to the brewery of Budejovicky (= Budvar Budweiser) after finding accommodation. In comparison to Pilsner Urquell, this company is actually state owned, which is reflected in the operations (not as spic and span). Also by the fact that we got two cups of beer to taste at the end! So my opinion of Czech beer? It's good! As soon as you get out of Prague it's cheap too, generally around $1.50 per half litre (from the tap that is). There's something about it that really makes it a golden nectar - its quite refreshing I think. Another thing I found is that no matter what kind of pub/bar/restaurant you go too, your beer is poured perfectly - every time. They take pride in their beer, it's part of their culture, and it shows with every glass.
The following day I headed out to Cesky Krumlov with a Romanian traveler I'd seen the brewery with. Another 'fairytale' spot, the entire whole town is UNESCO heritage listed. The interior of the castle was far more interesting than Karlstejn, full of plenty of grand, priceless objects. Afterwards we wandered around town for awhile before getting lunch. I had my first pork knee on the trip - presented with a big knife skewering it to a wooden board - an excellent meal, enough for 3 probably, but I didn't leave anything behind.
After a night back in Ceske Budejovice, I had an alpine start to get a 5:30am bus to Telc. The main square there is stunning - like stepping back in time. Pretty much every building was re-done in the Renaissance style after a fire had ripped through there, and they haven't been changed since. The chateu was also quite stunning on the inside, but there wasn't all that much else in the town to see, and so I got another bus late that morning to Brno, the second largest city in the Czech Republic.
My first visit in Brno was to a crypt in the Capuchin Monastery. It's apparently quite unique in that bodies were mummified there, but completely naturally. That is, no preparation, and a reliance on good soil and plenty of venting. Well, the bodies are still there - pretty creepy really. Towards the end is a room where several onks are laying, their bodies on the soil as part of their vow to poverty (ie no coffin for you, buddy). Written on the wall (in Czech) are the words: "As you are now, we once were, as we are now, you shall become."
The next day I headed out to some caves, Moravian Karst, with Maurizio, also staying at my hostel. We toured the main (ie touristy) cave. Yes, there were concrete walkways, lighting all the way through, but in no way did it detract from how spectacular it all was. It was quite a big system, with multiple chambers of some incredible stalactites/mites. The highlight for me was halfway through, when you come out of the (flourescently lit) darkness into the bottom of a 120m cavern that is open up the top. The transformation from dark, to shaded ferny plantlife, to tree filtered sunlight up the top was jaw dropping. After that, we all jumped in a boat for a trip along an underground river/lake system back out to where we started.
That night, my second and last in Brno, turned into quite a bumper when we stumbled across a van with 'AUSTRALIA MATE!' written on it. Of course, I had to stop and say G'day, and it turned into an hilarious night of drinking by the van, in fold out chairs, in the middle of Brno. The two Aussies driving it had just pulled up in front of a bar upon arriving in Brno, not knowing right from left, and so we ended up attracting quite a few crowds over - 'Are you from Australia?'. By the end of the night, well affter the police had moved us on (I was surprised it took them so long actually) we were well versed in saying "Casey Stoner Number One!". Everyone thought we were there for the weekend's moto gp...
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