Czechs love their beer
Pilsner Urquell Brewery a draw, but there’s more than suds
PILSEN, Czech Republic — Czechs like to joke that their beer is more thirst quenching than their water, adding sometimes babies are weaned on the suds.
Nowhere is the libation savored more than in this city in the western part of the nation at the confluence of four rivers.
After flying from Houston to Philadelphia and on to Prague, I boarded a train at the main railroad station for the 80-minute trip through verdant hills and thick forests full of pine and birch to Pilsen. Here in this city 58 miles southeast of Prague, signs for Pilsner Urquell beer are plastered outside restaurants along with huge steins filled with the foamy drink.
With hundreds of other visitors to Pilsen on a recent Saturday, I made the trek to the home of Pilsner Urquell beer, where lager began being brewed 177 years ago.
“Beer should be cool, with just the right amount of foam,” said Jiri Lowy, a farmer and chairman of the area Jewish community. And Pilsner Urquell is “the beer I like,” though he cautioned he must drink it in moderation because of health concerns.
In the middle of the afternoon at a cafe outside the Pilsner Urquell Brewerey, Larry Conner, 73, of Lafayette, Ind., was eating a lunch of goulash and sipping a golden stein of the beer.
“I can’t quite put my finger on it,” he said, but it seems stronger compared to when he served in Germany in the U.S. Army Security Agency before the Berlin Wall was torn down.
“I love the Czech people,” he said, noting that in the Cold War the city was much more drab.
Today, Pilsen is a brighter community of 165,000 full of art, festivals and beer lovers from the world over. Tours are regularly given at Pilsner Urquell in different languages. Visitors are guided through the various stages of brewing in chilly cellars and bottling facilities.
“Each ingredient is important,” said our tour guide, Victoria. The ingredients, such as barley, are all from the Czech Republic. Ninety-two percent of the beer comes from water sourced from deep Czech wells.
The tour lasted 90 minutes, up and down winding staircases and into the cold, wet cellar where the yeasty mix cools. My sturdy-soled shoes came in handy on the moist floor.
The tour climaxed with a worker giving us all a freshly filled glass.
Pilsen has much more to see and do than the brewery.
My hotel, the Gondola, was a five-minute walk from the old city center. The Patton Museum, named for American Army Gen. George Patton and filled with World War II artifacts, is another short walk away, as is the Great
Synagogue, one of the largest in Europe. In the house of worship’s parapets, Germans snipers in May 1945 reportedly hid high up when American troops arrived to liberate the city.
If you love more than beer on your travels, I also would suggest spending a few days in Prague, the nation’s capital.
I stayed at the modest Hotel Kartel a block from the National Museum. It routinely displays the works of world-renowned artists. When I visited, it housed an exhibit of the Swiss sculptor and allaround artist Alberto Giacometti.
A block away is the No. 17 tram line, which takes you to the city center. Jump off and walk up one of the many narrow cobblestone streets to the main square. It is a must-see for people watching, including newlyweds in horse-drawn carriages and outdoor stalls full of delicacies such as hams on a spit.
Many sightseers are drawn here for the Prague Astronomical Clock, a medieval clock installed in 1410 and mounted on the southern wall of the Old Town Hall with its Gothic tower. When the clock strikes the hour, a procession of the 12 Apostles sets in motion. Local legend has it the city will suffer if the clock falls into disrepair.
On the way back, I stopped at a cozy cafe recommended by a friend, a longtime Prague resident and journalist. It is Kostelni 16, down a narrow flight of stairs, run by a Czech woman and her Brazilian husband. The staff was attentive — so much so that I enjoyed three meals in the restaurant’s warm atmosphere. The bill of fare, especially the grilled chicken, was savory. But on my farewell visit, my friend said: “Bon apetit” and urged me to order the sea bream, “which is quite good, or the great steak.”