We had already booked the brewery tour at Pilsner Urqell the day before leaving the last site. The tour gets booked up a few days in advance and to get on the english speaking tour you need to book at least two days before, more in peak season.
We had booked it for Thursday and after driving over to the campsite outside of town we had time on the Wednesday to go into Plzen and see the sites.
Campsite is about 5 miles away but very easy to get in via bus and tram.
Plzen centre is very small and all the sites close to each other. We got off the tram in the main square where the cathedral towers above everything. Again there was a market set out but strangely was just selling Italian food.
We just wandered about looking at the buildings and sites. There are lots of places to eat and even more to drink.
In the Spa you could again have a bath in beer and drink as much as you want.
We found an Australian restaurant but wasn't sure whether Skippy was actually in the pie or not so we passed.
We found a pub that served Pilsner Urquell straight from the tank.
I'd like to tell you it tasted fantastic but it was just really nice. I had another to make sure though.
Angela had a Kozel
When we came back we had probably the worst meal of the trip if not the year at the campsite.
The next morning we were woke up to the lovely sound of petrol strimmers at 6:30am.
We went back into the centre again and had a coffee near the river before embarking on the tour.
As we had booked the English tour we were joined by Americans and Japanese. There were a couple of French and a couple of Germans but I don't think there were any other brits.
The guide was very good and kept going on about traditional Czech values but ironically failed to mention it had been bought out years before by the Japanese company Asahi.
A lot of the tour is new and they have spent a bit of money on it. The site is massive and you have to travel by bus to the packing area, which of course wasn't working.
We started off with the history of the place and how most of the beer that was produced in the town was rubbish and went straight down the drain. Nearly everyone in the town had a licence to brew beer. In 1842 they all got together and got a German in who had perfected a way of making bottom fermenting beer. The first batch was made 5th October and its the same today.
Main Gates
Looking down the site
Older part of the brewery
Original water tower
Packing line
Original copper tanks
New copper tanks
Entry to the tunnels
Unfiltered lager direct from the barrel
The tunnels go on for miles. They kept the process cool by shovelling tonnes of ice through a hole.
After we had a meal and a few beers in the site restaurant. I thoroughly enjoyed the tour. The guide was very good and spoke perfect english and it took nearly three hours. Definitely recommended even if you dont drink beer.
Camping Ostende has a reputation for rowdy drunks over the weekend. It wasn't a very nice site but was easy to get into the center. The food was awful the noise in the morning was ridiculous. We wouldn't go back. Shame as it's a nice setting on a lake.
We had booked it for Thursday and after driving over to the campsite outside of town we had time on the Wednesday to go into Plzen and see the sites.
Campsite is about 5 miles away but very easy to get in via bus and tram.
Plzen centre is very small and all the sites close to each other. We got off the tram in the main square where the cathedral towers above everything. Again there was a market set out but strangely was just selling Italian food.
We just wandered about looking at the buildings and sites. There are lots of places to eat and even more to drink.
In the Spa you could again have a bath in beer and drink as much as you want.
We found an Australian restaurant but wasn't sure whether Skippy was actually in the pie or not so we passed.
We found a pub that served Pilsner Urquell straight from the tank.
I'd like to tell you it tasted fantastic but it was just really nice. I had another to make sure though.
Angela had a Kozel
When we came back we had probably the worst meal of the trip if not the year at the campsite.
The next morning we were woke up to the lovely sound of petrol strimmers at 6:30am.
We went back into the centre again and had a coffee near the river before embarking on the tour.
As we had booked the English tour we were joined by Americans and Japanese. There were a couple of French and a couple of Germans but I don't think there were any other brits.
The guide was very good and kept going on about traditional Czech values but ironically failed to mention it had been bought out years before by the Japanese company Asahi.
A lot of the tour is new and they have spent a bit of money on it. The site is massive and you have to travel by bus to the packing area, which of course wasn't working.
We started off with the history of the place and how most of the beer that was produced in the town was rubbish and went straight down the drain. Nearly everyone in the town had a licence to brew beer. In 1842 they all got together and got a German in who had perfected a way of making bottom fermenting beer. The first batch was made 5th October and its the same today.
Main Gates
Looking down the site
Older part of the brewery
Original water tower
Packing line
Original copper tanks
New copper tanks
Entry to the tunnels
Unfiltered lager direct from the barrel
The tunnels go on for miles. They kept the process cool by shovelling tonnes of ice through a hole.
After we had a meal and a few beers in the site restaurant. I thoroughly enjoyed the tour. The guide was very good and spoke perfect english and it took nearly three hours. Definitely recommended even if you dont drink beer.
Camping Ostende has a reputation for rowdy drunks over the weekend. It wasn't a very nice site but was easy to get into the center. The food was awful the noise in the morning was ridiculous. We wouldn't go back. Shame as it's a nice setting on a lake.
