Yesterday we drove from Prague to Pilzen, the city famous for the development of the Pilsner style of beer. Along the way we stopped off for a visit to a castle and in the town of Ceske Budejovic to visit THE Budweiser brewery. This is not Anahauser Busch, but the real Budweiser Brewery that has been brewing beer for hundreds of years and has been caught up in legal battles with their American counterpart for the past century over the rights to the name. They are not shy about bad-mouthing their competition and with good reason. They make a very tasty beer as opposed to the swill brewed in America.

After going through a fully automated museum exhibit (we missed the last tour of the brewery) we visited the onsite pub and had a few samples for quality control purposes:)

We then set off for our final destination of the day, Pilzen. We arrived in the early evening and Val and I checked into one of the coolest hotels we have stayed in during our entire trip. It was an old hotel that was probably the class of the town in it's day, but now is a little crusty around the edges. The room was palatial, even though the toilet and shower were down the hall. The door from the hall was actually a double door. Not side by side, but about 2 feet apart, one in front of the other. We think it was so room service could be brought up and left in the little vestibule for the occupants to then pick up without ever having to be seen by the staff. It seemed very elegant. We also had a small balcony that had the traditional flower pots on them.

After getting checked in, we headed over to the Pilsner Urquell Brewery to have dinner, but the restaurant was closed for a private function. We settled on another restaurant and had a wonderful meal before calling it a night. We have the museum and brewery tour tomorrow

Prost,

Eric & Val