Pilsner Urquell

Drinking beer in Prague is a true pleasure. Great beer is everywhere; you don’t have to seek it out. Over the course of two weeks I didn’t have a single bad beer or ever spend more than $2 Canadian for a beer in a bar. These are a few of my favourite beer-related experiences in Prague – the bars, the delicious traditional Czech snacks, and of course, the beers themselves.

First beer in Prague: After getting settled into our apartment on the first day, we made our way for a much needed meal at Svejk Restaurant U Karla. We picked this location for the ease of gluten-free eating for my wife for the first night. A few minutes after sitting down, I got acquainted with my first Pilsner Urquell:

What went well with my second beer in Prague? My first pork knee. Czechs know how to eat:

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You won’t see a description for a day trip to Plzen in your Frommers guide to the Czech Republic, and that’s a bloody shame. For the beer lover, I would argue it’s almost a necessary visit. This quaint city gave birth to beautiful thing in 1842: a beer that has stood the test of time – pilsner.

For me, the day trip to Plzen this was a true pilgrimage. There was no way I was coming to the Czech Republic without visiting where my favourite style of beer was created. Only a short 90 minute train ride from Prague, the Pilsner Urquell brewery is located just outside of the city centre. When you arrive, you are greeted by the original gates of the brewery:

On our way into the brewery we got to see a morning delivery loading up. Each day, the brewery delivers beer to bars in the city by horse, keeping alive a long-standing tradition. I momentarily thought about taking the reins and making away with a few kegs of the good stuff:

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