Pilsen, Czech Republic

One of the neat programs that the Army offers are MWR trips to other cities. Morale, Welfare and Recreation, also known as MWR, plans activities and trips for soldiers and their families. Some trips are near and some are far. I chose to sign up for a day trip to Pilsen, Czech Republic because we are fairly close to the Czech border and I thought it would be an interesting trip. Nick wasn't able to go on the trip due to some unforeseen Army business so my neighbor, Kylie, tagged along with me instead.

The day started off with an early morning bus drive with an interesting and entertaining bus driver. He was a bit kooky and funny, making silly remarks about passengers but that's another story. After an hour and half drive, we had arrived in Pilsen. Our bus driver dropped us off at the famous Pilsner Urquell Brewery and told us to be back by 5:30pm. We were free to roam around the city for the rest of the day. 

Because it was 9am and a Sunday, many stores were closed. We decided to try and find some breakfast food and ended up at a grocery store called Tesco. Kylie and I picked up some traditional Czech pastries. We weren't sure what we were buying but they looked scrumptious. I ended up buying a pastry called a Buchty, which is essentially a sugar bun with poppy seeds rolled inside. I originally thought it was chocolate inside, but I was mistaken when I bit into the fluffy pastry. Nevertheless, it was still a very tasty treat. 

We roamed around the city center and found a small market in the town square. Kylie picked up some traditional Czech herbs and spices and also a scarf. (Side note: the exchange rate there is AWESOME.) The man who was selling the spices thought we were from England, which made us laugh. I guess he wasn't too familiar with U.S. accents. The town square is right next to St. Bartholomew Church so we decided to climb up the tower so we could view the city. After climbing what seemed to be a thousand steep and treacherous steps, we finally made it to the top. We had a great view of Pilsen on top of the tower. We eventually climbed back down the stairs and decided to walk inside the church. I attended Catholic church most of my life so I'm no stranger to what a Catholic church looks like inside but it was so amazing to step into a church that was so old and had so much history. It was definitely different than the churches I've been to in the states. Unfortunately, there were no pictures allowed inside so I can't show you but trust me, it's beautiful. 

After visiting the church, we roamed around some more until 11 when coffee shops started to open up. We found a cafe so we popped in and ordered a cappuccino. One thing we really should have done to prepare for our trip, was to learn some basic Czech phrases. We had no clue how to order food or coffee but thankfully the man working at the coffee shop knew a little English. I felt a little bit like a jerk for not understanding or even speaking Czech but next time I go back, I'll make sure to practice!

If you didn't know already, Pilsen is known for creating Pilsner beer. We wanted to go on the brewery tour the brewery had but we decided to eat lunch first and rest our aching feet. The brewery is on the other side of the city center so it's a bit of a walk to get there. It was our plan to go to the brewery after lunch but we ended up going on an underground city tour instead since it was closer. The tour was interesting and also wet from the rain outside. For some reason I thought the tour was going to be about beer but it really wasn't. Oops! It was still cool to go underneath the city and see the tunnels and artifacts though (no pictures allowed again, sorry!).  I thought we would have more time after the underground tour to go to the brewery but we didn't. By the time the underground tour was over, we had just enough time to walk back to the brewery, grab an ice cold beer at the beer garden and hop back on the bus. 

Overall, it was a delightful trip. I wish we were able to do more things, such as visit the Great Synagogue or visit the Pilsner Urquell brewery, but thankfully we don't live too far away so I'm sure I'll be back again to explore some more!