czech republic: plzen, and a day trip around the area

mom and i took an early morning bus from prague to plzen, which is the hometown of one of mom's friends from university...plzen is only an hour from prague, and buses leave regularly...this was another bus with free wifi :)
mom's friend picked us up from the bus stop, and took us to their home...they own the entire home, which is three floors...each floor is actually an individual flat, mom and i stayed on the second floor...i loved it, there were large windows letting in lots of natural light...
mom has kept in touch with several of her friends from university, so she now has friends in various areas of the country...

vladka had prepared lunch so it was ready as soon as we got home...it was a very early lunch so mom and i weren't super hungry, but both of us loved it and probably ate too much...something about homemade food makes me eat eat eat!! zucchini soup and a dish called moroccan chicken...and dessert afterward...
as soon as lunch was done, all four of us got in the car, vladka's husband drove...i thought we were going to the city centre for a tour, i had no idea what was happening...a while later we drove into another town, and parked near a castle...
they asked me if i wanted to take a tour of the castle, i said i had no idea...

mom wanted a more specific answer, and i told her i had no idea what was going on, i wasn't able to make a decision when i didn't know what was happening...the castle was called horsovsky tyn...
i ended up passing on the tour, but we walked around the gardens behind the castle, there were ducks and a couple swans paddling around the pond...cute...i would've been happy to walk around more of the town and take photos if anyone had wanted to, especially since there was some kind of festival going on near the castle, but i found out this was a day road trip so there was more on the itinerary, and we had to go...

before going, mom bought two coffee mugs...one had the diminutive of my name, the other had the diminutive of my sister's name...i love it and use it all the time in my flat in kyiv...
the next stop was a town called domazlice...the platz in the middle of town reminded me of the platz in telc, but this one was not at all touristy, as it does not have the UNESCO designation...for that reason, i liked this one a little better, as it seemed more 'real'...it was super picturesque, and very quiet...it was saturday in the middle of the day, which would normally be the time everyone is out for a promenade, so i'm guessing there aren't a lot of people here...

vladka's husband pointed out the white bell tower, and said the views from the tower were nice...we decided to climb up, though the sign you see straightaway after entering says the tower is leaning by 59 centimeters...there were just under 200 steps to get to the viewing level...since domazlice is a small town, i was able again to see nearby agricultural areas...
after domazlice we kept going, to an area known as ujezd...vladka's husband and mom told me some history related to this area, and the country as a whole, but i admit i don't remember the specifics...a dog was involved though, and i could see this at our next stop, as there was a statue of the guy and a statue of his dog...it was a BIG dog statue!! both of these statues are on a hill looking over the area, i was even able to see domazlice off in the distance...

from this point, we crossed the border into germany, just because we could...when mom and her contemporaries were growing up, they were not able to cross this border...mom took photos of me standing in between the signs marking the borders of cesko and germany...you can still see remnants of the border, as there are a number of allegedly duty free shops right there...back in the day, the few people who could cross the border would do so and shop shop shop, then bring the goods back to their cities and sell them...
we stopped in the closest german town called waldmunchen, and found a cafe...ice cream and drinks, YUM...mom and her friends figured out our server was actually czech, all of them spoke in their native language...

the chick was obviously used to speaking german while at work, and a couple times we all noticed a mix of the two languages coming out, which was really funny...when it comes to ice cream, i understand/speak enough german to get what i want, so i laughed too...i love languages :)
from there we drove back into cesko, and stopped in a town called rokycany...there is a small monument marking the exact line designating the easternmost movement of american troops during WWII...east of the line, the area was 'liberated' by the soviet army, and west of the line the area was liberated by the americans...the sign next to the monument is written in russian, czech, and english...

i'm not sure, but i'm guessing this monument was not built until after the fall of communism, as the puppet government didn't want to admit that the 'freedom' enjoyed by the area wasn't due to the soviet army...
after the monument, vladka's husband took us to an outdoor history museum...we arrived after closing time, but jiri knew the owner, and we were able to walk around anywho...the museum holds a lot of 'old vehicles' (and a couple planes, tanks, etc)...according to jiri, when movies are being made about this period of history, the movie companies arrange to use these vehicles in the filming...i bet this museum gets lots of visits from school children on field trips...i loved it...

dinner that night back in plzen came from vladka's backyard...she grows several fruit trees, and has other produce...awesome!! (though none of us were very hungry, the ice cream from earlier was still in our bellies:)
the next morning vladka prepared another big meal for breakfast...jiri dropped off me, mom, and vladka at the brewery for pilsner urquel at opening time, we were annoyed to find out that the first tour of the day wasn't offered until 1030...so we bought those tickets, then went into the city centre...
since this was sunday, the buses weren't running as often, so we crossed the street and took a tram...the tram tracks were being worked on, so we didn't go as far as vladka wanted, but it didn't matter to me...

we saw the exterior of the world's 3rd largest synagogue...it's red, and looks nothing like any other synagogue i've ever seen...it didn't open until 10, we weren't able to see the inside...
we also saw a memorial that specifically thanks the american troops who liberated the city during WWII...it is written in both czech and english, and is located at the start of america street....there is a map showing the movement of american troops as well...it's simple, but awesome...mom told me the monument wasn't built until after communism fell, as the government wouldn't allow it before then...apparently as soon as the communists fell, money poured in to build the monument even though most czechs had little or no extra money for such a thing...

from the monument we walked to the city center platz...there is a huge church in the middle of the square, but it's otherwise a very open area...city hall is on one side of the square, the decor of the building is awesome...this square reminded me of what i've seen in lviv, ukraine...the inside of the church is pretty, didn't have much light, so it was a bit dark despite the sunlight streaming into some of the windows...
after leavning the square, we walked past a church, part of a monastery...it was early baroque, so it wasn't quite as 'busy' as full on baroque churches...only the front entry area was open, but i liked what i saw...
we continued walking back to the brewery, i took a few more photos along the way...there is a lot of history in this town, and the streets look good in photos...i wish we'd had a couple more days so i could wander without worrying about time...

our tour group gathered, and since it was in czech, i got a print out of all the information in english...mom and i both opted not to pay the fee to take photos, i think only one person in the group did pay the fee...(he then proceeded to take photos of EVERYTHING during the tour)...
the tour tells the history of the brewery, and shows the historical area of the brewery...(it didn't surprise me that we weren't taken into the modern areas, as they probably don't want people stealing their 'secrets'...we did get to see the building in which the bottles are cleaned and sorted...it's LOUD, we were told the employees all wear ear plugs...a lot of machinery keeps everything going in a smooth line...

during the tour we learned that the company employs master barrel makers, so the beer is fermented properly...the room in which the barrels are kept is chilly, i think they said 12C? this was the point in the tour i wish i'd had a jumper with me...this was also the area where tourists could taste the beer, mom tried it...this is one of those times i wish i could drink, i always want to try the local alcoholic drink in any place i visit...
on a side note, vladka and her husband told us most locals don't drink beer from this brewery anymore...they think its good beer and all, but there is other beer that is equally good, and costs less...they figure locals don't need to support such an international company...(pilsner urquel is now owned by a south african company)...

after the tour, we went back home for another awesome lunch, then they took us to the bus station for our next bus...
i would love to come back, both to spend more time with vladka and her husband, and to see more of this area of the country...