European Odyssey: From Bohemia to Bavaria

This post will be a bit shorter as we need to run to catch our bus to Munich.

On Sunday our time in Prague came to an end as we boarded a bus and headed towards Germany. On the way to Germany we made a must stop at Pilsner Urquel brewery in Pilsen, about 100 km Southeast of Prague. We were told that Pilsen in the second largest city in the Czech Republic. I have always wanted to visit the Pilsner Urquel brewery. The beer, made with Saaz hops of course, has influenced lager makers in the US for years. This brewery has continued the same triple decoction mash process for years and they malt the barley on site. However, they no longer use their cellaring caves for storage except for beer sold at the brewery restaurant. They have moved to the more common upright conical tanks which are outside the brewery. Our tour of the brewery included the newer facility and process as well as a trip through the cellars which seemed to extend for miles. The extensive amount of cooperage necessary to make the amount of beer to send around the world filled the cellars at one time. After the brewery tour we had lunch at the restaurant on the Pilsner Urquel grounds. We had traditional czech meals, mine being a perfectly braised goulash and Kathy a venison stew. Perfect pairing to the beer fresh at the source!

After lunch our bus took us southwest into Germany and into the Bavarian Forest. The landscape of rolling hills and dense forest cut by small villages and farmland was beautiful. We see pictures of these small towns with houses of red rooftops and a church steeple in the center of town, but not until we see it do we put into context the history of this land. It is a privilege to travel through this part of Germany. We ended our day in the middle of the Bavarian countryside at Brauerie Eck. Eck has a hotel, pub and brewery in the middle of the countryside that has been here since the 1462. Garret, the owner and brewer is direct descendant of the family that built the brewery and it has been in the family for generations. The Eck beer is available only at the brewery and it is clear that it is part of the fabric of this community. After a tour of this small brewery we had dinner in the restaurant surrounded by locals from the neighboring town. I finally found Sweinehax'n, based on recommendation from my boss Bill Hanson, slow roasted pork knuckle and it was amazing proving Bill really does know all. KB had the schnitzel and wwe both enjoyed the award winning Dunkel made by Garret who is a very talented brewery. It should be noted that the days of the Saaz hops are behind us. That was so Czech. Now (including Eck) the beer will feature the less spicy and more flowery Hallertau.

Today we are heading to Munich via Schneider, and Kloster Beltenburg.

We have been blessed by amazing weather, sunny and mid-60's every day. Autumn in Germany - who knew?