While we were in Pilsen it seemed like a camera crew were following our every move. At one point I got a bit freaked out (I was tired and drunk at the time, no doubt) and thought that we were actually trapped in some kind of Chuck Palahnuik story and were the unwitting stars of some horrible live action drama… thankfully it all ended well and they turned out to be very nice chaps who were making a film about beer in Pilsen for Czech Tourism. They were filming with the wonderful Evan Rail showing the sights of Pilsen and PilsnerFest, plus a few bars and some of the underground tunnels (where you can see us in hair nets and hard hats). This film does a pretty good job of showing the two days we had there, which were great fun (UPDATE: I've changed the video below so that it now includes my introduction - we were all asked to do a short intro and they've sent us our own videos. The rest of the video is exactly the same).
Pilsen is a cool place. I recommend it to anyone who goes to the Czech Republic
Here’s the video (it's widescreen so cuts off in the blog; to see the whole lot follow the link to YouTube). See if you can spot me, Tim, Adrian and Pete throughout...
It's getting better this blog, since you started drinking more lout.
ReplyDeleteYour posts on Pilsen Mark, together with those of your travelling companions, have definitely persuaded me to re-visit the city.
ReplyDeleteI was last there back in 1984, when Czechoslovakia, as it then was, was still well and truly in the Eastern Bloc. It was my first, and as it happens, only trip behind the Iron Curtain.
I don't remember that much about the city itself, although I do remember our trip round the Pilsner Urquell Brewery whilst suffering from a bad hangover. (Eight pints of Pilsner Urquell at our hotel the night before, courtesy of state tourist organisation Chedok, was the chief cause!).
What clearly sticks in my mind, apart from more free beer after the tour, were the miles of cellars under the town. At the time these were full of huge wooden lagering and maturation vessels. The beer, needless to say, was superb.
I re-visited a much-changed Prague last December, and am planning a further visit to the Czech capital next summer. This will definitely incorporate a visit to Pilsen.
Thanks for re-wetting my appetite.