Pilsner in Pilsen 🇨🇿

After a long day in the car we finally made it to Pilsen, Czech Republic.  We had an easy day visiting  the zoo checking out other animals besides the two in the back seat.  It was fun place to run around, the kids enjoyed watching all the animals especially seeing the wild Gerbil in their natural habitat (inside of a cage 😀).

The next day was spent exploring around town seeing the Great Synagogue, St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral and it’s lucky angel, and the Plague column.   The Great Synagogue in Pilsen is the second largest in Europe next to the Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest.  With all of our travels we have seen numerous Cathedrals and Mosques, but this was our first Synagogue we have visited.

The Plague column was built to protect the town from the Plague in 1681.  Apparently it seemed to work as even Roman Emperor Rudolph II fled to Pilsen to avoid the plague.  The story St. Bartholomew’s Lucky Angel goes back to medieval times when a Rakovnik medieval executor was going to get married.  However, such a person is barred from entering the church, so during his wedding he waited outside, knelt by the gate and prayed.  He incidentally touched the angel on the gate as he got up which spurred the legend as whatever is touched by an executioner is said to have miraculous effects.  Hence touching the angel supposedly brings you good luck, so of course we touched the angel for luck (or coronavirus, who knows 😇).

Afterwards we headed to the legendary Pilsner Urquell brewery to get a fresh pint from their large oak casks stored in their misty underground cellars.   Pilsen Brewery created the world’s first golden Pilsner lager in 1842 becoming the most popular style of beer.  Later we grabbed some Czech Kolaches and goulash for lunch before heading off to Prague.