Sping Break: Plzeň

Plzeň is a depressing place. You step off the bus and are greeted by a classic communist-era wall of a building with a giant Skoda emblem perched on top. The air is gritty and most things are old and grungy. Parts of it are amazing and cool, but that is the general atmosphere for tourists.
This was one of the few cities in the Czech Republic to be liberated by the U.S. in WWII. (Brno and Prague were both taken by the Soviets.) And they have a monument that actually says, “Thank You, America.” I thought that was pretty cool.

Like any Eastern European town the differences between then and now can be quite glaring. This building shows three things: the town becoming the seat of the Holy Roman Empire (for a year), successfully withstanding a decade plus Swedish seige, and ?possibly? the 50 year anniversary of the city's brewery. It was probably built sometime around the turn of the last century, when the town was prosperous.


This is what sits below it today. “Thank You, America” indeed.



Dům Kultury translates to something like Cultural House or House of Culture. Yup, quite....cultural....

But, when you get to the old center of town, most of that is forgiven. I was totally blown away after seeing all the beautiful facades. Most of these were probably added or redone around or after 1900 when the town was booming with successful industry, mostly owned by Emil Skoda.


It's cool to see this building is still fulfilling its original purpose. [click for facade detail]


This is a justice building of some sort, maybe the local courthouse.



Plzeň is also home to the largest synagogue in the Czech Republic, which Rough Guide states is the 2nd largest in Europe, which means it could be 3rd largest in the world, as someone told me. Like many things on this trip, it was no-entry-until-summer-or-at-least-spring.

The town's alright. The people there seem a lot less homogeneous than here in Brno. More odd colors and stereotypical subculture styles. Kinda like the difference between say, Wallingford and Georgetown in Seattle.

The highlight for me was the brewery. Not only for the beer. I'm not such a fan of Pilsner in the wild, but the stuff from the brewer is wonderful. This place was chock full of history and it's presented very well, too. It gets it own post.