Pilsen and Brno, Czech Republic City Guide
In June 2017, my husband and I embarked on a three-week long backpacking trip of western Europe. In my first post of this series, I go through all the details about preparing for this trip from itinerary, budget, packing, riding the train, lodging, and other common questions I’m asked. Now, I’ll take you through a detailed “City Guide” of every city we visited, and my top recommendations of where to eat and drink, where to stay, and what to see. One of the places we were most excited to explore was the Czech Republic (we have Czech heritage and a deep interest in it), and we visited three different cities in this relatively small country. When most people visit the Czech Republic, they go to Prague, and I wrote about that here. There’s so much more to the Czech Republic than Prague, so read on for my Pilsen and Brno, Czech Republic City Guide.
Before I dive into the details about what we saw and did in Pilsen and Brno, a little background on the travel style Curtis and I enjoy. Our favorite way to travel is to get immersed in local culture. We like to eat unique foods and people-watch. On the flip side, we don’t like to do much in the way of touring — I can’t stand waiting in line or crowded attractions. We also like to be outdoors, so one of our favorite things to do is just stroll along the city and see the sights. Our travel style is low-key, affordable, and cultural. So you’ll find a lot of these types of travel recommendations in our city guides. If that’s the type of travel you like, too, read on!
Pilsen, Czech Republic City Guide
Pilsen, Czech Republic is in Western Bohemia, about 50 miles from Prague, or about an 1 1/2 hours on the train. We wanted to visit Pilsen because that is where Curtis’s Czech ancestors emigrated from (back in the 1860s) and because it’s where his favorite beer style, the Pilsner, was invented! One of the main things we did in Pilsner was tour the famous Pilsner Urquell Brewery. But first, we got off the train (Plzeň hlavní nádraží) and headed straight for the charming Old Town.
The Cathedral of St. Bartholomew is located on the town square in Old Town Pilsen. Pilsen has lots of beautiful religious buildings you can tour, including this Cathedral and the “Old Synagogue in Plzeň” which is a stunning Jewish historical landmark.
Obložené chlebíčky is a traditional Czech snack that can be found all across the country in different styles. Most commonly called chlebíčky, it means “open faced sandwich.” Cafes serve these little sandwiches as appetizers. Though you can get creative with the toppings, common toppings can include ham, sausage, hard-boiled eggs, salad spreads, various cheeses, pickles, parsley, and tomatoes. When we first arrived in Pilsen we had chlebíčky and dort (dort just means “cake,” ours was a layered coffee cake with cream, jam, and powdered sugar on top) at a small cafe on the Old Town Square. One of my favorite things about Europe was snacking at small cafes throughout the day.
Many Americans who visit Pilsen go to the General George Patton Memorial. In 1945, the U.S. Third Army liberated the city of Pilsen from the Nazi Army, marking the end of WWII.
The Czech Republic has a rich history of puppetry and the first professional puppet theatre in Czechoslovakia was opened in Pilsen in 1930. This monument recognize the cultural significance of the puppetry craft. There is also a Puppetry Museum in Pilsen, but we didn’t have time to visit.
We loved walking through the gardens and parks in Europe. Pilsen has a beautiful walking park through the town. It’s filled with small monuments, rose gardens, gazebos, and places to sit.
And now for the main attraction — the reason most people visit the city of Pilsen: The Pilsner Urquell Brewery Tour! The pilsner beer was invented here in 1842, and today’s vastly expanded production brewery gives a great tour on the history of pilsner and beer-making. If you’re a beer fan, my opinion is the Pilsner Urquell Brewery tour is a historic one that can’t be missed.
The tour ends in the historic underground cellars, where you get to taste fresh, unfiltered Pilsner Urquell.
As they say in Czech, na zdraví!
Brno, Czech Republic City Guide
After leaving the Bohemian cities of Pilsen and Prague, we pushed on to Moravia. Brno is the second largest city in the Czech Republic. It has several colleges and universities, so there are a lot of young people and artists who live in Brno. This makes it really easy to find cheap hostels.
As compared to the Bohemian beer culture, Moravia is notably wine country. Moravia has beautiful vineyards, and the city of Brno has small local wine shops, and tiny wine cellar restaurants.
One of the coolest places to sight-see in Brno is Hrad Špilberk (Špilberk Castle) because of the amazing views! It’s a hilly walk up the hill to the castle, but there are nice trails and a lot to see when you make it to the top. And tucked into the surrounding park there are small cafes like U Albertu where we had some Moravian wine and round of chlebíčky for a snack.
Brno has a great tradition of outdoor farmers markets. This market, Zelný trh, (which translates in English to Cabbage Market Square!) is in the historical city center. It’s been operating in one form or another since the 15th century and is open every day but Sunday. We loved snacking on fresh produce while in Europe, and at the Brno trh we made a meal of apricots, strawberries, bread and cheese. Fresh produce is SO affordable in Europe and the easiest way for wandering backpackers to have a good meal.
On our last night in Brno, we decided to have one last traditional Czech meal. Here Curtis is eating rabbit, dumplings, and sauerkraut.
