From France to the Czech Republic

This is after a twelve hours trip through France, Belgium, Germany and the Czech Republic, that we ( two Czech friends of mine and I ) arrived at 10 pm.  Before my stay, I looked for some information about the city where I would live in, and I could already see that I was well in Plzeň because I recognized the gigantic and marvellous Cathedral of St. Bartholomew which is in the middle of the main square.

Several bars and restaurants were open, so I decided to savour the most known product of Plzeň. This is, of course, the Pilsen Urquell beer which is still nowadays brewed in Plzeň. The friendly barman could speak in English, so it was easy to command something, moreover he advised me which beer I should drink for the first time. There, some very welcoming people had interest for me, I like to think that was because of my accent or my friendly face, but who knows ?

I discussed with a couple which loves to travel all around the world, they had already visited some parts of France and they suggested to drive me home. What a good surprise ! I knew someone for one hour and we have already built a friendship. My adventure in Plzeň had just started.

By going through the city, in addition to the stunning Gothic and New Renaissance style houses and buildings, I can notice some colourful advertisings on walls, trams, buses and boards. There are two major events which are Plzeň 2015 and Majales. Plzeň will be one of the European Culture Capital the next year but some events have already begun. You can see what will happen every day on the different social networks and apps. If you don't have means to know it at home, there is always all information in trams about Plzeň 2015. I find it quite good, you can always be in the know about what will happen in town.

Thanks to strolls in narrow streets, you can find an unexpected event, such as a concert of Michal Röhrich and his three bands on Saturday just after the well known competition Porta. Or you can meet a group of foreigners with a tourist guide at 9 pm and to get on well with them or to face a ray of sunlight setting on the top of Plzeň.

Then, I cannot speak about the Czech Republic and in particular Plzeň without saying how surprised I was when I saw prices in restaurants, shops and supermarkets. One Euro correspond from 25 to 27 Czech Koruna, so the second day, I went to a restaurant with a friend, and we paid 15 Euros for both of us. That is the normal price for one person in France or Germany.
I'm so excited to see where the next step will take me.

Matthias

Categories: english, Evropské hlavní město kultury, Francie, Plzeň 2015