Our first stop on arrival was the Pivovarské Museum, where we saw a display of artifacts relating to ancient brewing practices. It was mid-week, and we were the only visitors to the museum, so we got a private tour, which included a recreation of a late 19th century taproom, brewing tools, etc.
This got us in the right frame of mind for the real purpose of our trip, the Plzensky Prazdroje, or Pilsner Urquell brewery. The tour started with a short film, followed by a guided walk around the premises, including the fermentation tanks and cellars, but the highlight was the tasting of fresh Pilsner Urquell from a tap in the cellar. Absolutely delicious!
We had lunch at Na Spilce, the brewery's restaurant, then headed into the town square to do some shopping. Plzen really knows how to make an American like me feel welcome, as the whole town was decked out with U.S. flags on every lamppost, and streets and a bridge 
named after Roosevelt, Patton, and the whole U.S. Army. All this, of course, was in gratitude for Plzen's liberation 54 years earlier. (It's also worth noting that we were there the day before the anniversary of V-E Day, so maybe the flags aren't up all year round, but I bet they don't change the street signs.)After shopping [here's a tip - everything is less expensive in Plzen than it is in Prague], we caught our train back to Prague.
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