The Great Synagogue of Plzeň in the Czech Republic has the loveliest pink spires. The first stone was laid in 1888 and it is the second largest synagogue in Europe, and the third largest in the world. It was used as a place of worship in the past, survived the second world war as a storage hall, was shortly revived as a Jewish place of worship during communism but soon closed down as there wasn’t a large enough Jewish community to maintain the building. It was finally restored towards the end of the last century and is today used for various cultural events and is open to the public.
On Saturday we were running (literally) through Teplice in the Czech Republic. I had only my mobile phone on me and could only snap some pictures in passing. This charming town definitely deserves a return visit. Here are the few windows I managed to capture.
The lines are from the trolley coaches which are operated electrically throughout the town.
Even the simple windows feature decorative details.
And if the stukko work isn’t enough they add flowers.
This beer froth – however much there is of it – is only a place holder for the beer froth I want to tell you about. Unfortunately, no pictures of that one. You’ll see why.
Open fermentation vats are part in the process of beer brewing. The liquid that will be beer is covered with a foam that is much stiffer than the stuff that ends up in a glass.
When we went to the Czech Republic to a place called Chodovar we booked into a “beer hotel”. Part of the experience was to have a beer bath.
You take a hot shower, get covered in a hot hops and barley rub, rolled in thick towels and left to stew. Then you lower yourself in a bath tub filled with this pre-beer liquid with stiff foam floating on top – very flattering particularly if you end up in a two or more people tub, it is definitely not see-through. While you lie there enjoying yourself the attendants hand you a glass of beer. They only speak Czech so whenever you want to ask something they assume you are still thirsty and they hand you another beer – if you say no they won’t force it on you but bring you a different kind of beer – pils or lager or dark or stout, take your pick.
Don’t plan anything after your beer bath. You will sink in your bed, clean as you have never been before, your skin soft like a baby’s, and oh! so tired. Whether this is from the beer you lay in or the beer you drunk, who can tell?
pictures imperfect blog 