Renowned for its Pilsen beer which was first created there nearly 175 years ago, Plzeň is the Czech Republic’s fourth largest city.
I’ve taken a tour of a beer factory in Plzeň, culminating in a taste test of the cool beverage on a sizzling summer day. I’ve even researched a branch of my German-Austrian family in the city’s archives, excited to learn that I could also add Czech to my ever-growing list of ancestries.
From now on, though, I’ll always associate this laid-back Bohemian town as a place through which we passed with our rescued Ukrainian kitten, Cocoa in tow. There were challenges finding a can of tuna for the little guy (tuňák), and even greater struggles opening it. Fortunately, the kind host at our guesthouse was willing to rummage through the kitchen in search of a can opener. Perplexed that no modern one was in sight, he instead used a claw-like contraption to heroically tear the aluminum top open. I feared we’d be calling the hospital to have surgery performed on the young man’s hand. Fortunately, he prevailed unscathed, and little Cocoa left Plzeň with a full belly.
That same hurried morning, I pleaded with Shawn to borrow a few scarce moments to photograph just a handful of Plzeň’s gorgeous 17th-century buildings. With Cocoa and Shawn looking on from the city’s chilly main square, here’s what I captured before we rushed off to catch our train to Germany.
Where in the World?
Photography & text © Tricia A. Mitchell. All Rights Reserved.
Filed under: Art and Culture, Collages Tagged: architecture, Czech Republic, Plzen, windows
