Loos-ing it and Boozing it in Plzeň

About a week ago I went on my first excursion to a city/town outside of Prague...to the neighboring town of Plzeň (yes, the one famous for its internationally consumed beer). I went with my friend Vendula and the mission was twofold: tour several flats designed by the famous Czech architect Adolf Loos, and tour the renowned Pilsner Urquell brewery. I am pleased to say that we were hugely successful on both fronts. I will briefly go over each expedition.

Loos-ing it

Many of you probably have never heard of Adolf Loos, as I have found many Czechs also have no idea who he is. However, Vendula gives tours at one of the houses, or vilas, he designed here in Prague and was the one who first enlightened me to his brilliance. He is one of the more important architects involved in the modernist movement. I will not go into too much detail here, as I do not want to be accused of blasphemy or falsifying information. I will leave that to my good friends at Arch Daily, so feel free to click here for more information on Loos.

Adolf Loos

Vila Müller, the residence designed by Loos in Prague

There were a total of three tours (spanning four interiors)...all in Czech. However, I hot the gist of what was said and most of the places also had information available in English. Trial by fire for my budding Czech. Needless to say, it was engulfed and burnt quite hot. The interiors of these places were absolutely amazing. Countless types of wood and colors of marble were prevalent, as well as myriad different doors, nooks, and drawers that you never would have imagined existing, let alone being so perfectly tailored to any possible need or whim of the inhabitants. Elegance married to essentials birth an exceptionally engineered essence in the Loos interiors. While I would live in any of them without hesitation, I'm sure (like all extravagant dwellings) it would end up getting old and would become a pain to maintain. It is worth noting that one of the Loos interiors is still inhabited by an individual (therefore privately owned) and is opened to the City of Plzeň for tours.

One of the Loos interiors, a second story flat, can be seen by its green window
trimming

View of the street from the inside

Dining room

Our guide was kind enough to unwittingly
pose for a secret photo (he must not have
heard how dangerous I am with a camera)

This is the toilet in the nearby bus station. One
of the Loos interiors was almost demolished
to make space for the station and, by
association, for this horrible excuse for a
bathroom

A small example of how Loos turns the daily
into the delightful

Brew-tiful beginnings

The tour of the Pilsner Urquell brewery was all in English and was also quite impressive, but in the massiveness of its production and the flamboyancy of its production and special effects. You could tell that it was this brewery's first rodeo. Their tour was tailored to tourism and was filled with special effects, hand-on elements, and photo-friendly features. We began at the production/packaging center and continued through the new brewery to the old brewery and finished the tour in the cellar, with a .5 L 'sample' of freshly-brewed beer. For more information on the brewery you can visit the official site.

The iconic old gate to the Pilser Urquell
brewery

Over the bridge and through the lot to
the Old Brewery we go...

The inner-working of the beast

The old water tower of the brewery 

Copper tanks used throughout the brewing process, meant to give this beer its unique color and taste

Good old Pavel Prucha...the man behind the Urquell magic in the year
of my birth

The underbelly

Samples of the old kegs (not in use today)
that held and transported the divine
substance

Well that's all for now, folks! If you want to get your liver involved in the experience/experiment you will be able to find Pilsner Urquell at your local liquor store most likely, as it is exported worldwide!