As the year comes to an end, I feel like a reflection is needed. 2023 was quite a ride. I planned to have this reflection on LinkedIn, but the Prague shooting on the 21st of December made me limit my social media presence and exposure at this time, out of respect for the victims.
As an expatriate, not only I can live this wonderful city, but I also have the chance to see all the touristy attractions, especially out of season. Recently I saw an advertisement for the Pilsner Urquell Experience. A wonderful opportunity to visit, especially since my brother and one of his friends happened to be around. Extra fun, since the friend is a university professor in food chemistry.
There are two experiences one can book at the center of Prague: The tour of the process, the brewery and the story is one. I made a mental note to visit next time.
The second, is the "Tapster Academy", learning to pour a perfect pilsner. This is the one we opted for, and the experience was worth every single minute. Our trainer, Alesh, was not only knowledgeable, but also fun!
Although I cannot drink much any more, I easily managed several (small) glasses of pilsner during this one hour, whithout even being tipsy. Which means, that if Pilsner is served properly, it is a great beer for even non-drinkers like me. And this is what we learned: How to wash and prepare the glasses, what is the right temperature, how to clean and maintain the tap, and of course, how to pour Pilsner for a perfect hladinka, šnyt and mlíko.
Overall, I highly recommend this experience to anyone who visits Prague from now on, and I think I'll try to put it in the agenda of the next team-building event I will have in Prague.
We live in a European Union that is highly connected. One of the benefits of being European is that you can travel and even relocate in any of the EU countries. Actually, people are migrating from one country to the other all the time; sometimes without even knowing the official language of the destination country. That happened to me when I moved from Greece to Czech Republic. I did not (and still do not) speak Czech, but I relied on my English and I was ready to deal with any physical person not speaking English.