If you've ever fancied bathing in lager, the Czech Republic could be the place for you, writes Conor Power, who visits two of its historic Pilsner breweries
THE CZECH REPUBLIC has always intrigued me. Its political past still casts a shadow on our perception of where the country is. We're inclined to think it's in the east. True, you have to travel eastwards from Ireland to get there, but the Czech Republic is in the heart of Europe, at the crossroads of the continent, surrounded by Germany, Austria, Poland and Slovakia.
Another point that keeps cropping up about the Czech Republic is the quantity of beer its people consume. They are world champions at throwing it into them, consistently knocking us off the top spot when it comes to beer consumed annually per head of population.
And so it was to the source of some of that beer that I first headed. Just under 100km southwest of Prague, across rolling Bohemian countryside, is Pilsen. This large industrial town, which has an attractive, beautifully maintained centre, was founded in 1295 by King Wenceslas. Perhaps more importantly, it is home to the Czech Republic's largest brewery, that of Pilsner Urquell.
In 1842, a brewer named Josef Groll brought the first Pilsner lager into the world, using a technique known as bottom fermenting. While this may sound more like something that happens to you the day after too much beer, it's actually the basis of the process of producing the popular golden lager.
The brewery's tour is a joy for anyone who, like me, holds beer close to their heart. You are taken down into the foggy cellars to taste samples poured straight from the taps of large timber barrels, and to see rooms that would have been filled to the ceiling with ice in the days before electric refrigeration. After getting to feel and sample all the natural ingredients that go into creating fine beer, you're brought back up to ground level, where you walk among large copper vats before being taken to a warm, comfortable screening room to see the story of the brewery itself.
Another 65km west of here is Chodová Planá. Within the walls of the sprawling Chodovar brewery, on the outskirts of this small town, lies a beer spa. It is here that the twin pleasures of beer consumption and sitting in a warm bath are brought together in a unique and surprisingly satisfying way.
The basic deal involves spending 20 minutes in a warm bath of regular and mineral water, to which is added some dark "bathing beer". The aim of the procedure, the Chodovar people tell me, is "harmonisation of functions of the organism, as well as mental relaxation".
I couldn't have put it better. Your beer bath even has a thick frothy head, for extra authenticity and comfort, and they give you two glasses of beer to help you pass the time while you lie there, feeling wonderful.
This part of Western Bohemia is the heart of spa country. In the late 19th century Czech resorts were among the most prestigious in Europe, attracting royalty and celebrities from every corner of the continent.
Two World Wars and the subsequent communist rule effectively ended this golden era for most of the last century, but in recent years it has been making a comeback: the spa industry in the Czech Republic today is a sophisticated one that is rapidly growing in popularity, often developing side by side with the country's resurgence as a golfing destination.
Sixty years after the majority German-speaking population was expelled from these parts of Western Bohemia, the streets and hotels of nearby Mariánské Lázne, aka Marienbad, resound once more to the sound of German. It is one of the prime spa resorts in the country; the curative reputation of its waters has been bringing people here for 200 years.
In a town where you can get four-star full-board accommodation with two spa treatments a day for €90 per person, it's not hard to see why so many are tempted over the border from Germany, just 12km away.
On top of that, the treatment and accommodation costs for many of these visitors are paid for by their health insurers.
The atmosphere is decidedly sedate and relaxing. Bars have a tendency to shut early in the evening, and daytime movements around the town are more sauntering than scurrying. That's the sort of stepped-back pace you find in such a classic spa town, accentuated by the liberal sprinkling of ornate 19th-century buildings.
The larger neighbouring town of Karlovy Vary was where the main crowds of Euro-elite went, but Mariánské Lázne can lay claim to having its golf club founded by King Edward VII of Britain in 1905. The monarch was a frequent visitor to the town, having fallen under the spell of Mariánské Lázne's charms, as well as those of a local young lady . . . allegedly.
After returning home I pondered the fairy-tale allure of the Czech Republic and the importance of its twin traditions of spas and beer. I even brought back a bottle of potion with seemingly magical powers. It's beer shampoo from Chodová Planá. My wife says it's the only shampoo so far that gives my hair strength and vitality.
Conor Power was a guest of Czech Airlines (www. czechairlines.ie), which flies from Dublin to Prague
every day. Aer Lingus (www.aerlingus.com) flies from Dublin and Cork. He was also a guest of Crowne Plaza Hotel (Koulova 15, 00-420-296-537877,
www.crowneplaza.com/ prague cyp) and Hotel
Villa Butterfly (Hlavní
655, Mariánské Lázne, 00-420- 354-654111, www.marienbad.cz).
The Czechs (no doubt assisted by visiting stag and hen parties) consume about 157 litres of beer each a year, ahead of Ireland's figure of 131 litres.
No fewer than 12 sites in Bohemian and Moravian towns are on Unesco's World Heritage list, one of the
world's highest concentrations.
The spa town of Karlovy Vary doubled as Montenegro in the James Bond film Casino Royale, its five-star Grandhotel Pupp starring as the fictional Hotel Splendide.
Among the illustrious visitors to Mariánské Lázne during the heyday of Bohemia's spa resorts were Alfred Nobel, Frédéric Chopin and Mark Twain.
Zbiroh Castle, 30km from Pilsen, in Western Bohemia, was, only two years ago, the subject of a continuing search for Nazi treasure, which had been concealed beneath the booby-trapped concrete false bottom of a well.
www.marianskelazne.cz
www.chodovar.cz
www.czechtourism.co.uk
www.plzen.eu/en
www.prazdroj.cz/en/
www.pivnilazne.cz