The day started off with a train ride to Plzen, in which some of us felt as if we were in a Harry Potter film because we were seated inside separate cabins. The hour and a half train ride was spent looking out the window at the beautiful scenery that the Czech Republic has to offer.
Once we arrived in Plzen, we made our way to the Pilsner Urquell brewery for a guided tour of the premises. We not only learned the process of how this particular beer is made, but we also got the chance to walk down in the cellars of the brewery. In the cellars, we all got the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sample unfiltered, unpasteurized Pilsner Urquell! Personally, I was not a big fan of the beer, but it was my first time ever trying beer, so maybe I’ll build up a taste in a couple of years when it is legal for me to consume beer back home in the United States. The consumption of beer in the Czech Republic is very important to the identity of the Czechs and makes up a large part of their social lives. It is not uncommon to see the local pubs and bars to be full of life during the week. Although the norms around beer consumption is gendered in the Czech Republic, men and women alike take part in the social bonding that beer provides. There are several different social rules that are put into place in regard to the way in which people cheers to one another, the disrespect of either not finishing your beer or mixing your beer with another beer or a different drink, and how the beer tab for the individual is paid for at the end of the night. All of these aspects show to complexities and deep-rootedness of drinking beer and the roles that beer play in Czech society.
Lastly, after the brewery, we visited the Old Synagogue in Plzen, which was very eye-opening and awe-striking. This synagogue is the oldest, standing synagogue in the city and serves as a reminder to the local community of the loss that the Jewish community faced as a result of the Holocaust and Second World War. Outside the synagogue is a memorial site for the Jews from the community that had lost their lives, but it is unknown how they passed or where they were when they passed. This site in particular was really surreal to me because for years, I have learned about the horrors and effects of the Holocaust on not only the European Jewry, but the global community and it was unreal to see these effects first hand and to see the memorial site that symbolizes the irreplaceable loss both communities faced.
PLU/PSY387 Transitions & Trauma 