When I was a young woman in my 20s, I thought American Budweiser was the shit! I drank it all the time and thought it was an iconic brand… an excellent beer! I even worked for Anheuser Busch at one point… Okay, so I worked at Busch Gardens. You still couldn’t avoid the beer culture working at the theme park, even if AB beers suck in general. American Budweiser has been sold in America for a long time… since 1876.

In June 2008, my husband and I were living in Germany. For my 36th birthday, Bill took me to Passau, Germany, to spend a long weekend. During that weekend, we took a day trip into the Czech Republic. One of the places we visited was České Budějovice, the town where the real “Budweiser” has been made since 1785.

On my 36th birthday, Bill took me to the city where real Budweiser is made and we had a delightful lunch…

As you can see, it was someone’s wedding day…

A brass band was playing near the town hall…

At lunch, I had duck and croquettes… and a big glass of authentic Budvar beer. It puts American Budweiser to shame!

I wish we could have spent more time in České Budějovice. It was a neat town. Instead, we went to Český Krumlov, which is a very charming town that reminded me of a theme park because of all the foreign visitors and the fact that so many people were dressed in medieval garb.

Church overlooking the river and kayakers.

Yes, I did climb this tower… Phew!

Bears were guarding the moat.

I thought the people in medieval garb were employed by the town, but it turns out my birthday is just in time for their summer solstice festival. It was very cool! I love this photo.

The Czech Republic was one of my favorite countries to visit when we were in Germany. I’d go back in a heartbeat!