What to make of this juxtaposition, spotted in 2006 in České Budějovice in the new Czech Republic?
A quick history lesson might help sort things out.
The brewing tradition in České Budějovice dates back to the 13th Century when the king, sick of having to drink wine coolers whenever he came to town, granted the town the right to start brewing beer. (Some historians also believe that the king, thirsty as hell, told the people to hurry the f--- up.)
Unfortunately for the people of České Budějovice they had no idea how to brew decent beer. Being cursed at wasn't helping either. Finally they went to their Braumeister neighbors in Germany for some help. The Germans, already fanatically nationalistic, said "Ja, das geht" but then later demanded that the beer be marketed according to the German name for České Budějovice, which is Budweis. And like a sausage from Frankfurt came to be known as a frankfurter, as another sausage from Wien (aka Vienna) came to be known as a Wiener, and as JFK came to be known as a jelly doughnut (a 'Berliner' in German), this beer from České Budějovice became known, in 1785, as Budweiser.
