Czech Newbie

*Note: The following was published on my own personal blog when I first moved to Prague in August 2018. I am reposting to my CIEE blog so readers can read about my early experiences in the Czech Republic 

Dobrý den! (Good day!)

My name is Deanna and welcome to my blog, which I will use to detail my time abroad! This is not my first time living abroad. Prior, I taught through CIEE's Teach in Thailand program for a year. Halfway through my time in Thailand, I came to the conclusion that I was not ready to settle back down in the U.S yet. And so, after a few months’ hiatus, I am once again living and working abroad. This time in the Czech Republic!

I’ve now been in Prague for 9 days and have been loving every second of it (minus the time setting up a bank account and apartment searching- that’s just been annoying). Every day has been packed with activities (orientation, exploring, day trips, and nightlife) that I’ve had trouble finding time to write until now. Since my days are blurring together, I’ll just talk about some of the major things thus far:

1) Orientation

Orientation was held for 5 days by Vyšehrad, which is a hilltop viewpoint with a church/castle on top. Nothing like getting whipped into shape with a hill climb on Day 1! There were 24 of us for orientation and I was pleasantly surprised that everyone was super chill, approachable, and clicked right away.

We spent most of orientation in Czech language class 101. So far, Czech has definitely proved to be more difficult to pick up than Thai was. It has a lot of grammar and there’s sounds that I just can’t figure out how to make. Luckily, I’ll be living in Prague, so chances are the people I will be talking to will know some English as well. Still, I’m making it a goal to learn Czech.

Our Czech teacher has been amazing at making our daily 3-hour language class as fun as possible. He started off each class asking what we knew and would like to know. He then would stab the board with his markers while writing essential words and phrases for us to remember (many markers were killed off within the hour). He also had us work in pairs to practice conversation and counting and even took us around the city some days to practice our Czech in everyday situations.

We also did a lot of walking around to adjust to the area and learn the public transportation system. According to my phone, I’m walking an average of 24,000 steps a day, which makes me think a gym might not be a necessary investment.

It’s also been a pleasant hot here. To many people, the 85 degree weather has been a killer, but compared to Thailand, this weather is perfect.

In the afternoons, we were broken up into small groups led by Czech college students to run errands and tour the area. One day, our group leader took us to meet her Czech friends and go to Letná Park.

Letná Park sits atop a hill and oversees much of Prague. The largest statue of Joseph Stalin once stood in this park for all to see, but was removed (via explosives) after his death and as a way to denounce his rule. There’s now a huge metronome as a cover up in its place. Letná Park is a great place to chill and observe the relaxed Czech lifestyle. Many people came along later in the afternoon to chat with friends, drink, and view the city’s rooftops.

On the last day of orientation, we were treated to a surprise wine-tasting event, complete with cheese, meats, bread, and olives. And I must say, Czech wine is delicious and was the perfect send-off for our new adventure.

2) Prague in the Early Hours

Stating the obvious, Prague is filled with many beautiful sights. Due to a high population of tourists, the best views are seen early in the morning as the sun is rising and everyone is asleep. It’s one of the reasons why I have been going on walks in the morning (I tried runs, but weak knees quickly reminded me that I am a walker, not a jogger/runner).

So far, I’ve been climbing up a steep hill to reach Prague Castle (FIY- the Czech Republic has lots of castles). As a treat on the way down, I stop at this cute café to order breakfast along with zelený čaj (green tea).

3) The John Lennon Wall

I have to mention the John Lennon Wall because it’s such a touristy must-do in Prague. John Lennon was a hero and symbol for peace for many Czechs. After his death, some young Czechs painted an image of John Lennon- along with political graffiti and Beatles lyrics- on a wall. Since Czechoslovakia was a Communist state at the time, a lot of Western music was banned. As such, the wall became a dangerous political statement. In spite of the secret police and multiple whitewashing, the wall continued to show more and more messages and images. Today, the wall is covered with graffiti from locals and tourists.

I went to the wall one evening with 2 other CIEE participants. The wall was a lot smaller than I imagined and there were a lot of young people there taking pictures and playing music. However, I did get to take a picture next to a paraphrased quote from one of my favorite heroes:

Being so close to the Charles Bridge, I’d say the John Lennon is definitely a place to check out.

4) Plzeň

One of the things the Czech Republic is known for is beer. In fact, as a country, Czech people drink the most beer in the world. It’s the basis of many social gatherings and beer costs almost the same as water.

Czech people know their beer. Therefore, it’s really not surprising that the city of Plzeň is known for its production of Pilsner Urquell lager, which has inspired more than 2/3 of all beers labelled as Pils, Pilsner, or Pilsener. The 2nd largest and 4th most populated city in the Czech Republic, Plzeň was the EU’s choice of ‘Cultural Capital’ in 2015.

It was here that 10 other CIEE participants and I decided to go for our first day trip out of Prague.

To get there, we took a train from Prague’s Main Train Station. The trip was only supposed to take 1.5 hours but, thanks to some technical issues, took closer to 3. Thank goodness for music and window-watching.

Once in Plzeň, we first went to the Pilsner Urquell Brewery for an English tour. We learned about the history of the town of Plzeň, how its beer has contained only 3 of the same ingredients since 1842, and how the factory still makes up to 120,000 bottles per hour. We also toured the factory:

As well as the cool and damp cellars to have a free beer:

After we finished at the brewery, we headed to the St. Bartholomew Cathedral to climb the 301 ridiculously steep steps to the top of the church tower. I’m telling you, I’m going to have killer calf muscles at the end of all this walking and step-climbing. Anyway, the view at the top was spectacular- you could see all of Plzeň.

We also played around a bit with the public art pieces scattered around the city:

After, we ate at the Beer Factory, where we split some cheese and meat plates and got some traditional Czech meals.

So that’s what I’ve been up to so far! I’ve also been apartment hunting and I’ve visited the school I’ll be teaching at. I’m dedicating my next post to all about that though. Stay tuned!