Surviving and Thriving in the Czech Republic


Work and pleasure in and around Prague

What are prices like?

Avoid the double or triple priced tourist traps and you should find:
1 litre of milk 16 Kc
1 litre of beer (i.e. two glasses in a spit and sawdust pub) 30 Kc
1 litre of petrol 30-35 Kc
Average meal in cheap restaurant 100-150 Kc
Big Mac Menu 105 Kc
Loaf of bread 15 Kc
An hour at a cybercafe100-120 Kc
An hour on the metro 20 Kc
Universal Currency Converter

What is it like for shopping?

You can buy your Weetabix, Rice Krispies, Marmite, Peanut Butter, Uncle Ben's Sweet and Sour Sauce and Heinz Baked Beans at Tesco's. We also have Marks & Spencers, Irish pubs dotted around and a classic Fish and Chip takeaway on Veletrzni. I'd also recommend Robertson's for products popular among British expats, such as bacon and Cumberland sausages. Many shops in the centre close down at noon on Saturday, and Sunday is almost dead except for the tourist-trinket shops and some other rare exceptions like Tesco's.
The very cheapest place I know for real penny-pinching household shopping near the city-centre is the row of stalls along the railway track just outside Hradcanska Underground Station, Dejvicka Street exit. Get your essentials here at prices cheaper than those given above.

How do I get from the airport to the centre?

Taxis are usually a rip-off. As you leave the airport by the main entrance, you will find public transport ticket machines to the right of this entrance. Buy a ticket for 20 Kc. Cross the road where the well-indicated taxi rank is and to your right you will see a not so well indicated bus stop. The 119 is regular but any bus going to Hradcanska or Dejvicka is good and from those stops you can take the metro four stations into Mustek in the centre for an additional 14 Kc.

What's it like for long-term accommodation?

Decent flats for foreigners about seven miles from the centre start at around 9000 Kc a month and you can multiply that by 1.2 for every couple of miles you approach the centre near the metro. Cheaper deals can be had in the more isolated housing estates. I have lived out in the suburbs for nominal rents by sharing and giving English lessons to the landlord, which is OK for the short term. Best place to find such offers is the local "Exchange and Mart" type newspaper called Annonce published three times a week, or try noticeboards at V Jame, the Globe bookstore or even the laundromat, Laundry Kings at Hradcanska on Dejvicka Street where those stalls are that I was telling you about.
For details of estate agents and relocation services just relocate here

What's the TEFL scene like?

There seems to be plenty of demand for experienced and/or qualified teachers in private and especially state schools but the pay is getting lousy.

Check with the Czech Embassy in your country for the latest work permit situation. They want you to get all that sorted out first in your country of residence.

Support is given to teachers by the British Council here, with a wide selection of textbooks, cassettes and videos.
Some of the larger private language schools:

  • Lingua Pro, Vinohradska 28, Praha 2, Tel 02/25 26 10 Fax 02/73 35 20
  • The Caledonian School, Janovskeho 44, Praha 7 170 00, Tel 02/684 52 09, Fax 02/684 52 24
  • London School, Belgicka 25, Praha 2 120 00, Tel 02/25 68 59, Fax 02/24 24 70 25
  • Polyglot, Mecislavova 8, Praha 4 140 00, Tel/Fax 02/692 31 78
  • Linguarama, Srobarova 1, Praha 3-Vinohrady 130 00, Tel 02/74 48 89, Fax 02/73 04 60
  • English House, Vysehradska 2, Praha 2, Tel/Fax 02/29 31 41
  • State Language School, Narodni 20, Praha 1, 02/24 91 41 14

    In the early nineties there was something of a free-for-all here for any native speaker who wanted to be an English teacher, but TEFL certification is in demand these days for most jobs, though you still do get a few adverts requiring qualifications and/or experience, especially in winter.
    Current details on work permit requirements. I cannot stress strongly enough, be careful about this. New legislation is in effect.
    Information on placement programmes
    More information on placement schemes
    TEFL JOB links

    Some agencies involved in placing graduate teachers and lectors in the Czech Republic:
    CENTRAL BUREAU LANGUAGE ASSISTANTS - LANGUAGE ASSISTANTS DEPT - CENTRAL BUREAU FOR EDUCATIONAL VISITS AND EXCHANGES - Seymour Mews, London W1H 9PE
    EAST EUROPEAN PARTNERSHIP - 15 Princeton Court, 53-55 Felsham Rd, London SW15 1AZ
    NORD-ANGLIA INTERNATIONAL - 10 Eden Place, Cheadle, Stockport, Cheshire SK8 1AT
    The official way of finding a place in a Czech state school is through the
    CZECH ACADEMIC INFORMATION AGENCY - Dum zahranicnich styku, Senovazne namesti 26, 111 21 Praha 1, which is a department of the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Physical Culture. This acts as a clearing house for applications to primary and secondary schools.

    How would you describe quality of life?

    As with any big city, conditions can change dramatically from one suburb to the next. The big plus is that pleasant countryside is easily accessible - the huge housing estates don't have much going for them but you can be out in the forests within minutes. Coal-fire and car pollution can be unpleasant in winter. Mores can be quite different. We have a pub opposite our house and regularly have to watch the clientele come out to spend a penny in the street in broad daylight. Local authorities do not seem to find this unusual {"It's a pub, isn't it? What do you expect?"}.

    Will I need my thermal underwear/ Bermuda shorts?

    Yes. We are talking continental climate here and that means extremes.
    The January daytime average is officially +2 C, but I'd say some mathematics genius has invented a whole new kind of average to arrive at this figure, or maybe her writing hand was just shaking. The mercury lurks a few degrees below freezing and might emerge over zero in the afternoon just long enough to make the snow go all slushy before it plunges to minus 10 or worse overnight. Prague suffers from temperature inversion with long periods of cloud cover trapping cold air beneath it and giving people light-deficiency syndrome.
    But then when the skies clear for a day or two and the thermometer finds new depths, people cheer up and call it beautiful weather.
    Prague is like any big city in mid-summer - sticky and best avoided. The August average is 27 C but 30+ is not unusual. Thunderstorms are as regular as clockwork, in fact I'd swear they all start at teatime and grumble on till about Vecernicek (kid's cartoon programme at about 7pm and best thing on TV). With a few rude awakenings in the middle of the night just to put you in the right frame of mind for another humid day.
    Have I put you off yet? Well good, because spring and autumn are definitely the best times for a visit. Anyway if you think I am making it all up, here's the local Five-day weather forecast or you can peep down at me now from the weather-satellite. Coooeee!

    What's it like for doing business?

    There was a recent survey by Transparency International of "probity in business" throughout the world, where countries were given marks out of ten for being reliable in business and not requiring backhanders. Scandinavian countries came out on top with near 10 points and just about all respondents agreeing. Nigeria came bottom with 0 point something, Britain and America got 8 point something and the Czech Republic got 5 point something, but with quite a wide range of different estimates from individual respondents. In other words, there are quite a few scoundrels around here, but they haven't quite set the tone for everybody, and it's a good idea to shop around for and then stick with the many reliable people.

    Update October 1998: the figure has dropped to 4.8 this year and the scoundrels are definitely more visible. Check my online diary (coming soon) for some sordid details.
    Czech legal and economics resources
    Business resources
    Trade and business survey - American Embassy in Prague

    Will I be understood?

    Before 1989 the main foreign language learnt in state schools was Russian, with English and German only sometimes being offered as second languages. Adult evening classes were, like everything else here, much more in demand than in supply. Then came the revolution and suddenly everybody needed Western languages for career advancement, so there was a boom in private language schools and English or German are now also taught from early on at state primary schools. The upshot of all this is that people over 35 with no special incentive from their job tend to be as incapable of speaking foreign languages as their British or American counterparts. This includes the police. Especially the police responsible for foreigners' permits. Younger shop-workers generally do a lot better than their senior colleagues.

    Places for meeting people?

    My nineteen-year old students provided me with the raw data on decent pubs, which I then verified scientifically. Some of my students are apprehensive that my hordes of readers might descend on their quiet locals all at once - and it is a serious point - when a nice quiet cheap place gets publicized among the expat community here then prices leap and people get resentful. Understandable really. So I'll have to ask you hordes of gentle readers to swarm discreetly to these (mostly) cheap and cheerful pubs and cafes - if you want them to stay that way.

  • Galerie u jednorozce - Pruchodni near Betlemske namesti - long drinks in a gallery.
  • Velryba - Spalena - friendly cafe, often crowded
  • Gulu gulu - Betlemske namesti - cafe
  • Konirna - Anenska - good wine and salads
  • Meduza - near Namesti miru - cafe
  • Uzi - Legerova - tattoos, ear-piercing and a nice cup of coffee
  • U vystrileneho oka - off Husitska - smoky pub downstairs, quiet tearoom upstairs
  • The Globe - Janovskeho - An expat cafe and bookshop. Useful noticeboard.
  • French Institute - Stepanska - Voted best cup of coffee in Prague by me
  • Malostranska kavarna - Malostranske namesti - an old favourite of mine reopened
  • James Joyce - Liliova - Not in the cheap bracket - but get your Guinness and Bass here
  • U krale Jiriho - Liliova - Mix of locals and foreigners
  • Pivnice Radegast - Templova - Gothic beer hall. So crowded and noisy that nobody goes there any more
  • U Palivce - Jeronymova - as featured in the Good Soldier Svejk
  • Velkopivnice Karluv dvur - Karlovo nam. - good Czech food and beer
  • Colibris - Italska - smoky weird place, dimmed lights, comfy armchairs, magazines and nice big mugs of tea.
  • U Kalicha - Na bojisti - celebrated as the place Svejk made a rendezvous with a friend for "after six after the war". Not surprising with prices so high - this is definitely a place for those special occasions only.
  • One of the great pleasures of getting lost in the labyrinth of Prague is that a lot of dead ends at least have a hidden pub to console you. Even near the crowded Old Town Square, take a wrong turning into the forlorn looking Kozna ulicka, and you'll 'discover' U spacku, a cheap airy inn with enough space for all my readers. See you there.

    Check out some more beery dives at Arwel's Guide to alcoholic refreshment in Prague

    City of a hundred spires, with dreamy narrow lanes meandering among the echoing haunted palaces and opening onto sylvan vistas, Prague can entrance and entice the unwary visitor, but don't let your enchantment turn to disenchantment, and keep one eye open for:

    THE DARK SIDE OF PRAGUE

    PICKPOCKETS

    Actually in all the time I've been here I've never been a victim of street crime, and that's just by taking ordinary precautions and not dressing conspicuously, though I have seen off several attempts. So I'd say take heed of the warnings here but no need to be paranoid about it. Watch out in particular for:
    Bottlenecks around reconstruction work, in narrow lanes etc.
    Boarding trams where the classic three-man teams operate. Nos 9 and 22 are notorious.
    A reader recently warned of having bother twice on the Metro line to the Main Station (Hlavni Nadrazi)

    BURGLARS

    Now, I have been burgled, and I'd say the main problem is in the outlying housing estates where the locks are about as effective as those on your grannie's wardrobe. The police who came to investigate said they'd had twenty identical cases that same day...

    "PLAIN-CLOTHES POLICE"

    ...and these police didn't boost my confidence by the way they looked as if they were dressed for a fancy-dress ball as rogues and ruffians. You know, the way bad men are dressed in Rupert Bear stories. So the real rascals take advantage of these low standards and it is well-known that police impersonators haunt the main railway stations, with little plastic police badges from toy-shops. The FCO suggests you offer to accompany anybody making such claims to the police station.

    TAXI DRIVERS

    Friends tell me that if cabbies are driving an ordinary Skoda they are usually OK whereas if they are driving anything more flash then beware. Generally I'd avoid taxis anyway, as the public transport system here is good to excellent, and cheap, but if you must, then ask for a price estimate before you get in and make sure the meter is OK.

    WAITERS, RESTAURATEURS, PUBLICANS AND OTHER SINNERS

    Now maybe I'm being a little alarmist, I don't know, but so many people tell me of rip- offs. I tend to stick to regular watering holes I have found reliable and I suggest you do so too. Beware in particular hidden "couvert" charges, menus in English with higher prices than those in Czech, and that complimentary-looking tray of peanuts on your table.

    RACIST ATTACKS

    I have witnessed a dozen skinheads chasing one gypsy, with blood-curdling yelps, and such attacks are frequently reported in the news. On the other hand, I have one friend here of Asian origin who says he has no special hassle but again he points out that voicing anti-gypsy sentiments is quite socially acceptable here. Other Asians have told me they are sick of the treatment they get here.

    Update Oct 98: with several racist murders in the last few months I would say this is getting ugly. A gypsy woman who was hounded to her death in the river Elbe was judged to have been killed by the river, not by racists.

    UNDERGROUND TICKET INSPECTORS

    While these are not necessarily in the bad-guy bracket, I feel that the system is heavily stacked against non-residents, and these guys have a daily quota to fill and rarely show mercy even for things like forgetting to sign your season ticket. True, instructions on getting your ticket punched or stamped and on ticket validity are given in English and German - in amongst about twenty other small-print instructions - and true, the fine is only a few hundred Kc, but I often have to help Czechs themselves who are puzzling over the ticket machines with their labyrinthine instructions and it is annoying to see innocent mistakes being responded to with a verbal roughing-up. The whole thing strikes me as perverse with these guys clearly filling their quotas by picking on disoriented foreigners, when they'd have a lot less work if there were clear signs at underground entrances in English and German simply stating "Get your tickets stamped here".

    MONEY CHANGERS

    To change money avoid the bureau de change style booths with their 9% commission when you can use the main banks on Wenceslas Square for no more than 2%.

    I'm painting quite a bleak picture here. To get all this in perspective, though, remember that the incidence of violent crime here is a tiny fraction of what you'd get in any large American city, and generally speaking, there is no big problem in walking the streets at night. Everybody here looks so well dressed and respectable, and there is little evidence of an 'underclass', at least in Prague. Things can appear so civilized that you might be lulled into thinking it's like some provincial town, and so drop your guard. Quality of life here can be civilized, but that doesn't mean that uncivilized things don't go on under the surface.

    For more practical information on conditions for visitors here.

    PREDICTIONS ABOUT YOUR VISIT TO PRAGUE

    You will meet at the very least one very hospitable Czech who invites you home. When you have eaten and drunk your fill, his or her mother will absolutely insist on giving you more despite your most desperate protestations [Advice: leave a little on your plate or in your glass]

    You will be taken by surprise when the Metro train accelerates suddenly, and you will almost land in the lap of a smiling stranger [Tip: Smile sweetly and/or hold on tight to the hand-rail before the train moves off]

    The aforementioned stranger will produce a tin badge. You will know he is not trying to sell it to you because you have read these predictions and you will have a stamped ticket to show the inspector, right? He will lose his smile.

    You will be given Turkish coffee in a handleless glass that scalds your fingers [Tip: drink beer]

    You will be caught among the winding lanes in a summer thunderstorm at around 5pm. The smiling stranger who winkingly answers your request for the time by pointing to one of the many clock towers - might be me.

    You won't be able to leave one pub because the waiter will keep bringing you more beer before you can stop him

    You won't be able to leave the next pub because the waiter disappears when you want to pay up and go

    A Czech will take his leave of you by saying "hello"

    You will meet one who maintains an unneccesary formality and ends sentences with strange nervous laughter

    You will go into a restaurant and the staff there will stare at you in surprise as if wondering what you want [Tip: smile and let them guess]

    You will be invited to a friend's relative's weekend cottage where the owner will show off all his handiwork in great detail and then invite you for a game of table tennis, announcing "Czech Republic v. (your native country)". [Tip: let him win]

    The front door to that cottage looks like it serves the same function as any other front door. Do not be deceived! You will prang your head on the door-frame and the cottage owners will rub their hands in glee and cut another little notch in it.

    The Czech for "I have constipation" is "m�m z�cpu". This is a phrase you will remember for the rest of your life unless you supplement the meaty diet served up at restaurants here.

    If you stay in the Czech Republic for any amount of time, the custom of putting on slippers before entering a residence will get so ingrained, that when you get back home and walk on a carpet with your shoes on, you will feel a peculiar sensation of being like that astronaut in the scene near the end of 2001 A Space Odyssey.

    So if you have any stories about Prague that might interest my readers, leave a message in the Visitors' Book. If you are planning a visit, drop me a line. Sorry, I cannot help with accommodation requests but maybe I can help with other hints. Please bear in mind the very individual standpoint expressed on this page when making weighty decisions about coming here. :) Ahoj.