Check out the first part of this article, 12 Surprising Things About Prague!

1. Cobblestone patterns and names

In movies such as Spider-Man: Far from Home, Mission: Impossible, and The Bourne Identity, you can easily recognize Prague. Prague is identifiable by many things: the Astronomical Clock Tower, the Charles Bridge, and the Prague Castle. I learned that the “Prague Mosaic,” the cobblestone patterns throughout the city center, are also unique to Prague. I noticed at least 14 different cobblestone patterns! A Czech friend of mine explained that each pattern has a unique name and purpose. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the names or purposes, and this information is difficult to find online. But here are a few of my favorite patterns!

2. Stolpersteine

In the Jewish Quarter, you can find many “Stolpersteine,” or stumbling stones, on the sidewalk near a few buildings. Pedestrians “stumble” upon these gold stones that honor the Jewish people evicted from their homes during World War II. I saw these gold stones in Budapest and Vienna as well, and I tried to read each one I passed.

3. Skiing in Prague

Although Czechs usuallt travel to Austria to ski, there are a few man-made slopes outside of Prague. The Erasmus Exchange program at my university organized a trip for the international students. Skiing is important to my dad, and I’ve been spoiled with skiing in some awesome resorts like Kitzbühel in Austria and Zermatt in Switzerland. At this small ski “resort” in Prague, there were three lifts and about six operating slopes when we skiied in late February. The snow was whack to ski on, but I had a blast bonding with the other students on the trip.

4. 9/11 memorial

Just under the Charles Bridge on the Malá Strana side, I stumbled upon a 9/11 memorial honoring the firefighters that defended New York City. Under the Czech inscription is the English translation: “A firefighter is a person who lives two lives, one for themselves and one for others. Therefore, the life of a firefighter holds a true understanding of all that is human. Dedicated to the memory of the 343 New York firefighters who lost their lives on the 11^th of September 2001. We shall never forget.”

5. Elderly women with walking sticks

About half of the women over 60 years that I saw used hiking poles when walking around the city. I haven’t seen that in Texas, but that is because our sidewalks are paved concrete instead of cobblestones. Anyway, I didn’t snap any photos, but this was one of the funniest things I saw in the city.

6. Drinking fountains

At my university, there were only two filtered water stations… and there was always a long line. Instead, I opted for filling my water from the bathroom sink. In other public spaces, there was rarely a drinking fountain. I won’t take public drinking fountains for granted again!

8. Salutations

When entering or leaving a store, it is polite in the Czech culture to give salutations to the shopkeeper. This may be more common in smaller shops or small towns in the US, and I was surprised how common it was in a big city like Prague. Additionally, it is common in the US to ask people where they work or their job. Rarely did people I meet outside of my university ask me about why I was in Prague or my plans after graduation. It seems that it isn’t relevant to building relationships for them.

9. Postal system

It took about a month for my letters to make it to their destination in Texas. I’m so used to American convenience and two-day delivery that I was shocked that even my postcards took more than two weeks! In Haarlem, I left my travel journal in the hostel. I asked them to send it to my address in Texas, and it still hasn’t arrived. I’ve never lost things in the mail before, and I mourned the loss of my journal for a long time. (No worries, I bought a new one in Prague soon after :))

10. “Pohoda” and the beer drinking culture

The earliest I saw someone sipping a beer was at 8:37 in the morning. Drinking beer is a very casual thing in Prague, almost like drinking soda in the US. Even my university had a full-service on campus. Most locals drink a beer with lunch during the work week! Drinking beer plays a key part in pohoda, which loosely translates to “comfortable,” “pleasant,” “content.” It is like the Croatian “fjaka” or Spanish “siesta.” The idea is to embrace a pleasantly average life. It is the opposite of the American idea of the drive for success of those willing to take risks and put in the work. Czechs tend to be content with a comfortable nine-to-five job that allows time to enjoy life outside of work. It is far more common to rotate roles and careers in the US than in the Czech Republic. This was a huge cultural shift I had to make in Prague and contributed to another mindset shift upon returning home.

11. Russians everywhere

I didn’t expect to hear Russian spoken in the streets as much as I did. It turns out, there is a huge Russian population in Prague, even before the conflict in Ukraine. Additionally, some elderly Czechs don’t know English but learned Russian in school during the Communist government. Only a handful of times did I have to rely on my Russian when communicating with locals.

12. Contact lenses

The inventor of contact lenses, Otto Wichterle, is from Czechoslovakia! This is my favorite fun fact about the Czech Republic, even though it’s not specific to Prague.

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By the end of the semester, here were my travel statistics:

• Cities visited: 17
• Countries visited: 9
• Train rides: 10
• Bus rides: 10
• Plane rides: 9

This summer, blogging has quickly taken a spot on the back burner with other summer obligations. I’ve decided to step back from this blog and post sporadically when I need a break from schoolwork. For example, maybe I’ll write a post one day about how my international experience has strengthened my professional skills. Thanks for reading! Until next time,

kira vesta ❤