CZECH-REPUBLIC - PRAGUE

Now that I've been in Prague for a good 4 weeks, it's time for my first blog post, which will focus on the differences I had to deal with and adapt to and the similarities to my culture. I'll start with my arrival in Prague on the first day. After successfully making my way through the city in my car to my apartment, I took over the apartment and set up my equipment. The time was now very advanced, and I needed something to eat. I decided to buy a few things at the nearest Lidl supermarket. I was initially a little confused about the prices when I went shopping. At first glance, everything seems very expensive. But this is due to the currency. Since 1 CHF corresponds to about 26.5 Czech crowns, it was very difficult at first to imagine what the products cost, and the iPhone calculator often had to help me figure out what the product really cost. However, I have now developed a feeling for the prices and need the computer less and less. Among other things, I bought some bread which looked very tasty and should last me a few days. Arriving home hungry, I prepared my plate with bread, meat etc. Unfortunately, I was not able to consume the food. The bread contained caraway seeds. There is pretty much nothing I like less than caraway seeds and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't eat the bread. I've since found out that it's especially common in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria etc. to mix this spice into pastries. I have not been able to adapt to this with the best will in the world, but after a few weeks I have now found the breads that I like (and do not contain caraway).

The next difference that I soon noticed was the difference in traffic behavior. I don't know what the reasoning behind it is, but the lights at the traffic lights are on green for such a short time that you probably only make it across the road "in time" if you run. I have now noticed that most "locals" already start running when the lights are still red as they know when they will turn green, and I have now adopted this behavior as I also know when the lights will turn green. At the beginning, however, I was a bit startled when I was still standing in the middle of the road and the traffic lights were already red again. I've also noticed that older people who are no longer traveling so fast don't get stressed and the cars must wait. Another difference I've noticed compared to Switzerland in terms of traffic is that people don't normally stop at pedestrian crossings to let pedestrians cross. Special care is required here, and you can't assume that the cars will stop for you.

Finally, I would like to talk about the first event I did with the Erasmus program. We went on a ski trip together to a ski resort about 1.5 hours outside of Prague. I wasn't even aware that there were ski resorts in the Czech Republic and was curious to see how they compared to the Swiss ski resorts. Unfortunately, the ski resorts in the Czech Republic are not quite as high up as those in Switzerland (as there are no high mountains either) or so it was a very special feeling to ski there. Everything next to the slopes was green like on a spring hike and there were families with dogs walking next to the slopes, cars parked next to the slopes, etc. However, after a few conversations with the local organizers of the event, I found out that people do ski in the Czech Republic, even if the conditions are very limited compared to Switzerland. Compared to some event participants from Asia, I must even say that the organizers were able to ski well. The après-ski offer is unfortunately not comparable to Switzerland, but there were a few good restaurants where you could enjoy a good Czech beer. So in the end we still had a great trip with new insights, contacts and learnings.