Moving to a strange country is always filled with trepidation and
anxiety, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel them as I packed my bags. One
always has the fear of being stuck in a strange land with
strange people and becoming a recluse unable to connect. Naturally this was
balanced with excitement, I’m one of those people who gets restless if stuck in
one place for too long; new people, new country, new food, new (better) beer.
It’s been good. You might have guessed that I have not become a Boo
Radley-esque recluse (yet, I’ve still got 5 months left) and I’ve been keeping
busy. There’ve been things that I’ve liked, things that I’ve disliked. Much
like with any other place. The city itself has to be one of the great pleasures
of mine; walking through the streets in the sunlight, taking in the wonderful
views at Petřín, finding a café or hospoda and sitting drinking with friends.
After a year studying in central London, where a pint of beer is usually around
£4.50 (150 Kč… ouch) and usually worse than what you’ll get here. If there’s
one thing I miss about London though it’s the sheer variety of it; there’re
people from everywhere, food from everywhere, you can find anything and can do
anything. Sadly this usually comes with a hefty price-tag but my nostalgia
sometimes forgets that and tea… I miss tea.
I would say though that of all the cities I could have chosen (Moscow,
Krakow, Tartu, Helsinki, Belgrade, Budapest) Prague probably has the most going
on culturally. In my time here I’ve visited both small and grand events; from
poetry readings in small cafes to seeing Dvořak’s “New World Symphony”
performed by the Czech Philharmonic (and that was sublime). I’ve also started
to love Ice-Hockey with a passion rarely seen, the fact that the arena sells
beer is much appreciated.
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| Photo credits: Dita Havránková |
I’ll take a minute here to talk about bread. Unless you’ve visited the
UK you can’t quite realize how much better it is here. By comparison bread in
the UK seems to be made with the same rat poison they use to make cocaine go
further, only without the cocaine. Whereas here; (mouth waters) the strong
aroma, that wonderful crunch as you bite in, the softness and chewiness of the
inside. For that matter, this pretty much extends to all bakery products here.
I need a pastry now.
I’ve found the country to be charming, quirky, unusual and full of
unexpected surprises. I’ve liked my time here and am even considering staying
on after I graduate. Perhaps nothing can sum up the charm of the Czech Republic
more than this. I asked a waiter in my rather bad Czech about why a larger beer
was cheaper than a smaller one, his response? “Sir, this is the Czech
Republic.”
- Graham Bush (MP’s Native-speaker co-editor; Central European Studies at
UCL in London and Charles University in Prague)
