Things I've noticed
Well I have been here in Brno, Czech Republic for a couple days now. I’ve made it in to the office every day this week, wandered around town a bit, and even navigated the grocery store. The only significant troubles so far were on Tuesday where I decided it would be a good idea to walk to the office (actually, the smallest coin I had was 50 Kr and the tram pass machine didn’t take it), took a couple wrong turns, and got lost. It didn’t turn out too bad since I saw a lot of new stuff and in the end basically ended up walking around in a big circle back to my apartment. After that I was able to buy a drink and use the change for tram fare.
Anyway here are some random things I have noticed.
Almost no one walks across the street when they have a red indicator. Compare this to how any big city in the US works with people crossing whenever they feel like it. I think this is probably because all the trams make it slightly more dangerous to do that here.
Just like the rest of Europe (so I’m told) they love their sparkling water over here. If you want the genuine article, the magic words are “voda neperliva”.
You probably don’t want water anyway, as beer is by far the cheapest drink around. A little thimble full of juice costs about 30 Kr (around $2) while a big half liter glass of beer costs about 25 Kr. Remember, the Czech Republic drinks the most beer per capita of any country in the world. It just happens to be largely pilsner.
The first floor on buildings is called the ground floor, and the second floor is called the first floor. Remember that when pushing an elevator button.
If you like 24 hour video poker, this is the place for you. There are non-stop herna bars all over the place, especially down near the main train station.
Doors usually open inward, which anyone from New York, Chicago, or San Francisco will tell you is a recipe for disaster. They also tend to have knobs that don’t turn. Oh, and they don’t close flush with the wall but stick out a bit. A picture would illustrate this better but I don’t have one right now.
The trams go basically everywhere. I’m not really sure why you would own a car here unless you did a lot of travel (even still, the buses between towns are really cheap) or had a lot of stuff to transport. When the trams stop running, the bus system covers much of the same territory.
There are a ton of students in this town. Seriously, the place is mobbed with them.
The language is every bit as impenetrable as I expected. I can understand a couple words like place names, beer, water, one, yes/no, good day, thank you, and please. But even when I know what to say, I keep screwing up the ending of the word leading to some confusion and someone else having to translate. Lucky for me most people in the office speak English because of all the nationalities in one place.
It’s really the little things that make it seem the strangest. Toilets work differently. Light switches work differently. The controls on all appliances are completely different. Washing machines and dishwashers are hilariously small. All the beds are singles that have been stuck together to form a larger bed. Ventilation fans tend to turn themselves on and off. Windows lean in to open rather than slide up and down.
I went into a store and asked for a Coke. The lady didn’t know what I meant despite having an entire cooler of the stuff. I thought it was supposed to be the most recognized brand name in the world.
But you know, it’s really not all that different. The language makes things seem a lot stranger than they are, but when it comes down to it they just have different ways of doing all the same things. I’m sure our ways would seem every bit as unusual. If I could get a rudimentary understanding of the language figured out, I think I could get around quite easily. I’d also feel less like a bumbling tourist. Over the next couple days, I’m going to try to wake up early and wander around parts of town to take pictures and get a feel for the place. That sort of stuff is hard to do when you’re on a work trip and in the office all day.
I’ll try to post again tonight with some more information.