Interesting facts about Prague

I now have been living here for over a month, and I feel right at home. There are some notable differences between Prague and New York, so I thought I would share. 

1. Dogs don't have to be on leashes walking down the street. It looks like a dog is a stray, because it's wandering aimlessly behind it's owner. What's more, is he owners don't have to pick up after their dog, which is really annoying. I'm constantly have to watch where I step. 

2. There are various hot dog stands on the street where they serve you a hot dog in a baguette. It is so delicious, and costs under a dollar. 

3. Beer in the supermarket costs 9 Crowns which is equivalent to 40 cents. 

4. Czech Republic has the highest beer consumption per capita in the world. See #3

5. The Czech like to play American hits from the mid 90's onward in supermarkets, train stations, and other public places. I love grocery shopping and hearing the hits. 

6. The metro system operates on an honor system, meaning that there are no turnstiles to enter; however, if an inspector flags you down, and you don't have a metro pass, you have to pay around $35 for not purchasing a ticket. A single ride ticket costs about 80 cents. 

7. PDA is totally okay for Czech couples of all ages. 

8. Average escalator ride is about 3-5 minutes. 

9. No means Yes. Literally. "Ano" translated is Yes. 

Pictures from top: "Roll the Keg" activity between periods. The Czech team, right before a goal. The Finland team lined up. Lisa and I with our Czech flags. A group of us before the game. 

Czech Hockey: Češi, do toho

NYU took us to a Czech-Finland hockey game a couple weeks ago. They lost 5-3 unfortunately, but Czechs are really big on hockey. It's their national sport. Probably one of the only events that I have been to where there is no line for the women's bathroom but there is one for the men. It was really fun! They have interesting intermission activities including "Roll the keg" and "Race to the pivo." The Czech team lost, but it still was a really fun time. I felt right at home waving the Czech flag and cheering in Czech. I definitely want to go to more games. 

Karlovy Vary aka stomping grounds for the Russian Mob

Pictures: Me tasting the hot springs water, the saint mary madgalena church, the Grand Hotel Pupp (James Bond Hotel), downtown Karlovy Vary

This weekend, I went on an overnight trip provided by NYU to Karlovy Vary. It's a small spa town two hours west of Prague. It has natural hot springs running through the town, so it quickly became a popular spot for royalty and the wealthy. King Charles discovered the hot springs in the 14th century when he was there hunting. His dog fell in the water and started to yelp because it was so hot. The water supposedly has healing powers, so it quickly became a spot to see. We were told that it is a very big destination for the Russians, and supposedly the mafia would bring their families to vacation there.

We tasted the water coming out of 13 separate little springs. It has a very distinct, metallic taste. Not many people liked the taste of it. We were taken to the Becherovka Museum for a tour. It was very interesting, and I knew nothing about it before moving to Prague. It is the national drink right behind beer. The tour guide said most people do two little glasses a day. One in the morning to start your day off, and one right before bed. 

The tour was led by the professor who teaches the Czech architecture class, so it was very informative. The buildings are mostly from the Renaissance period. We were able to see the inside of the Church of Saint Mary Magdalena. It is more Baroque in style, and beautiful. We also saw the hotel from the movie Casino Royale where James Bond is at the casino. Grand Hotel Pupp.

The highlight was actually going to the spa. I got a 25 minute massage, which was wonderful except for the fact they had a Madonna playlist running. Not your typical spa music, that's for sure. I also did something called electroaerosol inhalation. You sit in a sauna type room, and the hot springs water is turned to steam and you sit for 15 minutes breathing it in. It's supposed to be good for your respiratory system. 

Berlin

Pictures from the top: Me in front of the Holocaust Memorial, Hotel Adlon (where Michael Jackson dangled his baby out the window), my roommate and I in front of Brandenburg Gate, The Berlin Wall, and above Hitler's Bunker. (They didn't want to build any sort of memorial for him, so it's literally a patch of grass where people let their dogs go to the bathroom and this sign.)

I went to Berlin last weekend with a couple of friends. It was a five hour train ride. When we got there, we took a tour and saw a lot of the landmarks. I saw the Brandenburg Gate, the Jewish Holocaust Memorial, the Parliament building, the Berlin wall, and check point charlie to name a few. It was incredibly cold, but it was a very informative tour. I saw immediate differences between Prague and Berlin. Most of the buildings of Berlin are relatively new, because they had been destroyed in WWII. There were often bullet holes and pieces missing from buildings because of explosives going off in close proximity. 

I was surprised to see how little the Berlin wall was. It looked like you could easily hop over it. An interesting fact that I learned from the tour is that once the wall came down, commodities were quickly introduced to east Germany. Today one of the only ways to distinguish whether you're in east or west Berlin is the pedestrian traffic light signal. East Berlin has the Ampelmann. He is way better than a stick figure man walking. He has a hat on, and he is striding. The do not walk sign is the Ampelmann standing with his arms out. Ampelmann is huge there. They have an entire store dedicated to it,  where you can buy anything from t-shirts to Ampelmann pasta. 

Our hostel was very nice as far as hostels go. It was very convenient by a metro stop, and had free internet in the lobby. A continental breakfast was provided with rolls, ham, cheese, and coffee. I am a big fan of the German pastries. Almost every corner had a pastry shop with great selection of freshly baked treats. They were delicious.