Czech Republic - Ĉeĥio

Czech Republic or Czech Republic (Czech Czech) is a country in Central Europe.

Regions

Cities

• Prague - the capital and the largest city with colorful culture and nightlife, very well equipped for tourists
• Brno - a center of education and business in South Moravia with a large student population
• České Budějovice
• Český Krumlov - a city with a historic city center protected by UNESCO
• Olomouc
• Ostrava
• Plzeň - home of world-famous beer

Esperanto cities

• Svitavy - a town with an Esperanto museum
• Kroměříž - will take place there in July 2021 Summer Esperanto Study (SES)

Other destinations

Understand

The Czech Republic is the westernmost country inhabited by Slavs.

It is a landlocked country, with a long border with Germany and Austria, which have greatly influenced the culture and the economy in the past. For several decades of the 20th century, however, it was under Soviet rule.

Terrain

The Czech Republic is a country rich in hills and low mountains.

History

Ethnic groups

Climate

Enter

The Schengen Treaty has been in force in the state since 21 December 2007 (at airport border crossings since 30 March 2008). Thus the border controls within the European Union and citizens of the union for a trip to the Czech Republic need only a personal card, neither a passport nor a visa.

Enire avie

The most important airport is Airport the Prague of Václav Havel. In addition to the Czech Republic, there are other smaller international airports: Brno Airport, Leoš Janáček Ostrava Airport, Pardubice Airport and Karlovy Vary Airport. In relative proximity are also international Vienna Airport and Milan Rastislav Štefánik Airport in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Get on the train

The Czech Republic has a good railway connection with all the capitals of its neighboring countries. Next to the border there are local systems by which it is possible to buy tickets for travel in the region on both sides of the border.

On international trains of some private train companies tickets of Czech national railway company are not valid České dráhy (Czech Railways), so tickets from foreign companies are not valid there either.

Enter the bus

Enter on foot

Through the Czech Republic go European Tourist Routes E3 and E10. Especially in tourist areas there are also other tourist routes outside the European system.

To be transported

Transport by plane

Due to the size of the Czech Republic, there is only a single domestic air line between Prague and Ostrava.

Transport on foot and by bicycle

The Czech Republic belongs to countries with the best and densest network of tourism and cycling tourism branding. The roads are marked both in cities and in nature.

The following tourist brands are used in the Czech Republic:

• - long-distance or mountain roads
• - important roads
• - local roads
• - short roads, shortcuts
• - educational path; along the way there are boards with information related to a topic of the road

Bicycle touring routes are marked with larger markings similar to those touristy with an orange side:

• 
• 
• 
• 

Public transport

In connection with the pandemic of the disease COVID-19 is since February 25, 2021 mandatory to have a covered mouth and nose with a mask according to the standard FFP2 (or more effective) in all public transport, stops, stations and international airports. People up to 15 years old are allowed to have a standard surgical mask there.^[1]

Transport by train

The Czech Republic has a dense railway network. The largest railway company is named České dráhy (Czech Railways), which has connections with foreign railway companies (on their trains are valid tickets purchased abroad). On their trains no surcharges are paid for certain train categories, only for trains in category SuperCity a seat must be reserved.

If you travel somewhere and return the same day or the next day, it is cheaper to buy a return ticket (Czech: zpáteční lístek / jízdenka).

In addition there are also private railway companies RegioJet and LEO Express , who only accept their own tickets, which can be purchased either online or at their own cash registers at stations. In their trains they provide additional services (e.g. free water, wifi, etc.) and each passenger has a reserved seat.

Many other private railway companies operate in regional transport, many of them (but not all) accept general train tickets.

I idos.idnes.cz there is a timetable of all trains in the Czech Republic (in the "bourgeois menu" you can change the language to English or German).

The train categories in 2020 were as follows:

• Osobní vlak (Os) - personal train
• Spěšný vlak (Sp) - accelerated train
• Rychlík (R) - fast train
• Rychlík vyšší kvality (Rx) - a fast train of higher quality
• Expres (Ex) - Express train
• InterCity (IC)
• EuroCity (EC)
• EuroNight
• railjet (rj)
• RegioJet (RJ) - company trains RegioJet
• LEO Express (LE) - company trains LEO Express
• ArrivaExpress (AEx)
• Trilex (TL)
• TrilexExpress (TLX)
• SuperCity (SC) - special trains of the company České dráhy with obligatory reservation of seats

Transport by bus

There are many bus companies in the Czech Republic that provide local, regional, long-distance or international connections.

On local and regional buses, a ticket is purchased from a driver during a bus ride; suitcase (s) must be announced to the driver immediately and eventually pay for them. On city buses it is better to buy tickets in a ticket machine on the street or in a newsagent.

I idos.idnes.cz there is a timetable of all buses in the Czech Republic including regional and urban transport systems (in the "bourgeois menu" you can change the language to English or German).

Transport by car

Petveturante

Traveling in the Czech Republic is possible and legal. Drivers who take hikers do not expect to receive money in return for the ride. For pedestrians it is forbidden to be on highways and motor vehicle roads.

See

UNESCO

• Prague - the capital with a historic city center
• Brno - in the city is the world-famous Villa Tugendhat
• Český Krumlov - a historic city center with a castle is liked by many foreign visitors

Fari

• Prague Pride - an annual festival of sexual minorities held in August in Prague.

Geocaching

Geocaching is quite popular in the Czech Republic. Both in the cities and in the countryside there are many different geocaches of all kinds today, in big cities, in tourist places and at the borders often also with foreign language description and help (in English, in German or in Polish).

Communicate

In the Czech Republic it is the most widely used and official language the Czech. Due to the similarity of the two languages ​​it can also be used there the Slovak, which is mostly intelligible with Czech. In port areas and speaking with young people one can use English and Russian can be mastered by older people (due to its compulsory learning during communist era). German or Polish can usually be used at the borders.

Newsletters in tourist destinations are usually in Czech, English and German, but often also appear in Russian, French or Italian.

In large cities in the Czech Republic a radio station is broadcast BBC World Service^[2] in English with a Czech language program for a day.

In much of the country a radio station broadcasts Český rozhlas Plus via FM and DAB , where news can be heard in English on weekdays at 22:33 and the next day at 1:05.^[3]

Buy

In the Czech Republic you pay by Czech crowns (international abbreviation: CZK, Czech abbreviation: Kč). One crown (Czech: crown) is divided into 100 hellers (Czech: 1 halíř). The hellers no longer exist in the form of coins and the sums are recalculated to full crowns.

Of course it’s better to change money at money changers (preferably not directly at tourist sites) or take money from bank machines (then click that you don’t want to change money according to your bank unless you have other instructions from more experienced people). It is dangerous to change money on the street. Despite the fact that department stores also allow you to pay in euros, the exchange rate is not good.

In all department stores, in large stations and in department stores it is possible to pay by credit card (most often Visa, Visa Electronic, Maestro and MasterCard). It’s not so common that it’s possible to pay by credit card in restaurants, so if it’s not a noble restaurant, check out their website or at a waiter before ordering.

Since 2016 on some public holidays there must be large stores closed. The information about the possible closing is hanging in the shops before the holiday (only in Czech).

Before Christmas (around the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day, ie in the Czech Republic on December 24) takes place in the town squares of several cities Advent markets (Czech: Adventní trhy) or Christmas markets (Czech Vánoční trhy). There you can buy various typical Czech and foreign food, hot drinks and various goods - clothes, toys, ceramics, etc.

Stores

Eat

Czech cuisine is part of a larger Central European cuisine and has many similarities with cuisines from Slovakia, Austria, Germany (mainly Bavaria), Poland and Hungary.

Many restaurants on weekdays offer around noon (11:00 - 14:00) special menus with soup and main course for 80 - 120 CZK. The menus are known as Denní menu (Daily menu).

Traditional foods

• bramboračka (potato soup)
• zelňačka (cabbage soup)
• česneková polévka or česnečka (garlic soup)
• čočková polévka (slow soup)
• rajská polévka (tomato soup)
• dršťková polévka (triposupo)
• řízek (escalope) - a piece of meat frozen with a lid
• smažený sýr (fried cheese)
• svíčková na smetaně
• vepřová pečeně se zelím a knedlíkem or vepřo-knedlo-zelo (pork with cabbage and dumplings)
• smažený kapr (fried carp) - along with potato salad (Czech: bramborový salát) traditional Christmas Eve food
• bramborák or cmunda (potato)
• párek v rohlíku (sausage in cornbread, sausage bun)
• utopenec
• nakládaný Hermelín
• tvarůžky or syrečky - special Moravian cheese

Sweets

• buchtičky s krémem, dukátové buchtičky or buchtičky se šodó - cookies with cream
• frgál - a cake from Wallachia
• Hořické trubičky (Tubes from Hořice)
• lázeňské oplatky (bathroom cake chips)

Inaccessible traditional foods

• brambory na loupačku - potatoes cooked and peeled with peel together with salt and milk or with sour cream
• pučálka (puffball)
• smaženice - mushrooms fried with eggs
• smažené bedly (fried lepioto)
• vánoční kuba or only kuba

Vegetarianism and veganism

Ordinary Czech food often contains meat and other animals. Vegetarian and vegan restaurants can be found especially in big cities. In ordinary restaurants it is most often possible to order salad, pasta or fried cheese without meat. In case of uncertainty, one can ask a waiter.

Mainly (but not only) outside big cities one can experience misunderstanding or even persuasion (e.g. “fish is not meat”, “it contains little meat”, etc.) even from a waiter’s side.

I Veggiekarte.de a map of vegetarian and vegan restaurants can be found, a similar local map can be found at Soucitne.cz (in Czech).

Drink

It is a very popular and original drink Kofola - cola invented in Czechoslovakia during the communist era as an opposition to American colas such as Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola.

In restaurants it is always possible to order coffee. In addition to the internationally common types of coffee, there are also specific Czech and Slovak types of coffee: turecká káva (Turkish coffee) and small. Turecká káva is a coffee watered by boiling water in a cup (this is not the original coffee from Turkey). Small is simply a small espresso.

Alcohol

A typical drink for the Czech Republic is beer. In the Czech Republic there are internationally famous breweries such as Budweiser Budvar from the city České Budějovice or Pilsner Urquell from the city Plzeň and a plethora of small and local breweries.

The basic types of beer in the Czech Republic are distinguished by "degrees" (stupně) - desítka ("the ten"), jedenáctka ("the eleventh") and dvanáctka (the dozen) - and this distinction is used both in normal speech and in restaurants to order (but not on all bottles and plates). Desítka contains about 3.5 - 4.5% alcohol and each additional grade has 1% more. There is also třináctka (the thirteen), osmnáctka ("the eighteenth") and others that are less common and most such beers are dark. The grades are in menus marked with a sign ° or by a less accurate sign %.

In addition, fruit beers are widely available in the Czech Republic (mainly in stores) - mainly weaker or non-alcoholic beers (about 2% alcohol) flavored with fruit syrup. Many other special types of beer are also produced in small breweries. Traditional is also a green beer that is sold on Holy Thursday (in Czech called zelený čtvrtek, do green Thursday), which can be purchased at a number of restaurants, mainly in cities, from Thursday until sale.

In Moravia and Silesia (more or less the eastern part of the Czech Republic) there is a typical alcoholic beverage slivovice (slivovico) - an alcohol made from plums or possibly other fruits (then called hruškovice - of pears, meruňkovice - from apricots, etc.).

South Moravia is a wine region. There they grow and prepare the best known winejn in the Czech Republic.

Another typical alcohol is Becherovka - herbal liqueur produced in the city of Plzeň.

To live

Esperanto housing

Campsites

Hostels

Hotels

Security

In the Czech Republic there is a unit number of needs 112 for all major needs - fire, health and safety issues. It also works on mobile phones without a SIM card or on mobile phones with a locked keypad or touch screen and on public phones without the need to use a phone card or coins. Operators must also be able to receive a telephone call in English or German.^[4]

Every first Wednesday of the month at 12:00 (in Olomouc Region at 12:10) there is a test of sirens. It is done by broadcasting a 140-second long constant non-stop tone. Hearing a test tone from a siren is no reason to panic or seek information about what is happening. In a really dangerous situation, when sirens were used, the tone would be regularly changed tome for 140 seconds. In some places with modern sirens you can hear a voice saying that the test of sirens will take place soon (in addition to Czech it can also be in English, German or Russian).^[5]

Healthy

In the Czech Republic, tap water is generally drinkable - except in a few cases in the countryside or during accidental malfunctions (in which case people are informed).

Pharmacies are marked with a word Lékárna and with a green cross. Generally in hospitals one can find pharmacies open 24 hours a day.

Respect

Czechs are generally friendly to guests and foreigners. After the fall of the communist regime in 1989, many foreign tourists arrived in the Czech Republic and some foreigners started working in big cities. Expressions of hatred towards foreigners are rare and are mainly about individual cases.

The Czech Republic is considered to be part of Central Europe. Miscellaneous belonging of the Czech Republic to Eastern Europe, whether because of custom or because of history, can be perceived negatively.

It is not polite on the part of foreigners from some countries to often say that in the Czech Republic everything is cheap. For most of the inhabitants the prices are normal or high. Such behavior could be perceived as simple rudeness or even as supremacy.

Czechs are able to joke about many things - even those that would be rude to joke about in other countries. A foreigner can experience this especially only through Czech culture and during friendly chat.

One takes off one's shoes after arriving at one's apartment or house and at home one wears home shoes. A guest will usually receive sneakers from their host immediately upon entering its accommodation. In houses with separate dwellings it is more polite to take off their shoes in a corridor if the host does not say otherwise.

In small shops they are greeted on arrival Dobrý den ([dobrii den], Good day) and leaving Nashledanou ([nathledanoŭ], Goodbye).

Czechs know that Czech is not quite easy to learn for foreigners (except Slovaks). Striving to speak Czech is always perceived as a good thing.

Religious matters

Many Czechs (but not all) are secular, but the Czech Republic and its culture are influenced by (Roman Catholic) Christianity.

Clothing of niqab and burqa (Islamic traditional women's clothing) is negatively perceived by most Czechs. More tolerable is Hijab.

GLAT

In the Czech Republic there is a legal form of homosexual cohabitation, which is called registered partnership (Czech: registrované partnerství).

Expressions of hatred against smoothies are rare in the Czech Republic. Especially in small towns and villages people can express their unaccustomedness, but generally only politely or barely.

It takes place every year in August Prague Pride in Prague.

Communication

Many restaurants (at least in big cities) offer for their guests (i.e. people who will buy there at least a drink) a wifi to connect to the Internet. If the wifi needs a password, just ask the waiter. Also, most hotels and boarding houses offer their guests wifi or at least computers with an Internet connection.

Students who received IDs from their school to use a network Eduroam can use it in all public colleges and universities in the Czech Republic (this does not have to apply to dormitories, where there may be another way to access the Internet).

All public telephones in the Czech Republic accept telephone calls from outside free of charge from its side. A phone number without an international extension number is usually found on the phone. Public telephones are quite common at least in large cities, less often also in small towns or in some villages.

Esperanto

In 2016 in the Czech Republic there was a pre-congress of the 101st Universal Congress of Esperanto, see information in Second Bulletin. In 2021 it will take place in the city KroměřížSummer Esperanto Study.

Local Esperantists

• In the city Svitavy is found Esperanto Museum.

Esperanto meetings

Consulates

Visit further

References

External links