As with most new destinations, you can expect to pay more than expected in your first few days when you first arrive on Czech soil. That could mean tipping more than you should, shopping in the wrong places, going out to tourist areas, shopping at expensive local stores, or eating at Western restaurants. While there is nothing wrong with this, and I’m sure at some point in our travels we headed to a McDees for cultural relief and asked for something familiar, in many ways it’s worth trying to live like a local as soon as you can. for a more authentic local experience and for your bank balance to remain consistently healthy. I often advise people to live like the locals, but what does that mean for Prague?
Here are some numbered tips for faster integration into Czech life:
1. When entering the vast majority of small establishments, you must advertise with a politely spoken Dobry Den. This literally translates to Good morning and as a local you will ‘advertise’ yourself like this when you walk into a small grocery store, pharmacy, bar, etc. If you don’t, it will automatically be assumed that you are a tourist. Even if your Czech accent isn’t that appealing, as long as you show that you understand this rudimentary cultural concept, you will most of the time receive a warmer welcome than if you hadn’t said anything. When leaving should announce Na Shledanou (Goodbye).
2. Tips. Czechs don’t tip as much as people in the United States, for example. If you take a taxi and the bill is 238 CZK, round to 250 CZK. If the invoice is CZK 228, round up to CZK 240. Downtown waiters sometimes have an annoying habit of asking for tips or giving a big change on a coin bill in the hope that you will leave a big tip. For restaurants, you should strive to tip 10% if the service and food are of good quality. If the food or service was bad, tip or don’t tip accordingly. It is important to be aware if the bill includes a service charge because if it does, the tip has already been included in your meal calculation and there is absolutely no need to tip. If the food was exceptional and the service divine, then tip up to 20%. In most cases, however, you will find that the 10% rule applies.
3. Dress well. Granted, the days of Czech businessmen flooding the Western European market in their purple suits are over, but with an average labor wage for the country of around US $ 1,000 per month per person, there aren’t many people who can afford it. . splurge on brands like Levis, North Face, etc. In general, Czechs tend to look a bit disheveled. Tourists often stand out from the crowd not because of their camera gear and open maps, but because their clothing is often high-quality or branded. If you walk into a restaurant in a North Face jacket, expect to get the novice tourist treatment.
4. Transportation. Tourists tend to charge more for transport between cities and Prague. Often times when ticket machines are unreadable to non-Czechs, Prague transport ticket sellers charge tourists a higher fee for a ride on the local metro or tram, sort of like selling you a 32 CZK ticket. when in fact I only needed one for 24 CZK. Definitely, the same rule applies to some national bus and train routes and especially to the main tourist ones. While a local can be quoted a Praha-Brno train ticket for less than 250 CZK, a tourist can be ripped off for almost twice as much. In this case, I recommend you take a local with you when buying train and bus tickets through the recommended company studentagency.cz. If you use the Prague transport system regularly, I highly recommend that you buy a monthly pass, which covers all train, tram, metro and bus travel within the city limits and costs around US $ 30 per month only .
5. Grocery shopping. Always try to shop outside the city center. Tesco, which is a British-style Wallmart, has supermarkets in the city center and hypermarkets on the outskirts. Hypermarkets are much more affordable (and less crowded). When shopping in small grocery stores, it is important to use the shopping baskets that are provided as all the locals do; If you don’t, don’t be surprised if you are being watched or followed closely. As a side note, always keep an eye on your change, even in supermarkets and grocery stores; definitely not strange that it falls short.
6. Drive. If you are suicidal and decide that you want to drive in Prague, or if you just want to get out of the city and decide that it might be economical to rent a car, because if some of you are together, it is absolutely essential that you know. that in the Czech Republic you must have your car lights on at all times (when driving). In Prague, trams have top priority. Crosswalks are optional stops (keep in mind when walking around town). Unless there are specific road signs, you should always yield to the right. On highways, the right lane is the main lane and each lane to the left increases the speed of traffic. If you are driving in the fast lane, expect faster cars behind you to move into a slower lane.
7. Unique label. Sometimes it seems that Prague is dressed in mysterious layers of unfathomable etiquette. The main areas to keep in mind if you want to fit in as a local are: always walk on the right side of the steps / stairs / escalators. It is an unwritten rule that on a 2 person wide escalator, for example, the right side of the escalator is for most traffic and the left side is for people in a hurry. Standing on the left side and blocking the ‘fast lane’ will bring curses and collective public anger. On public steps / stairs, oncoming traffic comes to your left and you walk to your right. Equally important is to always give up your seat on a bus / tram / subway if an elderly person, a child, a disabled person or a pregnant woman gets on. It is also customary to help mom and dad with babies in strollers / strollers if it seems like they could do it with one hand.
8. Restaurants and bars. In bars it is common to order drinks and keep the check until it is time to go out and pay. Please note: always check your invoice to make sure the tab is correct. In restaurants, the waiter will come and take your drink order first, so sit down and quickly figure out what to drink. Of course, in upscale restaurants it’s your decision when ordering, but in standard restaurants where high customer turnover may be the key to making a profit, the key is speed. Your server will bring your drinks and then take your food order. The desert is always presented as a separate order. During the day when restaurants offer daily menus and when the speed of food delivery is really higher, you are expected to eat, pay and leave immediately, so that the next hurried diners can sit down and be served. Any loitering will undoubtedly raise the eyebrows and result in a cool focus.
9. What to order. At lunchtime, the vast majority of restaurants offer a daily or special menu, usually consisting of a soup and a main dish, the total of which can commonly be found for around 100 CZK. However, many waiters will not give you the daily menu if it looks foreign and will instead pass you the a la carte menu (which offers more expensive versions). The daily menu is usually a separate sheet of paper or a sheet of paper attached to the standard menu, and it changes every day. Most restaurants list the daily menu on the outside of their restaurants so you can check what’s on offer beforehand. The Diary is always written in Czech, but it is easily understandable with a bilingual dictionary. If the daily menu is not offered, ask for the prosim from the Denni menu (daily menu please). Lunchtime.cz offers a good selection of restaurants listed with their daily menus.
10. Don’t look so happy! The one thing almost everyone says when they first arrive in Prague is that the locals are, well, a little grumpy. It’s true that smiles tend to bloom more the further the week progresses through Friday afternoon, but even on weekends it’s not exactly the city of smiles. If you follow all of the above and it looks like someone just ate your lunch without your consent, then you will be a perfect fit. That is not to say that the Czechs are hostile. Quite the opposite. It’s just that in public they are simply not expressive and prefer to keep to themselves.
These are the main etiquette areas that immediately spring to mind and cover the essentials. If you follow these points, you will definitely find yourself experiencing a more authentic and affordable Czech experience.
Enjoy!