BRNO & The Czech Republic

Walky is currently studying in the second largest city in the Czech Republic. Brno, heard of it? It´s ok, neither had she. It was an awesome five day trip but also totally different from anything I could have expected. Here are the TOP FIVE things I discovered along the way.

5. Czech-tude: Generally characterized by a gruff, curt, and sometimes rude way of speaking to each other.
Main Causes- extreme cultural differences stemming from a back ground of communist and opressive governments.
Use: Dude, that guy just cut in front of the line and then glared at ME! He has a major Czechtude.

4. Beer: If you learn one Czech word which, realistically may be all you are capable of...learn how to say ´beer please´ Pivo prosim (pee-voe pro-seem) Ok well that´s two but you get the idea. If the Czechs could bathe in beer they would. Beer, a quintessential part of every Czech meal, is believed to have healing, digestive, and (possibly) magical properties. Way back the Czechs banned any beer that wasn´t pure and contained more than the five basic ingredients.

3. Meat & Spreadable Ham Cheese: A mild spreadable cheese (meat included) that at a glance can be mistaken for butter. It comes in a foil packaging.
Reasoning? Why not stick some meat in everything? Czechs like meat.
***WARNING: Being a veggie eater in this fried meat and potato kind of country can be difficult. Approach with caution. Apparently ham often is not considered meat and chicken is never considered meat.

2. Czech-Nology a classic example of pure communist architecture would be the Shink. A shower + sink combination that leaves a lot to be desired. Most shinks have fundemental plumbing problems and must be plunged monthly.

And NUMBER ONE of the Czech-tastic list of a glorified excommunist Europe is (drum roll)

1. The Asylum. Do you know a friend who had too rough of a night and ended up passed out somewhere?...(no need to name names people) But, lets get hypothetical and say you had too much of that czechtastic pivo one night in Brno. Causing you to fall asleep drunk in the club. Well, that would be unfortunate because you would wake up alone, naked, and in a padded room of the insane asylum.

I´m not kidding. Explain that to Mom on Skype. On top of that it´s a pricey hotel room and limo ride over there. Oh, and insurance in Czech land doesn´t cover incidents in which people have a blood alcohol level. Which, makes me wonder what they would ever pay for....