1. Once you cross the border, it's a fairly rural and low-thrill countryside. You don't see much in terms of paint or landscaping, and it seems to be looking like something out of the 1950s.
2. On food....you can expect some exceptional home-cooked type dishes and nothing ever costs more than $20. In fact, you could go for a plate of goulash and two beers for less than $7.3. On beer quality, you just won't find anything that you'd say is marginally tasting. Everything is four-star.
4. Crime? I walked over a good portion of Prague and would readily say that you can't find any no-go areas. Oh....I was told to avoid the train-station area but beyond that.....the city is extremely safe to walk around.
5. Going there with hip or knee issues? Forget it. I will admit they have a great public transportation system, but you have to do at least five to seven kilometers of walking per day.
6. Museums. There are at least forty museums in the city......most of which are just a curiosity to see and I'd avoid them.
7. Churches. It's a city of 1.3-million residents and I would take a guess that there are at least a hundred churches around the city.....of which ten of them are historic in nature.
8. Typical character of Prague folks. Well....they are fairly adaptable, and creative. They don't adapt well to strict guidelines....meaning they are always flexible. There's some Czech saying....measure twice and cut once....meaning that they are careful about decisions but once done.....they don't return to discuss the matter later. The term 'highly educated' fits in an appropriate way.....there are book stores over the entire city.
9. Statues. I'm just taking a guess here, but I would suggest that over 1,500 statues of various types exist in the city.
10. Folks drink beer. I would suggest in a normal 10-day summer period.....guys will consume at least 20 steins (half-liter glass) in that period at a minimum. No....they don't drink to the point of being drunk....they will simply go to the local cafe with some associate....have a 45-min chat, with a beer, and then go later to some other cafe, to have another 45-min chat with someone else, with another beer.
11. You get the impression that Czechs in general....are industrious.
12. As you drive and approach some intersection or decision to turn.....at best, there's one single sign there and you have a 3-second moment to make a decision. With the exception of Italy, Czech has to be one of the worst places to operate without a GPS.
13. I stood at some point, and noticed this sign.....suggesting a Czech bit of wisdom: "Disagreements and quarrels are the spice of life. Soft speaking and tactfulness mark the weak man." I get the impression that Czech folks will argue the heck out of something and then reach some conclusion.
14. I stood at the old castle overlooking Prague and noticed this 40-line piece describing the state of politics in Czech back 700 years ago. They noted that this was the place where true bureaucracy took root, and absolute requirements of paperwork started to be created. You didn't get nothing accomplished unless Lord So-and-So signed off, or some royal Duke. Other folks came to observe this trend, and took it back to their lands. So the Czechs likely started all this bureaucratic mess.15. If you were looking for element of the former Communist era still being around? Well....there just isn't much to show it survived for fifty-odd years under a lousy system. Everywhere you look....capitalism at work, and people in some stage of moving ahead.
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