Ricky Yates

Running tab on slip of paper with beer & wine © Ricky Yates

One thing that I have increasingly realized living in Prague, is that most Czech people do not expect non-Czechs to necessarily be able to speak their language – many of them recognize what a difficult language it is to learn! But what Czech people do expect is that foreigners should understand, respect and follow their cultural manners and practices.

I have previously written a post entitled ‘Eating and drinking in a Czech Bar-Restaurant’, explaining what to expect in contrast to the UK and elsewhere. In this post, I’m going to expand and illustrate a practice I mentioned briefly in that previous post – something that is quite commonplace in many bar-restaurants throughout the Czech Republic.

When your first drinks order has been delivered to your table, the person doing so will produce a slip of paper, mark it accordingly, and leave it on your table. If you have only ordered normal 0.5 litre glasses of beer, then a simple mark will be placed at the bottom of the slip, one for each beer that has been ordered. If you order small 0.3 litre glasses of beer, then a cross for each one will be put there instead.

If after the drinks have arrived, you then also order food, then the cost of each dish is recorded on the top part of the slip. The slip in this first photo shows that we ordered one main dish for 137 Kc with a side dish for 35 Kc, together with a second main dish for 99 Kc with a side dish for 35 Kc. By the time I took this photo, I was on my second glass of beer. On this occasion, Sybille was drinking wine and was on her second glass, each of which cost 30 Kc.

At the end of the evening when you are ready to leave, saying “Zaplatim prosim” – “May I pay please”, will bring the waiter/waitress to the table to add up your tab. Below is ours from this occasion, duly totted up – the extra 45 Kc was a digestif slivovice. The total bill of 463 Kc translates to around £16.00, a reminder of how ridiculously cheap eating out can be here in the Prague suburbs. But don’t expect a printed receipt – this simple paper slip is all you’ll get!

The tab totted up © Ricky Yates

Take your shoes off before entering a Czech home © Ricky Yates

The picture on the left illustrates a Czech practice that any foreigner visiting a Czech home, needs to be very aware of if they do not want to cause serious offence to their hosts. When entering a Czech home you should always remove your shoes.

Normally, this is done immediately after you have just set foot inside the front door of the house or flat you are visiting. There will usually already be a number of pairs of outdoor shoes sitting on a mat in the entrance hallway and, as a polite visitor, you should remove your own outdoor shoes and put them alongside those already sitting there.

Sometimes your Czech host may say, “O don’t worry about taking off your shoes”. If you want to be invited back, ignore what has just been said and still remove your shoes. Those who take what has just been said at face value will always be known and remembered as the impolite foreigners who didn’t remove their shoes!

The accompanying picture is of the doorway of a flat on the first floor of our block of flats where we live. The scene always brings a smile to my face each time I walk past it. Sybille reckons that the reason all the shoes being left completely outside on the public landing and stairway, is because the family have a young puppy who might otherwise chew them. But not only are there shoes but also a motor cycle helmet. And I love the provision of a shoe horn to help everyone put their shoes back on again as they leave!

What is newly reconstructed? © Ricky Yates

This second photo is of an advertisement on the side of a public telephone box for the M1 nightclub in the centre Prague. When Sybille and I first saw it several months ago, we nearly collapsed in a heap with laughter. Not only does it feature yet another example of Czenglish by indicating that one should ‘Make left’ rather than ‘Turn left’, one also has to ask whether ‘Newly reconstructed’ refers to the building wherein the night club is located or to certain parts of the young lady’s anatomy!

What the advertisement does illustrate is the very relaxed attitude that Czechs have to the exposure of the human body, something that comes as a complete shock to some people, particularly to those conservative Americans who hail from the Bible belt. This relaxed attitude is sometimes reflected in men publicly urinating when they could quite easily use a little more discretion. But it also has some very positive aspects, particularly with women being totally free to breastfeed in public places without anyone, (other than conservative Americans!) batting an eyelid.

During the summer months, there are a number of places in and around Prague where it is possible to swim and sunbathe, in or alongside open-air swimming pools, lakes or rivers. In these locations, some women happily go topless. It is far from being obligatory but just accepted as being natural and normal.

All I have described is part of what any foreigner needs to understand when s/he moves to live and work in a different culture and society. Learn how not to offend, and equally, learn how not to be offended.