PragueBuzz!

112 - General emergency number, the US’s equivalence of 911.
150 - Fire
155 - Medical Emergency (Ambulance/First Aid)
156 - Prague City Police
158 - Police

Remark: If you only speak English, you might have trouble when dialing any of these numbers except for 112.

Given the Czechs’ fondness for bureaucratic, they make getting people’s money, for example opening a bank account, here is very simple.

What do you need?
You will need your passport, another form of ID, a document proving your residence in the Czech Republic, and an initial deposit for your account (for example, my bank required 500 CZK).

Since Prague is flooded with foreigners, banks usually have representatives who can speak English. However, you have to call first for an appointment and ask if this service is free.

• Interesting facts
  Banks in the Czech Republic seem to charge for everything: deposit, withdrawal, ATM, maintenance, automatic-payment, receiving payment, etc in return for not charging a ridiculously high fee for over draft as in America.
• Checks don’t exist in the Czech Republic.

I chose eBanka because it has canceled most of the fees and charges only 285 CZK per year for the ATM card. Other banks don’t charge you for the ATM service, but instead rip you off from the monthly maintenance fee. One absolute requirement from eBanka is that you maintain a monthly inflow minimum of 15,000 CZK. (Remember, inflow is different from balance.)

Some banks to consider

eBanka - www.ebanka.cz
CSOB - www.csob.cz
Komercni banka - The Park, V Parku 8
Ceska sporitelna - Centrum Chodov, Roztylska 1

If you stay in Prague for more than a few months, you should buy a long term ticket for public transportation.

Prices: 460 CZK (monthly), 1260 CZK (quarterly), 4150 CZK (annual).
Where: Long-term tickets are available at many subway stops. The easiest location to find is Muztek (metro A/B).
Hours: Monday - Friday: 07.00 a.m. - 06.00 p.m
Requirement: Your passport or ID card with picture and an extra photo for the ticket. You will have to fill out some basic information on a form. But the process is very simple.

Visit www.dpp.cz for updated information.

I bought this book after seeing my trainer at work read it during break. According to this fun-loving English drifter, “The Czechs in a Nutshell” is ridiculously accurate and hilarious. I borrowed it from to skim over a few pages, and instantly knew this was the kind of book I would like to read.

So instead of going straight home today, I visited the book store in Wencelas Square and snatched the book. “The Czechs in a Nutshell” is written by a Norweigan journalist, Terje B. Englund, who lived in the Czech Republic for an extended time. With humor and wit, Mr. Englund told us of an Asian foreigner who mistaken Czech’s number- one traditional food, dumpling, for a napkin. Or how the author himself walked his dirty shoes all over his friend’s carpet after the entire family repeatedly told him that he didn’t have to take off his shoes. Needless to say, the cleanliness-oriented wife forbade her husband to bring home any foreigner guest.

Bookstore: Neo Luxor - Vaclavske nam 41, Praha 1; Metro: A/C (Muzeum), A/B (Muztek); Tram no. 3,9,14,24; Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-8pm, Sat 9am-7pm, Sun 10am-7pm.

Cost: 285 CZK ($14)

Apparently, this book is not available at Amazon and eBay.