Important info

Cost of Living

Article:	Price:
One-litre bottle of mineral water:	CZK 20-60
0,5l bottle of beer:	CZK 30-80
Financial Times newspaper:	CZK 95
36-exposure colour film:	CZK 120
City-centre bus ticket:	CZK 20
Adult football ticket (league matches):	CZK 50-200
Adult football ticket (European matches):	CZK 100-2500
Three-course meal with wine/beer:	CZK 400

Info

Language

The official language is Czech.

Religion

Approximately 43% Roman Catholic and 15% Protestant, including churches such as the Reformed, Lutheran, Methodist, Unity of Czech Brothers and Baptist. There is a community of approximately 15,000 Jews, mainly in Prague.

Time

GMT + 1 (GMT + 2 during the European/continental ummertime).

Electricity

Generally 220 volts AC, 50Hz. Most major hotels have standard international 2-pin razor plugs. Lamp fittings are normally of the screw type.

Telephone

Full IDD is available. Country code: 420. Outgoing international code: 00. There are public telephone booths, including special kiosks for international calls. Surcharges can be quite high on long-distance calls from hotels. Most of the public telephone boxes take phonecards, which can be purchased at all Telecom points of sale and at newsagent and tobacconist shops.

Mobile telephone

Dual band width. Roaming agreements exist. Network providers include T-Mobile, O2 a Vodafone. Coverage extends all over the country.

Fax

Services are available.

Internet/E-mail

There are internet cafés in Prague. Local ISPs include czcom (www.czcom.cz). Roaming agreements exist.

Telegram

Facilities are available at all main towns and hotels.

Post

There is a 24-hour service at the main post office in Prague at Jindrisská Street, Prague 1. Poste Restante services are available throughout the country. Post office hours: 0800-1800 Monday to Friday.

Press

The Prague Post (weekly) is published in English.

Language

Czech is one of the Western Slavonic languages, distinguished from its neighbours (like Polish) by a series of diacritical marks introduced by the religious reformer Jan Hus in about 1410, including há?ceks (little hooks), which change the pronunciation of letters. Under Hapsburg rule (1620-1918), Czech was firmly suppressed; the language was revived as part of the nationalist movement in the nineteenth century.

Slightly less daunting than it looks, almost all Czech words are stressed on the first syllable. The most difficult sound is the '?r' (rzh) which even Czech children have to be taught to pronounce correctly.

English is rapidly becoming the second language, especially among the younger generation, and the majority of tourist services will have at least one English speaker on the staff. The older generation will be more likely to speak German. Moments of communication breakdown will arise from time to time but they will always be good-humoured. Problems can arise in Prague with the shortening of 'ano' (yes) to 'no'.

Phrases

Eglish:	Czech:
Yes	Ano (often shortened to 'No')
No	Ne
Hello	Dobry den
Goodbye	Na shledanou
Please	Prosim
Thank you	Dekuji
My name is ...	Me jmeno je ...
How are you?	Jak se mate?
I'm quite well	Jde to
I feel ill	Je mi spatne
How much does it cost?	Kolik to stoji?
Do you speak English?	Mluvíte anglicky?
I don't understand	Nerozumim
Where is ... ?	Kde je ... ?
Entrance	Vchod
Exit	Vychod
Danger	Nebezpeci
Warning!	Pozor!
Open	Otevreno
Closed	Zavreno
Toilets	Zachod / WC
Doctor	Lekar
Hotel	Hotel
Restaurant	Restaurace
Beer	Pivo
Wine	Vino
Menu	Listek
Today	Dnes
Tomorrow	Zitra
Yesterday	Vcera
Monday	Pondeli
Tuesday	Utery
Wednesday	Streda
Thursday	Ctvrtek
Friday	Patek
Saturday	Sibita
Sunday	Nedele
One	Jeden
Two	Dva
Three	Tri
Four	Ctyri
Five	Pet
Six	Sest
Seven	Sedm
Eight	Osm
Nine	Devet
Ten	Deset
Twenty	Dvacet
Thirty	Tricet
Forty	Ctyricet
Fifty	Padesat
Sixty	Sedesat
Seventy	Sedmdesat
Eighty	Osmdesat
Ninety	Devadesat
One Hundred	Sto
One Thousand	Tisic