fun fact. As a child and tennager who grew up in Prague in the 90s, I can say that McDonald's and KFC were the only businesses where a Czech teenager could feel "welcome" in the center. Everywhere else - in those local Czech companies - they were interested in tourists. A group of friends couldn't sit there after school..I know it sounds strange, but for Czech youth, these fast foods were the only place where they could sit in the center of Prague. And most of us met in the center because we were from different parts of Prague.
I can say something simillar - for a Czech family visiting Prague with their school kids, is the McDonald one of very few places in the City when we can stop for a lunch.
@@mikulagen This is one of the things a stranger may not realize. Or he doesn't like to hear her either. But it is so. Now the situation is no longer so extreme, but in the 1990s it was practically impossible for Czech teenagers or a Czech family with children somewhere. The prices were very high and the waiters would let them know that they are not welcome ... Now the situation is better, there are many more such fast foods, often of better quality. There are also a few self-service cafeterias ...
What?! I grew up as teenager in 90's as well (born 1978), we lived in Karlovo náměstí (just pee trail from Václavské náměstí) and I never visited those since it was pretty overprised in the time. Most often we jsut bought bottle of wine and finished it in the park or visited some cheap beautiful little pubs and coffees for beer, wine and rum-tea. And there were so much czech fast foods with Párek v rohlíku (kinda Hot dog) or Smažák (Breaded cheese in a bun) but as prices grew the quality of those get lower, the prices higher but somehow prices in McDonald stood still until those Street fastfoods disappeared. Anyway, there are still so many other good options better than McDonald. And when you are drunk by morning they do not even sell hamburgers anymore! And I am not even mentioning other crap food chains. Sadly enough last years MacDonald was often only choice of streetfood after midnight. But it's getting better again. Even typical czech 'Lahůdky' with awesome czech salads with czech rolls are comming back. Love it! Shortly - Mac Donald? Meh? When they opened first in Praha we often threw our snacks out of windows in our classroom at it and it was best of it! :D
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About recycling: We just have few bins at home. One carboard box for paper, one bag for thrash, one large thick bag that we use over and over for plastics and the glass bottles can stand on their own until you go out and take them with to first glass thrash bin you meet. So in total, it's just 3 bins at home.
Well, it is not the case. There is only one KFC in the street Kaprova that could be considered as being in the Old Town. (The possible second one is in the borders between Old and New Town where used to be city walls, in the street Národní.)
You are telling me that you came here from US, and you have this type of perspective? Huge respect. Its pleasure to listen how you are describing those problems and how you are able to understand big picture. All the best man, really great work with this video ...
For typical Czech foods, I would say they are: -koláč (gazillion version with various fillings) -kobliha (with peach jam inside) -chleba (Šumava style, not the supersweet toast "bread") and rohlíky -buchty (with various fillings) -štrůdl (originally German thing) And meals: -smažák :-)) -svíčková omáčka s knedlíkem, rajská omáčka s knedlíky (and several other sauces with dumplings) -knedlo zelo vepřo (together with svíčková heaviest food in our galaxy) -ovocné knedlíky (various fillings) -bramboráky -utopenci and nakládaný hermelín -česnečka soup -bramboračka soup -řízky (originally from Germany/Austria) -guláš (originally from Hungary) -langoš (originally from Hungary) -koprová omáčka s knedlíkem (although almost no restaurant make it anymore...)
Funny thing is that you are talking about what annoys you about Prague, but then you really talk about how you are annoyed by the fact that US corporations are occupying local cultural heritage sites. But it goes even deeper, airbnb for example have skyrocketed the rent prices in Prague and other towns, making people's lives much worse over just few years of it being on the market. Also the local hotel businesses have suffered because of it. It slowly drains the economical surplus and exports it to US. I don't understand why there is so little pushback against it.
I remember 1989 people in then Czechoslovakia picked capitalism as a way to get to the Paradise.... Ther is an old joke how Paradise can easily turn to Hell. but I cannot write it here ... I don't want to be kicked out :))
@@vlastimiladamovsky7867 before the Russians took over them they were not communists...... they had one of the most advanced airforces in Europe and had they not been dissolved, would have been a power as powerful or more powerful than Germany
I had the best time of my life hiking across Europe with only a backpack.The weather was awesome and the countryfolk were legendary. The key was avoiding cities altogether. Great content keep it coming :)
First, the weather is like that only now. Two or three years back the summer was hot and dry. Several years went by like this before it finally started raining... non-stop one summer. Now it's still kinda rainy, but it's getting better. Winters used to be just FULL of snow. Honestly I don't really miss it. I hate snow. So judging the weather by this year only is kinda not fair. Though it is true that we have extreme summer and extreme winter. When it gets cold, it gets COLD. When it gets hot, it gets HOT. Second... get out of Prague. It's a beautiful and old city, but it's ultra pricy. Just get out and keep going east, all the way to Ostrava. Quality is the same, prices are lower and there is so much more to see all over the country. Whole state is just dotted with castles, palaces, attractions and so much more. There's IQlandia in Liberec, when you're there, check out Ještěd mountain. There are castles like Karlštejn, Bouzov, Úsov, caves like Javořické Jeskyně, Punkevní Jeskyně (these are truly beautiful), or how about Hranická Propast, deepest chasm in Central Europe. Or how about bobsleigh tracks. There are few and all are worth it. My personal favorite is in Odry. See our culture, check out just how rich it is. Prague is nice, but trust me when I say... it's just tip of the iceberg.
The weather sucks in czech republic. Yes, 20-30 years ago we usually had winters with snow but in Prague you don’t really miss that anyway. The worst thing is the lack of sunshine and that is just prevalent from october to april. I remember 2 years ago there wasn’t a single sunny day for around 50 days in a row in Prague. Otherwise Prague is one of the best cities to live for me!
Congratulations, you're already a totally typical Czech - just complaining about everything. But seriously, you've captured the problem of Prague's tourist centre very accurately. It's sad, but even covid hasn't changed it, just slowed it down
I really strongly disagree with your first sentence. He's definitely not that "complaining about everything" type of person - just the opposite: his opinions about living in Prague and CR are very positive and even flattering in general. See not only this video, but also his previous one. And that stereotype about "always complaining Czechs" - well, it depends in which social bubble you live and who you are...
@@daniellehotsky1776 Přijměme na chvíli, že Češi mezi národy excelují v ušlechtilém oboru všeobecného remcalství. Pak ovšem náš americký přítel zatím nemá šance nás porazit - viz jeho navazující předchozí video, kde nešetří chválou ČR a Prahy. To by všeobecně remcající Čech nikdy neudělal... Proto jsem odporoval, když nejeden tuzemec jen na základě posledního (kritického) videa a s evidentní neznalostí onoho předchozího (pochvalného) již nominoval našeho amerického přítele na typického Čecha, remcajícího všude na všechno. (Vyzradím ale tajnou informaci letitého cestovatele: ono v řadě jiných zemí se remcá velmi srovnatelně, jako tady. Francie, Itálie, Maďarsko, Polsko, Chorvatsko, Slovensko, ... dokonce ani Německo, VB a US už nejsou, co to bývalo... Koukněte třeba jen na ty antivaxerské protesty... Jak známo - The grass always seems to be greener on the other side of the fence...)
Most of the things you're complaining about are endemic in almost every city in the developed world. In Paisley, a town of around 75k, we have Starbucks, Costa, KFC, McDonalds etc. 7 miles away in Glasgow the equivalent of the Dlouha Trida area would be Sauchiehall Street. We even have trdelnik (we call it "chimney cake") albeit only when the Xmas markets roll into town. Edinburgh is festooned with tacky souvenir shops especially on and around the Royal Mile. We have a grey bin for general waste, blue for card and paper, green for plastic and bottles and brown for garden waste. Fortunately we aren't plagued with the constant construction that is prevalent in Prague and has been ongoing since my first visit to the city in 1994. Edited to add...as for the weather, in the west of Scotland we have the 4 seasons in 1 day all year round!
You totally nailed it. Just months ago, I had a debate with fellow Czechs about the same. I used to be expat in US Chicago and visited Colorado many times, so it is super interesting for me that when people stop and observe things a little longer, they are gonna reach the same conclusion. The problem is that tourists dont see the trap industry and I could not expain how exactly this is bad for everyone. Maybe it served to open doors in 90s but it is not cool anymore.
There is upside to it. I have been living abroad for two years now and even when I came here first I could just smell tourist trap from mile away. I never went through the phase of being tourist here because Prague really teaches you what to look for.
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i´m lovin your tour de Prague - i still live in Slovakia, but i´m in love with Prague and your walking through the streets & talking really interestingly is a way a i can be there, thank you for that, really BIG THANK YOU 🙏
I am very used to this and don't like hot weather, so I like it here mostly since March to October. The problem is that in the period end of October - half of February fogs or inversions are very frequent. Way more than everywhere else around us (Germany, Poland, Austria). There are even some parts of Czechia where they have only few days of fogs. It is Ostravsko, Frýdlantský výběžek and then mountains, especially Šumava. The reason of this is most of the Czechia is like bowl. And you should know it is not the worst in Prague. In Podkušnohří, cities like Teplice or Most they have even more fogs.
I think to be a real czech it should be like "5 things I like about Czech republic" followed by "76 things that annoy the hell out of me living in Czech republic".
Recycling tip: To save space at home we only have three bins. One is for food trash, one is for plastic stuff and the last one is for paper, metal and glass. Sticking your hand in a food trash or used plastic yoghurt cups when sorting the waste is disgusting and absolutely sucks. So it's better to just throw that stuff into separate bins right away. But sticking the hand into a mix of paper boxes, wine bottles and deodorant cans? That ain't so terrible.
The origin of Trdelník is most likely a Slovak and Moravian (modern day Czech Republc) dish. Similar pastry is also famous in Hungary. It makes sense, as they all were a part of the Austrian-Hungarian empire. Trdelník has also been mentioned in Czech literature WAY before the rise of tourism in Prague. So it's not as black and white as Honest Guide makes it.
Trdelník is definitely a tourist trap, there is nothing Czech about it and is extremely overpriced... but if you don't buy it in Prague (or at least not in the most touristy places) the proce goes down significantly... and sometimes it's absolutely worth it because it just tastes good (I tried to make one at home... and it was terrible). The main problem I have with Trdelník is that people buy it with tons of additional stuff like ice cream, toppings etc., take a picture for Instagram and throw it away... or eat only the ice cream and toppings but throw away the actual Trdelník. I saw something similar with kebab too... people buy döner kebab, eat the filling and throw away the bread... Trash: As you said, just separate everything at home. We have a house so we have everything in the kitchen but most people in flats have a small kitchen trash can for regular stuff and then separate bags for plastic, paper and glass in the hall or if possible in a large paper box (so it's not visible and you can just change those bags) in front of their door. Constructions: It's sad but it's almost a meme at the same time... and it's funny, every single time, when someone mentions how "dangerous" constructions sites are here. For us it's more like: "If you're stupid enough to fall into huge an obvious hole, you probably shouldn't walk those streets at all..." Weather: I can safely confirm, that "Prague weather" is definitely not everywhere. I lived in Prague for some time, before and after I lived in a smaller city where you have actual nature around and there is quite nice all year round. Winter: :'DDDDD You got me with this one... "Winter" didn't last more than two weeks or month for at least 5 years (10 years would be probably more accurate)... I'm in my 20s but I remember when you had an actual winter and generally 4 distinct seasons... Now? Now you have scorching/rainy summer, then miserable weather till next summer and somewhere in that period of time, where used to be winter in the past, you had sometimes snow.
Yeah, I agree with your points. The lack of sunlight is annoying but it's mostly just in bigger cities and once you get up to the mountains, you can enjoy the real winter 😉
Hey, nice job, I am from the Czech and I find this video amazing. These are just pure facts and I think it bothers a LOT of residents. A lot of people here are trying to make it better so I hope we see some improvements over time. And it is amazing, that you pointed some tourists traps, for which most of us are ashamed. I hope it will help some people not to get trapped.
Interesting video :) and about the weather I recalled a video in which a british guy says that the main reason why he's moved into Czechia because of the weather. I mean he said jokingly that his wife was the second, weather was the first.
This is my second comment on your channel and again: I appreciate you way you think and speak about the topics like here “negative sides of Prague”. It’s not offensive but on point 👍
As someone who has lived in Prague their whole life, I completely agree with you, mainly on the issues linked to tourism and overall life in the city center. For anyone, who's considering visiting Prague - I can honestly assure you there won't be any Czech people and definitely no Czech girls in the Dlouhá street. However, it's not only because of the quality of the clubs and nightlife, but also due to the kind of tourists these places usually attract (groups of young men only looking for an excuse to drink and cause problems, bachelor parties etc.) If you'd rather have a drink with your friends or you're just not planning to get blackout drunk, I'd highly recommend befriending locals and not being afraid to leave the city center - Letná or Vinohrady are full of great bars, pubs and cafés, which are not only cheaper, but also have way more personality and style than tourist traps on Václavské náměstí or Staroměstské náměstí. :)
Just a great video, thanks! :) I can absolutely relate to all the things you said and especially the last point - the weather! I lived in Prague for 8 years and I was getting more and more depressed every year (especially in the autumn) so I decided to move to Greece :-D ... (plus the Greeks have only 1 bin for all the recycling stuff :-D)
5:00 that's actually not true. I worked for a company that runs all KFC, Starbucks and good chunk of Burger King stores in CZ for a few years (you can look it up, it's called AmRest), and I can assure you that every restaurant is closely evaluated on a lot of KPI's (the most important being sales and operational profit obviously) but also customer related ones (Speed of Service for example, online feedback is also being taken very seriously). And to be honest, the stores seem better run here than almost anywhere else in the world, in terms of cleanliness, freshness etc. That's not to say bad things can't and do not happen, but generally I found the restaurants to be run very professionally with emphasis on customer experience. It's been a few years back though, maybe things have changed. Believe me that if a store "made zero money and people hate it", it would close down (or change) real fast. Also with the exception of McDonald's in CZ, the franchisees don't choose the locations, the franchisors do (there used to be a joint venture with Starbucks as well, but it kinda dissolved I think).
I see your point, but, in an ideal world, I would love the city centre to be peppered with local, honest (no tourist traps, please) businesses. When I go abroad I just love the idea of immersing myself. I am very attracted to small food joints, with the nice old lady/gent serving the food s/he has prepared himself all the while chatting affably (or trying to, considering the language barrier).
Yep nobody will run a business at a loss for long. Also McD and KFC have a slightly different "feel" to Czech people - when their first restaurants opened after 1989, they were not considered a junk fast food, but almost a symbol of the new era and somewhat prestigious place to eat.
In the Czech Republic, American fast foods like McDonalds, KFC, Burger King are very dry because they put very little sauce, while in Ukraine, McDonald's has juicy burgers
Just wait till you have to go for a Visa at the Czech Foreign Police office.. The word "hate' will be one of many vocabularies youll likely express with great vitality
Ha,ha,ha yes I agree the famous East European red tape doesn't disappear easily neither after more than 30 years from communist regime there. It's a national heritage there!
I'm so glad that when I was in Prague it was right after the Berlin wall had come down and I got to see it before it was westernized and commercialized. I absolutely fell in love with it and the people.
I personally never really minded the fast-food chains being everywhere. As a kid, going to Prague was something akin to a holiday because we lived in a small village some 40 kilometers away. And ofc, as a kid you absolutely love all the nasty fast-food "food" that you get from places like that. So I just got so used to those places existing as a part of the city that I don't necessarily even notice them anymore. A very interesting thing to think about, I wonder if it's gonna start bothering me from now on lol. But I agree, tourism has really changed parts of the town for the worse, especially with all the scams and tourist traps. This is also why I'm glad that channels like yours or Honest Guide exist. Thanks to the internet we can now have hundreds of people, be they tourists, natives, expats, and everything in-between talk about this stuff with each other. Where to go eat traditional meals for cheap, where to go so there aren't many tourists around, where to not go, etc. etc. Also I never really thought about recycling being annoying. I know a lot of people that live in single room flats/apartments but still keep multiple bags for recycling. Just like how they bag your groceries for you in the states, it makes it more convenient for you but a lot more inconvenient for the worker. They have to hold up the line for longer to bag your stuff when there is no reason for you to not just bag it yourself as they're scanning the rest of the stuff for you. Same with recycling. You get mildly inconvenienced by keeping more bags for different types of trash or you sort it at the bin, but the time it saves the workers that have to go through the trash of everyone in the area isn't negligible. I do not want to call you selfish for finding something you are not used to annoying, but in the grand scheme of things, it's a simple exchange of a bit of your time to save a lot of time for someone else.
omg the weather! The whole video was spot on, but the weather description was the best I've ever heard :-D I always have to make at least two escapes to Spain, Portugal or somewhere else sunny during the endless Czech winter, otherwise I'd just lose my mind.
To be honest, this is the Prague I know and I've always known as I was born in Prague. With Starbucks, we kind of "adopted" this chain and we search for these places the same as you do. We love the Starbucks coffee and especially during autumn and winter. :D It became a part of life people living in this city, as well as Trdelník, which is not originally Czech bud though I like it, and I think is a part of modern culture in Prague and other Czech old cities. Dlouhá is mostly full of tourists but that's kind of normal in the city centre, the same I experience in London. On the other hand, as a Prague girl, I feel comfortable visiting these clubs as well as Náplavka, or Manifesto where I always find some friends I know. :-) Road construction is soo annoying! :D Usually enormous during summer time...
You nailed the tourism problém! Even everything else! Those everlasting road/rail constructions are the worst and nobody even knows why they take so long all the time. About the lack of sunshine in ČR: I went to Estonia this summer and they have about 3 hours of daylight in winter, I was like holy shit... Never realized that the same thing annoys foreigners about our 7 hours of daylight in winter 😀
I share lots of points you mentioned about all these world-known brands and other touristy places that occupied the city center. Just wanted to share my perspective on this matter as a person who works in one of those businesses:) All these brands are there not because they want to drag money out of the tourists' pockets, but primarily because local businesses and brands just simply can't afford to pay rents and taxes as high as you have to being a business which operates right in the historical city center. And because Starbucks, as a brand, can allow itself to pay these high rents, the company takes advantage of this. Most of the local businesses are not liquid and profitable enough to have a spot in the city center (not saying there aren't any, of course). I work at Starbucks (yeah, that exact one right next to the McDonalds:)) and believe it or not, we have our amazing permanent Czech clientele, who were visiting us even during the pandemic and the strict lockdown. They were the ones, that kept us running. The ones that were there for us, when there were no tourists. The ones, that were and still visiting us because they want to feel special, they want to feel welcome, they want to have this Starbucks experience. They want to have something to look forward to, because they became a part of this culture. We know all our permanent clients very well - what they do, where they've been on the vacation, how many children they have, etc. So for us it's not just tourists. They, of course, play a big part in our business. And we're lucky enough to be in such a beautiful and historical part of Prague, it's a big privellege to work somewhere with a view like this. And you're welcome to come and visit that Starbucks anytime:) Although, it is busier there nowadays, we still try hard to provide great customer experience to everybody:) Enjoyed watching your videos! Thank you for sharing your perspective:)
:( We used to have springs and autumns, as well as snow in winter... The climate has changed drastically in the last 20 years. :(. These superhot summers in the city are torture. Since we´re landlocked it is very dry...
True, in last years, we have only terrible hot, or terrible weather at all, rain or something. This year we had at least some snow, but that's rare in last years.
It think last years are actually better (except this spring). Summers are longer and warmer and winters are not so tough since it is mostly raining and above 0°C. But I live in the countryside in very old house with lot of trees around so I have probably different view on it.
@@frantiseknovotny2674 We are not talking about what feels better to you, we are talking about that 35°C and no freezing in winter is not historicaly normal for our country, so last 15 years are weird. It's definitely better have normal winter with snow and freezing than have mud and rain for 6 months and than terrible hot again.
@@frantiseknovotny2674 No, to jsou dvě roviny. Já osobně nemám ráda horko, snesu opravdu jen někde u vody, ať už je to moře nebo třeba potok... Někdo to má rád. Ano, ve městě jsou ty horka náročnější, než někde v přirodě. Druhá věc ovšem je, co to udělá s krajinou, tyto změny. Dívala jsem se na předpovědi klimatické změny pro Česko, je to dost tragické a troufnu si tvrdit, že ať už bude vláda jakákoliv, opatření, která by mohla pomoct budou malá a s křížkem po funuse. Půl roku prostě bude léto a nížinné oblasti se budou asi měnit hodně rychle. A ty zimy? Nevím, sice mne nebaví odklízet sníh a ometat auto, ale zima se sněhem mi přišla příjemnější, méně nepříjemná, lezivá.
@@Pidalin Je to hrozný, viď? :(. "Zima"/léto. Nic víc. Vždycky když skončí zima a začne to hned první dny "smdět" horkama a létem, říkám si, proč já blbec se neodstěhovala někam na sever, kde se mi vždycky líbilo... A jak jsem psala jinde, tak ty předpovědi klimatické změny pro Česko jsou dost děsivé...
as a young american mom of 4 boys (my oldest is only 7) living also in prague i wanted to add something that is both my favorite and least favorite thing in czech republic as a whole. it occurs everywhere here city or village alike it is all over ( i have been all over and encountered this on a semi daily basis). I hate and love the commentary on how i raise my children that every grandma feels they need to share. for example my preschoolers are not wearing hats in winter and how they hope the children are mine and not someone elses children i am caring for because they are not wearing the hats that were on their head but after they "fell" to the ground for the millionth time i decided not to fight it back on my child. or how my children will get sick from shorts and tee shirt in 75 degree weather (we are from coastal oregon so this is warm enough for us). But i also love how when i am really struggling with my children getting on and off busses trains trams and the like (even stairs or escalators) its always a grandma that offers a helping hand. a month back when there was the regio jet hold up going out of prague we were stuck with a nice old lady and she simplified the czech over the speaker held my baby as we were getting all of our stuff off and on the train and she also helped me when my oldest son was motion sick for the 2nd time on the train and cleaned up his puke on the floor while i cleaned him up and she also asked another lady to help by holding my baby while i was cleaning him because this ofcourse had to happen the last 5 minutes of our trip :P So although i dont appreciate the constant commentary about how i choose to dress or speak to my children (I was scolding my 7 yr old he was 5 at the time but he is so small for his age he was about the size of a 3 yr old because he had run into traffic while i was getting the stroller off the bus and someone chose to stop me and tell me i couldnt talk to him like that he is too little.) I am always 1000% thankful for the kind ladies that come around and actually try to either help the situation that i will get told off by someone else for or get to know my kiddos. I hope that makes sense.
Yeah I get it might get annoying but I do not see it as a problem. I see it as we do care about ourselves more then it is usal to you... Anyways have a good one and enjoy CZ.
Hi, why do you to move from the US to the Czech Republic? I know that many people dream of moving to the US and say that the US is much better than the Czech Republic, I also thought about moving to the US, but I decided to stay in the Czech Republic because over the past 2 years the Czech Republic has seen the largest number of Ukrainians per capita, despite the fact that Europe and America were open to Ukrainians, but they chose the Czech Republic anyway.
Thank you for another thoughtful video :) As for the bins for recyclable material, I suggest buying bins, that can be stacked on top of each other, such as Ikea Sortera :) It saves a lot of space and time. I think you mostly need just three of them - one for paper, a second one for plastics, and the third one for glass. Also, I'm kinda surprised that winter in Colorado is not as long, given its elevation. But I agree with the long, sunless winters in CZ, they can get pretty depressing. :/
And while I get your point regarding the big corporations, I can't say that I agree with all of it (as a local). For example you've mentioned the Starbucks stores on the Old Town's square - I have been to both several times and I cannot say the same for whatever they replaced. Because all of the restaurants there are basically tourists traps - "authentic czech food" for insane prices. However I know that Starbucks is reliable, I know I can count on getting a drink I know for more or less the same price (I think it costs 10CZK more vs. "regular starbucks" here. If they had not been there, there would be no better alternative, just another run of the mill tourist trap.
Yes, that's a good point, I also prefer going to KFC in different country, than trying luck in some touristic restaurants. Fastfoods are overpriced here, but in other countries, it's mostly cheaper solution than normal restaurants.
TIL running a rsstaurant in the center = tourist trap. It is not this way at all. You will pretty much only find tourist traps at the most exposed tourist places like Old Town Square and few other places like that. Everywhere else is just fine
Also a nice thing is, that perticularly Starbucks tries to blend in quite good with their visual style. They even went as far to change the logo on some places - i know for sure they have done it on Malostranské náměstí. It's much better that the ever-present neon-flickering epilepsy-inducing thai massage eyesore. I can't believe there isn't a regulation on that, mainly on the Old Town square - it looks absolutely nasty and ruins the place. Just close that one already.
To the weather.. this is an unfortunate effect of the changes whole planet is going through. Back in 90's I remember whole days of rain, slow, mild rain, it was very common to have them but they were also followed by days full of sun with mildly high temperatures that you could survive. I remember snow coming in late October, that's why we have St. Martin who comes on a white horse that should come around 11.11. In past ten years I don't remember snow as early as late december. The summers are now either scorching hot like in 2019 when there was no rain in Ostrava for months or rainy like in 2020 or strangly cold and fast like in 2021. I already feel like at the end of September, so called "Babi leto", which should be like the last beautiful days in nature that is already putting itself to sleep, is definitely here. You can hear it, everything is silent, no birds are singing, the sound is more thick. You as a musician whould definitely recognize it being outside Prague. This is NOT normal weather.
I know both the pre '89 and current Czech Republic fairly well but if you're looking for original czech / bohemian traditions (as well as moravian) you might find those somewhere in Nebraska where places have been founded by Czechs or in the South where they now like to do Cowboy stuff, lol.
So giant international companies don’t just set up shop wherever they want. They set up shop where they can make a profit. They don’t become giant by losing money just to have a presence. First time watching your video, and I appreciate what you do. Just want to give you a perspective from a small business owner who’s business is located in the Czech Republic.
OR: don't buy a the shit that has to be thrown away... you live in Prague... go to "Bez oball" and just fill all your bottles or jars with whatever you need. No trash, no problem ;)
About the recycling bins. The seperate bins (or just bags or boxes) for, plastic, paper and glass (+ carton, metal) don't have to take that much space and they don't really have to be right in the kitchen (in the kitchen you have just the non-recyclable bin for small everyday stuff). I understand that it can be frustrating to do it the way you do, but if I was in a small apartment I would just make the space for the seperate bins, even if I would have to step over them in my bedroom. It can be on the bottom of cabinet or few steps from the kitchen in some storage room (or in the hall way, etc.), as you don't really need them all the time. It is practically no extra work and we don't have to pay more taxes so that someone would do it for us (But it doesn't matter anyway, because they'll probably just burn it all, or get rid of it some other very "ecological" way). I believe that it at least teaches kids to think about their impact on nature. I always thought of it as the right way and I was quite annoyed when I was walking around Portsmouth in England with a plastic bottle that I wanted to get rid of and I couldn't find a single recycling bin for plastic and all I could think about was, how can we be so naive to think, that we can stop global warming or whatever, and make people care, if so many countries don't even properly recycle. It seams to me like the easiest and most basic thing and they can't even do that. I didn't know that someone does it for them later (if that is really the way it is). Maybe there is a reason why that way is better, I just don't know any. But on another note I agree with most of what you say and it's interesting to hear your opinion and I like your understanding approach.
But he is right, it's annoying. I saw video from recycling company in the UK, they can separate almost everything by automatical proceses, in Czechia, when you put something not correct there, they will just burn it as not recyclable, that's really sad.
I live in Manchester and I'm recycling very heavily in my share house and I force any person separate waste to the right bins. Sadly you can see so many people ignore recycling and fill the bins with wrong waste which disgust me! This is the most positive thing in this country that you can't see piles of litters dumped anywhere like in the poor Manchester.
@@Pidalin In the UK the recycling companies and City Councils beg people properly separate waste as so many dirty lazy ignorant people don't bother use the right bin for waste. It makes immense problems recycling companies to use the very sophisticated machines to use them properly. People-residents should feel more mercy with recycling companies.
@@RichardHofman333 Recycling companies are on much better level in the UK than here, I saw some report from recycling plant in UK, it's almost everything done automaticaly, they can separate it even later and recycle, but here in Czechia, our "trash bussinesmen" want only fast money from city and when dead fly falls into plastic bin, they just sent it for burn because it's not separated correctly, that's really sad I think. People are not experts about materials, trash companies are, this should be their work! Why we have thousands of Ukrainian workers here? They should use them for such works when they are already here, they constantly say there are no people, but I see hordes of Ukrainians in front of every lodging house for workers, they are just liears, they don't want to pay people or invest to technology so people have to separate everything like some trash scientists. This "trash nacism" went so far that they started removing recycling bins from street and pushed it directly into people's gardens becuase they think you will recycle better when it's in your land, that's maybe true, but those trash companies should work too, they think they just take it and sell to China, but they don't want it anymore. I saw interview with Czech owner of such company and I was really disgusted, I lost faith in some recycling in this country, he said that if there is something bad separated, they just burn whole bin. Also, no recycling bins at streets = tourists will throw it to normal bin or just drop it on the ground, that's so stupid! And many people live in places which are not officialy living space and those people can't have recycling bins now, that's serious problem. Here in my city where they started with this strategy, it starts reminding me Japan, you eat or drink something at street and you are walking 2 km around and looking for dust bin, this is stupid, it was better before. The worst thing is that I don't even know who to blame for that beucase government in my city consists of people from many political parties, there are right wingers, commies and even some local parties, I need some clear enemy omg! :-)
@@Pidalin I have to very agree with you, I used to work in Sušice at one waste company at the beginning of 2000, and all about waste was on an extraordinarily primitive level there. The only responsible people for all the mess around the waste industry in the country are coming out from the Czech government, County and City Councils who are the only ones setting up strategies and rules for waste disposal in their regions! People should protest more against the unforgettable mess there as only that is the only right way for change.
The best thing is, that he was saying it while walking through Wenceslav's square. Well you don't even have to actively look for a bag there. It inevitably comes to you in Nigerian packaging (even if you don't want some). 🤣🤣
I am living in Czechia for more than 20 years , the number of things that annoy me are numerous. The number one thing is the bureaucracy that seems to be left over from the communist era. Yet life is good here and I acknowledge life isn't perfect anywhere.
12:35 If you come to Slovakia someday, you can try the original trdelník of Skalica (Skalický trdelník). It's been made in Skalica since the 18th century and it's registred as a protected geographical indication in the EU. It actually tastes good, smells like Christmas, but it's not supposed to be served with ice cream, fruit or chocolate as they do it in Prague for tourists and instagram likes. 🙂
I definitely have annoyance with how tourist centered many cities in Europe have become. I can’t believe how many souvenir shops are everywhere in one place! Many things have changed. Sometimes it feels like cities in Europe are bit by bit losing their nation’s identity just to please temporary visitors.
In the defence of trdelník. This type of sweet pastry originates in Transylvania. It would be logical to conclude that it simply doesnt belong here but if we delve deeper into the topic we will see that throughout the early modern period a lot of people from today's Romania moved to Moravian Beskydy mountains. These people were mostly Wallachians and they brought Trdelník with them and they used to prepare it during their festivals and celebrations. To noone's surprise Trdelník became so popular at the end of the last millenium that it was present at many cultural events in my home regions and these events were not visited by many foreign tourists. I loved trdelník at those events because it was a relatively affordable delicious sweet and it is a part of my childhood memories. I do not agree with the business that surounds trdelník now but even to this day you can find affordable trdelník at small regional events and in some bakeries around the country.
I agree with everything you said. the neon lights, the never ending construction everywhere, the weather... Also, everyone in the centre seems to try to con you and scam you... Most of the businesses in the Prague centre are not run by Czechs and are not for Czechs.
I've been coming to Prague for the past 12 years, twice a year- except this year because of covi. You make some good points, but Prague is a fun, edgy city still. It reminds me of how St. Petersburg was before it basically became London. I like Steampunk and Hangar Bar, but I have friends who work there, so it's a bit different when I go there to hang out with a bartender friend, than just going there as a tourist. Same with Duplex and Fashion Club, Blondies and Anonymous Bar. Inevitably when I'm hanging out with friends in Prague we go to these types of bars- based on who is working or who they know who is working. It's a bit different when you pay something like 200 czk to drink all night, when a tourist would pay 200 czk for 1 drink. When I'm on my own, I like Konvikt Bar, where you won't find tourists. Even now I still like to hang out on the terrace of Adele at Hotel King's Court on Namesti Republiky. The beer is expensive, but I like the square and people watching. Trednik- I love them- same as the Wenceslas dogs and fried cheese sandwiches you used to be able to get early in the morning. Granted, I wouldn't eat them sober, but at 5 AM after a night out, they are good...
The only thing I can agree with is the crazy public space repairs. Couple years ago they were repairing an exit from Karlovo Namesti metro station, and they closed it FOR A WHOLE YEAR.
The recycling is relatively easy to deal with, when you separate already at home. 3-4 small bags for special items doesnt take up a lot of space. Then you probably have a single dominant recyclables bin anyway, usually thats plastics. When I was a child, I was asked to separate not just all plastics, but several different types of plastic materials. I knew at a glance which plastic cup belogs to the PP, PE, HDPE, PS, etc bins. We would even have different bins for different colors of pet bottles.... So now as an adult I get irrationally annoyed when people cant be bothered to even put the plastics into plastics and they throw everything in one big bag into whichever bin is the closest because "someone will deal with that". There is a whole bunch of non-recyclable stuff in there as a result, nobody cares to even know that. (I am not saying this in reference to the US system, I have no idea how efficient it is there) Then, ca 60% of the separated mass gets shredded and burned anyway. And of the rest, still the slight majority is not actually being recycled, or at least not in europe. I am left with the impression that unless a real commercial solution is found, this government system of recycling is better at making us believe trash disposal is solved, then it is at solving it. It should probably be somehow completely redesigned to be more user friendly and rewarding. Perhaps gamified or something...
The weather here has really changed during the past 20 years from what I’ve experienced . I remember winters with like 5 meters of snow but mild springs and autumns and the heatwaves in summer weren’t so intense either.. its all probably because of global warming but the weather seems to be really going off the hooks.. you can have freezing temperatures in like early may and hot days in late october? Thats wild. But it has been the reality the past few years.
I think all those KFC and McDonald's are franchises, so it's not true they don't have to make profit. Quite the opposite, they have to make enough profit to pay for the franchise as well as earn for the owner. :)
Well, I live in Phoenix, Arizona and the summers here are brutal. So summers are not nice everywhere ha! I love Prague, never lived there just visited a couple of times. But no place is perfect, great videos man.
I know that many people dream of moving to the US and say that the US is much better than the Czech Republic, I also thought about moving to the US, but I decided to stay in the Czech Republic because over the past 2 years the Czech Republic has seen the largest number of Ukrainians per capita, despite the fact that Europe and America were open to Ukrainians, but they chose the Czech Republic anyway.
Ever thought about doing a podcast, since your videos are mostly just plan talking to the camera while wandering in Prague? I regularly have your videos in the background just listening to them. Therefore i think your podcasts would be great to listen to :)
As a Czech, all that flashy, neon, fast-food, overcrowded and overpriced aspects of Prague are something that I associate with the capital and one of the reasons people go there, it is sort-of-a-window into the larger world :) And of course we all went to McDonald when we were there during a school trip. BTW Trdelník is delicious, but I associate it with Christmas markets, I wouldn't eat it anywhere else. Try some!
@@613pics Depends on what you mean by that. Prague is one of the authentic Czech experiences, I guess. There are (ex-)coal mining towns in the north with lots of communist influence. Or the south where I was born, with more agrarian traditions and an interesting south Bohemian/Bavarian/Austrian blend of cultures. Or you can just go to a random village pub (watch some André Traveler for that). What would be an authentic American experience, the Times Square, a Montana farm, the Savannah historical centre, Detroit's slums?
@@fantasy9917 Very good point, about the authentic experience. Looking at Czech by regions is a good idea. I'll pop around and explore. Thanks! And don't forget when coming to Los Angeles to check out Highland Park and Pasadena
@@613pics If it is lifestyle you're after, there's of course also a variety depending on age, education etc., but I'd say the most stereotypical activities include pubs with pork and beer, watching sports, hiking, visiting castles (possibly with reenactors), rafting, having dogs... Dark humor, and general negativism, scepticism and "can't do because" mindset are also hallmarks. Oh, and atheism (unless you're in South Moravia) tends to surprise Americans :)
Have you been to the Letná area? Its not necessarily a night life area but there is a lot of coffee shops and beer gardens. A lot of the art students and arty people live and hang out there and its honestly my favourite place. You can take your laptop to one of the coffeeshops and work there and most of them are dog friendly too.
Thanks for this. Heartfelt and to the point. I've got a series coming up called Tourism and Reality, which deals with the warped vision of the world created by tourism. To me the goal is to at least be a traveler and at best burrow into the culture that one is visiting. I will have one episode on Prague. I have seen it completely mutate over the years. You are actually fortunate to be there now, while it is still quieter.
Great video man. We are considering moving to Europe from the US and Prague is on our list of cities to check out. Even though I have not yet been to Prague, I echo your sentiment regarding these corporate stores just taking over everywhere. Pretty soon Starbucks will be pushing out local cafes in Italy pedaling their crappy espresso over traditional Italian espresso. And even if they did serve good coffees, the lifeblood of the local culture runs through small locally owned & operated businesses. It also creates wealth distribution. Now 100 people can own coffee shops across 50 towns instead of just being a barista at a Starbucks chain location. It's terrible.
Hi, why do you want to move from the US to the Czech Republic? I know that many people dream of moving to the US and say that the US is much better than the Czech Republic, I also thought about moving to the US, but I decided to stay in the Czech Republic because over the past 2 years the Czech Republic has seen the largest number of Ukrainians per capita, despite the fact that Europe and America were open to Ukrainians, but they chose the Czech Republic anyway.
@@m1kus960 Prague was one of the cities we were considering, because of the city and diversity it's an easier place to move for foreigners, and it is beautiful. We reconsidered Prague because of it's closeness to Ukraine and Russian war. Maybe we will consider Prague again once we see what happens with Russia. We were thinking about other places in Europe as well. The reasons we were moving out of the US were cost of living (I realize this is a problem in places in Europe as well), culture, politics, and we want to experience other places more than just visiting as a tourist.
@@donovanhays They say that the United States is the cheapest country in terms of prices/salaries, that it has the best purchasing power, which means that you can save a lot of money from your salary after all the monthly expenses
@@m1kus960 the US is so huge it's easy to make statistics say different things. 90% of the US is considered "the middle of nowhere" and the housing prices are probably very cheap in those areas. Unless you work remotely there's no jobs and there's often not much to do in those areas. I live in Denver, CO and here average "household income" is around $112,000 a year. This seems like a decent amount but if you look up a mortgage calculator you'll find that reasonably this income could afford you a $500,000 house, but many will need to look for houses cheaper than that due to credit and lack of sizeable down payment. You can get on any real estate app and look at what 3 bedroom 2 bathroom homes are going for in Denver and you aren't going to find one for that amount that is reasonable close to Denver. If you do find one, be sure to research the neighborhood and you'll find that the $500,000 house you thought was a good value is in a neighborhood where your neighbors paid $80k for their house and there is crime around. This is because they are banking on these neighborhoods being "gentrified" and you are just buying into a neighborhood that is going to take years for it to feel safe to walk around in and you are part of the problem kicking those people that rent in those areas out because they will no longer be able to afford to live there. Therefor just creating the same problem for other people and pushing the problem further out so that the school teachers, nurses, mechanics and others can no longer afford to live where they work. You can also find home prices from previous sales here and it's very common right now to find a house that someone is asking $800,000 for and 10 years ago they bought it for $350,000. I'm all for people investing in their homes but salaries have not increased in this area by more than double in 10 years. You'll also find where they bought the house for $500,000 4 years ago and now they are trying to sell it for a million.
We did a tour of basements where the street level used to be before they raised it. The guide said that no one lives above the shops and it would be too loud anyway, and that Russian businessmen would buy the buildings for the shop space and no one actually lives there.
Thank you for another nice video, always so gentle and well articulated. As for those problems with too many tourists, life is much easier her in Brno and other smaller cities in CR. And concerning weather, all four seasons are typically (much) nicer in countryside than in a city like Prague. Well, this latest covid year was rather gloomy and atypical anyway...
I'm sorry guys but living in New Zealand for ten years I was soooo looking forward to come back home and experience the four seasons weather. The first year it was just like I remembered it from my childhood, the second year it was strange, the third year even strsnger and it goes down from there.... just the last year the year.of 2020 was sort of normal.... spring wet and green, summer wet and hot, autumn colourful and cold and winter freezing white.... what seems to be the problem?
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Friday nights are great on Stodolni in our beloved Ostrava. especially in the summer when the weather is nice
Was in Prague 2 years ago and after passing by the stands many times we finally tried trdelnik. They were delicious but messy. Next time I would order the trdelnik with no filling. Did you see Honest Guide's video of when he and Honza made trdelnik at home? It was hilarious! And I loved seeing photos of people around the world who then made trdelnik using the recipe that Janek provided in his video.
@@YellowKing1986 Actually, the Trdelnik is a slovak thing, the Skalicky Trdelnik even has a protected geografical indication from EU as first out of the official slovak dishes :) however somehow people in Czech republic managed to fill up Prague (and also Brno) with "Trdlo" and used filling, which for me as a Slovak looks horrendous :D
Just stumbled upon this video and I have to say you did a great job. As a Czech person, i pretty much agree with you on everything you said. I'm definitely subscribing!
Kudos for the video, you have a very solid point here. From my experience (as an Italian expat that lived in CZ for 6 years) I can tell you that if you really want to experience the real Czech life, you must start to explore allso other regions like Moravia for example. I lived in Brno for 6 years and I can guarantee you that I really enjoyed it and had a real life there. Always hanging with locals and other expats in pubs (where I even learnt how to play chess), restaurants, home parties and always far from the touristic places. Prague, as capital, is just for tourists and this goes for every other countries. Life in Brno is fun and genuine, trust me.
Thanks for another awesome video. Regarding the souvenir shops, they are mostly run by Russian and Asian "entrepreneurs" for money laundering purposes and their selection of products have indeed nothing to do with the Czech culture or Czech Republic in general but their own culture such as Russian Babushkas, Russian hats, or plastic crap from China. But the Czech Republic is a free society and whoever has money can open a Czech unrelated shop in the middle of Prague. Tourists should avoid them completely. Dlouha Street used to have one good club called ROXY in my years when I was living in Prague between 1999 -2004. Also I would recommend U Sudu and Cross club, there were also some good bars and clubs in Zizkov district. The weather is still better than in most of Western Europe, especially the UK, northern France, Northern Germany and so on. I mean any land north of the Alps will have this kind of weather, but the further east and south you go the better it gets. Southern Moravia and Brno have a much better climate than Prague for sure as these are the warmest parts of the Czech Republic. Winter in Europe is sad and grey almost in all of Europe but last winter 2000-2001 was exceptionally long. Regarding the recycling, in Germany it's much worse. You must separate every single item, put them in separate bins and when they are full take them to a recyclation hub called Werkstoffhof where you have to separate them even further. Plastic waste according to their code, glass according to its color, etc because not all items will be taken by the garbage truck. Only Bio, paper and general waste and they really check the bins for waste that should not be there and they will not empty your bin if there's something that is not suppose to be there and even give you a warning. Madness.
Trdelník is a traditional thing - even though it's a protected Slovak brand (Skalický trdelník) - but the Czech and Slovak cuisine is 99% the same, we eat the same foods, I think they cal it "Trdlo" in Prague, not trdelník, but it's the same thing and it's really delicious. Concerning waste separation - IKEA sells these stackable plastic containers of various sizes for separating waste even with pictograms on them, they really don't take up so much space, I have like 40x50cm ones. And the weather is much warmer than it used to be, I remember when I was little 20 years ago snow was everywhere for months, now it snows once or twice a winter and the rest is rain. Temperatures don't even stay below 0C for more than a few days. And obviously, it's freaking hot in the city in summer, concrete and stone everywhere. Maybe I'm just weird, but sometimes I really do enjoy going to tourist places in my own city and "exploring" it as a tourist, one tends to ignore all the beauty around when living somewhere and takes it all for granted.
Trdelnin originates from Transylvania part of Hungarian speaking area. It is called "Kürtős kalács" (Chimeny cake) .....nothing traditional in Czech , but it does not taste that awful
come to standard café sometime, as you said you struggle with finding the “prague night-time” , its near the national theatre, the general area of Narodni Trida is very busy during the night-time, other examples may be Kyjevská or Dejvice
I know there are well hidden night life gems, some bars don't even have any signs, so if you don't you will not find the place... Where are they you ask.....I will not tell :)
When I eat at a restaurant in the Czech republic, I go to a restaurant that has no word written in english so I am sure that it is food for local people.
Thank you for talking about this! I really hate the Thai massages in the center of Prague, it completely kills the beautiful architecture for me. I'm always sad to see it. The center can also be quite dangerous, I can't count the number of times when were on a walk with some friends and some shady dude tried to lure us into making p**n, tried getting our numbers, photos, lure into cars etc. Always be careful!! Even if you're a dude, be cautious.
Hi,I like your videos.I must agree with you on many things you are describing.ANd as you many times compare USA and Czech I agree on thatw ith you as well. I was living in USA for 12,5 years so I can compare it with what you are saying.You should also come to Brno in South Moravia region. You will find that Brno has much more to offer than Prague.Also prices are affordable for hotels,bars,restaurants etc. Also not to many tourists is here. Weather is also bit better You also speak very good czech and how you pronounce it.I am looking forward to see more of your vlogs
12:40 While technicly correct that there is nothing czech about trdelnik. But it is a signiture dish of czech-slovak border region, so it is kinda connected to czechs aswell. Or i should say, moravia-slovak border.
I am from Moravia and I have never ever as a kid seen or heared anything about trdelnik. I havent even tased it as a child. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't like this either.
i had this video on my watchlist few days but i found some time finally today and i was in right mood to watch it. very good video, i can agree with you. it looks still too much positive dude :-) as for as wheather i quite like it in general, but there are some changes. as for as "light days" it went steeply down few years ago. imho chemtrails are real and something like this is part of problem. these so called (in newspeak) "soft sunshine" days suck. it is like be indoor but you are not, but sun is some kind hidden or filtered. i am quite tired after demanding shift so i don't want to be too philosofical but i would say with buddha, there are some problems which you can solve, there are some which you have to tolerate and there are some which you should avoid (e.g. water buffaloo :-) through struggles you build strong body, mind and character. yeah, those struggles and life in obscurity it is what gives your life and deeds that uniqueness :-) last sentence was attempt to paraphrase keanu reeves in banger "Always be my maybe" which i strongly recommend to all, unless you have problems with romantic comedies :-) and i am ending with amazing song from that movie, which is great and has some connection to keanu reeves too: ua-cam.com/video/39afwW8fp3w/v-deo.html
Yeah the weather is shit, Czechia has one of the lowest number of sunny days in Europe (even lower than some southern parts of Finland lol). I guess it's because of the hills, the 'bowl like shape' of the country, idk I am not a meteorologist... You mentioned the Starbucks on the Old town square... I don't want to defend a corporation like this, however it's still better than the outrageous scam of an exchange office that used to be there. Small steps in the right direction are steps too :) And the recycling part kinda surprised me... I've never seen anyone, and I mean anyone with whatever background or flat size, throw everything into one bag and then separate it at the containers... But hey, if it works it works, I am not here to judge 😅 Anyway great video as always, I like listening to you when I am at work, instead of podcasts.
@@Stashix I mean I like it too now HOWEVER as mentioned in the video, some people don't take cloudy weather well. Especially if they are not used to it. That's just a fact. Vitamin D deficiency, seasonal depression, both can be caused by having not enough sun. And that's no fun if you ask me. And btw sunny doesn't automatically mean it's hot, sun can shine and temperature can still be reasonable or low even. Take the Finland example I used before. ;) Ngl when I lived in the Netherlands I got used to sunny days pretty quickly. Going back here was like a cold shower lol, I think people don't realise it how gloomy our weather actually is until they live for some time abroad.
The same recycling you describe I do in California, several different bags gaping in my kitchen :-) not in the Bay Area but inland. Everything you describe I was annoyed with while living in Prague myself, especially with the “legal” criminality, ripping off of tourists, prostitution, full stores of souveniers made who knows where but certainly not in the Czech Republic. It is a free country that did not yet realize they can regulate certain businesses but they let the weed grow with the grain. I enjoy your movies very much and respect your bravery to keep living there.
Good points. But having lived in Thailand for 24 years, most of the Food companies there are actually frachised. Even 7-eleven is a franchise. So you can see 2 7-elevenas almost next to each oter bit owned buy different people. Do you know if all of the brands you have mentioned are franchised in Czech Republic?
Highway in front of national museum is more annoying than McDonnalds for me. I think we need things like McDonnalds or KFC becuase there was nothing like that before, sometimes you just need to grab some food and go and there is literally no other possibility than those international fastfood chains. But honestly, I don't like McDonnalds, there is no much things I like, but I like KFC. KFC saved me many times on other countries when you need just something to eat what you know. Trying new cousin is nice, but sometimes you are just hungry, you don't want to spend time and money by testing something what you even don't know you will eat that. I understand why tourists here are going to KFC or McDonnalds, beucase our cousin is full of weird sour things, everything is drowned in vinegar or saurkraut and when you don't like these 2 things, you will die by hunger here. Important is that there are still many local places, you don't have to visit McD when you don't want to, there is some local restaurant or pub litereally on every corner. With starbucks and other coffee chains, that's vice versa situation, there are so many possibilities that I don't understand why would someone go to starbucks. Yes, those black guys who are trying to push you into some club are very annoying, but I think they can recognize you are local so they don't bother you then. There are still nice Czech things in center, you can find them if you want, you don't have to visit cinemacity, you can go to local historical cinema, but you have to be looking for such places. But generaly, historical center of Prague is annoying place, I you want nice day wihout all those annoying things, better stay in other parts of city like Vršovice or Holešovice and others. Souvenir shops are actually better looking than few years ago when they selled mostly some weird Russian stuff, today it's little better.
Those engraved/painted plates are really old thing, just as various printed wine/beer glasses. I remember that we had one or two in pile of old things from my great grandmother ant that thing would now be some 80 years or more old. But I would even guess that painted(engraved) plates and glasses are no more traditional side of souvenirs. If you want to get real Czech candy, you should look for Pedro shop or you can buy them in almost every shop or supermarket. I think that American recycling system is inefficient. Our should in theory works that you will not mix those things together in the first place, you can even buy small paper-glass-plasics bins for you home and do it at home. For example at home we have paper box for paper, bag for plastics (we often use some plastic one that something was wrapped in, like, IDK, you buy clothes online and they came in large plastic bag, or we use large bag from dog food...) and glass is usually disposed immediately (broken glasses) or just waits few weeks (bottles) until we have few more. And then when there is enough of this waste, somebody at our home will take it to the recycling. That way it is a lot quicker. You just grab whole pile and dump it into correct container. (I Hope this will help you) There is article (sadly in Czech ,but with pictures) that can help you wit your recycling issue www.samosebou.cz/2019/04/10/5-tipu-na-nadoby-a-kose-pro-trideni-odpadu-doma/ About the construction, you know, one week power company needs to replace wire, when they finish, then somebody needs to put optical fiber there, then gas mains have to be replaced because they remember Franz Joseph I as young man, then the water pipe breaks because soil just moved after all that digging and in the end... in the end somebody will clog sower with fatberg so it have to be replaced... :D
Great video and as someone who has noted the same thing with major cities all around the world increasingly being dominated by the same multinationals, I completely agree with your take. We are losing what makes each city unique and special.
I first was there in the 90s just after the fall of the wall. In those days it was gangster heaven . I've been there many times over the years and seen it grow wealthy and safe. New cars everywhere. I imagine the people may be grateful for the difference
I think that your opinion on wheater and construction are influenced that you grew up in Colorado Springs.It is true that wheater in Colorado is mostly nice with low humidity but 2/3 of the Colorado are mountain where winter starts in mid September and can be still snowing in June. It is true than in Prague wheater sucks from end of October till mid March.... And the constructions are terrible here but from my experience is Chicago or even Denver the same.....😉
You nailed it- American corporations globalizing the world! I was in China in the forbidden city and there was a Starbucks. It was the most revolting thing I had ever seen. I would much rather spend my money on a local business. Or spend my money on a product made by an actual Czech, or art or something local. Great advice
I absolutely HATE souvenir shops in Prague...They are literally on every corner and not even selling things typical for us but rather you will find the Russian "Matrjoška" ....like why? :D
I am probably one of very few people who really like Trdelník. Always liked to have it at any event that was going on around where I went with my parents as a kid. Its not that expensive outside of Prague, I think I was buying one in Budějovice for like 50 crowns. I also like to add nutella cause I love milky chocolate lol
I am glad to see that you as an American can see the beauty of Praha and you are right these businesses should not be on the main streets they should be somewhere like the Palladium
My family has 3 bis - general waste, paper and plastic. By the time we fill these three we do not have that much glass or metal. And a tip - if you have metal like a can from beer, you can throw it into plastics (plastics get sorted father more later 😉)
Theres also a huge Airbnb problem connected to the general real estate situation and hugely inflated prices of real estate .. im not even talking about hotels going out of bussiness or anything like that. People (often foreigners) buy real estate and dont rent it to locals long term but to foreigners short term in order to maximize profit. During covid lockdown it was revealed just how much real estate was suddenly available for rent for a semi-long period (obviously until tourists flooded the city again) so the owners dont lose money for owning empty real estate.
no omg you TOTALLY have to try a trdelník. We actually get it too sometimes, it´s honestly really tasty. But get one for like 50-70 crowns, more expensive ones are just a waste of money.
PRG downtown become tourist zoo. Locals stay mostly out of the downtown for reasons you described. Almost no people lives in the center due to tourists - many housing has been changed from apartments to Air B&B, hotels or are simply empty. I do remember being on a high school in city center. We had a place to go for a luch - normal pub. Once we had friends from abroad and went there - it changed. It become tourist trap. I already moved from my hometown.
Nemám problém s Americkými nadnárodnými reťazcami, napríklad v Hard Rock Cafe sme boli obslúžení rýchlo, s úsmevom a na Pražské pomery primerane draho, v českej reštaurácii pri staromestskom námestí nás Slovákov absolútne ignorovali
About the Trdelník. I don´t really understand the hate it gets (maybe its overpriced, yes) but its something I always had as a kid when we took a trip with my parents, to a castle for example, so in my view it was always part of our culture. Originaly its from Hungary I guess, but so is guláš, and that is often recommended to tourists as a czech meal, or řízek, which is very czech but originaly its austrian meal. Now here in Brno there is this czech Trdlokafé chain serving trdelník and its locals who buy it.
Let me guess - you are still pretty young, right? When I was a kid, there were no trdelník stands and most people would not even know what trdelník was. And I think that is where the hate comes from (at least for me) - the fakeness of pretending it is something traditional or typically Czech to get more money out of tourists. A few more years and even Czechs will believe it is traditional.
@@honzabe its 15 years since I took trips I mentioned before. It did not feel fake on castles and pools in rural areas that were frequented by locals only
I've been living in the Czech Republic for almost 20 years now and I agree with almost everything you said in the video, but I have a problem with the title of the video, because in my opinion it should have been something like "5 things that annoy me about living in a European city." Sorry if it sounds like I'm nitpicking, but almost everything you mentioned in the video could be said about Vienna, Amsterdam, Bratislava, Budapest, etc. This is the first time I've watched any of your videos. I've subscribed and I am looking forward to watching more of your content. If you ever find yourself in Nymburk, let me know and we can get a couple beers somewhere and have a chat and I can show you around the area. All the best in your endeavors! Take care!
The only reason why souvenir shops survive in Prague must be that they are a front for money laundering. I can't imagine a shop selling enough of that garbage, no matter how overpriced, and turn a profit. The owners are also the usual suspects when it comes to illicit activities.
Trdelník is actually quite delicious. I was enjoying it outside of Prague long before it became overpriced tourist kitch in Prague center and they started putting nutella and ice cream and smarties inside it. If you ever see it outside of the context for reasonable price you should try it.
fun fact. As a child and tennager who grew up in Prague in the 90s, I can say that McDonald's and KFC were the only businesses where a Czech teenager could feel "welcome" in the center. Everywhere else - in those local Czech companies - they were interested in tourists. A group of friends couldn't sit there after school..I know it sounds strange, but for Czech youth, these fast foods were the only place where they could sit in the center of Prague. And most of us met in the center because we were from different parts of Prague.
very good point! thats true we can sit only in McD or outside under the tail XD
I can say something simillar - for a Czech family visiting Prague with their school kids, is the McDonald one of very few places in the City when we can stop for a lunch.
@@mikulagen This is one of the things a stranger may not realize. Or he doesn't like to hear her either. But it is so. Now the situation is no longer so extreme, but in the 1990s it was practically impossible for Czech teenagers or a Czech family with children somewhere. The prices were very high and the waiters would let them know that they are not welcome ... Now the situation is better, there are many more such fast foods, often of better quality. There are also a few self-service cafeterias ...
I remember teens being asked to leave a popular cafe because they were not consuming enough.
What?! I grew up as teenager in 90's as well (born 1978), we lived in Karlovo náměstí (just pee trail from Václavské náměstí) and I never visited those since it was pretty overprised in the time. Most often we jsut bought bottle of wine and finished it in the park or visited some cheap beautiful little pubs and coffees for beer, wine and rum-tea.
And there were so much czech fast foods with Párek v rohlíku (kinda Hot dog) or Smažák (Breaded cheese in a bun) but as prices grew the quality of those get lower, the prices higher but somehow prices in McDonald stood still until those Street fastfoods disappeared.
Anyway, there are still so many other good options better than McDonald. And when you are drunk by morning they do not even sell hamburgers anymore! And I am not even mentioning other crap food chains. Sadly enough last years MacDonald was often only choice of streetfood after midnight. But it's getting better again. Even typical czech 'Lahůdky' with awesome czech salads with czech rolls are comming back. Love it!
Shortly - Mac Donald? Meh? When they opened first in Praha we often threw our snacks out of windows in our classroom at it and it was best of it! :D
About recycling: We just have few bins at home. One carboard box for paper, one bag for thrash, one large thick bag that we use over and over for plastics and the glass bottles can stand on their own until you go out and take them with to first glass thrash bin you meet. So in total, it's just 3 bins at home.
Co se počasí týká, máme to asi takhle: jarní únava, letní otupělost, podzimní deprese a zimní ospalost. :-)
hahahah
Lol, to je pravda.
@@skeletonkeysprague21 Nebo taky takhle: jarní probuzení a těšení se, letní euforie, podzimní "babí léto"a zklidnění a zimní oddech.
@@skeletonkeysprague21 já jsu z moravy a musím říct že za posledních 20 let se tady počasí hodně změnilo k horšímu
Akorát jsi to dopsal tak je tu počasí na hov**.
A už jsi "náš" ;-) Štvou tě stejné věci jako nás a mluvíš velmi dobře česky. Takže díky za video, jako vždy super práce.
Děkuju moc, jsem rád že jsem tady :)
Tak nějak. To že v česku je problém opravit blbou křižovatku za tři roky je evergreen debat nad půllitrem :-D
Ten kluk je vybornej.... za chvili se z neho stane dokonale cesky "complainer" :))) Ale ma opravdu pravdu.... Neco se s tim "turismem" musi delat
The Czech Republic: The land of 10,000 KFCs.
"I'll meet you at the KFC in Old Town"
"Which one?"
Well, it is not the case. There is only one KFC in the street Kaprova that could be considered as being in the Old Town. (The possible second one is in the borders between Old and New Town where used to be city walls, in the street Národní.)
You are telling me that you came here from US, and you have this type of perspective? Huge respect. Its pleasure to listen how you are describing those problems and how you are able to understand big picture. All the best man, really great work with this video ...
Thank you so much.
For typical Czech foods, I would say they are:
-koláč (gazillion version with various fillings)
-kobliha (with peach jam inside)
-chleba (Šumava style, not the supersweet toast "bread") and rohlíky
-buchty (with various fillings)
-štrůdl (originally German thing)
And meals:
-smažák :-))
-svíčková omáčka s knedlíkem, rajská omáčka s knedlíky (and several other sauces with dumplings)
-knedlo zelo vepřo (together with svíčková heaviest food in our galaxy)
-ovocné knedlíky (various fillings)
-bramboráky
-utopenci and nakládaný hermelín
-česnečka soup
-bramboračka soup
-řízky (originally from Germany/Austria)
-guláš (originally from Hungary)
-langoš (originally from Hungary)
-koprová omáčka s knedlíkem (although almost no restaurant make it anymore...)
Funny thing is that you are talking about what annoys you about Prague, but then you really talk about how you are annoyed by the fact that US corporations are occupying local cultural heritage sites. But it goes even deeper, airbnb for example have skyrocketed the rent prices in Prague and other towns, making people's lives much worse over just few years of it being on the market. Also the local hotel businesses have suffered because of it. It slowly drains the economical surplus and exports it to US. I don't understand why there is so little pushback against it.
Bingo, aibnb kills the cities and local communities.
I remember 1989 people in then Czechoslovakia picked capitalism as a way to get to the Paradise.... Ther is an old joke how Paradise can easily turn to Hell. but I cannot write it here ... I don't want to be kicked out :))
@@vlastimiladamovsky7867 before the Russians took over them they were not communists...... they had one of the most advanced airforces in Europe and had they not been dissolved, would have been a power as powerful or more powerful than Germany
I had the best time of my life hiking across Europe with only a backpack.The weather was awesome and the countryfolk were legendary. The key was avoiding cities altogether. Great content keep it coming :)
First, the weather is like that only now. Two or three years back the summer was hot and dry. Several years went by like this before it finally started raining... non-stop one summer. Now it's still kinda rainy, but it's getting better. Winters used to be just FULL of snow. Honestly I don't really miss it. I hate snow. So judging the weather by this year only is kinda not fair. Though it is true that we have extreme summer and extreme winter. When it gets cold, it gets COLD. When it gets hot, it gets HOT.
Second... get out of Prague. It's a beautiful and old city, but it's ultra pricy. Just get out and keep going east, all the way to Ostrava. Quality is the same, prices are lower and there is so much more to see all over the country. Whole state is just dotted with castles, palaces, attractions and so much more. There's IQlandia in Liberec, when you're there, check out Ještěd mountain. There are castles like Karlštejn, Bouzov, Úsov, caves like Javořické Jeskyně, Punkevní Jeskyně (these are truly beautiful), or how about Hranická Propast, deepest chasm in Central Europe. Or how about bobsleigh tracks. There are few and all are worth it. My personal favorite is in Odry.
See our culture, check out just how rich it is. Prague is nice, but trust me when I say... it's just tip of the iceberg.
The weather sucks in czech republic. Yes, 20-30 years ago we usually had winters with snow but in Prague you don’t really miss that anyway. The worst thing is the lack of sunshine and that is just prevalent from october to april. I remember 2 years ago there wasn’t a single sunny day for around 50 days in a row in Prague. Otherwise Prague is one of the best cities to live for me!
Congratulations, you're already a totally typical Czech - just complaining about everything. But seriously, you've captured the problem of Prague's tourist centre very accurately. It's sad, but even covid hasn't changed it, just slowed it down
I really strongly disagree with your first sentence. He's definitely not that "complaining about everything" type of person - just the opposite: his opinions about living in Prague and CR are very positive and even flattering in general. See not only this video, but also his previous one. And that stereotype about "always complaining Czechs" - well, it depends in which social bubble you live and who you are...
@@ArepoEn So you failed the Czech humour exam. That's okay :-)
@@schink01 We have obviously different opinions about humor and just plain stupidity. That's okay, we can both live with that...
@@ArepoEn Yep, and now I know for sure, on which side of humor/stupidity we are standing :-D
@@daniellehotsky1776 Přijměme na chvíli, že Češi mezi národy excelují v ušlechtilém oboru všeobecného remcalství. Pak ovšem náš americký přítel zatím nemá šance nás porazit - viz jeho navazující předchozí video, kde nešetří chválou ČR a Prahy. To by všeobecně remcající Čech nikdy neudělal...
Proto jsem odporoval, když nejeden tuzemec jen na základě posledního (kritického) videa a s evidentní neznalostí onoho předchozího (pochvalného) již nominoval našeho amerického přítele na typického Čecha, remcajícího všude na všechno.
(Vyzradím ale tajnou informaci letitého cestovatele: ono v řadě jiných zemí se remcá velmi srovnatelně, jako tady. Francie, Itálie, Maďarsko, Polsko, Chorvatsko, Slovensko, ... dokonce ani Německo, VB a US už nejsou, co to bývalo... Koukněte třeba jen na ty antivaxerské protesty... Jak známo - The grass always seems to be greener on the other side of the fence...)
Most of the things you're complaining about are endemic in almost every city in the developed world. In Paisley, a town of around 75k, we have Starbucks, Costa, KFC, McDonalds etc. 7 miles away in Glasgow the equivalent of the Dlouha Trida area would be Sauchiehall Street. We even have trdelnik (we call it "chimney cake") albeit only when the Xmas markets roll into town. Edinburgh is festooned with tacky souvenir shops especially on and around the Royal Mile. We have a grey bin for general waste, blue for card and paper, green for plastic and bottles and brown for garden waste. Fortunately we aren't plagued with the constant construction that is prevalent in Prague and has been ongoing since my first visit to the city in 1994.
Edited to add...as for the weather, in the west of Scotland we have the 4 seasons in 1 day all year round!
You totally nailed it. Just months ago, I had a debate with fellow Czechs about the same. I used to be expat in US Chicago and visited Colorado many times, so it is super interesting for me that when people stop and observe things a little longer, they are gonna reach the same conclusion. The problem is that tourists dont see the trap industry and I could not expain how exactly this is bad for everyone. Maybe it served to open doors in 90s but it is not cool anymore.
There is upside to it. I have been living abroad for two years now and even when I came here first I could just smell tourist trap from mile away. I never went through the phase of being tourist here because Prague really teaches you what to look for.
i´m lovin your tour de Prague - i still live in Slovakia, but i´m in love with Prague and your walking through the streets & talking really interestingly is a way a i can be there, thank you for that, really BIG THANK YOU 🙏
Thank you so much for watching!
I am very used to this and don't like hot weather, so I like it here mostly since March to October. The problem is that in the period end of October - half of February fogs or inversions are very frequent. Way more than everywhere else around us (Germany, Poland, Austria). There are even some parts of Czechia where they have only few days of fogs. It is Ostravsko, Frýdlantský výběžek and then mountains, especially Šumava. The reason of this is most of the Czechia is like bowl. And you should know it is not the worst in Prague. In Podkušnohří, cities like Teplice or Most they have even more fogs.
I think to be a real czech it should be like "5 things I like about Czech republic" followed by "76 things that annoy the hell out of me living in Czech republic".
Recycling tip: To save space at home we only have three bins. One is for food trash, one is for plastic stuff and the last one is for paper, metal and glass.
Sticking your hand in a food trash or used plastic yoghurt cups when sorting the waste is disgusting and absolutely sucks. So it's better to just throw that stuff into separate bins right away.
But sticking the hand into a mix of paper boxes, wine bottles and deodorant cans? That ain't so terrible.
The origin of Trdelník is most likely a Slovak and Moravian (modern day Czech Republc) dish. Similar pastry is also famous in Hungary. It makes sense, as they all were a part of the Austrian-Hungarian empire. Trdelník has also been mentioned in Czech literature WAY before the rise of tourism in Prague. So it's not as black and white as Honest Guide makes it.
Trdelník is definitely a tourist trap, there is nothing Czech about it and is extremely overpriced... but if you don't buy it in Prague (or at least not in the most touristy places) the proce goes down significantly... and sometimes it's absolutely worth it because it just tastes good (I tried to make one at home... and it was terrible).
The main problem I have with Trdelník is that people buy it with tons of additional stuff like ice cream, toppings etc., take a picture for Instagram and throw it away... or eat only the ice cream and toppings but throw away the actual Trdelník.
I saw something similar with kebab too... people buy döner kebab, eat the filling and throw away the bread...
Trash: As you said, just separate everything at home. We have a house so we have everything in the kitchen but most people in flats have a small kitchen trash can for regular stuff and then separate bags for plastic, paper and glass in the hall or if possible in a large paper box (so it's not visible and you can just change those bags) in front of their door.
Constructions: It's sad but it's almost a meme at the same time... and it's funny, every single time, when someone mentions how "dangerous" constructions sites are here. For us it's more like: "If you're stupid enough to fall into huge an obvious hole, you probably shouldn't walk those streets at all..."
Weather: I can safely confirm, that "Prague weather" is definitely not everywhere. I lived in Prague for some time, before and after I lived in a smaller city where you have actual nature around and there is quite nice all year round.
Winter: :'DDDDD You got me with this one... "Winter" didn't last more than two weeks or month for at least 5 years (10 years would be probably more accurate)... I'm in my 20s but I remember when you had an actual winter and generally 4 distinct seasons... Now? Now you have scorching/rainy summer, then miserable weather till next summer and somewhere in that period of time, where used to be winter in the past, you had sometimes snow.
Yeah, I agree with your points. The lack of sunlight is annoying but it's mostly just in bigger cities and once you get up to the mountains, you can enjoy the real winter 😉
Hey, nice job, I am from the Czech and I find this video amazing.
These are just pure facts and I think it bothers a LOT of residents. A lot of people here are trying to make it better so I hope we see some improvements over time. And it is amazing, that you pointed some tourists traps, for which most of us are ashamed. I hope it will help some people not to get trapped.
Interesting video :) and about the weather I recalled a video in which a british guy says that the main reason why he's moved into Czechia because of the weather. I mean he said jokingly that his wife was the second, weather was the first.
They say the weather in the Czech Republic is as bad as in Britain
This is my second comment on your channel and again: I appreciate you way you think and speak about the topics like here “negative sides of Prague”. It’s not offensive but on point 👍
As someone who has lived in Prague their whole life, I completely agree with you, mainly on the issues linked to tourism and overall life in the city center. For anyone, who's considering visiting Prague - I can honestly assure you there won't be any Czech people and definitely no Czech girls in the Dlouhá street. However, it's not only because of the quality of the clubs and nightlife, but also due to the kind of tourists these places usually attract (groups of young men only looking for an excuse to drink and cause problems, bachelor parties etc.) If you'd rather have a drink with your friends or you're just not planning to get blackout drunk, I'd highly recommend befriending locals and not being afraid to leave the city center - Letná or Vinohrady are full of great bars, pubs and cafés, which are not only cheaper, but also have way more personality and style than tourist traps on Václavské náměstí or Staroměstské náměstí. :)
Finding locals to hang out with is always the best approach but it isn't always easy.
Just a great video, thanks! :) I can absolutely relate to all the things you said and especially the last point - the weather! I lived in Prague for 8 years and I was getting more and more depressed every year (especially in the autumn) so I decided to move to Greece :-D ... (plus the Greeks have only 1 bin for all the recycling stuff :-D)
I study in Prague so I was 5 years there but as a Greek guy never like the weather:)
Go to Iceland to see what a bad weather looks like. :D
5:00 that's actually not true. I worked for a company that runs all KFC, Starbucks and good chunk of Burger King stores in CZ for a few years (you can look it up, it's called AmRest), and I can assure you that every restaurant is closely evaluated on a lot of KPI's (the most important being sales and operational profit obviously) but also customer related ones (Speed of Service for example, online feedback is also being taken very seriously).
And to be honest, the stores seem better run here than almost anywhere else in the world, in terms of cleanliness, freshness etc. That's not to say bad things can't and do not happen, but generally I found the restaurants to be run very professionally with emphasis on customer experience.
It's been a few years back though, maybe things have changed.
Believe me that if a store "made zero money and people hate it", it would close down (or change) real fast.
Also with the exception of McDonald's in CZ, the franchisees don't choose the locations, the franchisors do (there used to be a joint venture with Starbucks as well, but it kinda dissolved I think).
I see your point, but, in an ideal world, I would love the city centre to be peppered with local, honest (no tourist traps, please) businesses. When I go abroad I just love the idea of immersing myself. I am very attracted to small food joints, with the nice old lady/gent serving the food s/he has prepared himself all the while chatting affably (or trying to, considering the language barrier).
Yep nobody will run a business at a loss for long. Also McD and KFC have a slightly different "feel" to Czech people - when their first restaurants opened after 1989, they were not considered a junk fast food, but almost a symbol of the new era and somewhat prestigious place to eat.
In the Czech Republic, American fast foods like McDonalds, KFC, Burger King are very dry because they put very little sauce, while in Ukraine, McDonald's has juicy burgers
Just wait till you have to go for a Visa at the Czech Foreign Police office.. The word "hate' will be one of many vocabularies youll likely express with great vitality
Ha,ha,ha yes I agree the famous East European red tape doesn't disappear easily neither after more than 30 years from communist regime there. It's a national heritage there!
I'm so glad that when I was in Prague it was right after the Berlin wall had come down and I got to see it before it was westernized and commercialized. I absolutely fell in love with it and the people.
I personally never really minded the fast-food chains being everywhere. As a kid, going to Prague was something akin to a holiday because we lived in a small village some 40 kilometers away. And ofc, as a kid you absolutely love all the nasty fast-food "food" that you get from places like that. So I just got so used to those places existing as a part of the city that I don't necessarily even notice them anymore. A very interesting thing to think about, I wonder if it's gonna start bothering me from now on lol.
But I agree, tourism has really changed parts of the town for the worse, especially with all the scams and tourist traps. This is also why I'm glad that channels like yours or Honest Guide exist. Thanks to the internet we can now have hundreds of people, be they tourists, natives, expats, and everything in-between talk about this stuff with each other. Where to go eat traditional meals for cheap, where to go so there aren't many tourists around, where to not go, etc. etc.
Also I never really thought about recycling being annoying. I know a lot of people that live in single room flats/apartments but still keep multiple bags for recycling. Just like how they bag your groceries for you in the states, it makes it more convenient for you but a lot more inconvenient for the worker. They have to hold up the line for longer to bag your stuff when there is no reason for you to not just bag it yourself as they're scanning the rest of the stuff for you. Same with recycling. You get mildly inconvenienced by keeping more bags for different types of trash or you sort it at the bin, but the time it saves the workers that have to go through the trash of everyone in the area isn't negligible. I do not want to call you selfish for finding something you are not used to annoying, but in the grand scheme of things, it's a simple exchange of a bit of your time to save a lot of time for someone else.
omg the weather! The whole video was spot on, but the weather description was the best I've ever heard :-D I always have to make at least two escapes to Spain, Portugal or somewhere else sunny during the endless Czech winter, otherwise I'd just lose my mind.
To be honest, this is the Prague I know and I've always known as I was born in Prague. With Starbucks, we kind of "adopted" this chain and we search for these places the same as you do. We love the Starbucks coffee and especially during autumn and winter. :D It became a part of life people living in this city, as well as Trdelník, which is not originally Czech bud though I like it, and I think is a part of modern culture in Prague and other Czech old cities. Dlouhá is mostly full of tourists but that's kind of normal in the city centre, the same I experience in London. On the other hand, as a Prague girl, I feel comfortable visiting these clubs as well as Náplavka, or Manifesto where I always find some friends I know. :-) Road construction is soo annoying! :D Usually enormous during summer time...
Starbucks is a morally bereft company. It’s a shame that Czechs don’t know that. I haven’t had a coffee from there in 5 years
You nailed the tourism problém! Even everything else! Those everlasting road/rail constructions are the worst and nobody even knows why they take so long all the time. About the lack of sunshine in ČR: I went to Estonia this summer and they have about 3 hours of daylight in winter, I was like holy shit... Never realized that the same thing annoys foreigners about our 7 hours of daylight in winter 😀
I share lots of points you mentioned about all these world-known brands and other touristy places that occupied the city center. Just wanted to share my perspective on this matter as a person who works in one of those businesses:)
All these brands are there not because they want to drag money out of the tourists' pockets, but primarily because local businesses and brands just simply can't afford to pay rents and taxes as high as you have to being a business which operates right in the historical city center. And because Starbucks, as a brand, can allow itself to pay these high rents, the company takes advantage of this. Most of the local businesses are not liquid and profitable enough to have a spot in the city center (not saying there aren't any, of course).
I work at Starbucks (yeah, that exact one right next to the McDonalds:)) and believe it or not, we have our amazing permanent Czech clientele, who were visiting us even during the pandemic and the strict lockdown. They were the ones, that kept us running. The ones that were there for us, when there were no tourists. The ones, that were and still visiting us because they want to feel special, they want to feel welcome, they want to have this Starbucks experience. They want to have something to look forward to, because they became a part of this culture. We know all our permanent clients very well - what they do, where they've been on the vacation, how many children they have, etc. So for us it's not just tourists. They, of course, play a big part in our business. And we're lucky enough to be in such a beautiful and historical part of Prague, it's a big privellege to work somewhere with a view like this.
And you're welcome to come and visit that Starbucks anytime:) Although, it is busier there nowadays, we still try hard to provide great customer experience to everybody:) Enjoyed watching your videos! Thank you for sharing your perspective:)
:( We used to have springs and autumns, as well as snow in winter... The climate has changed drastically in the last 20 years. :(. These superhot summers in the city are torture. Since we´re landlocked it is very dry...
True, in last years, we have only terrible hot, or terrible weather at all, rain or something. This year we had at least some snow, but that's rare in last years.
It think last years are actually better (except this spring). Summers are longer and warmer and winters are not so tough since it is mostly raining and above 0°C. But I live in the countryside in very old house with lot of trees around so I have probably different view on it.
@@frantiseknovotny2674 We are not talking about what feels better to you, we are talking about that 35°C and no freezing in winter is not historicaly normal for our country, so last 15 years are weird. It's definitely better have normal winter with snow and freezing than have mud and rain for 6 months and than terrible hot again.
@@frantiseknovotny2674 No, to jsou dvě roviny. Já osobně nemám ráda horko, snesu opravdu jen někde u vody, ať už je to moře nebo třeba potok... Někdo to má rád. Ano, ve městě jsou ty horka náročnější, než někde v přirodě. Druhá věc ovšem je, co to udělá s krajinou, tyto změny. Dívala jsem se na předpovědi klimatické změny pro Česko, je to dost tragické a troufnu si tvrdit, že ať už bude vláda jakákoliv, opatření, která by mohla pomoct budou malá a s křížkem po funuse. Půl roku prostě bude léto a nížinné oblasti se budou asi měnit hodně rychle.
A ty zimy? Nevím, sice mne nebaví odklízet sníh a ometat auto, ale zima se sněhem mi přišla příjemnější, méně nepříjemná, lezivá.
@@Pidalin Je to hrozný, viď? :(. "Zima"/léto. Nic víc. Vždycky když skončí zima a začne to hned první dny "smdět" horkama a létem, říkám si, proč já blbec se neodstěhovala někam na sever, kde se mi vždycky líbilo... A jak jsem psala jinde, tak ty předpovědi klimatické změny pro Česko jsou dost děsivé...
as a young american mom of 4 boys (my oldest is only 7) living also in prague i wanted to add something that is both my favorite and least favorite thing in czech republic as a whole. it occurs everywhere here city or village alike it is all over ( i have been all over and encountered this on a semi daily basis). I hate and love the commentary on how i raise my children that every grandma feels they need to share. for example my preschoolers are not wearing hats in winter and how they hope the children are mine and not someone elses children i am caring for because they are not wearing the hats that were on their head but after they "fell" to the ground for the millionth time i decided not to fight it back on my child. or how my children will get sick from shorts and tee shirt in 75 degree weather (we are from coastal oregon so this is warm enough for us). But i also love how when i am really struggling with my children getting on and off busses trains trams and the like (even stairs or escalators) its always a grandma that offers a helping hand. a month back when there was the regio jet hold up going out of prague we were stuck with a nice old lady and she simplified the czech over the speaker held my baby as we were getting all of our stuff off and on the train and she also helped me when my oldest son was motion sick for the 2nd time on the train and cleaned up his puke on the floor while i cleaned him up and she also asked another lady to help by holding my baby while i was cleaning him because this ofcourse had to happen the last 5 minutes of our trip :P So although i dont appreciate the constant commentary about how i choose to dress or speak to my children (I was scolding my 7 yr old he was 5 at the time but he is so small for his age he was about the size of a 3 yr old because he had run into traffic while i was getting the stroller off the bus and someone chose to stop me and tell me i couldnt talk to him like that he is too little.) I am always 1000% thankful for the kind ladies that come around and actually try to either help the situation that i will get told off by someone else for or get to know my kiddos. I hope that makes sense.
Yeah I get it might get annoying but I do not see it as a problem. I see it as we do care about ourselves more then it is usal to you... Anyways have a good one and enjoy CZ.
Hi, why do you to move from the US to the Czech Republic? I know that many people dream of moving to the US and say that the US is much better than the Czech Republic, I also thought about moving to the US, but I decided to stay in the Czech Republic because over the past 2 years the Czech Republic has seen the largest number of Ukrainians per capita, despite the fact that Europe and America were open to Ukrainians, but they chose the Czech Republic anyway.
Thank you for another thoughtful video :) As for the bins for recyclable material, I suggest buying bins, that can be stacked on top of each other, such as Ikea Sortera :) It saves a lot of space and time. I think you mostly need just three of them - one for paper, a second one for plastics, and the third one for glass.
Also, I'm kinda surprised that winter in Colorado is not as long, given its elevation. But I agree with the long, sunless winters in CZ, they can get pretty depressing. :/
And while I get your point regarding the big corporations, I can't say that I agree with all of it (as a local). For example you've mentioned the Starbucks stores on the Old Town's square - I have been to both several times and I cannot say the same for whatever they replaced. Because all of the restaurants there are basically tourists traps - "authentic czech food" for insane prices. However I know that Starbucks is reliable, I know I can count on getting a drink I know for more or less the same price (I think it costs 10CZK more vs. "regular starbucks" here.
If they had not been there, there would be no better alternative, just another run of the mill tourist trap.
This is an interesting perspective. Tourist traps are an unfortunate reality everywhere and it's hard to curb them.
Yes, that's a good point, I also prefer going to KFC in different country, than trying luck in some touristic restaurants. Fastfoods are overpriced here, but in other countries, it's mostly cheaper solution than normal restaurants.
TIL running a rsstaurant in the center = tourist trap. It is not this way at all. You will pretty much only find tourist traps at the most exposed tourist places like Old Town Square and few other places like that. Everywhere else is just fine
Also a nice thing is, that perticularly Starbucks tries to blend in quite good with their visual style. They even went as far to change the logo on some places - i know for sure they have done it on Malostranské náměstí. It's much better that the ever-present neon-flickering epilepsy-inducing thai massage eyesore. I can't believe there isn't a regulation on that, mainly on the Old Town square - it looks absolutely nasty and ruins the place. Just close that one already.
you should tray Czech coffee and then you will love Starbucks.
It's good to see a fellow American expat that is not a negative stereotype of an American expat.
To the weather.. this is an unfortunate effect of the changes whole planet is going through. Back in 90's I remember whole days of rain, slow, mild rain, it was very common to have them but they were also followed by days full of sun with mildly high temperatures that you could survive. I remember snow coming in late October, that's why we have St. Martin who comes on a white horse that should come around 11.11. In past ten years I don't remember snow as early as late december. The summers are now either scorching hot like in 2019 when there was no rain in Ostrava for months or rainy like in 2020 or strangly cold and fast like in 2021. I already feel like at the end of September, so called "Babi leto", which should be like the last beautiful days in nature that is already putting itself to sleep, is definitely here. You can hear it, everything is silent, no birds are singing, the sound is more thick. You as a musician whould definitely recognize it being outside Prague. This is NOT normal weather.
I know both the pre '89 and current Czech Republic fairly well but if you're looking for original czech / bohemian traditions (as well as moravian) you might find those somewhere in Nebraska where places have been founded by Czechs or in the South where they now like to do Cowboy stuff, lol.
So giant international companies don’t just set up shop wherever they want. They set up shop where they can make a profit. They don’t become giant by losing money just to have a presence. First time watching your video, and I appreciate what you do. Just want to give you a perspective from a small business owner who’s business is located in the Czech Republic.
here's a recycling tip for you. start recycling at home. separate stuff into different bags before you take them out
OR: don't buy a the shit that has to be thrown away... you live in Prague... go to "Bez oball" and just fill all your bottles or jars with whatever you need. No trash, no problem ;)
@@maringle902 sure, if all you eat is fucking beans and carrots..
About the recycling bins. The seperate bins (or just bags or boxes) for, plastic, paper and glass (+ carton, metal) don't have to take that much space and they don't really have to be right in the kitchen (in the kitchen you have just the non-recyclable bin for small everyday stuff). I understand that it can be frustrating to do it the way you do, but if I was in a small apartment I would just make the space for the seperate bins, even if I would have to step over them in my bedroom. It can be on the bottom of cabinet or few steps from the kitchen in some storage room (or in the hall way, etc.), as you don't really need them all the time. It is practically no extra work and we don't have to pay more taxes so that someone would do it for us (But it doesn't matter anyway, because they'll probably just burn it all, or get rid of it some other very "ecological" way). I believe that it at least teaches kids to think about their impact on nature. I always thought of it as the right way and I was quite annoyed when I was walking around Portsmouth in England with a plastic bottle that I wanted to get rid of and I couldn't find a single recycling bin for plastic and all I could think about was, how can we be so naive to think, that we can stop global warming or whatever, and make people care, if so many countries don't even properly recycle. It seams to me like the easiest and most basic thing and they can't even do that. I didn't know that someone does it for them later (if that is really the way it is). Maybe there is a reason why that way is better, I just don't know any.
But on another note I agree with most of what you say and it's interesting to hear your opinion and I like your understanding approach.
But he is right, it's annoying. I saw video from recycling company in the UK, they can separate almost everything by automatical proceses, in Czechia, when you put something not correct there, they will just burn it as not recyclable, that's really sad.
I live in Manchester and I'm recycling very heavily in my share house and I force any person separate waste to the right bins. Sadly you can see so many people ignore recycling and fill the bins with wrong waste which disgust me! This is the most positive thing in this country that you can't see piles of litters dumped anywhere like in the poor Manchester.
@@Pidalin In the UK the recycling companies and City Councils beg people properly separate waste as so many dirty lazy ignorant people don't bother use the right bin for waste. It makes immense problems recycling companies to use the very sophisticated machines to use them properly. People-residents should feel more mercy with recycling companies.
@@RichardHofman333 Recycling companies are on much better level in the UK than here, I saw some report from recycling plant in UK, it's almost everything done automaticaly, they can separate it even later and recycle, but here in Czechia, our "trash bussinesmen" want only fast money from city and when dead fly falls into plastic bin, they just sent it for burn because it's not separated correctly, that's really sad I think. People are not experts about materials, trash companies are, this should be their work! Why we have thousands of Ukrainian workers here? They should use them for such works when they are already here, they constantly say there are no people, but I see hordes of Ukrainians in front of every lodging house for workers, they are just liears, they don't want to pay people or invest to technology so people have to separate everything like some trash scientists.
This "trash nacism" went so far that they started removing recycling bins from street and pushed it directly into people's gardens becuase they think you will recycle better when it's in your land, that's maybe true, but those trash companies should work too, they think they just take it and sell to China, but they don't want it anymore. I saw interview with Czech owner of such company and I was really disgusted, I lost faith in some recycling in this country, he said that if there is something bad separated, they just burn whole bin.
Also, no recycling bins at streets = tourists will throw it to normal bin or just drop it on the ground, that's so stupid! And many people live in places which are not officialy living space and those people can't have recycling bins now, that's serious problem. Here in my city where they started with this strategy, it starts reminding me Japan, you eat or drink something at street and you are walking 2 km around and looking for dust bin, this is stupid, it was better before.
The worst thing is that I don't even know who to blame for that beucase government in my city consists of people from many political parties, there are right wingers, commies and even some local parties, I need some clear enemy omg! :-)
@@Pidalin
I have to very agree with you, I used to work in Sušice at one waste company at the beginning of 2000, and all about waste was on an extraordinarily primitive level there.
The only responsible people for all the mess around the waste industry in the country are coming out from the Czech government, County and City Councils who are the only ones setting up strategies and rules for waste disposal in their regions!
People should protest more against the unforgettable mess there as only that is the only right way for change.
I would not say there is no real Cannabis for sale anywhere in Prague.
když hledáš najdeš :D
The best thing is, that he was saying it while walking through Wenceslav's square. Well you don't even have to actively look for a bag there. It inevitably comes to you in Nigerian packaging (even if you don't want some). 🤣🤣
I am living in Czechia for more than 20 years , the number of things that annoy me are numerous. The number one thing is the bureaucracy that seems to be left over from the communist era. Yet life is good here and I acknowledge life isn't perfect anywhere.
12:35 If you come to Slovakia someday, you can try the original trdelník of Skalica (Skalický trdelník). It's been made in Skalica since the 18th century and it's registred as a protected geographical indication in the EU. It actually tastes good, smells like Christmas, but it's not supposed to be served with ice cream, fruit or chocolate as they do it in Prague for tourists and instagram likes. 🙂
exactly. I love trdelnik in Slovakia during jarmok or some special days for some cities.
I would love to try it in Slovakia. I don't mind our version, but wanna compare 😁
I definitely have annoyance with how tourist centered many cities in Europe have become. I can’t believe how many souvenir shops are everywhere in one place! Many things have changed.
Sometimes it feels like cities in Europe are bit by bit losing their nation’s identity just to please temporary visitors.
In the defence of trdelník. This type of sweet pastry originates in Transylvania. It would be logical to conclude that it simply doesnt belong here but if we delve deeper into the topic we will see that throughout the early modern period a lot of people from today's Romania moved to Moravian Beskydy mountains. These people were mostly Wallachians and they brought Trdelník with them and they used to prepare it during their festivals and celebrations. To noone's surprise Trdelník became so popular at the end of the last millenium that it was present at many cultural events in my home regions and these events were not visited by many foreign tourists. I loved trdelník at those events because it was a relatively affordable delicious sweet and it is a part of my childhood memories. I do not agree with the business that surounds trdelník now but even to this day you can find affordable trdelník at small regional events and in some bakeries around the country.
I agree with everything you said. the neon lights, the never ending construction everywhere, the weather... Also, everyone in the centre seems to try to con you and scam you... Most of the businesses in the Prague centre are not run by Czechs and are not for Czechs.
I've been coming to Prague for the past 12 years, twice a year- except this year because of covi. You make some good points, but Prague is a fun, edgy city still. It reminds me of how St. Petersburg was before it basically became London. I like Steampunk and Hangar Bar, but I have friends who work there, so it's a bit different when I go there to hang out with a bartender friend, than just going there as a tourist. Same with Duplex and Fashion Club, Blondies and Anonymous Bar. Inevitably when I'm hanging out with friends in Prague we go to these types of bars- based on who is working or who they know who is working. It's a bit different when you pay something like 200 czk to drink all night, when a tourist would pay 200 czk for 1 drink. When I'm on my own, I like Konvikt Bar, where you won't find tourists. Even now I still like to hang out on the terrace of Adele at Hotel King's Court on Namesti Republiky. The beer is expensive, but I like the square and people watching. Trednik- I love them- same as the Wenceslas dogs and fried cheese sandwiches you used to be able to get early in the morning. Granted, I wouldn't eat them sober, but at 5 AM after a night out, they are good...
The only thing I can agree with is the crazy public space repairs. Couple years ago they were repairing an exit from Karlovo Namesti metro station, and they closed it FOR A WHOLE YEAR.
The recycling is relatively easy to deal with, when you separate already at home. 3-4 small bags for special items doesnt take up a lot of space. Then you probably have a single dominant recyclables bin anyway, usually thats plastics.
When I was a child, I was asked to separate not just all plastics, but several different types of plastic materials. I knew at a glance which plastic cup belogs to the PP, PE, HDPE, PS, etc bins. We would even have different bins for different colors of pet bottles.... So now as an adult I get irrationally annoyed when people cant be bothered to even put the plastics into plastics and they throw everything in one big bag into whichever bin is the closest because "someone will deal with that". There is a whole bunch of non-recyclable stuff in there as a result, nobody cares to even know that. (I am not saying this in reference to the US system, I have no idea how efficient it is there) Then, ca 60% of the separated mass gets shredded and burned anyway. And of the rest, still the slight majority is not actually being recycled, or at least not in europe.
I am left with the impression that unless a real commercial solution is found, this government system of recycling is better at making us believe trash disposal is solved, then it is at solving it. It should probably be somehow completely redesigned to be more user friendly and rewarding. Perhaps gamified or something...
In some countries they do exactly that with high value materials such as aluminium. You can win prizes, small and from time to time big.
The weather here has really changed during the past 20 years from what I’ve experienced . I remember winters with like 5 meters of snow but mild springs and autumns and the heatwaves in summer weren’t so intense either.. its all probably because of global warming but the weather seems to be really going off the hooks.. you can have freezing temperatures in like early may and hot days in late october? Thats wild. But it has been the reality the past few years.
I think all those KFC and McDonald's are franchises, so it's not true they don't have to make profit. Quite the opposite, they have to make enough profit to pay for the franchise as well as earn for the owner. :)
Like what even is below average regarding the weather? Weather is different in different places, this is how this planet works.
Well, I live in Phoenix, Arizona and the summers here are brutal. So summers are not nice everywhere ha! I love Prague, never lived there just visited a couple of times. But no place is perfect, great videos man.
I know that many people dream of moving to the US and say that the US is much better than the Czech Republic, I also thought about moving to the US, but I decided to stay in the Czech Republic because over the past 2 years the Czech Republic has seen the largest number of Ukrainians per capita, despite the fact that Europe and America were open to Ukrainians, but they chose the Czech Republic anyway.
Ever thought about doing a podcast, since your videos are mostly just plan talking to the camera while wandering in Prague?
I regularly have your videos in the background just listening to them. Therefore i think your podcasts would be great to listen to :)
I like seeing his beautiful face and beautiful Prague :D
As a Czech, all that flashy, neon, fast-food, overcrowded and overpriced aspects of Prague are something that I associate with the capital and one of the reasons people go there, it is sort-of-a-window into the larger world :) And of course we all went to McDonald when we were there during a school trip. BTW Trdelník is delicious, but I associate it with Christmas markets, I wouldn't eat it anywhere else. Try some!
Where do you go, as an American when you really do want the Czech authentic experience?
@@613pics Depends on what you mean by that. Prague is one of the authentic Czech experiences, I guess. There are (ex-)coal mining towns in the north with lots of communist influence. Or the south where I was born, with more agrarian traditions and an interesting south Bohemian/Bavarian/Austrian blend of cultures. Or you can just go to a random village pub (watch some André Traveler for that). What would be an authentic American experience, the Times Square, a Montana farm, the Savannah historical centre, Detroit's slums?
@@fantasy9917 Very good point, about the authentic experience. Looking at Czech by regions is a good idea. I'll pop around and explore. Thanks! And don't forget when coming to Los Angeles to check out Highland Park and Pasadena
@@613pics If it is lifestyle you're after, there's of course also a variety depending on age, education etc., but I'd say the most stereotypical activities include pubs with pork and beer, watching sports, hiking, visiting castles (possibly with reenactors), rafting, having dogs... Dark humor, and general negativism, scepticism and "can't do because" mindset are also hallmarks. Oh, and atheism (unless you're in South Moravia) tends to surprise Americans :)
Have you been to the Letná area? Its not necessarily a night life area but there is a lot of coffee shops and beer gardens. A lot of the art students and arty people live and hang out there and its honestly my favourite place. You can take your laptop to one of the coffeeshops and work there and most of them are dog friendly too.
I haven't spent much time there but I'll check it out. Thanks for the recommendation!
Thanks for this. Heartfelt and to the point. I've got a series coming up called Tourism and Reality, which deals with the warped vision of the world created by tourism. To me the goal is to at least be a traveler and at best burrow into the culture that one is visiting. I will have one episode on Prague. I have seen it completely mutate over the years. You are actually fortunate to be there now, while it is still quieter.
Great video man. We are considering moving to Europe from the US and Prague is on our list of cities to check out. Even though I have not yet been to Prague, I echo your sentiment regarding these corporate stores just taking over everywhere. Pretty soon Starbucks will be pushing out local cafes in Italy pedaling their crappy espresso over traditional Italian espresso. And even if they did serve good coffees, the lifeblood of the local culture runs through small locally owned & operated businesses. It also creates wealth distribution. Now 100 people can own coffee shops across 50 towns instead of just being a barista at a Starbucks chain location. It's terrible.
Hi, why do you want to move from the US to the Czech Republic? I know that many people dream of moving to the US and say that the US is much better than the Czech Republic, I also thought about moving to the US, but I decided to stay in the Czech Republic because over the past 2 years the Czech Republic has seen the largest number of Ukrainians per capita, despite the fact that Europe and America were open to Ukrainians, but they chose the Czech Republic anyway.
@@m1kus960 Prague was one of the cities we were considering, because of the city and diversity it's an easier place to move for foreigners, and it is beautiful. We reconsidered Prague because of it's closeness to Ukraine and Russian war. Maybe we will consider Prague again once we see what happens with Russia. We were thinking about other places in Europe as well. The reasons we were moving out of the US were cost of living (I realize this is a problem in places in Europe as well), culture, politics, and we want to experience other places more than just visiting as a tourist.
@@donovanhays They say that the United States is the cheapest country in terms of prices/salaries, that it has the best purchasing power, which means that you can save a lot of money from your salary after all the monthly expenses
@@donovanhays And yet, they also say that the US has the cheapest real estate prices relative to wages
@@m1kus960 the US is so huge it's easy to make statistics say different things. 90% of the US is considered "the middle of nowhere" and the housing prices are probably very cheap in those areas. Unless you work remotely there's no jobs and there's often not much to do in those areas. I live in Denver, CO and here average "household income" is around $112,000 a year. This seems like a decent amount but if you look up a mortgage calculator you'll find that reasonably this income could afford you a $500,000 house, but many will need to look for houses cheaper than that due to credit and lack of sizeable down payment. You can get on any real estate app and look at what 3 bedroom 2 bathroom homes are going for in Denver and you aren't going to find one for that amount that is reasonable close to Denver. If you do find one, be sure to research the neighborhood and you'll find that the $500,000 house you thought was a good value is in a neighborhood where your neighbors paid $80k for their house and there is crime around. This is because they are banking on these neighborhoods being "gentrified" and you are just buying into a neighborhood that is going to take years for it to feel safe to walk around in and you are part of the problem kicking those people that rent in those areas out because they will no longer be able to afford to live there. Therefor just creating the same problem for other people and pushing the problem further out so that the school teachers, nurses, mechanics and others can no longer afford to live where they work. You can also find home prices from previous sales here and it's very common right now to find a house that someone is asking $800,000 for and 10 years ago they bought it for $350,000. I'm all for people investing in their homes but salaries have not increased in this area by more than double in 10 years. You'll also find where they bought the house for $500,000 4 years ago and now they are trying to sell it for a million.
We did a tour of basements where the street level used to be before they raised it. The guide said that no one lives above the shops and it would be too loud anyway, and that Russian businessmen would buy the buildings for the shop space and no one actually lives there.
Thank you for another nice video, always so gentle and well articulated. As for those problems with too many tourists, life is much easier her in Brno and other smaller cities in CR. And concerning weather, all four seasons are typically (much) nicer in countryside than in a city like Prague. Well, this latest covid year was rather gloomy and atypical anyway...
I'm sorry guys but living in New Zealand for ten years I was soooo looking forward to come back home and experience the four seasons weather. The first year it was just like I remembered it from my childhood, the second year it was strange, the third year even strsnger and it goes down from there.... just the last year the year.of 2020 was sort of normal.... spring wet and green, summer wet and hot, autumn colourful and cold and winter freezing white.... what seems to be the problem?
Friday nights are great on Stodolni in our beloved Ostrava. especially in the summer when the weather is nice
Was in Prague 2 years ago and after passing by the stands many times we finally tried trdelnik. They were delicious but messy. Next time I would order the trdelnik with no filling. Did you see Honest Guide's video of when he and Honza made trdelnik at home? It was hilarious! And I loved seeing photos of people around the world who then made trdelnik using the recipe that Janek provided in his video.
No locals eat trdelnik here. It’s just a tourist trap. There is nothing traditionally czech about it, most people outside of Prague never heard of it.
@@YellowKing1986 Actually, the Trdelnik is a slovak thing, the Skalicky Trdelnik even has a protected geografical indication from EU as first out of the official slovak dishes :) however somehow people in Czech republic managed to fill up Prague (and also Brno) with "Trdlo" and used filling, which for me as a Slovak looks horrendous :D
@@YellowKing1986 I eat and I like it O_O
@@jakubblaha4904 What I said was and exagerration of course.
Just stumbled upon this video and I have to say you did a great job. As a Czech person, i pretty much agree with you on everything you said. I'm definitely subscribing!
Kudos for the video, you have a very solid point here.
From my experience (as an Italian expat that lived in CZ for 6 years) I can tell you that if you really want to experience the real Czech life, you must start to explore allso other regions like Moravia for example. I lived in Brno for 6 years and I can guarantee you that I really enjoyed it and had a real life there. Always hanging with locals and other expats in pubs (where I even learnt how to play chess), restaurants, home parties and always far from the touristic places. Prague, as capital, is just for tourists and this goes for every other countries. Life in Brno is fun and genuine, trust me.
Thanks for another awesome video. Regarding the souvenir shops, they are mostly run by Russian and Asian "entrepreneurs" for money laundering purposes and their selection of products have indeed nothing to do with the Czech culture or Czech Republic in general but their own culture such as Russian Babushkas, Russian hats, or plastic crap from China. But the Czech Republic is a free society and whoever has money can open a Czech unrelated shop in the middle of Prague. Tourists should avoid them completely. Dlouha Street used to have one good club called ROXY in my years when I was living in Prague between 1999 -2004. Also I would recommend U Sudu and Cross club, there were also some good bars and clubs in Zizkov district. The weather is still better than in most of Western Europe, especially the UK, northern France, Northern Germany and so on. I mean any land north of the Alps will have this kind of weather, but the further east and south you go the better it gets. Southern Moravia and Brno have a much better climate than Prague for sure as these are the warmest parts of the Czech Republic. Winter in Europe is sad and grey almost in all of Europe but last winter 2000-2001 was exceptionally long.
Regarding the recycling, in Germany it's much worse. You must separate every single item, put them in separate bins and when they are full take them to a recyclation hub called Werkstoffhof where you have to separate them even further. Plastic waste according to their code, glass according to its color, etc because not all items will be taken by the garbage truck. Only Bio, paper and general waste and they really check the bins for waste that should not be there and they will not empty your bin if there's something that is not suppose to be there and even give you a warning. Madness.
Trdelník is a traditional thing - even though it's a protected Slovak brand (Skalický trdelník) - but the Czech and Slovak cuisine is 99% the same, we eat the same foods, I think they cal it "Trdlo" in Prague, not trdelník, but it's the same thing and it's really delicious.
Concerning waste separation - IKEA sells these stackable plastic containers of various sizes for separating waste even with pictograms on them, they really don't take up so much space, I have like 40x50cm ones.
And the weather is much warmer than it used to be, I remember when I was little 20 years ago snow was everywhere for months, now it snows once or twice a winter and the rest is rain. Temperatures don't even stay below 0C for more than a few days. And obviously, it's freaking hot in the city in summer, concrete and stone everywhere.
Maybe I'm just weird, but sometimes I really do enjoy going to tourist places in my own city and "exploring" it as a tourist, one tends to ignore all the beauty around when living somewhere and takes it all for granted.
Trdelnin originates from Transylvania part of Hungarian speaking area. It is called "Kürtős kalács" (Chimeny cake) .....nothing traditional in Czech , but it does not taste that awful
come to standard café sometime, as you said you struggle with finding the “prague night-time” , its near the national theatre, the general area of Narodni Trida is very busy during the night-time, other examples may be Kyjevská or Dejvice
You mentioned "Gigs and rehearsals" at the beginning of your video. Are you also a working musician over there? That's really cool!
You are basically saying that the good authentic places (cafes, bars, clubs) are well shielded from tourists. I find this a really good thing.
I know there are well hidden night life gems, some bars don't even have any signs, so if you don't you will not find the place... Where are they you ask.....I will not tell :)
When I eat at a restaurant in the Czech republic, I go to a restaurant that has no word written in english so I am sure that it is food for local people.
Thank you for talking about this! I really hate the Thai massages in the center of Prague, it completely kills the beautiful architecture for me. I'm always sad to see it. The center can also be quite dangerous, I can't count the number of times when were on a walk with some friends and some shady dude tried to lure us into making p**n, tried getting our numbers, photos, lure into cars etc. Always be careful!! Even if you're a dude, be cautious.
Making porn???!!! That's exactly what Prague is famous for worldwide!
Hi,I like your videos.I must agree with you on many things you are describing.ANd as you many times compare USA and Czech I agree on thatw ith you as well. I was living in USA for 12,5 years so I can compare it with what you are saying.You should also come to Brno in South Moravia region. You will find that Brno has much more to offer than Prague.Also prices are affordable for hotels,bars,restaurants etc. Also not to many tourists is here. Weather is also bit better You also speak very good czech and how you pronounce it.I am looking forward to see more of your vlogs
12:40 While technicly correct that there is nothing czech about trdelnik.
But it is a signiture dish of czech-slovak border region, so it is kinda connected to czechs aswell. Or i should say, moravia-slovak border.
I am from Moravia and I have never ever as a kid seen or heared anything about trdelnik. I havent even tased it as a child. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't like this either.
i had this video on my watchlist few days but i found some time finally today and i was in right mood to watch it. very good video, i can agree with you. it looks still too much positive dude :-) as for as wheather i quite like it in general, but there are some changes. as for as "light days" it went steeply down few years ago. imho chemtrails are real and something like this is part of problem. these so called (in newspeak) "soft sunshine" days suck. it is like be indoor but you are not, but sun is some kind hidden or filtered. i am quite tired after demanding shift so i don't want to be too philosofical but i would say with buddha, there are some problems which you can solve, there are some which you have to tolerate and there are some which you should avoid (e.g. water buffaloo :-) through struggles you build strong body, mind and character. yeah, those struggles and life in obscurity it is what gives your life and deeds that uniqueness :-) last sentence was attempt to paraphrase keanu reeves in banger "Always be my maybe" which i strongly recommend to all, unless you have problems with romantic comedies :-) and i am ending with amazing song from that movie, which is great and has some connection to keanu reeves too: ua-cam.com/video/39afwW8fp3w/v-deo.html
Yeah the weather is shit, Czechia has one of the lowest number of sunny days in Europe (even lower than some southern parts of Finland lol). I guess it's because of the hills, the 'bowl like shape' of the country, idk I am not a meteorologist...
You mentioned the Starbucks on the Old town square... I don't want to defend a corporation like this, however it's still better than the outrageous scam of an exchange office that used to be there. Small steps in the right direction are steps too :)
And the recycling part kinda surprised me... I've never seen anyone, and I mean anyone with whatever background or flat size, throw everything into one bag and then separate it at the containers... But hey, if it works it works, I am not here to judge 😅
Anyway great video as always, I like listening to you when I am at work, instead of podcasts.
"Yeah the weather is shit, Czechia has one of the lowest number of sunny days..."
So the weather is amazing.
@@Stashix I mean I like it too now HOWEVER as mentioned in the video, some people don't take cloudy weather well. Especially if they are not used to it. That's just a fact. Vitamin D deficiency, seasonal depression, both can be caused by having not enough sun. And that's no fun if you ask me.
And btw sunny doesn't automatically mean it's hot, sun can shine and temperature can still be reasonable or low even. Take the Finland example I used before. ;) Ngl when I lived in the Netherlands I got used to sunny days pretty quickly. Going back here was like a cold shower lol, I think people don't realise it how gloomy our weather actually is until they live for some time abroad.
@@Stashix Exactly! The less sun, the better!!! I could use even less sun. Not kidding. :D
The same recycling you describe I do in California, several different bags gaping in my kitchen :-) not in the Bay Area but inland. Everything you describe I was annoyed with while living in Prague myself, especially with the “legal” criminality, ripping off of tourists, prostitution, full stores of souveniers made who knows where but certainly not in the Czech Republic. It is a free country that did not yet realize they can regulate certain businesses but they let the weed grow with the grain. I enjoy your movies very much and respect your bravery to keep living there.
Good points. But having lived in Thailand for 24 years, most of the Food companies there are actually frachised. Even 7-eleven is a franchise. So you can see 2 7-elevenas almost next to each oter bit owned buy different people. Do you know if all of the brands you have mentioned are franchised in Czech Republic?
Im a young czech person living in Prague and i love having McDonalds everywhere! :D
Yes, it's a good food when you don't have teeth any more.
Highway in front of national museum is more annoying than McDonnalds for me. I think we need things like McDonnalds or KFC becuase there was nothing like that before, sometimes you just need to grab some food and go and there is literally no other possibility than those international fastfood chains. But honestly, I don't like McDonnalds, there is no much things I like, but I like KFC. KFC saved me many times on other countries when you need just something to eat what you know. Trying new cousin is nice, but sometimes you are just hungry, you don't want to spend time and money by testing something what you even don't know you will eat that. I understand why tourists here are going to KFC or McDonnalds, beucase our cousin is full of weird sour things, everything is drowned in vinegar or saurkraut and when you don't like these 2 things, you will die by hunger here.
Important is that there are still many local places, you don't have to visit McD when you don't want to, there is some local restaurant or pub litereally on every corner.
With starbucks and other coffee chains, that's vice versa situation, there are so many possibilities that I don't understand why would someone go to starbucks.
Yes, those black guys who are trying to push you into some club are very annoying, but I think they can recognize you are local so they don't bother you then.
There are still nice Czech things in center, you can find them if you want, you don't have to visit cinemacity, you can go to local historical cinema, but you have to be looking for such places.
But generaly, historical center of Prague is annoying place, I you want nice day wihout all those annoying things, better stay in other parts of city like Vršovice or Holešovice and others.
Souvenir shops are actually better looking than few years ago when they selled mostly some weird Russian stuff, today it's little better.
Exactly, when I saw the scene, I thiught he is going to talk about the "highway".
Also I buy trdelnik sometimes myself.
Peace
Those engraved/painted plates are really old thing, just as various printed wine/beer glasses. I remember that we had one or two in pile of old things from my great grandmother ant that thing would now be some 80 years or more old. But I would even guess that painted(engraved) plates and glasses are no more traditional side of souvenirs.
If you want to get real Czech candy, you should look for Pedro shop or you can buy them in almost every shop or supermarket.
I think that American recycling system is inefficient. Our should in theory works that you will not mix those things together in the first place, you can even buy small paper-glass-plasics bins for you home and do it at home. For example at home we have paper box for paper, bag for plastics (we often use some plastic one that something was wrapped in, like, IDK, you buy clothes online and they came in large plastic bag, or we use large bag from dog food...) and glass is usually disposed immediately (broken glasses) or just waits few weeks (bottles) until we have few more. And then when there is enough of this waste, somebody at our home will take it to the recycling. That way it is a lot quicker. You just grab whole pile and dump it into correct container. (I Hope this will help you)
There is article (sadly in Czech ,but with pictures) that can help you wit your recycling issue www.samosebou.cz/2019/04/10/5-tipu-na-nadoby-a-kose-pro-trideni-odpadu-doma/
About the construction, you know, one week power company needs to replace wire, when they finish, then somebody needs to put optical fiber there, then gas mains have to be replaced because they remember Franz Joseph I as young man, then the water pipe breaks because soil just moved after all that digging and in the end... in the end somebody will clog sower with fatberg so it have to be replaced... :D
Great video and as someone who has noted the same thing with major cities all around the world increasingly being dominated by the same multinationals, I completely agree with your take. We are losing what makes each city unique and special.
I first was there in the 90s just after the fall of the wall. In those days it was gangster heaven . I've been there many times over the years and seen it grow wealthy and safe. New cars everywhere. I imagine the people may be grateful for the difference
I think that your opinion on wheater and construction are influenced that you grew up in Colorado Springs.It is true that wheater in Colorado is mostly nice with low humidity but 2/3 of the Colorado are mountain where winter starts in mid September and can be still snowing in June. It is true than in Prague wheater sucks from end of October till mid March.... And the constructions are terrible here but from my experience is Chicago or even Denver the same.....😉
You nailed it- American corporations globalizing the world! I was in China in the forbidden city and there was a Starbucks. It was the most revolting thing I had ever seen. I would much rather spend my money on a local business. Or spend my money on a product made by an actual Czech, or art or something local.
Great advice
I absolutely HATE souvenir shops in Prague...They are literally on every corner and not even selling things typical for us but rather you will find the Russian "Matrjoška" ....like why? :D
I am probably one of very few people who really like Trdelník. Always liked to have it at any event that was going on around where I went with my parents as a kid. Its not that expensive outside of Prague, I think I was buying one in Budějovice for like 50 crowns. I also like to add nutella cause I love milky chocolate lol
I am glad to see that you as an American can see the beauty of Praha and you are right these businesses should not be on the main streets they should be somewhere like the Palladium
Thank you for your tips! Planning to retire in Prague soon!❣️ I'm so excited! I live in Colorado.
My family has 3 bis - general waste, paper and plastic. By the time we fill these three we do not have that much glass or metal. And a tip - if you have metal like a can from beer, you can throw it into plastics (plastics get sorted father more later 😉)
Theres also a huge Airbnb problem connected to the general real estate situation and hugely inflated prices of real estate .. im not even talking about hotels going out of bussiness or anything like that. People (often foreigners) buy real estate and dont rent it to locals long term but to foreigners short term in order to maximize profit. During covid lockdown it was revealed just how much real estate was suddenly available for rent for a semi-long period (obviously until tourists flooded the city again) so the owners dont lose money for owning empty real estate.
no omg you TOTALLY have to try a trdelník. We actually get it too sometimes, it´s honestly really tasty. But get one for like 50-70 crowns, more expensive ones are just a waste of money.
PRG downtown become tourist zoo.
Locals stay mostly out of the downtown for reasons you described.
Almost no people lives in the center due to tourists - many housing has been changed from apartments to Air B&B, hotels or are simply empty.
I do remember being on a high school in city center. We had a place to go for a luch - normal pub. Once we had friends from abroad and went there - it changed. It become tourist trap.
I already moved from my hometown.
Nemám problém s Americkými nadnárodnými reťazcami, napríklad v Hard Rock Cafe sme boli obslúžení rýchlo, s úsmevom a na Pražské pomery primerane draho, v českej reštaurácii pri staromestskom námestí nás Slovákov absolútne ignorovali
About the Trdelník. I don´t really understand the hate it gets (maybe its overpriced, yes) but its something I always had as a kid when we took a trip with my parents, to a castle for example, so in my view it was always part of our culture. Originaly its from Hungary I guess, but so is guláš, and that is often recommended to tourists as a czech meal, or řízek, which is very czech but originaly its austrian meal. Now here in Brno there is this czech Trdlokafé chain serving trdelník and its locals who buy it.
Let me guess - you are still pretty young, right? When I was a kid, there were no trdelník stands and most people would not even know what trdelník was. And I think that is where the hate comes from (at least for me) - the fakeness of pretending it is something traditional or typically Czech to get more money out of tourists. A few more years and even Czechs will believe it is traditional.
@@honzabe its 15 years since I took trips I mentioned before. It did not feel fake on castles and pools in rural areas that were frequented by locals only
I've been living in the Czech Republic for almost 20 years now and I agree with almost everything you said in the video, but I have a problem with the title of the video, because in my opinion it should have been something like "5 things that annoy me about living in a European city." Sorry if it sounds like I'm nitpicking, but almost everything you mentioned in the video could be said about Vienna, Amsterdam, Bratislava, Budapest, etc. This is the first time I've watched any of your videos. I've subscribed and I am looking forward to watching more of your content. If you ever find yourself in Nymburk, let me know and we can get a couple beers somewhere and have a chat and I can show you around the area. All the best in your endeavors! Take care!
The only reason why souvenir shops survive in Prague must be that they are a front for money laundering. I can't imagine a shop selling enough of that garbage, no matter how overpriced, and turn a profit. The owners are also the usual suspects when it comes to illicit activities.
Trdelník is actually quite delicious. I was enjoying it outside of Prague long before it became overpriced tourist kitch in Prague center and they started putting nutella and ice cream and smarties inside it. If you ever see it outside of the context for reasonable price you should try it.