Erasmus in Czechia

General Information Czechia (Czech Republic) is a democratic state situated in heart of Europe whose head is a president,

named Miloš Zeman. In numbers, the population is about 10,5 million inhabitants and unemployment

rate is one of the lowest between developed countries (about 4 %) and it’s still decreasing. Official

language is Czech and currency is a Czech crown (in Czech language ‘koruna’). In July 2017, the

exchange rates are like this: 1 TRY = 6,48 CZK, 1 EUR = 26,13 CZK. Czech language sounds

harshly, some people say it’s similar to Russian language, but that is just a first impression. Czech

people are friendly and very hospitable. Although it’s hard to find older people who speak English,

most of younger people (especially students) speak English so there will always be somebody who

will help you if needed.

Location and Its Advantages As you can see in the map, the location of Czechia is perfect for travelling to other European

countries. For example you can reach Wien, the capital city of Austria in less than 3 hours by regular

buses going from Brno. There are many companies which provide transportation all around Czechia

and some of them also to abroad for really good prices if you buy the ticket in advance. For example:

StudentAgency.eu (regular connections between Prague, Brno, Wien, etc.), Eurolines.com,

Flixbus.com or Czech railway named České dráhy.

Territory Of Czechia and Transportation Territory of Czechia is divided to so-called regions. In the map you can see all the regions and the

biggest cities of each region.

Transportation around each city is very nice and departures are mostly punctual. You can download

some applications to your phone so all necessary info as a departures, delays or changes will be all the

time with you. The webpages in English of transportation around each city are linked down below.

There are buses, trolley buses, trams (in Brno called šalina), only in Prague there is also a metro. In

most of bigger cities you are able to buy a student transportation card for 3 months (around Brno for

685 CZK and around Prague for 720 CZK) or 5 months (only around Prague for 1 200 CZK). For

getting the card you have to come to offıce of transportation in each city or to railway station with

your picture and confirmation from your Czech university that you are their student (ISIC card).

There is one unique thing in Czechia. In most of bigger cities all around the world there is no

transportation in the night, but in the biggest cities of Czechia there are night buses going every hour

after midnight from the centre to other parts of the city. This is making the night life so easy.

Czech culture and life in Czechia Czech culture is very different than a Turkish culture. If we begin with religious differences, most of

the people are either atheists or Christians. There is no any mosque, but churches. People usually go to

mass on Friday and Sunday.

Most of the Czech people are educated. One of the reasons can be the fact that we are much smaller

than Turkey (approximately 10,5 million inhabitants), so there is no space for big differences between

Czech people. They are warm, but not as much as Mediterranean nationalities. If you ask someone for

help, they will help you. On the other hand, there is no any unsolicited attention from anybody when

you walk on the street in big cities, people free, open minded and they care mostly about their own

business, not others. They are curious, but in a nice way. If they see you are a foreigner, they will get

excited and ask you where you are from etc. There is one bad and typical Czech attribute. Czech

people like complaining about everything but if there is an opportunity to change something what they

don’t like, they don’t do anything to realise the change.

There is also a big difference in family relationships. Czech people aren’t close that much with their

farther relatives and the decisions of young people (older than 18 years old) don’t depend to parents

opinions that much. When you reach 18-20, parent’s position mostly changes. Up to 18yo you have to

respect everything that your parents say. After reaching 18-20, when you are starting to be

independent of your parents (earning your own money, moving to other city for studies, etc.), parents

see that you are able to take care of yourself, so they believe you know what is the best for you, they

start respecting your decisions and they are just supporting you in everything what you do. Of course

they tell also their opinion, but just as an advice, it is up to you how the final decision will be. There is

one motto which fits with Czech thinking style: Only you know what is the best for you and what

makes you happy.

As for social life in Czechia, most of young people (especially students) usually go to pubs where also

meal is served, instead of restaurants. If we talk about restaurants in Czechia, it means some formal

and quiet place. If young people go out in the evening, they mostly go to some pub which works like a

restaurant as well to drink some beer which costs about 1,2 EUR and then they also have a dinner

there.

The prices of food in markets or in restaurants are in general higher than in Turkey. For example price

of bread is about 1,1 EUR, of pizza in Italian restaurant is about 6 EUR. Water in restaurant is for

about 1,2 EUR, in market for 0,4 EUR/0,5l. Also the quality of vegetables and fruits isn’t too much

good especially in winter, because they are imported from other countries. Students have an option to

eat in special restaurants called Menza. You can mostly choose from five different meals which

contain soup and main dish and the average price is about 1,4-1,9 EUR. There is always option to buy

something more like a salad or dessert. You will pay with you ISIC card where you have to insert

money at Mensa’s cashier.

The average of accommodation prices is around 120 EUR per month. It depends on the location and

also if you live at dormitory or private flat. As for location, bigger city you live in, higher the prices

are. In the past, there was quite a big price difference between living at dormitory and flat.

Nowadays the price for dormitory is increasing every year so there isn’t as big difference as in the

past. Standard room at dormitory is for 2 or 3 people. If you prefer, you can live also alone, but the

price will be higher. Standard room contains bed, desk, chair, wardrobe and shelf. Kitchen is mostly

shared with other rooms on the floor and toilet and bathroom depends on each dormitory. There aren’t

any rules about coming back in the night and boys and girls can live in the same building.

Every university is offering their dormitory even for Erasmus students. It’s one of the easiest way how

the foreign students can make a new friends. Links to some dormitories are linked down below.

When you travel around Czechia or also to abroad, it is better to avoid staying at the hotel because it is

expensive. There is a very cheap option where to stay if you aren’t demanding. The option is called

hostel. It works similar to hotel, but the difference is that the rooms are shared with many people or

very small (just bed and wardrobe). Prices are changing a lot every day so you have to be checking it

regularly. There are many nice hostels around Prague which are near to centre.

Czech Cuisine Czech cuisine is really excellent but also hard for preparation (requires hours of cooking) and heavy

for stomach to process. In the beginning, there is one important note, together with chicken meat,

Czech people use pork meat a lot, so if you are trying to avoid this kind of meat, you have to be

choosing the meals carefully. In the pictures below you can see the most traditional Czech meals.

In the first picture, you can see a potato salad with schnitzel. Potato salad is served cold and it’s made

of potatoes, carrot, cucumber, eggs and mayonnaise. Schnitzel is chicken or pork meat covered in

flour, egg and bread crumb and then fried. In the second picture, there is a sirloin with cream sauce

and as a side dish there are dumplings, typical for Czech cuisine. It’s made of bread, milk, flour and

then boiled in hot water. This meal requires at least three hours of cooking (only baking of the beef

sirloin lasts over two hours), but the result is worth it. Czech people say that if the girl knows how to

prepare a perfect sirloin with cream sauce, she is ready to get married.

The third picture shows the most popular Czech dish called Pork Goulash with potato dumplings,

however instead of dumplings it can be served with bread. In the fourth picture there is a tomato sauce

with dumplings and baked green peppers filled with pork meat.

In the last picture, there is a traditional dish which Czech people eat on 11th November. It’s a feast of

Saint Martin which means that winter is coming. It’s a baked duck with red cabbage and potato

dumplings. On that day, most of the restaurants are serving it.

Places to visit

Prague The capital city is a number one of the places which you have to visit. Many world travellers fell in

love with Prague thanks to its unique atmosphere and stunning architecture. The most visited

monuments are Prague Castle - the residence of Czech kings, Charles Bridge over Vltava River with

30 statues of Saints (in the first picture), Saint Vitus Cathedral which belongs to UNESCO heritage,

National Theatre (the second picture) and Prague Astronomical Clock (in the last picture).

Český Krumlov It’s a stunning city situated in South-western region, which belongs to UNESCO heritage. The centre

of the city is breath-taking thanks to its architecture, cafes, restaurants, galleries and museums and

dominant is a castle from 13th century. People from ESN usually organise a trip for Erasmus students

to this city.

Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape It’s an area of gorgeous castle, huge gardens and minaret. All that area belongs to UNESCO heritage

and thanks to romantic atmosphere and beautiful nature many newlyweds are coming to take romantic

pictures.

The trail trees Lipno Lookout It’s the only path through the trees with lookout in Czechia. It offers unique experience as beautiful

views, learning about nature, entertaining walks, etc.

Pilsner Urquell Brewery Tour If you are interested in beer, you must visit Pilsner Urquell brewery in Pilsen. You will be able to see

how the beer was being produced in the past and how it’s being produced in these days, how the beer

is being stored and one of the best parts of visitation is a beer tasting.

Transportation around Ostrava: https://www.dpo.cz/public-transport-ostrava.html

Transportation around Pilsen: http://www.pmdp.eu/

Transportation around Pardubice: http://www.dpmp.cz/en/

Transportation around Prague: http://www.dpp.cz/en/

Transportation around Brno: http://www.dpmb.cz/en/novinky/all

Czech railway České dráhy: https://old.cd.cz/en/default.htm

The trail trees Lipno Lookout: http://www.stezkakorunamistromu.cz/

Brewery tour Pilsen: http://www.prazdrojvisit.cz/en/

Masaryk University dormitory: https://www.skm.muni.cz/kolej?en

VUT Brno dormitory: http://www.kam.vutbr.cz/english/default.aspx?p=PPV

University of Pardubice dormitory: http://www.upce.cz/english/services/accommodation/erasmus-

exchange.html

Zapadoceska univerzita v Plzni dormitory: http://skm.zcu.cz/seznam-koleji.html

https://www.zcu.cz/en/ects/ECTS_Part3/cost_living.html

University of Ostrava: http://study.osu.eu/