Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Prague

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  • andin, in reply to Russell Brown,

    Slovaks. They were like the cousins you didn’t talk about any more.

    My guess is it probably dates from Austro-Hungarian empire days. And in WWII being a Nazi puppet state wouldnt have helped either.

    raglan • Since Mar 2007 • 1891 posts Report Reply

  • Omar Crawford,

    Oh Prague!

    I lived there for a year in 2012/2013 and I'd go again in a heart beat. A really gorgeous city and tremendous fun. Winter is tough, but summer is magnificent.

    Russell, did you do any research into the drug policy there? As far as I remember, possession of smallish amounts of almost any substance is legal, though buying and selling is not.

    I don't know much about the Slovaks except they are seen as a 'little bit country' by some. My understanding is that they were keen to separate as they speak a slightly different language and have a different culture, but were dominated by Czech culture via the state institutions in Prague.

    My Czech housemate is 26 and he pointed out the second wave of cultural change is starting to show through as the first generation to grow up almost wholly outside of communism begins to mature and influence Czech culture. I think you can see a difference in the way Czechs of different generations hold themselves (though I suppose that's true everywhere).

    And finally - Czechs like to remind you that they are a Central European country, Prague is west of Vienna! Of course being part of the communist bloc they tended to be associated with the East, perhaps understandably.

    Melbourne • Since May 2008 • 5 posts Report Reply

  • Chris Waugh, in reply to Omar Crawford,

    they speak a slightly different language and have a different culture,

    Some commentary on the mutual intelligibility of Czech and Slovak. It seems to be a classic case of a language being a dialect with an army and navy - though I doubt either the Czech or Slovak Republics have much in the way of navies, something to patrol their shares of the Danube, I'm sure, but...

    Wellington • Since Jan 2007 • 2401 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Omar Crawford,

    And finally – Czechs like to remind you that they are a Central European country, Prague is west of Vienna!

    Yep. I heard that more than once.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • nxtclass,

    I visit Prague very often and reccomend for everyone to do the same !

    Česká republika • Since Jan 2015 • 1 posts Report Reply

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