David's Blog

I saw the movie Borat in Prague with Czech subtitles and quite often the movie theater was laughing before I heard anything funny. I quickly realized that everyone was reading the jokes or punchline in the subtitle before it was actually said. If you can't read the subtitles, you are at a disadvantage. The comedic effect is somewhat spoiled because everyone else's laughter is your three second warning that something really funny is about to be said. Of course, if it's not a comedy and there's no laughing then it doesn't make a difference. Perhaps one day I can watch a Czech comedy with English subtitles and repay them all the favor.

Labels: prague

Posted by David at 11:31 PM | Share this post on:   facebook   del.icio.us   digg   StumbleUpon     | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

The capital of the Czech Republic is more touristy than I expected. The center of town is full of souvenir shops and currency exchangers. I heard Spanish and English more than I did Czech. But the town itself is very picturesque and it's nice to walk around. The city is on both sides of the river, there are hills, and a few well-known castles. The metro system is very clean and efficient. You can get to the tourist sites quite easily. The metro stations have very long escalators that go surprisingly slowly except for the yellow line.
The cost of food at restaurants is quite reasonable. We had a full dinner and drinks at a decent restaurant for 4 people that only cost around $40, even with the dollar being pretty low. The good value is what draws a lot of Western European tourists. The best part is that the cost of beer on the restaurant's menu is cheaper than water or soda. Beers are around $1. Water and soda is at least $1.50. I read that Czechs drink the most beer per capita in the world. That story checks out.
One thing that I didn't like about Prague was the existence of shady characters. At train stations and dark areas around town you just didn't feel comfortable. Muggings are more common and I wouldn't have wanted to walk around there on my own.

Labels: prague

Posted by David at 11:11 PM | Share this post on:   facebook   del.icio.us   digg   StumbleUpon     | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

This bank in Bratislava kindly requests that you not bring in your camera nor your gun while taking care of your banking needs.

Labels: slovakia

Posted by David at 11:00 PM | Share this post on:   facebook   del.icio.us   digg   StumbleUpon     | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

In most Western European countries if you go to withdraw €200 from an ATM you get 2 50s, 4 20s, and 2 tens. You don't get any big bills and that's convenient. Most places don't like to give change. It's as if it was the most tedious chore in the world. If your need to pay 10.24 and you give 11, they look at you like handling 76 cents is the hardest thing in the world. The European cashier would much rather wait for you to find 24 cents. I If not 24 at least something to reduce how many coins to give back. The same applies with paper money too. So when you withdraw €200 from an ATM in Austria and get 2 €100 bills, you know that the first place you go won't be happy to see your form of payment. It really shouldn't be that big a deal. But it is, and it becomes a psychological game for me. You (the cashier) don't want to give me change and I don't want change back. So I'm forced to carry around change so that when my bill is 10.03 I'll have those three cents or otherwise risk getting back 97. But when my change starts running low... on one hand I'm happy to not have to carry around change but on the other hand I know I'm only one transaction away from getting another boatload of change. And then the game continues. If on the last day of my trip I have minimal amounts of change, I win! Most countries are now rounding off to the nearest five cents. I rarely see one or two cent coins anymore, fortunately. And hopefully, the US can get rid of the penny too. Don't even get me started.

Labels: austria

Posted by David at 10:25 PM | Share this post on:   facebook   del.icio.us   digg   StumbleUpon     | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and it's a very quick day trip from Vienna. The train ride was an hour and they run every half hour. Ticket price is 14 euros round trip. It's also possible to go by boat. Since it's outside Schengen, there's a passport control as you exit the station. Taking the bus from the train station (line 80, 5 stops, across the main bridge) to the center of town, you see what you'd expect from eastern europe. Old buildings, old cars, graffiti, and trash. But the center of the city is quite nice. It's cleaner, nice cobbled streets, nice shops, but it's not too big. Most people didn't speak english. You can use euros as long as you don't need change. My 50 euro bill was of no use.
There is a big medieval castle within walking distance of the center. It's on the highest hill in an otherwise flat landscape. You get an excellent view of the river and the surroundings to the horizon in every direction. To the east, you can see a massive developement of soviet era concrete high rises, one after another.

Labels: slovakia

Posted by David at 10:02 PM | Share this post on:   facebook   del.icio.us   digg   StumbleUpon     | Permalink | Comments | links to this post