Top 10 hardest things to find in the CZK

Don’t get me wrong, Prague is an amazing city and there is nowhere I would rather be right now, but I assumed there would be aspects of American culture that would be missed.  Surprisingly, the adjustment couldn’t have been easier. I have found that it’s not the important things that are tough to find out here, rather, it’s the small, simple, and in my opinion comical things that do not exist in the magical city of Prague.

So here is my top ten list of the most difficult things to find in Prague:

10.  Water: I always drink a glass when I can, because you never know when you are going to get your next one.  It’s not so much that there is a shortage of water, but there is an excess of beer.  The fact that beer is cheaper than water can’t be good for my health.

9. Credit Cards: There are definitely some things money can’t buy in Prague, and it’s a good thing because for everything else Mastercard is nowhere to be found.  Don’t ask me why, but credit cards haven’t made it to the restaurants in central Europe.  On the way home from Switzerland our bus stopped at a McDonald’s in Austria… about 80 went in, and 77 left hungry because they didn’t take credit.

8.  Basketball: I’m so desperate to see a little basketball, I think I’d even watch Wisconsin play if it was on.

Well, maybe not.

7.  Vowels: The word for city is mestska.  Is it just me or is that a lot of consonents in a row?

6.  Leashes: Everyone here has a dog, and none of them are on leashes.  The amazing part is they never stray, the training of the dogs in this country is incredible.

5.  A guy with a woman NOT way out of his league: The girls here are extremely attractive, and lets just say the men all look pretty much the same: shaved head, pissed off, smoking a cigarette with his un-leashed dog following obediently behind.

4.  Items in quantity: You can’t find a 24 pack of coke or a case of beer anywhere.  Although, it’s not the end of the world when a half liter of beer is only 35 cents.  I guess the concept of buy more, save money hasn’t hit the scene as a one day subway pass is 100 crown, and a three day is 330 crown.

3.  Cheap fast food: There is a McDonald’s or KFC on just about every street, but for some reason they are not cheap nor fast.  They are legitimate restaurants that are clean, well designed, and the women working there wear  mini-skirts (see Zander’s top 10).  Since I have been in college, I have never gone this long without a Chipotle or Jimmy Johns.

2.  Doors that make sense: I have three issues with the doors here.  I was knocking the doors in London in my first blog entry, as it turns out that was just a preview of what was to come.  In London the doors were all backwards, but here you have no idea what you are getting.  Push, pull, doorknobs in the middle of the door, doorknobs that don’t turn, etc.  Second, there is the problem of narrow doors which are impossible to hold for the person following behind you.  The third person walking always ends up with the door in their face.  Third, and maybe most irritating is the speed of the automatic doors. If you approach them like a standard automatic door, game over.

1.  Condiments: Those of you who have ever seen my fridge at home or school, know that there is actually very little real food as it is packed with various condiments.  I never realized how much I utilized the options until they were gone.  My three favorite sauces are ranch, Frank’s Red Hot, and ranch and Frank’s mixed together, and I have yet to get my mits on any of them.