Czech Republic - Prague
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Geography
The Czech Republic, as a part of Middle Europe, is squeezed between Germany, Austria,
Slovakia and Poland. The country is bordered by the mountains. Its area is almost
79.000 sq. km (30.000 sq. miles), as same size as the island of Ireland.
The highest point is Snezka,
1602 m (5222 ft). The capital Prague is just in the middle of the western part of
the country, 300 m above sea level.
People
There are about 10 million people in the Czech Republic (1.3 million in Prague).
Most of them are Czechs and they speak Czech language. They tend to be polite, mild-mannered
with a good sense of humor, not incline to argue or fight. They are intelligent,
creative, well educated and can be quite conservative. The largest Church is Roman
Catholic one but Czechs are mostly atheists, because of the systematic oppression
of religion during Communism.
Economy
Czech industries include power engineering, metallurgy, car manufacture, glass,
leather, plastics, chemicals, ceramics and beer.
Climate
The Czech Repiblic is a four seasoned country with a continental climate. The summers
tend to be sunny and quite hot, the winters cold, spring and fall mild but changeable.
There is nice weather from May through September.
The most recommended month
to visit is June. There is nice weather and there are not so many tourists as in
July, August and September.
Air pollution is still problem in Prague. In mid-winter (November - February) when
people are burning coal for heating, the streets are jammed full of cars and inversion
layer occurs. Prague's air can be thick and foul. The City Council started up the
programme of gas heating so the air pollution has been getting better in the last
years.
Newspapers
One of the most informative English language paper is the weekly paper The Prague
Post, written by English and American staff. You can find news, concert, gallery,
museum, cinema, theatre, club schedules as well as restaurant reviews and excursion
ideas. It is an excellent source of local information.
Emergency
In an emergency dial the following numbers 24 hours a day.
• Police : dial 158
• Ambulance : dial 155
• Fire : dial 150
Crime
Violent crime is still rare by the standards of western Europe or the United States,
but there is a great deal of theft. Lock your car and put your valuables in the
hotel. Be alert to the danger of pickpockets in crowded places, particularly on
trams and metro. Prague is plagued with unscrupulous cabbies. Hailing a taxi on
the street is inviting trouble.
Region Information - Brno |
Prague