Prague-By-Numbers

When I was little, one of my favorite activities was those Paint-By-Numbers pictures that you pick up at craft stores. They were great. One second you were just looking at a bunch of sparse little brown blobs, the next you had a marvelous picture of labrador retriever puppies frollicking in a meadow. With ducklings.

Wow, I just made that up. Google Images really DOES have everything.

Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that sometimes the best way to paint the right picture is to fill it in bit by bit (or number by number), and it's only the complete whole that shows you what you're looking at. I'll attempt to do this with Prague by providing a number of little details I've noticed since being here.



1. This is sort of a broad generalization and certainly doesn't apply to everyone, but I've noticed that people don't smile a lot. However, if you engage in a conversation with them long enough and you don't come off as a complete jerk, they accept you. You have to earn the kindness of others.

2. There are spiders. Everywhere. I don't know how many other people have noticed it, but those gross, spindly spiders make hotels out of every store sign and railing in this city.

3. The street cleaners (however you call them) look like Oompa Loompas:

Just remember kids, that's NOT chocolate they're picking up.

4. Dogs are rarely on leashes. They don't need them. Imagine: a world where all dogs get along. And All Dogs Go To Heaven.

Thank you, ADG2H, for complicating everyone's childhood by featuring physically attractive animated dogs.

5. But in the Czech Republic, anyway, the consensus seems to be that all dogs die and slowly decompose into the earth. Religion isn't so big around here. There's the Jewish Quarter, of course, but most of Czech society doesn't really seem to have a religious or spiritual pull.

6. Beer is cheaper than water. Just sayin'.

7. Apparently, only recently has peanut butter become a big thing over here.

8. While we're talking about food: Czechs love KFC.

Perhaps I'll update this list as more strikes me. For now it's all just sort of engulfing me. And I love it.