Prague

Grial Internet Cafe

Belgickã¡ 31, vinohrady, prague 2, tel. +42 0222 516 033, [email protected], (http://www.grial.cz). the nearest metro station is nã¡mä›stã­ mã­ru on the a line. m-f 09:00-23:00, sa su 11:00-23:00. grial cafe serves hot and cold drinks, including alcohol, and scanning, printing and cd/dvd burning are available. internet access is 40czk per hour.

The most common crimes in Prague by far are car theft and pickpocketing: the prevalence of car theft and vandalism pushes up the crime statistics of Prague. But it even if you do not drive any cars, pickpocketing is common in Prague, and some violent crimes do occur in this city. You are seriously warned not to provoke drunken people as it will pose yourself in extreme danger.

Begging is a serious problem in this city and you can even see beggars in this city's top tourist attractions. Don't carry a wallet or purse in the back pocket of your pants; always keep an eye on your items; don't put all your money in one place; don't show your money or valuable things to anybody; don't walk alone into deserted areas even if you think you are a strong man. Better safe than sorry so take enough precautions for yourself.

Possession of drugs has been historically a grey area under the Czech jurisdiction. Since early 2010, though, the dubious term "an amount less than small" has been finally transformed into absolute values based on the actual judicial practice and it is no longer an offense to carry less than 15 g of marijuana, 5 patches of LSD, 1 g of cocaine, etc. (http://ireadculture.com/2...) It is still a criminal offense to posses more than the allowed amount of drugs. Bear in mind that for possession of lesser amount you might be still fined by public authorities as it is an offence even though not criminal one. Please also note that most bars will expect you to go outside if you intend to smoke a joint.

Be aware of teams of pickpockets (http://www.estripes.com/a...) that lurk outside metro stations, overcrowded trams, Charles Bridge, Wenceslas Square and the Old Town Square. They usually work in teams of 3-5 and look for lost or distracted tourists. Backpacks are especially interesting to them. Many of those groups use underage children as pickpockets because they are not liable according to Czech criminal law.

Due to the low incidence of violent crime, the threat of pickpockets has been played up as a great problem. However, common sense and basic precautions can keep most people safe from pickpockets. If you have a camera, try not to wear it openly. Always close and secure your backpack and try to keep an eye on it. Be especially careful not to fall asleep in tram or metro. Wear your wallet in a safe place like inner pocket of your coat, never put it into your rear pocket or any other place where it can be easily stolen.

Be astute on sleeper trains, as bag robberies are on the increase between major stations. Ask for ID from anyone who asks to take your ticket or passport, and lock backpacks to the luggage racks. Keep valuables on you and maintain common sense.

If you enter the metro usually at night, you may find a team of con artists at the stations, saying that they are metro clerks and, after examining your ticket for some time, that it's invalid so you'll have to pay a fine of 500 CZK 1000 CZK if you argue with them. So if you happen to see them and you're sure that your ticket is valid, tell them to call the police, or call them yourself. Remember that Prague Metro ticket inspectors have to produce their badge in order to check your ticket and issue a fine; if they don't do this as soon as they approach you then, they are almost certainly fakes.

Be careful with taxi drivers, particularly from the train station. Taxis that are legally registered may still be mafia-run affairs that do their best to overcharge. It is illegal for a taxi driver to refuse you a receipt in Prague, so agree to a price before putting yourself or your luggage in the taxi. The risk of overcharging is greatly overplayed but just take the usual sensible precautions of only using taxi firms affiliated with the station or your hotel, or call a reputable company and wait. Finally, if presented with a wrong bill from a taxi driver, call the police on your mobile phone. Your driver will quickly change his tune. You can of course always ask reception, restaurant etc. to call taxi on the number you give them.

If you can't afford to haggle with cab drivers, you can always use public mass transit. The network is extensive and can take you almost anywhere in Prague 24 hours every day.

Be careful with money exchanges. Exchange your money in banks or official tourist informations and rather avoid exchange offices. Never deal with a street money-dealer: they offer better rates but frequently try to swindle you by giving you money from another country, such as Russian rubles or old Bulgarian leva.

Most of the exchange offices are fair, but some, especially at the busiest tourist sites, may try to cheat customers with various tricks. One of the them is offering favourable exchange rates, but with fine print below such as if you exchange more than 1000 EUR. Another trick is putting a huge board with "we sell" exchange rates to the shop window, which makes an impression of good rates, whereas the actual rate for buying CZK is much more unfavourable.

When the customer finds this out at the counter and wants to cancel the transaction, the money-dealer refuses with an excuse "I have already printed the bill", implying it is too late. The police won't help you, typically referring you to the Czech National Bank, which supervises exchange offices, to file a complaint which does not help you either.

Credit cards are widely accepted at all supermarkets, hotels and also in most tourist places. As in most countries you can find cards for ATM withdrawals with low or 0% fee and often for payment with Visa or Mastercard exchange rate only which is same as rate of best exchange offices, there is no need to use exchgange offices anymore in 21st century.

Czech law is weak and orders exchange offices only to display the actual rates, which you might find somewhere in the office in small print. Therefore, if you decide to use an exchange office always ask for the actual rate you will pay before making the transaction before releasing any money out of your hand.

If you find yourself in emergency, dial 158 for police, 155 for ambulance or 150 for firefighters. You can also dial 112 for a general emergency call.

If you need medication at weekends or evenings, you can go to Lékárna Palackého, Tel +420 224 946 982 the 24-hour pharmacy on Palackého 5 in the new town.

Beware of food stalls in Wencelas Square. Some of them will target tourists by providing them with extra products they did not ask for and not giving enough change.

popular shopping malls:

Palladium - situated directly in the city centre, it's the newest and perhaps most luxurious shopping mall. No cheap options to eat, unless you buy some food in Albert supermarket on the lowest floor -2. On the top level +2 are some moderate to expensive restaurants. Tram/metro station Namesti Republiky.

OC Chodov - a huge shopping mall with hypermarket located slightly further away from the centre at metro station Chodov.

Šestka - new shopping mall just 1 station from the Prague Airport. Very far away from the center but ideal for last minute shopping before your departure. Take bus 119 from Dejvicka metro station.

Palác Flora - medium-sized shopping mall with IMAX cinema in the top floor. Tram/metro station Flora.

OC Nový Smíchov - big shopping mall with 2-floor Tesco hypermarket, a cinema, bunch of fastfoods on the top floor and very close to metro/tram station Anděl

Metropole Zličín - medium-sized mall with a cinema, hypermarket Interspar, fast foods, huge parking lot and near the metro/bus station Zličín. If you are hungry after your flight, take a bus 100 from the airport to Zličín and then just walk few meters to this mall and buy something to eat.

talk

Czech is the official language of Prague and the Czech Republic. Simple words and phrases in other Slavic languages for example Serbian/Croatian/Bosnian and Polish are also commonly understood. Slovak can also be acceptable to a certain extent, as Czech and Slovaks have historically understood each other without the need of a translator. Both languages are very similar and mutually intelligible to a very wide extent.

Most young people speak English very well, you will also have no problem speaking English at restaurants and bars. Many restaurants have English menus. Russian is widely understood by people who were attending school before the Velvet Revolution in 1989, but the language is too different from Czech to be understood without study. In addition, some people may dislike using Russian even if they know it because of the Soviet occupation of the Czechoslovakia in 1968 and Communist history in general. Many Czechs also have some knowledge of German. People studying after 1989 and even some older people can speak English. However, learning Czech will surely endear you to the locals.

See the Czech phrasebook.