With its stunning buildings and lovely old squares, Prague is doubtlessly one of the most wonderful and pleasant city in Europe. However, a careless foreigner visiting Czech Republic could experience some difficulties before getting over the famous ‘Culture Shock’. You wil find in this blog some advice to « survive » the various situations you may be faced with in the City of one hundred Spires.
No more milk left in the fridge and you can’t find the motivation to walk up to the supermarket ? No problem, let’s go to the small grocery store on the next corner –you may think. Big mistake ! Stepping into a store in Prague may prove to be as dangerous as trying to cross the Amazonia jungle alone : it’s something you must be prepared for ! Below are some advice to outlive this tricky experience.
1 – Never say « Hi ! ». The first time I stepped into a store in Prague I naively believed you could say hello to the storekeeper. I also naively thought the storekeeper would greet me as well –and even possibly smile to me. That is actually a pointless expectation : storekeepers in Prague simply don’t say Hello. Never. They only greet you with that ice deadly glance that will make you think you’ve just walked into the wrong place. If you expect to be given a warm welcome, just go to Southern Europe, dude !
2 – Never ask any question. You thought customer was king ? Not there. You thought you would be seen as someone about to spend some money and make the store’s revenue rise ? Still not. There, you’re just disturbing. So don’t venture to ask how much is the pack of beer or wether fruits are goods. Basically, don’t say anything : you could break the holly silence of the grocery and you’d prefer not to know what would happen then. So just pick the items you came for, and get away !
3 – Be ready to have some coins in your pocket. The only reason the shopkeeper may adress you is to ask you if you have some 2-crowns coins so it’s easier for him to give you your change back – usually he’s also staring at you, thinking « why the hell did you pay with that 200-crowns note ? ». Indeed, you should always have some coins in your pocket, just in case. The best for you is still to be able to pay the exact price of the item you want to buy.
4 – Don’t try to show off your czech language skills. You may think stammering a few czech words could make you win the sympathy of your interlocutor ? Once again, bad idea ! Even if you are really proud of your ‘Prosim’ and ‘Jak se màte ?’, just keep it for the girls you could meet in nightclubs. Storekeepers just don’t care about how well you can speak – I told you, you are NOT expected to speak. To make matter worse, they would probably make fun of your awkward french or english accent. ‘Dikouilly !’
Now that you are mentally prepared, you can csafely walk into a local grocery store and experience that unique moment. Enjoy!
