Living in Prague

By Michael Hanson, Foster Undergraduate who is participating in an exchange with the University of Economics in Prague, Czech Republic. 

Prague is an amazing city. It constantly feels like you are in a fairy tale movie in the medieval ages when you walk through old town. There are so many alleyways that are scenic and aesthetically appealing. My first couple weeks consisted of me living on airplane mode, doing touristy things, and meeting tons of people. I would recommend getting a phone plan right away to alleviate some stress. Dorms themselves are not the nicest, and about a 20-minute tram ride into city. You could get a flat downtown, but you would miss out on meeting so many people in the dorms, and be kept out of the loop when it comes to social functions during the week. Granted, I was lucky enough to get an awesome roommate and great flat mates, but you never know who you are going to get – so might be a good option to request to room with a foster student before you go. School itself it not hard compared to Foster, and you will have a big advantage speaking English fluently. Easy to get behind though since there is not a lot of homework, so best to stay up on it if possible.

There is an ice breaking weekend that I didn’t go to because I was in Oktoberfest (best weekend of my life), but I heard great things. I don’t mind the food at all here (love soup with every meal), but it isn’t too healthy – a lot of meat and potatoes. It is very warm in the beginning, but then starts to get colder mid-to-late October, so try to get as much sightseeing in early. Everything is very cheap here, especially beer (mostly pilsner) because they have a million breweries. Do as many Prague walking tours (a lot of free ones) as possible too, especially the WW2 one. As far as sightseeing goes around Prague, I used the Rick Steves book for most of everything and it was great. Not huge on Museums, but the Slavic epic tour and the lobkowicz museum were both fantastic. Travel around the Czech Republic as much as possible too, the landscape is beautiful and has a lot of cool smaller towns, especially Cesky Krumlov. I had some friends rent a car and visit different spots while doing some hikes as well, which I wish I did. Try not to have class on Wednesdays because Tuesdays are a big night to go out here for exchange students. Don’t be afraid to strike up conversations in the elevator with new people, you won’t regret it. Below I included some pictures from Prague and archery in Cesky Krumlov.