Pedestrians do not, I repeat, DO NOT have the right of way

That is no joke. Pedestrians have absolutely no right of way, unless at very specifically marked intersections. It is because of this reason that Czech people (or anyone else in Prague), does not Jaywalk. Even if there are no cars, trams, or busses in sight, people do not Jaywalk. Cars drive ridiculously fast and dangerously, and after having been in a car with a Czech driver twice, I can safely say that I am going to stick to the Metro. That being said, the public transportation around here is glorious in that the Metro is fast, comes every 10 minutes max and will get you anywhere you need to go. No Metro? Then the tram (above ground cars on rails) will take you to obscure destinations like Prague Castle where I saw........................THE Window that started the 30 years War, or the Window out of which the Catholic man got defenestrated. That is right. I saw the Defenestration of Prague Window. (More to come on Prague Castle and pictures to follow all at a later date).

After a somewhat confusing series of events, school is all worked out and the new school is fantastic (I start teaching on Thursday). All the students were taken on a brief tour of Prague after the first day, and although the city is beautiful and such, there should not be this many Steps on the FACE OF THIS EARTH, let alone in a single city. The tour was rather short and I did not have my camera on me at the time, so I must go back. We went to a bar called Hell, which is ironically enough, right next to the biggest Jesuit church in all Prague. Lol. So, the bar was really cool (it is underground and carved out of bedrock), but pricy, about 70 crowns! Usually Gambrinus is only 27 crowns... granted 70 crowns is only around 3.50, well maybe 4 USD. 

My Czech has gotten good enough that I can ask for things in restaurants, and ask directions. Exciting news of the day! Someone asked me if I spoke English, and then asked me for directions, which I could successfully give!!! I have visually mapped out the city pretty well, but it is now time to conquer the street names. AHHH! The pictures that I am posting are of my apartment, views from my apartment, Charles Bridge at 6:20 a.m. and Old Town Square. All for now... I will hopefully have another post in the next day or so... Oh, and the first picture on the first post is the street my apartment is on. I will have a mailing address in the next post.

First few days...

My first few days in Prag (Praha, Prague), have been fantastic, albeit too short. The city is spectacular and on the plus side, very clean. For the most part the natives are very nice and always willing to help when you need it, or look confused (which I have been for the past day). It has been very interesting to see the cultural differences between Prague and the United States. Being like an American is not really an aspiration like in some countries, but the influence of the U.S. is everywhere, especially in the music. Every cafe or bar that you walk into is blaring U.S. music from one era or another (90's music is especially popular), and advertisements for LIVE JAZZ are everywhere. 

Not unlike other parts of Europe, it is not uncommon to go sit in an outdoor beer garden for hours on end, or just take your beer on the go and walk around with it... Everyone is very laid back and seemingly never in a hurry. Virtually everywhere you walk is a photograph waiting to happen as the city is so well preserved. There are fewer Americans here than I thought, but it is probably just early in the season... However, there are TONS of people here from other European countries because Prague is so cheap (not on the Euro for another 2 years)... I am surrounded by a milieu of languages and it is rather rare to hear English. 

The pictures with the shiny rubbings are on Charles Bridge, and, depending on your religion, are supposed to be touched for good luck or a blessing and have been rubbed for hundreds of years...

All in all, it has been a great past two days. Class starts tomorrow and I don't know when I will get to explore more, but I am hoping that it will be soon!