Dobry den!
Here is the fourth blog of my A-Z of thoughts on living in
the Czech Republic for the last three years. Enjoy!
N is for…New Year
Honourable mentions: Namesti’s
New Year in Prague was a loud, lovely affair.
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| Carl and I watching the fireworks from Petrin, which had a great view over the city for the fireworks |
It seems as if the whole city buys fireworks and unleashes
them on the evening of December 31st to illuminate the darkness and
bring in a new year with a bang.
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| Fireworks in the capital, taken from Petrin |
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| Fireworks in the capital, taken from Petrin |
O is for…OpenCard
Honourable mentions: Outdoors,
orloj
I’ve mentioned in a previous post how easy it is to live in
Prague. A major factor is the public transport. It is amazing.
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| Expansion is happening all of the time - this metro stop opened on our doorstep soon after arriving, making getting into the centre very easy! |
Buses, trams and metros run with brilliant regularity. If we
missed the metro to take us halfway to school, another would arrive about two
minutes later. If we missed the bus for the second half of our journey, another
would be leaving within four minutes.
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| An old-fashioned tram glides through Wenceslas Square |
Getting around the city is also incredibly cheap. Buying an
OpenCard allows you unlimited use of the three types of transport for a whole
year. In our first year, this cost Kc4,800 – at that time, about £130 or just
under $200. In spite of this, a lot of people were abusing the honour system
and not buying tickets. The government thus reduced
the price to Kc3,600 – a fraction over £100. For the year. Considering how much money is spent on transport in London,
even with an Oyster card, will suggest to you how fantastic a deal this is.
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| The OpenCard - a cheap and vital part of Prague life |
The amazing (and mostly modern) public transport is just
another reason why living in Prague is so comfortable.
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| A metro on the charge |
P is for…parks
Honourable mentions: Prague,
Pivo, Parties
Prague is a very green city. The actual centre of the city
is surprisingly small, meaning that the greenery is relatively close to the
main attractions.
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| A park in the botanical gardens |
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| A view in Divoka Sarka |
Some of the parks are easily spotted. Looking west across
the river, it’s impossible not to see Petrin looming over that side of Prague.
Looking north, meanwhile, will show you Letna, sitting atop a steep cliff face.
The views from both are breathtaking.
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| The view of Prague from Petrin |
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| The view of the Vltava from Letna - probably my favourite in all of Prague |
Walking through these parks brings a sense of tranquillity and
calm. Though many people use these parks, it’s possible to take one turn and
feel alone amongst the towering trees. Unless you’re near Letna’s beer garden,
of course. On a sunny day it is always packed; the least you would expect with
the combination of summer weather, cheap beer and a stunning view.
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| Walking through Petrin |
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| This small walkway is just under Prague Castle |
A lovely park rarely seen by tourists is Divoka Sarka, which
was close to both our house and school. Again, like the others, it always has
people cycling or running through it, yet you can easily find a peaceful spot.
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| A lovely view in Divoka Sarka |
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| The leaves are particularly lovely in the autumn |
After spending two years living in the steppe where just
about any blade of grass was artificial, it’s been great to be able to spend
time in natural outdoor environments such as these parks.
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| The view from the eastern end of Divoka Sarka - the large building is the communist-style Crowne Plaza |
Q is for…questions
Apparently, the average teacher gets asked something
approaching 400 questions each day. Having taught particularly inquisitive
children and encouraged them to ask questions over the last three years, I shudder
to think how many questions have been directly my way whilst working for the
Prague British School (PBS). A lot of those are probably, “Can I ask you a
question?” At least most children I taught no longer say, “Can I go on toilet?”
I say most – you can’t change them all.
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| A shot from our graduation ceremony in 2016 |
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| The PBS team - I'll miss them a lot |
Working at PBS has been a brilliant, challenging and
infinitely rewarding experience. Wonderful children, awesome colleagues and a
very supportive leadership team have all come together to make me a much, much
better teacher. As you’ll see from the pictures, I’m now happier to dress up
more than I ever have been in my life!
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| Me probably mocking one of my children at graduation |
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| The granny who danced to Gangnam Style in the 2013 Christmas panto |
Being at a school like PBS isn’t just about lessons. From leading
residential trips to writing and directing shows, there is always something
interesting and worthwhile happening on top of the usual daily routine. In addition
to enjoying it immensely, getting my PGCE and QTS whilst doing all of this and
so much more has made this a very successful time.
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| A prop from my first Year 6 show about the Simpsons moving to Prague |
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| Looking festive at the Christmas Extravaganza |
Job satisfaction is vital in life. I loved just about every
day of the three years in Prague and being at PBS was a major reason for that.
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| Dressing up as our mascot, Mr Whiskers, during our Year 6 show in 2014 |
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| A leaving message from a child I taught in Year 3 and 4 - many more are at home |
R is for…running
Honourable mentions: rohlik,
rafting
In Astana, my running was confined to a treadmill for many
months of the year. A great thing about Prague has been the chance to run
outside year-round.
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| The tangible reward for running 42.195km - a marathon |
Whether it be in the parks mentioned previously or getting
the reward of a beautiful view from Prague Castle, running in Prague has been a
pleasure. Even running in the city is nice, not to mention good agility
practice for dodging the tourists and their selfie sticks.
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| Getting ready to run in Prague city centre at the start of the marathon |
My proudest achievement of these three years was completingmy first marathon here in 2014. It was a wonderful experience, painful for a
long time during and after but something I can cherish for a lifetime.
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| My highlight of the marathon was being able to run across the Charles Bridge without the fear of crashing into a tourist |
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| A very happy day to reminisce about |
Lots of races are organised in Prague, allowing the
opportunity for plenty of competitive running. I also managed to break the 40
minute barrier for 10 kilometres here in Prague’s famous night run in 2015, a
feat I’m flabbergasted I achieved considering I’d spent the afternoon eating
cake and drinking wine at a school picnic.
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| Preparing to run in the night 10k |
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| This was at about 8km - I almost threw up shortly after but managed to finish in 39:45 |
For those who think running on its own is boring, there are
other races starting to come to Prague. Earlier this year we did a Spartanrace, involving numerous obstacles which involved other skills (those involving
strength just seemed downright unfair to me, possessing pipe cleaners for
arms).
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| Handling the mud and water in the Spartan |
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| Feeling a little more warrior-like - not much, admittedly - at the finish |
A group of us also took part in the Colour Run, a 5km jog
around a lovely park during which your Daz-white T-shirt would turn a variety
of colours, celebrating the Indian festival of colour: Holi.
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| The Colour Run isn't to be done as a race... |
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| The goal: to get as much colour on your t-shirt as possible! |
They are expensive – I think €50 was the average for those
three races listed above – but if you’re running outside, the training is free
and the experience is very gratifying. Once you’ve recovered, of course…
Love you all
Matt
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