Erasmus in Prague/Praha/Praga

Hello! Or should I say Ahoj? (in czech language, not "pirate language" means, hi, hello).

My name is Giani and as you know, or you might not, I am an Erasmus student now in Ioannina for the third time Erasmus, but last year, the same period (spring semester) I have been an Erasmus student in Prague.

I am originally from a town called Arad in the west of Romania and I also study in Arad. In my university I had the opportunity for the second time to go Erasmus(first time I was in Coimbra, Portugal in 2012). So I applied to go in Prague, Czech Republic.

It was in 2016, starting at the end of January. I have packed my stuff and I was ready to go and start my new adventure. I always wanted to go and visit Prague and see how beautiful and full of history and interesting things is and now I had the chance to do it. If you are a traveler or you want to be one, I think Prague should be on your list. Why? I'll tell you why, just keep on reading!

How to get in Prague

My baggage was packed and I was ready to go. In Arad there is a small aiport, but it doesn't have flights to Czech Republic, I think only some flights to Italy. So I ussualy fly from a closer city (around 30-1h from my city), called Timisoara. It is a bigger city than Arad and it has a bigger airport with more routes around Europe and not only Europe. So I have booked a flight to go to London (England) and from England to Prague. I had a stop in London, for a week and then I had a flight to Prague. I booked it with WizzAir, I don't remember how much was it, but in total for these 2 flight I paid around 100 euros. Not much at all, considering the fact that the baggage was included. The advantage of fliying low cost! From Timisoara to London Luton Airport the time was aprox. 2 hours and 30 minutes and then from London Luton Aiport to Prague around 2 hours by flight. You can easily find tickets and sometimes really cheap ones, just book the tickes before 1 month before or even earlier when you know exactly, but it doesn't apply this all the time.

Anyway, I arrived in Prague, I was in the aiport and if you need money, because the currency is different, they have czech coruna (czech crowns), 1 euro is around 25-26 czech crowns. They have ATM there in the airport where you can withdraw money. I did this also because I needed to pay the taxi driver to get me to the univeristy. There are taxis outside the aiport, I read on the internet that they might trick you to pay more or do stuff like this, but mine was serious and really ok so everything was fine. I took it and he drove till CULS Univeristy (Czech University of Life Sciences Prague) or CZU (Česká zemědělská univerzita v Praze) in czech, the same thing. I paid around 10-15 euros, the jouney was 20 minutes. It wasn't that far so it was perfect. Even though the airport is out of the city, the university was quite close. You also have other options, to take the bus and then the metro.

Here are some more specific information from the public site of CULS University:

From Prague Vaclav Havel Airport

Prague’s Václav Havel Airport is situated 15 km west of the city centre, and only 5 km from our university (if you go by taxi or by car).

Coming by taxi (10 minutes):Ask the taxi driver to take you to Ceska zemedelska univerzita, Kamycka 129, 165 00 Praha Suchdol, via Horomerice. The price of a taxi from the airport to CULS campus should not exceed 400 CZK.

Coming by public transport (35 minutes):Right outside the airport Terminal 1 (arrivals from non-Shengen countries) or Terminal 2 (arrivals from Shengen countries) you will find the bus No. 119.

You can buy your transportation ticket either at the Prague Metropolitan Transport counter, at the automatic ticket dispenser next to the bus stop, or from the bus driver (with a surcharge of 8 CZK). The ticket without surcharge costs 32 CZK, and is valid for 90 minutes (you must stamp the ticket in the bus), including any connecting public transport in Prague (buses, trams or metro). Bus No 119 brings passengers from the Václav Havel airport to the Veleslavín station, on Metro Line A (green line).

Take the Metro line A direction Skalka(or Depo Hostivar) and get off at Metro A station Dejvicka (2nd stop from Veleslavin). At Dejvická, you transfer to bus No. 107 or 147 in direction Suchdol. Get off at the bus stop "Zemědělská Univerzita". The stop is announced on the bus public address system and you can also follow information on the digital display. The ride by bus from Dejvicka takes 10 minutes.

But the first time I go in a new city, new country I take the taxi because I don't know anything and then it's complicated to carry you baggages around the city and especially if you need to change the way of traveling (bus and metro). I suggest you take the taxi as I did, there should not be any complications, but if you want to save money than you can follow the instructions above.

About Accomodation in the CULS campus

I got at the university safetly and then went to a building called A to register and then to see in which building I will stay for the next five months. I went there, it was a guy who explained it to me and then I went in the building where I was supposed to stay. They have so many buildings and the campus is really big. So many doorms and school building and other parts of the buldings. Every dorm has a reception, then I went there said my name, they gave me my key and I went to find my room.

To my surprise the room wasn't that bad, it was spacious, I had a big wardrobe and a desk and other small places to put my stuff. The room was also for sharing, so I was waiting for my roomate. Then the bathroom was also for sharing with another room. So 4 persons, 2 rooms, 1 bathroom. The conditions were good so I was ok and I started to unpack my baggage. The monthly price for my accomodation was 120 euros per month with bills included. It was a good price for a room with another person. Considering that Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic and staying in a capital city is more expensive than staying in another big city or small one. The price was fine for me. Even though I would have liked to pay less, of course. But I was happy that I had a place in the campus, because it's important for me to be close to the university so I can save time in the morning if I have courses, and of course I did and almost everyday. The location was not far from the city so I could easily get there.

The only thing that bother me, it wasn't any internet, any wifi or cable internet. So I had to wait for few days till I got the instructions how to set my internet, and I paid for the internet 6 euros I think a month, they set a connection and then it worked. It was a process till I got to have internet, wired one.

Anyway, there are more important things than the internet, right?

I arrived there Sunday evening and I signed before going there that I'd like to start learning czech, so Monday morning I went for my intensive czech course.

What was that? 5 hours every day for 5 days, if you do the math there are 25 hours a week. It was a full week, but it was the first week in Prague, and I had the chance to meet the first students who also came to learn czech. I made friends that week, which they turned out to be the friend I spent my time with for the next 5 months. Of course I met others too, but they were the first ones and the ones who remained. So if you are having a czech course, you will know for sure in the first week, some of them they will be your friends till the last day of Erasmus, and even after that.

I learned that week a lot, my brain was burning, but I already knew so many sentences and words and already able to communicate and order, and asking where is that place and all this basic things that you need to know. I was so happy about that, because I feel so confident when I know how to speak the language. Even though it was a full week I went out exploring the city with the new friends I made that week. We had so much fun really, we started to get to know each other, spent time together and enjoying it. Then after that week passed it was the offical orientation week, another full week with activities organised by university and by the ESN organization.

ESN, as you know, it's an organization for students all around the world and the students from the univeristy help the Erasmus students when they are coming and study for a period of time in that university. They'll make your life as an Erasmus student much easier. In the ways that you will have fun, find your place there, organising trips and parties and events that you can participate and meet other Erasmus students. Discover the city, the culture and so much more. In each country and university is different, but their main goal is to help you have a nice Erasmus experience. As I already been Erasmus once before Prague, I kinda knew "the steps" but I was looking forward to see what it's diferent and how things will turned out to be like in here. They had so many things and events prepared for us, they were really good organised. I like that and also, creative. In the campus there were severals pubs, where you could have a drink and also organize events. This is what they did that week, they organised several events to get to know us better. From games to trips and parties, they made a lot of nice things for us.

What to see in Prague

We had a day when we went and visited the centre of Prague and the main atractions, like Prague Castle, The Astronomical Clock, The Square, St. Vitus Cathedral, Charles Bridge and other attractions. It was cold that day because it was still winter, the begining of February and we've done a lot of walking through the city by foot. But it was a really nice day, I enjoyed seeing all this places for the first time and with a guide. It was perfect. We visited Prague Castle and since that day I just loved that place, it's my favourite place to go and admire it. Then other places around that and also few places in the city centre, as I said before. I learn many things that day about Prague, Czech Republic, about the astronomical clock and other facts about Prague. History is really interesting for me and I like to hear those facts.

Also as a tourists, you can find a lot of free tours around Prague. This was such a cool thing I have discovered later on. There are some guys with umbrellas in the old town square and it's written free tour, in diferent languages, english, spanish, italian, french, etc. The best part is that it's for free, and they take you to all this main atractions in Prague and tell you the history and fun facts. I have attended once and the guide was an american guy who moved there and then he decided to do this, he was really funny and nice and I really enjoyed the way he presented us the city. Really charismatic and good english(of course, he was native) and we enjoyed it. It's a really good idea to have a free tour in a city, especially in the capital. This was such a good initiative.

The city is so beautiful and amazing architecture everywhere you look. So colourful and interesting. You can take a photo to every building. Also, the old buildings and the cathedrals and specials and really a masterpiece.

As I said before my favorite place is the castle, this is the place where the president lives. You can also enter inside the castle, but that's like only one time a year or something like that. Not often. I remember one day was this opening day of the castle and people were queuing for hours. I was also there, but we had some friends and we were waiting only for almost an hour. It was interesting to go inside see all the rooms and the decorations and everything. I'm glad I had the opportunity, it was also for free, that's why there were so many people. But we made it eventualy to see also the inside. I love also the outside.

Here is a photo from one side of the castle, but also between the walls of the castle the interior court is quite big and has a cathedral. I'm going to post more pictures with this one soon. It is so interesting made with all the details and the structure, pretty amazing.

Here it is, looking good right? This is the main entrace in the cathedral, if you see the other picture you can see that it's the begining. When I saw this one from the first time I was so impressed. Then I kept on coming and everytime I admired it. In Prague my friends and family came, so I was a guide for several times. I kinda knew the spots I was supposed to take them but I enjoyed going there everytime. You can also go inside this cathedral named St. Vitus Cathedral. The architecture of this cathedral is gothic. It's incredibly beautiful in my opinion.

Here is the other part of the cathedral, the back if you like. I love it really! It looks so amazing, when I looked at it I really enjoyed finding so many beautiful details and thinking how people built this place. It's something majestic.

Prague Castle has so many beautiful garderns and courtyards but during winter they are closed. If I remember well, they are open in April. So you could see how beautiful they are, so many nice buldings and foutains and flowers and everything is so nice, feels like you are in a fairytale. I love this gardens so much, when it was warmer me and my friends had a lovely walk in this gardens around castle. Seeing all this flowers blooming in the spring time, it was amazing. They even had one garden full of flowers, that was spectacular. When its warm outside and you have a free day, get a book or a coffee or a friend, have a walk, enjoy the small talks, or read a book in one of these gorgeous courtyards and relax and enjoy your day.

I did this one day when it was warmer and I loved staying on a bench and read a book, also I had a snack, it was a perfect afternoon.

This place led to the castle, but on my way there, I just stoped and took a look, admired it and of course I took a photo. You can see the flowers are blooming and looking so pretty. There are many ways to get at the Castle, but depends where you are. Usually you have to walk a lot, even to go up, it's quite a challeging road, but it is worth for sure.

Another beautiful place that I like spending my time was around Charles Bridge or how they call it in czech Karluv Most. The view from here was so nice, you could see also the castle, the city and the sides, the other bridges. They called Prague, the city of bridges because they have so many. But this one is the oldest and a myth said that it was made out of "potatoes and eggs". I don't know why but well, it was strong, potatoes or not. I loved the bridge because of it's history also. It was named after the King Charles the IV. On the bridge there is a point, a golden one, where you can see king Charles in a gold sclupture, and they said if you touch it and make a wish it will come true. I think I also did it, but I forgot what I just wished for. So I don't know if it will come true or not. Anyway, it's a interesting way and makes it more fun to go there on the bridge.

The name of the river is called Valtava and it's the longest river in Czech Republic and crosses all 18 bridges in Prague. Yeah know you see why they called it "city of bridges".

Here is a lovely view where you can see Karluv Most or Charles Bridge:

I stoped and I took a picture, everything was just perfect, the boats, the water, the sky and colours so really beautiful. You can see in the front the Charles Bridge and see that its also gothic style. I like when a city has an old town or old parts in the city, like building, bridges, it gives a charm to the city. Prague has so many of this kind of buildings, also there is in the city centre, the old town. I missed this city a lot, really. At least once a week I think of my time where and how awesome was it. I want to go back to visit again all this places and live again my memories and make new ones.

This one is another photo, from the other side of the city, also you can see the Charles Bridge. I remember this day, I have been with one of my best friends from childhood, she came in Prague. We went to the small island, called Kampa, and then we were on our way back home. But we stopped and this view was and is so beautiful. So relaxing and peaceful.

Transportation

In Prague the transportation is really good, you have the metro, busses and trams. They are conected and you can easily get where you want. For example if you are an Erasmus student and you live in the campus at CULS University as I did the best way to get in the centre was taking a bus from the station outside the campus, then you get to Dejvicka(that's one of the stops on the metro line A or green line) then you go to in the subway to get the metro.

You have few stations and then if you want to go in the old town square, you need to get of at Staromeska (which means, Old Town Square) and from the metro station walk 5 minutes and you are in the the city centre. Or you can also take a tram from Dejvicka to Staromeska but it's quicker if you go buy metro.

There are three metro lines: A, B, C - green, red and yellow line. They basicaly are spread out through Prague so you can get everywhere you want in up to 30 minutes maximum 1h if you are going from one end of the line to another one. As a student the monthly ticket is around 250 czech crowns, 10 euros. You have access to all the lines, all the busses and all the trams. Really cheap, but if you are not a student and you just want to visit Prague for example in a weekend you can take one day ticket which is around 100 czech crowns and it's 24h. So you can use that, better than the single tickes which are 25 or even 40 crowns.

You can buy these tickets around the stations from little shops or even inside the metro stations, also in the shops. In Prague they have also train station, where you can travel around Prague, in diferent cities, national but also international. My friend when she visited me she came from Austria by train, in 3-4 hours she was in Prague. So if you want to visit Prague, check the train station, you might have a good conecction and the prices are fine. Also busses, you can travel by bus the same way, in Czech Republic or outside. I went once home from Prague to my home town by bus, the first time ever, going with a bus, it took 12 hours to get to Arad, and I was so tired. I do not want to travel like this again, but I didn't had a good conecction with the flights. I was with my friend so the time passed kind of.

Anyway, they also have busses to go in most of the European cities. I also travelled with a bus called "Student Agency Bus". They have really good prices and they go in many cities and countries. I took this bus to go to Budapest and they offered really nice services, they gave me free water and headphones to watch in front of me movies or to do something. So I strongly recommend this travel agency. And of course you can take a plane to get in Prague, check Skyscanner for prices and routes, you'll find there so many conections to get to Prague.

There are so many things to say about Prague, my experiences, the places I have visited in Prague and around Prague and other cities. But I'll keep you posted here soon!

I love Prague and miss it so much! I'm happy that I can share this things with you guys, so you also can have a nice weekend away or an awesome Erasmus.

If you have questions let me know, I will be more than happy to help you!

Till then... Enjoy your day! Keep smiling! And don't forget to travel!