1) Family comes first
Spending time with family belongs to the most valuable things for Czechs. It is very typical to visit grandmas and grandpas or aunts and uncles over the weekends. People in the Czech Republic are very hard-working but also do good on work-life balance and do not leave family behind. They usually enjoy having a meal together while catching up on what happened that day at work or school.
Another specialty for Czech is going away for weekends to their cottages – small houses in the countryside or in the woods. Families usually enjoy trips (hiking, cycling, swimming, skiing or anything else that comes to your mind) together and grill out in the evenings with their family or invited friends.
2) Small country
Czech Republic is rather small, it is very easy to travel everywhere. And it is highly recommended to explore as much of Czechia as you can! It has many beauties, touristic and well-known as well as the hidden ones.
Everywhere you go, you find a historical sights and well-preserved areas. Therefore, there has been 12 sites declared as UNESCO sights. One special detail is, that not all of these are “just” buildings – you get a chance to see history in many forms! The historic centres of Prague, Kutna Hora, Telč, the Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc, the Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape and the Holašovice Historical Village Reservation just to name a few. Just google it and you’ll fall in love!
3) The Czech quality of life is high
The Czech Republic is one of the best places to live in Quality of Life indexes and similar surveys. This reiterates what its citizens already know: Czech life is good.
At the beginning of 2018, the World Economic Forum ranked the Czech Republic #15 in its Quality of Life index, ahead of the USA, UK, France, and other countries! It is definitely a country where you should try to live in!
4) Location
Czech Republic is also called the heart of Europe. With its central location, it is very easy to reach other countries and cities. Most Czechs travel by cars or trains. You can get basically anywhere from Prague thanks to public transport. And even though Czech Republic is a landlocked country, there are couple of lakes you can swim in and enjoy a little vacation just a few minutes or hours away from your home.
5) The Nature
Czechs love nature! As mentioned above, spending time with family on a cottage or many trips in the nature are the most favourite ways of spending time of most of Czechs. And even Czech cities belong to the greenest ones in the world! For example, Stromovka and Divoká Šárka in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, give more than oxygen to locals. Especially in summer, when people want to get away from the city’s unbearable heat, it is only a few tram-stops away from their work.
6) European Union (EU)
As a proper member of the EU, Czech Republic and its citizens profit from all of the advantages. You only need your ID-card when you travel outside Czech Republic and within EU and you only need just one visa to the EU and don’t need to worry about visa requirements in every EU-country. Unfortunately, the Czech Republic does not have the euro yet, but it is easy and fee-free in many places in bigger cities. Another pro is students’ discounts! Talking about cinema, theatre, museum or coffee, you have it all! Many places are student-friendly so do not forget your proof of studying and enjoy even cheaper prices!
Another thing worth mentioning is the environment and its protection. Czech Republic scores high in most of the EU- surveys. Czechs recycle, sand many places offer a discount for a coffee to your own cup, non-package stores and local farmers.
7) History
Yes, the Czech Republic has very very long and complex history. From Bohemia Kingdom, to history of Czechoslovakia, to the occupation in 1968, to communist regime, to Velvet Revolution. There is a lot to be learnt! The history is rooted in the people and they try their best to fight for democracy in today’s hard times. There are many museums where you can learn about the Czech history and culture. And the National Museum was just re-opened with a new design (autumn 2018)!
Thanks to the fact, that Prague used to be the Europe’s capital in the past, there is a huge amount of sights worth seeing. A stroll through Prague and it’s cobbled-stone narrow streets are a must do while in the Czech Republic! It definitely takes more than a week to discover the best parts of Prague and near surroundings (like Karlštejn, Mělník or Lom Amerika).
Last thing to mention is the language. It is from the Slavic branch, making Czech understand a little bit of Polish, Russian or Serbian. Not to mention that Czech and Slovak (especially thanks to Czechoslovakia (1918-1993)) are so similar that Czechs and Slovaks communicate without a problem. Czech language can be challenging but it is very pretty and especially unique! There are definitely not many people that speak Czech which will make you very special if you learn it :)
8) Safety
Czech Republic belongs to the safest countries in the world. Petty crime can be high in larger cities, but Prague hasn’t followed the world in this trend and it will not. You might encounter a pickpocket, but they do not get violent, they just quietly live along.
It is also very safe to travel by train, bus or night-transport (in the cities and across the country).
9) Cheap prices
Even though Czech Republic is the member of the EU, it has not yet adopted its high prices. It is very cheap and common to travel by buses or trains. And students get (again) extra discount!
10) Food
Every country is very proud of their national food, so are Czechs. Czech cuisine is very filling and full of traditional flavours. Most of the national meals comprise of meat, dumplings and cream-vegetable sauce. And even sweet lunches are very common (such as ovocné knedlíky or palačinky)! But don’t worry if you are a vegetarian or a vegan, there are plenty of places where you can easily find really good food for you as well. Some restaurants even make the national meals in vege/vegan version so you get to taste it too!