Prague First Impressions

A few life updates and what I’ve noticed about the city so far

Yes, by my calculations I should have posted something yesterday. My bad! We had a surprisingly busy week, and we’re still settling into our routine.

I started volunteering at a yoga studio near us in exchange for unlimited classes. It’s a great studio! If you’re planning on visiting us and you like yoga, you should check it out. They offer free classes for your first week.

Before I got here, I was lifting regularly and going to Pilates once a week. I haven’t done yoga this regularly in years—it’s really nice! But, I miss lifting and am planning on joining a gym soon. For now, it’s great not having that expense.

I want to make a longer post next time about our apartment and neighborhood. But for now, here are some of my first impressions living here.

1. There are lots of stairs and hills.

You guys this is no joke. Gabe told me it was hilly before I got here and I wasn’t ready. Also, our apartment is on the fifth floor (in U.S. terms the sixth floor) and we don’t have an elevator. So part of it is our fault.

The view from our living room. Life’s a climb but the view is great etc etc

Stairs are relentless. Even when I was at my peak physical fitness (playing D3 lacrosse, running 2 miles in under 14 mins, having the young carefree attitude of a college student) I still couldn’t make it up 3 flights of stairs without running out of breath. Idk what it is!!! Gabe says he’s “gotten used to them,” but I hear him breathing heavily once we get to our apartment door.

2. It can take a while to cross the street.

A lot of intersections only have two crosswalks (instead of four). So you need to be on the right side of the street in order to get to the other side of the street… if that makes sense. I’ve seen a lot of people jaywalking though, and the cars don’t want to kill you (also different from Chicago).

Crosswalk vibes

3. It’s very dog friendly!

Sybil has really bad separation anxiety, so we take her with us almost everywhere (because we’re allowed to!). Sometimes, Gabe even takes her to work. He has a bakery that he likes to stop at on his commute, and the women who work there love her. She knows exactly where to sit to get treats. She loves it here.

Sybil, tired after a long day of peeing all over the city

Beyond being dog friendly, Czech people love dogs. I like that when we take Sybil for a walk, people will smile at her, stop to pet her, or talk to us about her. It gives us a new opportunity to interact with the city. Sybil can be a challenging dog, but I’m really grateful that we have her.

4. There’s lots of pigeons but no rats.

Another big indicator that we are no longer in Chicago: no more chunky rats. Sybil is very confused (and disappointed) at the lack of rats. She has taken to chasing the pigeons, but I can tell her heart isn’t in it.

Gabe and me if we were pigeons

5. It’s just so beautiful.

Beautiful building alert

This is a really well-preserved, historic city. I’m a little more used to cities with a bit of grunge to them (and I miss brutalist buildings), but the architecture here is stunning. You’ll just look up and suddenly it’s the most beautiful building you’ve ever seen.

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