So yeah,
I'll be heading out for the CR pretty soon here (taking a language course just for fun). If anyone who's been there or who is studying there could tell me what bring.

Since I'll leave in 3 weeks and just hang out until Christmas time, I have to take everything now. So, I have some questions.

1. What are the winters like? Should I bring scarfs and a real heavy coat? Can it be a pea-coat or should it be a big poofy waterproof one?

2. Clothing. Is it expensive? Should I bring my suit (random, I know but you never know)

3. Electricity. I know they're on a different voltage but I hope my laptop will work and such. I don't need any printers or anything like that. I just need to know what kind of plug thing they have so I can buy one here in advance.

Thanks,
A

bring as little as possible. most everything you want/need, you can get there.

about the only things i take now are clothes, some books and my laptop. your laptop has a converter built into it, so you only need an adapter. if you can, buy an adapter with a surge protector built into it. the other choice is to but they adapter and get a surge protector when you get there. just go to radio shack, they can hook you up.

it is cold in the winter. take warm clothes, gloves, hats, scarf if you wear it, etc...a pea coat is fine for the medium days. but, i love my big puffy parka. you can wear it and a t-shirt or a sweater if it is really cold. it is nice, because it is usually freezing outside and boiling hot inside the buildings. if you have a pea coat, you will wind up wearing 5 layers outside and taking them all off every time you get inside.

my advice is just bring clothes and a laptop. after living there for a few weeks or months, when you know the city a bit better and maybe have a potential roomie, start looking for an apartment. then stock it with whatever you need, and plan to live there for the duration, or at least the first three years, when you will be spending the major part of your year in prague. i loved my flat, and it made living there way more fun.

hope this helps

andew being from north dakota (methinks) and myself being from montreal, and neil being from california, i find this dissertation on cold weather hilarious.

neil, can you define what "freezing outside" is? is it way below freezing (0 C/32 F) or just a little?

thanks

-S

it gets well below 0 C, in fact average temp is around 0 from december to feb. i remember several long streches where it stayed in the minus teens Celsius. i love the cold, lived in the rockies, play ice hockey, love a pond skate. but my cojones get cold in prague, and i get sick of it by about the end of january 8) no sun, no blue sky, lots of ice for months.

it is not terrible, not like north dakota, i am sure. i have heard it is similar to a chicago winter...never been to chicago tho, so can't compare.