Living in London

Although the Czech Republic joined the European Union in May of this year, they have not yet converted their currency to the Euro. They have retained their national currency called the Czech Crown (Koruna) abbreviated as Kc. With today's exchange rates $1 US Dollar = 24.39 Kc and 1 British Pound = 44.98 Kc.

Costs are reasonable here. A 30 minute taxi ride from the airport to the hotel was 650 Kc ($26.65 and £14.45) and a 500 ml (17 oz) bottle of Coke from a street vendor is only 25 Kc ($1.03 / £.0.56)

Other observations on our first day:

• The majority of the Czech Republic is comprised of a region in central Europe that was known as Kingdom of Bohemia
• Franz Kafka was born in Prague when it was still the kingdom of Bohemia. He worked for the Workers Accident Insurance Institute and refused to publish any of his work during his life time.

Well, we arrived in Prague and had the chance to walk around a bit this afternoon. Pretty much what you would expect - lots of smoking, sausage grilling street vendors, and fur hats. Also Pilser Urquell on tap for $1 a glass. These are the highlights so far. We hope to take a tour tomorrow and become better informed.

-LmG