Good to know!
Packing list
- ID Card (for those living in the Schengen Area) or a valid passport
- Travel insurance and/or visa if needed
- Code of Conduct
- Your travel tickets
- Clothes and shoes appropriate for events (comfy, smart casual, formal and party)
- A coat or a jacket (some parts of the Teambuilding might be done outdoors)
- A reusable mug or 50 CZK as a deposit for a cup
- Reusable plate/snack box
- Reusable cutlery (for the Eurovillage and Coffee breaks if needed)
- Toiletries and a towel
- Laptop/Notebook
- Chargers for all your electronic devices
- Money to pay the participation fee for Delegates, the Officials dinner for Officials and for the session merch, if ordered
- Something that reminds you of home <3
Currency
The Czech Republic uses České Koruny (CZK). As of writing, the conversion rate is-
24.56 CZK for 1 EUR, or 0.041 EUR for 1 CZK.
Some prices can include:
- Coca-Cola (bottle): 29.90 CZK = 1.2 EUR
- Red Bull (250 ml): 39.90 CZK = 1.6 EUR
- Meal in a restaurant: 200 CZK = 8 EUR
- Water bottle (750 ml): 14.90 CZK = 0.6 EUR
Remember to bring enough cash to cover the merchandise you might have ordered, as well as enough for the officials’ dinner and/or participant fee. We also recommend having some cash for paying in establishments, 300 to 500 CZK (12 to 20 EUR), as some places might not accept cards. Some of the shops, especially those with self-service checkouts, do not accept cash thus we encourage you to have some cash as well as a credit card.
Places you can exchange currencies at, are known as ”směnárna”. If you are going to use one, please check the reviews online. Here are some that we recommend.
In Praha:
In Plzeň:
Do not forget to make sure you are getting the right exchange rate as some places want to rip you off! A lot of places advertise 0 commission, but after that offer a very poor rate. Sometimes, you could get even 20% less than somewhere else.
DO NOT EXCHANGE MONEY WITH RANDOM PEOPLE ON THE STREET! (Yes, some people really do this.)
Some ATMs (specifically the ones operated by the corporation Euronet but possibly others as well) could also try to scam you. If a foreign card is inserted, they will offer to withdraw ludicrous amounts of money, and then offer you a horrible exchange rate which is then applied to the entire, ridiculously large amount, costing you a lot of money. Make absolutely sure you are not withdrawing much more money than you need and then, to also pick the “Decline conversion” option, which will make the ATM use your bank’s conversion rate which are often as close to the real rate as you can get, instead of the ATM’s, which can be up to 13% worse for you.
Calling
Thanks to EU regulations, if you have a SIM registered anywhere within the EU, calling should cost the same as if you were in your home country. Otherwise, we recommend calling via WhatsApp.
Alcohol in public
Czechia has a few laws prohibiting drinking alcohol in public. There are 4 specific locations in Plzeň where drinking in public is strictly prohibited: the city centre of Pilsen (Plzeň-střed), a district called Bory, the surroundings of a shopping mall called Luna, and a small region called U Ježíška. All of them are marked on maps below. In such areas, however, there are exceptions for pub/restaurant areas, such as outside seating area.
< This shows where public drinking in the city centre is prohibited – i runs from the Central Bus Station (CAN) to the Main Train Station (Plzeň hlavní nádraží).
This is the area in district Bory where public drinking is prohibited. >
<This is the shopping mall (Luna) area.
The region “U Ježíška” runs along the banks of the river Radbuza up to a bridge called Malostranská. >
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