Travel News

AK Monthly Recap: September 2023

Kate and Charlie taking a smiling selfie in sunglasses, each holding a frozen mango margarita, with a street festival in the background.

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After a busy summer, it was all about staying put in September. Zero travel plans, just enjoying the best of my adopted city for one of the nicest months of the year.

But despite being limited to a small geographic area, this month wasn’t about relaxing. I spent the entire month consumed with DRIVING LESSONS.

Let’s take a look at September 2023!

Enjoying frozen mango margaritas at Americke Fest!

Destinations Visited

Kate standing holding a sign reading "Kate's first day of Czech Driving School. I am 39 years old. My teacher's name is Honza? Probably Honza. I want to be retired when I grow up."
I had to take a first day of school pic!

Highlights

This month was all about one thing: driving. Finally, I began the process of getting my Czech license — and learning to drive a manual vehicle (aka stick shift) for the first time ever!

While many foreign residents can exchange their licenses for a Czech license, Americans cannot — so I had to go through the whole driving school process. It involves 28 hours of driving (really, 28 45-minute sessions), starting with five on a driving simulator if you’ve never driven a manual before, and five theory classes.

I went to Autoškola Horázný, and the entire thing cost me 39,300 CZK ($1,685 USD): 34,900 CZK ($1,496 USD) for an intensive course (with double sessions, completed in 4-6 weeks rather than three months), including driving test with translator; 600 CZK ($26 USD) for the medical certificate; 700 CZK ($30 USD) for the theory test; 3000 CZK ($129) for a translator for the theory test; and I took so many practice tests I had to fork out an extra 100 CZK ($4) for an additional 100.

Driving school in English costs about double what it costs in Czech, no matter where you go.

It may seem overkill, but I’m SO glad I did this. The Czech driving system is very different from the American driving system — lots of rules about main roads vs. minor roads, when to give way, speed limits for different kinds of zones, and rules for driving amongst trams.

Now that I know what I know, driving in the Czech Republic without knowing the rules seems remarkably reckless!

I’ll have more of an update after my driving tests in October.

Kate standing in an old-fashioned library with a crenellated ceiling painted with angelic frescoes. There are old books on the stacks behind her. She wears a long magenta skirt and a black top.
How amazing is this library?

Taking a private tour of the Strahov Library. The Strahov Library in Prague is one of the most beautiful libraries I’ve ever seen — it’s straight out of Beauty and the Beast.

If you buy a regular ticket to the Strahov Library, you can only poke your head in and take photos. If you…

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