The Czech artist David Černý created a life-size sculpture of Sigmund Freud, which was originally installed on Jilská Street in Prague. The sculpture was hung on a metal rod over the street from the top of a building. According to an article on the České Noviny (ČTK) website, the sculpture has been shown in Europe and in the U.S. In Grand Rapids, Michigan, the latest city to host the installation, the “Hanging Man” was hung on a seven story building and a number of citizens thought it was was a real person who had taken their own life. The sculpture will make it back to Prague one day, so if you see it here, you’ll know it is just Freud hanging out.

The “Hanging Man” in Prague

The Prius Mania

I was amazed and pleased to see how many Californians drive the Prius (the wonderful hybrid gas/electric car by Toyota). Two or three years ago, there were a few of them on the roads. Now you can easily see four in an hour. The Czech Republic has a ways to go in this department. I think I have only seen the Prius - or any hybrid for that matter - on a total of three occasions in Prague since 2004.

Care for Some Water?

You won’t find a Czech restaurant that will serve free water and you won’t find a Czech restaurant that will serve tap water. At the same time, basically every Czech restaurant offers at least one brand of mineral water, which often comes in several varieties: still, lightly sparkling and sparkling. Mineral water, even Czech made, is usually more expensive than Czech beer, sometimes almost twice as much.

If you ask for mineral water at a U.S. restaurant, you may get a confused look from the waiter. Your large glass of iced tap water will arrive free of charge as soon as you sit down and it will be refilled throughout your meal, but mineral water or simply bottled water seems to be an exotic product at many establishments.

OMG, Those Commercials!

All of a sudden, I found American network TV almost impossible to watch due to the irritatingly frequent commercial breaks. I somehow got used to the commercials when I lived in the U.S. a few years ago, but it seems to me that they came on even more often this time.

For example, I watched an episode of Desperate Housewives and I swear the program was interrupted every 10 minutes. That’s five commercial breaks in a one-hour show. Needless to say, I didn’t try watching another episode. If I’m not mistaken, Prima TV that airs the Desperate Housewives in the Czech Republic interrupts each episode only once, approximately in the middle, for about seven minutes. TV Nova shows commercials every 20 - 25 minutes for about three minutes per break, so a one-hour show is interrupted twice. I can pretty much live with that. Now if only they would stop bothering me with laundry detergent, yogurt and free calling minutes over and over again! A bit more variety wouldn’t hurt, guys!

Smoking or Non-Smoking? Who Cares?

California restaurants are blessed with clean air. There is a state-wide ban on smoking in public places, so you never, ever have to have that little “Smoking or non-smoking?” conversation with the waiter as you enter a restaurant. You never have to scan the room to find a table that’s as far as possible from any customers who are smoking or may start at any minute (see the pack of cigarettes sitting on their table?). You don’t have to assess every newcomer and guess whether or not he looks like a smoker and if he does, whether or not he is heading for a table near yours. You can freely go to a restaurant you’ve never been to before without wondering if they’ll have a non-smoking section and without needing Plan B in case they don’t. You can come home from dinner with your clothes smelling the way they did when you left. Which means that you don’t have to take your smelly clothes to the dry cleaner…