Over 90% of the population speaks Czech, which is a Slavic language in the same language family as Russian.
The Czech koruna (or Czech crown) is used in the Czech Republic. Even though Czechia is a part of the European Union, it has kept its own currency instead of using the euro.
A bottle of water costs about 13 kc (Czech crowns), which is about .50 cents in the U.S.
Last night I tried a new type of soup called kapustnica, which is a spicy cabbage and sausage soup that many Czech and Slovak people eat during the winter months. This dish is also really popular for Christmas. I found it to be very tasty and not too spicy, especially because most Czech food is served with a big slice of fresh bread.
My students introduced me to a famous Czech-American modern classical composer named Bohuslav Martinů that was born not too far away from where I live now in the Czech Republic. Bohuslav Martinů fled from Nazi invaders in Europe in the 1940s and came to America to continue his complex music style. The piece I listened to was Violin Concerto No. 2, which I think has a dramatic and emotional flare that I really enjoyed.
