Promiňte, How Do I Get There?

• Autobusy : 153 day city bus lines, 22 suburban bus lines and 12 night bus lines
• Metro : 3 lines. 54 stations. 54.7 km of tracks. 400 million passengers a year
• Tramvaje : 26 day routes, 9 night routes. Total route length of 560 km. 300 million passengers a year

Prague's extensive tram-metro-bus network easily puts Calgary and Kuala Lumpur's to shame. I secretly think that people who drive around in downtown Prague are idiots for not utilizing this efficient source of public transportation.

It has been almost one month since I've move to the Czech Republic. And I have finally, finally figured out the streets here. That's right folks, I am embarrassed to inform you that for the past three weeks and three days, I was convinced that there are no street signs in Prague.

Aren't road signs supposed to be universal?
- Picture taken from Kenny Sia's blog -

My reliance on the public transportation system here day in and out meant that I didn't have to know the street names of my destination. I've always been rather useless with remembering streets anyway, much less those horribly long street names like the ones we have in certain parts of Malaysia. I'm more of the tell-me-the-landmark-and-I'll-find-it type driver - this probably won't, and can't, apply when I'm in a suburban area. It might also explain why I always end up calling my Papa for directions every time I'm out on the road. Not that I don't know how to read the map. I do. I just suck at map-reading when there's driving involved.

Nope. Not street names...

Indeed, I thought it was rather odd; downtown Prague has signs all over the place pointing tourists to the local attractions, but no street signs indicating street names. How do people get to their destinations?

Today was the big day: I was on a mission and my search for this particular place required me to get off the main roads and look for a little street not usually glutted by tourists.

Hrm...

Verbal directions in Czech, incorporated with sign language and pointing wouldn't get me far. Walking around in circles wasn't the best idea either. I have to find those street signs, dammit. There I was, wandering aimlessly on some random alley, eyes darting around looking for someone to ask for further directions. All of a sudden, I saw it.

Street signs!!!!!!

They've been there all along!!! I can distinctly hear Mom admonishing in her Teochew dialect, "眼生来掌鼻。" Since the literal translation of this is too vague, I won't even attempt to do so. In essence, it really means that I should start expanding my line-of-sight above eye-level.