The Czech crown has been reaching its all-time record-highs against the US dollar these past couple of months. The absolute highest point was reached on March 12th when 1 US dollar was equal to only 16.0 CZK.
When I came to the US in 1998 the American dollar was worth about 43 Czech crowns and I was scared to death to buy even a chewing gum: a 2-dollar chewing gum (about 80 crowns) was worth as much as a decent dinner for two (!) in a Czech restaurant. When I went to visit home on the other hand, being a poor student here in America I felt like a queen in Czech, buying whatever caught my eye. And now, I guess, it’s going to be my poor rich Czech relatives sending me packages and not the other way…. 🙁
CZ: Ceske korune se oproti americkemu dolaru v pozdejsi dobe dosti vede. Rekord dosahla 12. brezna, kdy byl dolar rovny pouze 16-ti korunam ceskym!! Kdyz jsem prisla do Statu v roce 1998, dolar stal v teto dobe kolem 43 korun. Cokoliv jsem si chtela tady v Americe koupit mi presly chute, jakmile jsem si cenu prepocitala na ceske koruny. Zdanlive nevinna zvykacka za $2 se stala obrovskou financi prekazkou, jakmile jsem zjistila jeji opravdou cenu: 80 korun!! Za tolik penez jsem si mohla koupit peknou veceri – ne – 2 vecere v jakekoliv ceske restauraci! Kdyz jsem ale na druhou stranu prijela na navstevu do Cech, tak se ze zdanlive chude studenty stala na par dni naprosta kralovna, nebo-li tzv. “bohata pribuzna z Ameriky” a kupovala jsem si, co jsem chtela. Ale casy se meni, a misto abych posilala balicky “na prilepsenou” do Cech, tak to ted asi bude naopak…
Source: http://www.exchange-rates.org/history/CZK/USD/G
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Going to Czech in May. Ow! Where are best places in Prague to beg?
I would recommend the metro stations. But you have to have something really cute with you like a puppy or something for it to work.
Two dollars for a chewing gum in the US? Ten years ago? That must have been a pretty huge package of chewing gum. You might have picked a more realistic example to illustrate your otherwise very good point.
slkfjs-
Typical Czech comment- critical, unconstructive, and downright pointless. My Czech wife and I joke about grumps like you. Go eat a lollipop and try be positive for once in your life.
It was a perfectly pointful & constructive (and yes critical) comment. In 1988 a pack of gum in the US cost about $.35, and in 1998 maybe $.50 So if you quadruple the price to make your point, you are exaggerating wildly. It is possible to understand the huge disparity in purchasing power between the Czech crown and dollar(and it’s evolution over time as well) without even exaggerating. It is taking away from the credibility of your point. It would be like me saying I paid 14,000 Lira for a cappucino in Milan in 1997, and taking that as the norm. That’s twice the price than in the Caffé Florian San Marco in the same year! (Twice only–Not even quadruple!) And about 14 times the price to have one at the bar in any other café. Whew! Now where did I put that $2.00 lollipop…?