How to Create a Czech Microclimate (Even If You Live 5,000 Miles Away)

You don’t need to live in Prague or Brno to learn Czech. You just need a little creative climate control.

One of my favorite things to do when I travel to countries whose languages I’m learning is to soak up the everyday culture like a sponge. I bring home books, CDs (yes, I still buy them), DVDs, and even cheap tabloids. I tune in to local radio, get hooked on weird TV shows, and scribble down words I overhear at cafés.

Here's a snapshot of my car trunk during my current trip to the Azores: bursting with Portuguese-language novels, guides, and kids’ books. It’s my idea of treasure. Because reading is part of summer. So why not read in the language you're learning?

Books Over Beaches

Fill your suitcase with stories in Czech, not just sunscreen.

Create Your Own Czech Microclimate

Even if you live in Boston, Brighton, or Buenos Aires, you can build a mini Czech ecosystem that feels natural and nourishing.

Here’s how:

Fill Your Life with Czech Books

Start with what you love. Fairy tales? Try Čtení pro děti. Crime novels? Biographies? Grab a few Czech books on your next trip or hunt down ebooks from Czech publishers like Albatros or Kosmas.cz. Children’s books are gold: fun, simple, and great for building confidence.

Me reading Portuguese novel about Sao Tomé

Tune In to Czech Audio

Stream Czech radio like mujRozhlas, which offers live broadcasts and archives of spoken-word programs. I especially recommend Rádio Junior for learners. It’s slow, clear, and full of stories.

Want podcasts? Search for:

• Čeština s Michalem for short, everyday Czech

• SlowCzech clear and learner-friendly

• Or dive into YouTube: channels like Easy Czech or Czech with Kateřina can add variety to your listening diet.

Let Czech Music Play in the Background

From indie pop to Moravian folk, Czech music is diverse and often poetic. Try artists like Tomáš Klus, Igor Orozovič, Kateřina Marie Tichá, Aneta Langerová, or Pokáč. Make a Czech playlist and hit play while you cook, clean, or run errands.

New LP by Czech multitalented singer Igor Orozovič

Swap Netflix for Česká Televize

Watch series or news at iVysílání or YouTube. Turn on Czech subtitles. Use pausing, replaying, and screenshotting as your new superpowers. Even 10 minutes a day adds up.

Tip: iVysílání may be geo-blocked outside the Czech Republic. Just use a VPN and teleport your device to Prague.

Set Your Devices to Czech

Your phone, your laptop, your apps… These are the places where your attention already lives. So why not let Czech live there too?

Switch your device language to čeština. Suddenly, you’re no longer just opening your calendar. You’re checking kalendář. You’re not replying to messages, you're answering zprávy. These micro-moments build passive exposure that makes Czech vocabulary stick naturally, without flashcards.

It might feel confusing at first (where did “Settings” go?!), but that's the point. Friction creates memory. Every tap becomes a tiny lesson.

Bonus: Change your Google search language to Czech, too. That way, when you google something like “best hiking trails,” you'll be led into Czech websites and BOOM, you're reading authentic Czech content without even planning to.

Make Czech Your Default on the Internet

Search in Czech. Read news on ct24.cz. Google things like “český podcast o historii” or “nejlepší česká detektivka”. You’ll find gems and train your brain to browse naturally in the language.

You don’t need to be in the Czech Republic to live in Czech. The language is everywhere. You just have to turn toward it. Build your own Czech world. Surround yourself with sounds, stories, and phrases. The more you touch the language, the more it will touch back.

Want help building your habits?

The Painless Czech Guidebook is full of tools for creating daily Czech moments.
Get the guidebook →

Stůj tady 10 sekund, když se těšíš na prázdniny

Stand here for 10 seconds if you're excited about the holidays

A chalk message in a Prague park reminded me why mistakes are the heart of language learning. I also have for you a few tips how to keep up your Czech even when summer turns your schedule upside down (children running free, demolishing the house).

I came across this message during a morning run through one of Prague’s prettiest parks Grébovka (aka Havlíčkovy sady). If you’re in Prague, definitely visit this park. It’s full of winding paths, elegant architecture, and even a vineyard. Yes, they grow grapes right in the city and make real wine from them. Bring a book, a podcast, or just your thoughts. (I recommend a cup of coffee and 10 minutes of Czech.)

Grébovka aka Havlíčkovy sady: View of the park and vineyard

Someone (probably a tiny Czech with sidewalk chalk and big summer dreams) had written it right on the pavement. A pure dose of joy. Looking forward to the holidays.

The language nerd in me, however, instantly noticed something: There’s a missing comma.

In Czech, we use a comma before když (“when”) because it introduces a subordinate clause which is a type of dependent clause that adds extra information, like time, reason, or condition. These little side-kick clauses always get separated from the main sentence with a comma.

So, grammatically correct, it should read:

Stůj tady 10 sekund, když se těšíš na prázdniny.

But wait. There’s more.
In this context, it might actually make more sense to use pokud (“if”) instead of když.

Why?                                                              

• Když means “when” as in a moment in time: “When it rains, I stay home.”

• Pokud means “if”, as in a condition: “If it rains, I’ll stay home.”

So this sentence is really inviting you to stand there if you’re excited about the holidays not at the exact moment when you’re excited (that would be weird).

So the best version would probably be:

Stůj tady 10 sekund, pokud se těšíš na prázdniny.

Corrected chalk message

And yet it made me smile. Because even Czech kids forget the rules sometimes. So if you're making mistakes while learning Czech? Good. You're learning.

Mistakes Are Where the Magic Happens

The biggest myth about language learning? That it needs to be perfect. But if Czech kids (and adults as well) get grammar wrong, so can you.

The goal isn’t flawless Czech. The goal is fearless Czech.

No one ever learned a language by staying silent. So say the weird sentence. Use the wrong case. Mix up ten and ta. That’s where progress is.

But What If the Kids Are Home?

Yep, summer changes everything. No school. No schedule. Chaos. But your Czech habit? It doesn’t have to take a vacation.

Here’s how to keep it alive even if your house is full of Legos, noise, and sunscreen:

• Morning: Listen to any channel on mujRozhlas while making breakfast.

• Afternoon: Write one sentence about your day. Just one.

• Evening: Read a bedtime story in Czech (to your kid or to yourself).

Even 5–15 minutes a day keeps the habit warm. You don’t need to study hard. Just stay connected.

Want Something to Keep You Going?

The Painless Czech Guidebook was built for real humans with real lives.

Inside you’ll find:

• 50 pages of practical, Czech-specific hacks of learning the language

• Tips for sneaking Czech into your day (even when summer’s nuts)

• Tools for listening, reading, writing, and speaking that feel fun. Not like homework

Start here → Get the Guidebook

And next time you spot a chalk message on a Prague sidewalk see if you’d correct it.