It was thrilling: rang up a pension in Kutna Hora, Czech Republic to make a room booking. The lady answered in Czech. "Dobry den..." followed by a string of czech, which i couldn't make out. I'm still lousy at czech. So, in pure horror, i asked her in dubious czech if she spoke english, coz i speak no czech. She said no. Then, we both paused. Silence. Then, i tried again, the middle way. German. She said a bit. Thankfully. Some sort of common understanding. So i think we managed to sort out what room i wanted, and when. I think. In stilted german/czech/english. All mixed in 1 conversation. Very interesting, trying to guess what she was saying.. and i'm sure she was too.


Tried to say 16th December. First tried it in German. She didn't quite get it, i think. Coz she kept saying 17 in german. Gah.. out of desperation, i tried saying 1 and 6 in czech.. forgot 16. Could have tried 16 in russian. But i forgot that too. I hope she got it as 16 and not 17. Might call her again to confirm.. maybe nearer the date. All in all, very fun. We should learn more languages... i don't believe in English being the universal language. Yes, it could be for ease of governance, and formal dialogues... but not when you are a wee traveller. Attempts should be appreciated. Insisting that they speak english, is just plain selfish.