I’m Jan, a Czech writer, hiker and travel guide born in Bohemia and based in Prague. I’ve been writing about my home country for 9 years, and I know it the way you only do when you’ve grown up here: the trail signs that locals actually follow, the pubs that aren’t in any guidebook, the castles that get overlooked because they’re not on a tour bus route.

Over 9 years I’ve covered every corner of the Czech Republic, from the Krkonoše ridges and Šumava forests to the wine cellars of South Moravia and the spa towns of West Bohemia. I’ve taken 40+ solo trips across Czechia, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and Austria, and I write in Czech and English, which means I can read the local hiking forums, regional news and municipal information that never gets translated.

What I Write About

My writing covers three areas: practical solo travel in Czechia (getting around by train and bus, hiking safely, visiting castles and landmarks without the crowds), expat and long-term living (the cultural surprises, the bureaucracy, what it actually costs, how the healthcare and transport systems work), and off-the-radar Czech Republic, the places most visitors never reach because they spend all their time in Prague.

Prague is extraordinary, but it’s maybe 10% of what this country has to offer. The rest is what I’m here to write about.

Where to Find My Writing on This Site

The Solo Travel hub covers the practical side of travelling alone in Czechia: neighbourhood safety, meeting people, getting around by train and bus. The Expat and Nomad hub covers what it actually takes to live here longer term, the bureaucracy, the healthcare system, the cost of living, and the visa pathways. Beyond Prague, the Day Trips hub and the neighbourhood guides in the Prague hub cover the parts of the country and the city that most visitors miss.

I also write for allaboutvienna.com, covering the same Central European region from the Austrian side.