This week on Women around the World, we are hopping over to a new country. However it’s not a country new to the blog entirely as I was in Prague just a few months ago. However this is the first time we are featuring a Czech girl on the blog. Meet Diana, one of the three bloggers from Czech Souls.
I spent my summer in the beautiful Czech Republic and really grew to love the place. It is absolutely beautiful. So I was very excited to interview Diana when she reached out to me. I’m also super stoked about these dress photos! She was traveling in Asia for 7 weeks and had only a few changes of clothing in her backpack. So when she went to Angor Wat in Cambodia, she wanted something different to wear. Here is the full interview:
Name, age, where you’re from and where you live now
- My name is Diana, I am 21 years old. I currently live in Prague, the Czech Republic, my other two friends – fellow bloggers Míša and Anna are both 22 yo, Anna also from Prague. Míša is from Kladno, which is near Prague, but currently studying in the second biggest city – Brno.
What made you and your friends decide to start a blog?
- We were all travelling a lot, volunteering and doing many activities, and it was a bit exhausting to repeat ourselves and tell everyone what we were up to, so we have decided to share what we do on a blog. This takes a lot more time than we thought initially, haha. All of us three also enjoy reading other blogs with similar niche, so we were naturally tempted to try blogging as well!
How long have you guys been blogging?
- We are still newbies in the blogosphere! We started only in June this year.
How did you three meet?
- We all attended the same high school couple of years ago, but that’s actually only where me and Míša have met! I met Anna in my part time job and then introduced Anna and Míša to each other couple of months later.
How do you three manage blogging together? Do you have a schedule of who posts when? Do you delegate other things like social media and promotion?
- That’s a tricky question! We actually don’t have a proper schedule as we try to write about our recent travels and experiences and that just depends on who is travelling and who’s not. We are still trying to figure out how to delegate social media, but so far Anna is taking care of Instagram, Míša takes care of our Pinterest and I somehow manage the rest.
What do you enjoy blogging about most?
- Travel, for sure. We love it, we love writing and reading about it.
What are your goals for your blog?
- To find as many readers who would enjoy reading our blog as possible haha
What do you do outside of blogging?
- Study, work, travel, volunteer, teach, drink tea… you know, the usual. 😉
What has been your favourite place that you have travelled to?
- Ugh, that’s hard to tell. Every place has its magic. But If I had to pick a place where to live I would probably go for Budapest in Hungary. A place I have the craziest memories from would be India and a place I have fond memories of because of travelling with someone very close – Phu Chi Fah in Thailand.
What recommendations do you have for people wanting to visit the Czech Republic?
- Do your research on the internet and don’t fall for scams. Take time for the CR and visit places most people skip – Telč, Olomouc, Hluboká castle, Litomyšl… And if you have some time (or maybe even if you don’t) – look up “Honest Guide” made by Janek Rubeš on youtube, there is a whole series about Prague and then one about the CR. He is a local, the videos are in English and he includes great tips in there!
What are some off-the-beaten-path things to do in Prague?
- There are many of them, but I can share with you one of my favourite places not many Czechs know about. At the suburbs of Prague, you can find Průhonický park, which is officially in UNESCO and includes a botanical garden, castle and much more. The entrance fee is cheap and it’s a calm place, where I could spend hours. It’s a must see especially if you are around in autumn, when the leaves are colourful. You won’t regret, I promise!
What are your favourite parts of the CR that aren’t Prague?
- I can’t pick one! But in general, I’d say that castles are pretty amazing in the Czech Republic and I could probably visit one every week and never have enough.
What are a few things you want the world to know about the CR that they might not know?
- We are not Eastern Europe! Look at the map and you’ll see that we are the heart of whole Europe. The Czech Republic is in Central Europe, not Eastern.
What is the story behind this dress?
- We were travelling around Asia for 7 weeks with just a small backpack on our back. We had no nice clothes and everything was poorly washed and kind of gross. You can probably imagine wearing 3 T-shirts for a month a washing them mostly in cold water. We knew that to visit Angkor Wat, We needed clothes covering knees and shoulders. We usually put a scarf around those places, if needed, but since Angkor Wat is a huge complex and we would be walking around for a whole day and taking pictures, we wanted to look better. It felt amazing. I felt super confident and beautiful as the dress was completely new and clean.
Where were you when these photos were taken?
- This is in the Angkor Wat complex, Siem Reap, Cambodia.
What are you studying?
- I’m studying Area studies, which is similar to International Relations, in short.
What sorts of volunteer work have you done?
- I’m volunteering in organisation called AFS. We do all sorts of things linked to intercultural learning over there, but to be honest, my favourite part is to organise events such as Prahaton, which I have founded with Míša about 3 years ago.
