What does this mean? "....there is minimum 5 day only for UNESCO town as Prague you are not first who are coming from your country and US with these ideas." I received this E-mail from a tour guide in Prauge? Is there a minimum stay in this country?

That makes no sense. I was only there for only 2 days and heard nothing like that. Maybe that particular guide has a 5 day minimum.

I agree, it sounds like this is some tour guide marketing a tour and that company has a minimum purchase requirement.... or something. Did you know this person and email them before, or is it just spam? It sounds like a reference to something you asked them or wanted to do (re the ideas).

The UNESCO town is probably a reference to Cesky Krumlov. Can't help with the rest though. Sounds like something that may have been run through one of those on-line translators such as Babblefish.

I think if you break it down it sounds like there is a minimum 5 (people for the tour), for a UNESCO town in Prague. This tour guide feels he/she can create minimum requirement because other people have been interested????

I think I would avoid a tour guide whose e-mails were incomprehensible!

Well done, beatchick.

I'm with Anonymous. If you can't understand their simple email message, how much can you possibly get out of their tour?

My guess at intrepretation was that he was simply saying "to see Prague with all its sights, you need to spend 5 days minimum."

My shot at translation:
"You need a minimum of 5 days to see a UNESCO town, such as Prague. Other people from the US have done so."

some good guesses, I would think beatchick may be on to it -- it probably is referring to five people needed for the tour and they have others who are interested in it.

There are many UNESCO sites in the Czech Republic, and the center of Prague is one of them, so I imagine that's what that is referring to (not necessarily Cesky Krumlov some other UNESCO town). The Old Town center of Prague is a UNESCO site. It probably is referring to a tour of main sights in central Prague. However, it could be some tour of other UNESCO towns in the Czech Republic from Prague.

I suspect if this is a response to an email from alohalandia, that original email would make it clear.

This is somehow like an experience I heard about from a German friend, who spent 7 years earning 2 degrees and teaching in the USA.

He sent a subordinate in a company car to fetch an American visitor from the train station.

The German did not speak polished English and the American spoke Ja und Nein.

As the car was leaving the train station parking area, a policeman stopped them. He said to the German driver, Ihr Beifahrer ist nicht abgeschnallt.

The German told the American, "He says you need to be fixed."

My friend is still laughing.

I second the motions of Anonymous and Patrick. Find another tour guide.

Non-English speaking countries sometimes go out of their
way to communicate with their English-speaking tourists:


Cocktail lounge, Norway:

LADIES ARE REQUESTED NOT TO HAVE CHILDREN
IN THE BAR.

At a Budapest zoo:
PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS. IF YOU
HAVE ANY SUITABLE FOOD, GIVE IT TO THE
GUARD ON DUTY.

Doctor's office, Rome:
SPECIALIST IN WOMEN AND OTHER DISEASES.

Information booklet about using a hotel air conditioner, Japan:
COOLES AND HEATES: IF YOU WANT CONDITION OF
WARM AIR IN YOUR ROOM, PLEASE CONTROL YOURSELF.

In a Nairobi restaurant:
CUSTOMERS WHO FIND OUR WAITRESSES RUDE
OUGHT TO SEE THE MANAGER.

On the grounds of a Nairobi private school:
NO TRESPASSING WITHOUT PERMISSION.

In Aamchi Mumbai restaurant:
OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, AND WEEKENDS TOO.

The best!!! In a Tokyo bar:
SPECIAL COCKTAILS FOR THE LADIES WITH NUTS.

Hotel, Japan:
YOU ARE INVITED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE
CHAMBERMAID.

In the lobby of a Moscow hotel across from a Russian
Orthodox monastery:
YOU ARE WELCOME TO VISIT THE CEMETERY
WHERE FAMOUS RUSSIAN AND SOVIET COMPOSERS,
ARTISTS, AND WRITERS ARE BURIED DAILY EXCEPT
THURSDAY.

Hotel, Zurich:
BECAUSE OF THE IMPROPRIETY OF ENTERTAINING
GUESTS OF THE OPPOSITE SEX IN THE BEDROOM,
IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THE LOBBY BE USED FOR
THIS PURPOSE.

Advertisement by a Hong Kong dentist:
TEETH EXTRACTED BY THE LATEST METHODISTS.

A laundry in Rome:
LADIES, LEAVE YOUR CLOTHES HERE AND SPEND
THE AFTERNOON HAVING A GOOD TIME.

Tourist agency, Czechoslovakia:
TAKE ONE OF OUR HORSE-DRIVEN CITY TOURS -
WE GUARANTEE NO MISCARRIAGES.

Advertisement for donkey rides, Thailand:
WOULD YOU LIKE TO RIDE ON YOUR OWN ASS?

The box of a clockwork toy made in Hong Kong:
GUARANTEED TO WORK THROUGHOUT ITS USEFUL LIFE.

Airline ticket office, Copenhagen:

WE TAKE YOUR BAGS AND SEND THEM IN ALL DIRECTIONS.

The best!!!! In a Japanese cemetery:
PERSONS ARE PROHIBITED FROM PICKING FLOWERS
FROM ANY BUT THEIR OWN GRAVES.

OOPS/. A German speaker will catch my error. The intended word was anschnallen. The b and n are too close together on my keyboard for a fumble fingered typist.

Those other translations are a scream.
I need to send those to my quad lingual friend.

Those are thigh slappers, FainaAgain. Thanks.

faina does it again

This is turning out to be a pretty funny thread!

Thanks Ira & Christina, I was just taking a stab at it. I didn't think it was necessarily bad English, just bad punctuation. Perhaps inflection in the voice (with appropriate pauses, stops and starts) during the tour will be clearer than the written word.

I'm interested in seeing further interpretations.

Funny, Faina, funny!!

In any case, I'd probably just opt for Leslie Strauss' guide recommendation since she seemed so happy with her. But then again, maybe that IS the guide she used!!

where is Leslie Strauss's guide?

If you avoid all businesses with awkwardly worded English translations you will find it difficult to eat, find a hotel, etc, etc in Prague.

Of course you should always be very cautious about what tour operator you choose but a snap reaction to stay away from a business just because of one awkwardly worded sentence or whole email for that matter means a wrong attitude toward travel and the world in general.

This email is not difficult. Obviously they are talking about Prague as the "UNESCO town" and either suggesting five days (not people as it clearly says "5 day&quot to spend there or have a five day minimum for particular tours. The answer is probably easily learned from the context of the email or here's an idea...write back and ask them if you are interested in their tour.

Maybe they take for granted that people know that an EU country such as the Czech Republic could never have a minimum stay requirement for visitors!

I have worked in Prague for about 6 months and just about every communication from our Czech customer looked like this...it's just part of interacting with people in the world and if you approach it with the right attitude there is no problem.

What is funny here is all the nonsense attempts that don't even realise they are talking about a 5 day stay in Prague.

Personally, I think they are talking about Stonehenge which is a UNESCO site and 5 particular stones that are best viewed with 5 people from the US with similar ideas to you regarding the city of Prague.

Hi Cz has a long list of UNESCO
Sites listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List:

1992 Historic Centre of Prague Telè - Town Square
1992 Historic Centre of Èeský Krumlov
1992 Historic Centre of Telè
1994 Pilgrimage Church of St. John of Nepomuk at Zelená Hora
1995 Kutná Hora: Historical Town Centre with the Church of Saint Barbara and the Cathedral of our Lady at Sedlec
1996 Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape
1998 Hola?ovice Historical Village Reservation
1998 Gardens and Castle at Kromìøí?
1999 Litomy?l Castle
2000 Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc
2001 Tugendhat Villa in Brno
2003 The Jewish Quarter and St Procopius' Basilica in Tøebíè
could it mean that it would tak 5 days to get around them all?
Sounds like spam to me..one for the trash
Muck