Prague Latest Magnet for Misbehaving Brits

Travel Blog • Julia Ross • 08.06.07 | 12:30 PM ET

Is Eastern Europe under siege by badly behaving Brits? We’ve heard about kilt-wearing, buttocks-baring Scots in Poland and sex tourists in Latvia. Now Prague is attracting attention for out-of-control “stag and hen parties” thrown by UK weekenders. A report released last week by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office says the Czech Republic sees a higher proportion of traveling Brits requiring consular assistance than any other country, citing stag night revellers for much of the mischief.

Incidents range from lost passports and arrests to hospitalizations, many apparently linked to overindulgence.

In a Guardian story, one British diplomat in Prague describes a stag-nighter who recently appeared at the embassy draped in a bed sheet: “He had somehow lost all his clothes while frolicking about in the middle of Prague and couldn’t remember what happened to them.”

While embassy staff can’t be too happy with being dragged out of bed in the wee hours, what’s more worrisome for some is the long-term impact on Britain’s image. Responding to the UK report, several expats living in Eastern Europe let loose on The Guardian’s travel blog, calling out the revellers for tarring all Brits with a boorish brush.

One commenter from Poland reported: “In Krakow now English speakers are shunned, refused entry to pubs and clubs. In Warsaw idiots parade about half naked, urinate on or near national war memorials, make sexually offensive comments to Polish women whether they are with young children or not. They are aggressive, rude and disrespectful to local people, customs here and an embarrassment to the UK.”

Even the caption for the above photo, taken in Prague, reads: “Maybe a new trend in Prague? About bloody time!!!!!!”

Yikes. We’d be interested to hear from British readers—is it really that bad?

Phot by skugga2shadow via Flickr, (Creative Commons).