I live in the Czech Republic. When my girlfriend and I visited Karlstejn Castle near Prague, we noticed a discrepancy in the ticket prices. Foreign-language tours were twice the price of tours conducted in Czech. And where prices for the former were displayed in numerals, the latter were spelled out, making them incomprehensible to most foreigners, perhaps a way to avoid complaints. Foreign-language tour guides might command higher salaries, but is it ethical to charge two different prices? To display the prices in this way? -- Richard Conaway, Ostrava

There may indeed be legitimate reasons for these prices. They could reflect actual costs, as you note. Or they could be an odd incentive to encourage visitors to learn Czech. Or they could simply offer a discount to inspire Czechs to view their own national heritage, particularly apt if public money in any way supports the castle. (Here in the U.S., many state universities charge state residents less than students from elsewhere.) But whatever the reasons, sound or capricious, prices should be clearly marked so visitors can size up the situation and decide if they want to pay. If this sort of transparency leads to complaints, so be it. Castle managers should be prepared to explain their prices (or to pour boiling oil from the battlements onto visitors who besiege them with complaints).