Saturday once again

... so stayed the night at Neratovicka 25 last night... and will close out the chapter here in Kobylisy and start living in Vinohrady today.

I have no internet in Vinohrady as yet, so this will be the last daily blog for a bit. I have preloaded a couple in hopes that they will post on a couple important days coming up. ( we will see ) The challenge is setting up an account with an isp here in Prague without knowing the language. I will see if I can find someone to help with this task, but as of now, not sure when I will have it. I will attempt to update through an internet cafe, when I can. I will be able to check emails at School, but can not blog there. so.. for a time, I will be off the air, hopefully no more than a week at most. Of course, another piece of this, is finding the time to meet a cable guy at the flat, while having a full schedule of teaching during the week.. ach jo...

so cheers for now.. and I will be back here as soon as possible.... today is day 107

Long Term Visa

Yesterday found Berlin almost entirely overcast and rainy, until the late afternoon. Arrived about 45 minutes early at 4:15am !! and then immediately had to assess; 1) where I was, 2) how to get a day pass for their Metro, 3) where to find a Bankomat for some Euros and 4) locate Wilhelmstrasse and the location of the Czech Embassy, #44. By 5:30am I was standing in front of the embassy. Then to find some coffee, wait until the sun came up and 10:00am, my appointment time.

It went smoothly. My long term C & D visa is now being processed. The person I talked to made a point of telling me my visa would not be ready for 90 days. I believe it will arrive in 30. ;-)) In the final analysis, this is what I needed:

1) Passport
2) Red application form; completed & signed with photo pasted on the front
3) two photos - Czech passport size, NOT US passport size
4) Doklad form- accommodation form - signature of landlord, must be notarized
5) Proof of landlord ownership of flat - from Prague Property Office
6) Zadost form - Czech Criminal Record background check
7) Affidavit of no criminal record here or abroad - signed and notarized
8) Work Permit
9) Proof of health insurance coverage - Ltr from Employer
10) Fee of 117 EUR - for multiple entry visa

I Did NOT need:

1) Birth Certificate, have it appostiled nor have it translated into Czech
2) US criminal background check document nor have it appostiled
3) US proof of health insurance
4) US Proof of financial resources
5) US Proof of active Credit Card, or
6) Notarized copy or any copy of the first page of US passport
nor any other documents.

Off to teach this morning and afternoon and will move officially out of this flat-share here in Kobylisy this afternoon and will officially move into and start to reside in my flat on Slavikova TODAY. Wow. Off and running....

Been up for 42 hours straight, but am back....

Just returned from Berlin and as you can see by the photo it was a success. They stamped my passport with THE stamp, that allows me entry. I had all the paperwork in order (they seemed to be surprized) and things went very smoothly. I paid 117 EUR for a multiple entry Czech visa, so I can travel not only to the Czech Republic but to all other Schengen countries without worries. The German police did indeed stop the bus at the border, like I have been told, looked at my Passport throughly, gave it back and said nothing...

It has been a long "day". 6 hour bus ride back to Prague. Too long. I will admit I am quite exhausted. 42 hours awake, and with contacts in, and more walking... But my visa is in the works now. I am most happy about that. + 105

Off to Berlin......

The first step binds one to the second. ~French Proverb

Success will never be a big step in the future, success is a small step taken just now.
~Jonatan Mårtensson

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars. ~Les Brown

....and now onto the 3rd to the last step in the first part of my quest/dream; applying for my long term Czech visa. I have all the documents needed as per the school. And I am bringing items not necessarily needed as well; my work contract, my apartment lease, my criminal background checks from the US, etc. So this step will yield a stamp in my passport stating I have applied for this visa to live/stay in the Czech Republic for one year; renewable annually.

The 2nd to the last step, will be to actually return to Berlin in 30, 60 or 90 days to pick up the actual visa. I am hoping in 30 days, of course. The final step in this long dream, once I have the actual visa in hand, is to go to the Czech Foreign Police to get it stamped to make it official. This must be done within 3 days of my receipt of said visa. I am told this is a terrible process, but more about that in a later blog... when I actually go through it in one of the months to come. So.. as I said this morning, off to Berlin on an all night bus. Woo who.... Cheers

To Berlin

Every beginning has a consequence - every beginning ends something. - Paul Valery

Another full day ahead today, with a brand new class this afternoon and another interview appointment this mid-afternoon at a company that wishes me to teach another certificate Business English course.

This evening I head to Berlin on the 11:55pm “flight” on a StudentAgency autobus. I will get into Berlin at 5:00am for my 10:00am appointment tomorrow morning with the Czech Embassy there. Of course, I have to find where the locations are of not only the Embassy, but also where the bus station is as well and then find the Embassy. I will work on that this morning.

These trips happen all the time, with the School’s new teachers/employees, it would seem that the School would have something put together to give those of us who are going to the various embassy’s in Europe that might help us out; a packet of sorts, such as a map, directions, etc.. But ne, Nothing! Somewhat amazes me, actually. Why is it that I would do that for people if I was the boss.? Oh well, I certainly can google for the information, print it out and will do so this morning.

Daughter left yesterday morning. We had a nice time together and actually were exhausted Monday night. But we finished off her last evening in Prague having a real nice dinner at a real nice Restaurace, which was lovely, and for dessert she finally got to experience the thick, rich, dark hot chocolate of Central Europe as well.

We really did alot, perhaps too much, but hey, this trip might have been her first and last visit to Prague, who knows, so I had to cram a lot into these past 6 days. It was great. I hope both my kids can come over next time. Time will tell.

So, off to Berlin and the start of my visa process. Cheers.

Monday, Monday

By working faithfully 8 hours a day, you may eventually get to be boss, and work 12 hours a day - Robert Frost.

Today is my daughters last full day here in Prague. We have had a wonderful time, just walking, talking and enjoying the cafe's, pubs, and the visuals. We have spent three full evenings, until the last Metro, with friends, and will this evening as well. It has been nice. There was one friend I had wished her to meet; but the planets were not so aligned. Today, I have a few things I must do for tomorrow's lessons, and my trip to Berlin this week; some further visa related paperwork.

Last evening we went to an expats pub, the Red Room, for open mic night and music. Another nice evening with friends. Today, we will see Prague from Letna, a location of another beer garten, but which affords a view of Prague in it's entirety. We will seek out the largest horse statue in Europe as well and no doubt she will wish to pick up some last minute items. + 101

nice conversations are gifts....

and were.... and easy. I have rarely written a blog at midnight, but it was a nice evening with simple questions yielding nice thoughts; finding an unexpected poet, a gardener, of art in Tate upon Thames, of a red ring from MOMA and liking all colors but orange and one other; of a bathysphere and blinks, of two rings, square on their points, one with a Z cubed on the left hand and of places without electricity and of too long to wait. Yielding other thoughts as well:

Poetry is not always words. ~Audrey Foris
The shortest distance between two people is a smile. ~Author Unknown
Plant carrots in January and you'll never have to eat carrots. ~Author Unknown

First 100 days

There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer. ~Ansel Adams

Monumental it seems. My 100^th day here in Prague has arrived. Living and breathing here has been no less than amazing. Returning to Kobylisy last night I thought of the highlights of my first 100 days:

Friends – these days have yielded many many new friends here, from the wonderfully great bunch of friends from Oxford, and their friends; to perhaps that person I talked with last night with experiences in Dubai and beyond; to a friend whose words came to me far more often than now; to that really nice smile who helped me find and secure Slavíkova 5; I have been blessed with coming to know many new friends so far. I look forward to having that list grow further.

Views – I have walked a thousand miles it seems to date taking in the magic around me.
Whether it be as I find that new location here in Prague where I have to teach, or watching Prague pass by from a great little café I have found, or in the 1242 pictures I have taken while here so far. All the views have been magic.

Evolution – Me. So far time here has been a time of personal growth and discovery. It has been no small task, nor has it been easy to accomplish all to date, but the rewards in this new avocation, in working towards it, in meeting new and wonderful people and friends, and in moving forward each day have been astounding. I can hardly wait to experience each new day.

And to be fortunate enough to have my daughter visit during this time is astounding. I could never have imagined that, nor really, so much I have experienced to date. So many highlights; from Bžeznice to Konviktska, from Zborovská to Jiřího z poděbrad.

So in these first 100 days, I am the same but very different. + 100

Sobota...

Vysehrad and some shopping yesterday and a get together in the evening at riegrovy sady's Beer garden, then the 10 of us moved to a couple other pubs from there into late night. Caught the very last train to Kobylisy.... I mean THE last one. Pouring rain on the walk up... but was nice; soaked to the skin. Daughter stayed with my friends last night in Vinohrady, another get together tonight..... A really nice day. No firm plans today, just to enjoy the ambiance of Praha. + 99

Dcera v Praze...

A daughter is a day brightener and a heart warmer. ~Author Unknown

My daughter arrived in Prague on Wednesday afternoon right on time, safe and sound, walking out of passport control in Terminal 1 with a smile and looking great. We have been walking ever since; trying to show her some of the highlights of this City called Prague.

On Wednesday afternoon: Václavské náměstí, Karlův Most and Kampa, along with a “real” Czech dinner in old town, albeit a bit pricey. Yesterday: Na Příkopě, Presto, jiřího z poděbrad, náměstí Míru, Hradčany, Ujezd, střelecky ostrov, and various cafes throughout the day. Today, a slower day of Vyšehrad, poking around Na Příkopě shopping per her wishes, and who knows what else, ultimately ending up at the beer garten of Riegrovy sady to meet friends this evening.

She is a “sight for sore eyes” and it is good to see her here in Prague. She will sleep late this morning and I have some lessons to work on, as well as secure my bus tickets for Berlin next Wednesday, attempt to find pricing for internet service, and secure an isp provider and an installation date for the new apartment.

I interviewed on Wednesday with a client related to teaching that Business English certificate course; before the end of the interview the CEO gave the ok, so the week after next I will begin four 90 minutes classes a week teaching his staff. I continue to inch toward 26 teaching hours per week, plus my freelance student as well. Cheers +98

40 years ago today; the end of Prague Spring

On the morning of the August 21^st 1968, the shooting had begun at the Czechoslovak Radio building on Vinohradská Street. Wenceslas Square, with its patron saint, Vaclav IV riding high on horse back, draped with the Czech flag, and taken over by oppressors. Soviet Tanks hurling out of the side streets, firing volleys at the National Museum. Burning cars, people in movement, photographers, pleading faces, and countless pointed guns. The future of their country was not something the Czechs gave up lightly, although there was little hope. They protested in the thousands for days. They clashed, and they pleaded, they hung up placards, and slogans, and wrote graffiti on the walls, crying a common appeal for justice. The world did nothing. In their protest there was simple genius - emotional to observe even forty years after the event.

There would be another 21 years of oppression, for the then Czechoslovakia, before Czechs and Slovaks would become free. Dozens were lost during those dark August days, including one student shot at Karlov, in the Little Quarter, for nothing more than wearing a tri-color pin featuring Czechoslovakia's colors. Most others would endure the oppressive 'normalization' period following the fall of Czechoslovakia.

There are a series of sculptures at the end of Narodní trida, where it intersects with Ujezd, adjacent to the Hunger Wall. It is a memorial “To the victims of Communism, those who were not only jailed or executed, but also those whose lives were ruined by totalitarian despotism”

1968 - A year that began with hope and promise for Czechoslovakia and ended in tragedy no one could have foreseen. That invasion changed the direction of a country, and the lives of millions; an invasion by a country that continues to this day to still oppress the free despite the outcries of the world.

The last Russian troops finally left Czech soil in 1991. Now they have yet again entered
another nation to the East. History repeats itself. The world does nothing.

It is stunning what they have done as a people and as a country in the very short number of years since their freedom of 1989. One can only say on this day: God Bless the Czech Republic. They have endured. +97

Hope

Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well but the certainty that something makes sense regardless of how it turns out. – Vaclav Havel

There are many definitions of Hope. One wouldn’t necessarily disagree with the former Leader of the Czech Republic on his thoughts, although fatalistic. I have always thought of hope along the lines of this quote by Robert Ingersoll:

Hope is the only bee that makes honey without flowers.

Perhaps a more optimistic view of Hope, or perhaps a pipedream?, depending on how you believe in the concept of Hope….but at least a view that makes one believe in or desire for a better outcome, or even a fantasy outcome, regardless of how reality plays out.

Then there is the Hope that one wishes friends when you hope they have a good day or that parts of their lives become less of a struggle, or when you hope they do well in a new job, or do fine in a return to new living arrangements. That Hope is a desire for things to turn out only One Way and that way is only the best of all possible outcomes for that person, that friend, not just something that makes sense, but something great.

Bzzzzzzzz + 96

Optimism

The average pencil is seven inches long with just a half inch of eraser - in case you thought optimism was dead. - Robert Brault

A new week

Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons. - Ruth Ann Schabacken

The new apartment; @ Slavíkova 5, http://picasaweb.google.com/a.scott.carey +94

Sunday and Sun.

Little Boy, n: a noise with dirt on it. - anon

The sun is out this morning as Sunday starts. It rained the entire day yesterday, and was quite cold (12 C), a 35F temperature drop from the stifling heat of last week. Brrrr. Quite dreary. Rained all Friday night as well. I am glad the weather system that seemed to have been stuck, spinning over the Czech Republic has moved on.

Yesterday I made two trips from Kobylisy to Vinohrady with a duffel suitcase as I moved things from here to there. Did some grocery shopping in the area to see what the small Potraviny stores were like. Yes, very small. I hope to find an Albert close by. Also hit a new mall, out at the end of one of the metro lines, in Žlicín; the Metropole Mall. Trying to find sheets. No luck as yet. ...and a really nice mall, filled with people who wanted to get out of the cold rain as well.

My daughter arrives this coming Wednesday. I am looking forward to her visit very much and a side bar: not having to teach as much for a few days. +93

3 Months today....

I have been here in Prague for exactly three months today. Here are some additional reflections on my time here:

1) I have NOT seen ONE fire truck going off to a fire. Not one. It would seem they don’t have fires here. ?? ze ??

2) However, the police drive as fast as they can go, on crowded, wet cobblestone streets, in tiny tiny tiny white Skodas, usually packed with 4 big burly police officers, and blaring their loud sirens whenever they can and as often as they can.

3) ...and the Fluorescent Yellow Ambulances... they are always seen driving through Prague at breakneck speeds, yielding greater danger to their occupants, in reality, then the reason the patient was picked up in the first place.

4) Czechs when departing from any space in which another person is present always say na shledanou! (goodbye) as they depart even if they do not know you. I see this in stores as someone leaves, or on elevators as they depart, or as someone leaves a room; they don’t have a clue who you are, but will always say goodbye. I really like this.

5) Chivalry is not dead. I can not tell you how many times when I have been on a Metro, bus or tram, if an older person steps on board, a younger person will automatically give up his chair to the older person needing a seat. I have seen this countless times, and even noticed with awe, as a metal studded, spiked, multi-colored haired, seemingly anti-social Goth teenager, willingly and instantly gave his seat on the Metro to an elderly lady.

6) The Czech beer is still amazing; any label, any brewer. I am not sure I can ever drink American beer again.

7) ...and the cafe's. Still in love them. There is just something about sitting along a street, or an alleyway, enjoying a latte or a glass of wine, as Prague passes you by.

Na shledanou on this dark, cold, blustery, and rainy Saturday morning. Mej se hezky. + 92

First PayCzech

First paycheque today. The First Česká Koruna (CZK) into the bank account. How great is that! ! A year ago, I could never have imagined this. There are still many days when I still can’t believe I am here, working and enjoying this city.

Yesterday I signed the lease for my apartment in Vinohrady, a few blocks from Jiřího z poděbrad. The Realtor made it all happen. She was really helpful and made the whole experience a very positive one. So now I am officially an apartment “owner” for the next 12 months, effective immediately through to 31 Aug 09. I will start moving in today and over the weekend. Vyborne !

And upon reading the lease the other day, I actually found out that the apartment is really on the 4^th floor not the 6^th!, so that is a bonus. The next step is too somehow get DSL internet installed asap, buy some Egyptian cotton sheets( I must ), a huge pillow, and the “fill” the ‘frig with food, some wine and Czech beer.

My new address for the next year is: Slavíkova 1611/5 čislo. 17; 120 00 Vinohrady – Praha 2; Czech Republic!

And now onto buying some essentials to make this place a home. I will ask a friend if she might like to help me spend some Koruna ( don’t most women like to spend money? – ;-) as I try to find the best places to purchase items necessary for living, as I personalize and make this apartment comfortable, as well as, a nice respite to come home to after long days ( and they have been very long days!)

So, wow ! Prague. Vinohrady. Teaching. Cafes. Vinotekas. The Arts, galore. Astounding Architecture. Well, I could on..... and on..... as you know. ;-) + 91

... and in other news

I met with a principle from the school yesterday to discuss some additional teaching duties. I was told they had received a call from one of the businesses where I teach (gulp) 2 back to back lessons, and was told that they provided my school with high praises for my time with their staff, and said they were going to add another individual to my classes there. Certainly unexpected but really nice to hear.

The upshot of our discussion was that I have been asked to teach an advanced Business English(BE) Certificate class; several business men from a corporation need to learn the English of Business and then take a certificate exam. A big deal for them and for me. I was asked to teach this class due to my background. It took two seconds to say Yes! This is huge. I am so psyched!

Plus, along with this, I have been given two other morning classes, one in I. P. Pavlova and the other in Karlovo náměstí with firms located there. My lesson "plate" is filling up.

And finally, as this week wanes, I was asked, with scant notice, to substitute teach three classes this week, two of which are the 3 hour intensive courses and one is a “normal” lesson plus in addition, this week saw me teach my first class at the Czech Ministry of Agriculture.

So a busy week yet again and a lot of work!, but I am enjoying this new avocation. Cheers +90

Happy Birthday Dad !

He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it. ~ Clarence Budington Kelland

Birthday greetings to my Dad on this Thursday. A man I admire greatly for many things in his life and in whose foot steps one tries to follow, knowing certainly that would be a challenge. A man of family, virtue and wisdom, who gives of himself to help others, and when given "a word”, can expound upon for hours; one when growing up would always tell us how glorious are the days of September as we arose each day for school. And a dad I am proud to call my Dad. Have a really Happy Birthday Dad! ( the pix - from one year ago this month )

The French

Never doubt the courage of the French. They are the ones that discovered that snails are edible. - - Doug Larson +89

The day ahead - opportunities

The moment when you first wake up in the morning is the most wonderful of the twenty-four hours. No matter how weary or dreary you may feel, you possess the certainty that, during the day that lies before you, absolutely anything may happen. And the fact that it practically always doesn't, matters not a jot. The possibility is always there. ~Monica Baldwin

...and as the day begins here, after a night of fierce thunderstorms, I look forward to the fact that
really, anything may happen, it will be good and that possibility is exciting. + 88

Weekend Music

I have my own particular sorrows, loves, delights; and you have yours. But sorrow, gladness, yearning, hope, love, belong to all of us, in all times and in all places. Music is the only means whereby we feel these emotions in their universality. ~H.A. Overstreet

This weekend was the Prague Jazz Festival.. …caught a few hours Saturday evening in Staroměstské náměstí sitting on the cobblestones of old town square, along with hundreds of others. It was a warm mild evening, and the tunes were rich with the magic they were created with.

And the week begins… wishing my friends Z & Marie, a happy 6th today.. and thinking of another friend who has much on her plate this week.. …. Emerson said: "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." wishing you the energy, strength and focus from within for the week ahead. +87

Happy Birthday Son !!!

It is not flesh and blood, but heart which makes us father and son. – Friedrich von Schiller

While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about. - Angela Schwindt

Even though these wishes are from 4096 miles away, they are no less heartfelt. No father could be prouder of a son then I am of you. You have wisdom beyond your years. You give good counsel. I hope you had a nice party last evening with all your friends and that you enjoy your today with family as well. Enjoy your 25^th on this Sunday !! You are in my thoughts with today's sonshine.

Happy Birthday Bud! (and....be careful with that new two-wheeler!)

Summer Nights....

A summer night is like perfection of thought. Wallace Stevens

08 08 08

well a another busy week is over and the evening has started, approaching 20:00. ...and on this 08 08 08, I was in receipt of my first real income here in the Czech Republic; 812 kr or $52.03 at today's rates. My freelance student and I agreed that we would settle on Fridays, so today was "payday" related to his lessons this past week.

and the date today... once in a lifetime. Enjoy your evenings where ever you are. You are in my thoughts. Just wanted to add something to this special day, as I return to centrum for a glass of wine...

It is a beautiful evening here... warm, mild and nice clouds...

Men live in a fantasy world. I know this because I am one, and I actually receive my mail there. Scott Adams +84

Čtvrtek rano...

Each Day is an opportunity to make a new happy ending. - unknown

I have received my appointment date and time for applying for my long term Czech visa. Three weeks from today!! I travel to Berlin on the night of the 27^th, for a 10am meeting on Thursday, 28 August; two days after my daughter leaves Prague from her visit. She returns home on the 26^th. Excellent timing.

Colleagues here are telling me to take the “Student Agency” night bus to Berlin, which leaves at midnight and gets into Berlin at 5am. This is the most inexpensive solution. So that is what I will get tickets for. I will stay in Berlin for that weekend, since… hey, Berlin! I have never been there before.

I have a few items to complete related to my visa, not least of which is the application itself, which is a bit confusing, since it is in Czech. I have been told my new landlord will complete the accommodation paperwork related to my visa next week, and my Realtor is helping coordinate that.

There continues to be confusion on all sides related to this visa especially since my 90 “tourist” visa will have expired ( on the 13^th). So, essentially I will be illegal as I apply for the Czech visa. But everyone usually is. There is not enough time upon arriving here, to take and complete a Tefl course, find and secure a job, apply for and receive a work permit, and then obtain an application meeting date at a Czech embassy in Europe (not the Czech Republic), all within a 90 day tourist visa. Everything I have read, says things should be fine… but still, yesterday my School advised me to fly to London and get my passport stamped just in case. (Which under the Schengen rules of Dec 07, is no longer valid). It is intriguing how so many people could know so little about something so important, on both sides, the government here, their embassy’s abroad and the Language schools. No one really knows. Amazing. Ach freakin’ jo. +83

Through the eyes of a child

There are no seven wonders of the world for a child. There are seven million. - Walt Streightiff

This morning, after happening upon this quote, I thought of some friends and their little children, Renata, Kuba and Beni. How would it be seeing life through their eyes, from their perspective, and many times a day, being wide-eyed as they see something new and amazing. Kva, Kva. :-) Yes, I remember that type of excitement from long ago, and my friends I am sure, revel in seeing the world differently through the excitement of their young ones, even as I type this. There are days here when I think I see, but in reality, not even close to seeing things... Through the eyes of a child. Something to work on. +82

Don’t ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is special enough. – Unknown

Champagne… isn’t it one of those great wines we save only for special occasions. Something we treat ourselves with. And why? Somewhere along the line, we learned it should be only for special days, occasions or events. I say open some tonight and share it with a special friend/friends. Life is too special (and short) for not pursuing what one desires and too special to limit really good things to only just once or twice a year. +81

And in the end, it is not the years in your life that count. It is the Life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln +80

Art at the Rudolfinum

I ventured forth on my first cultural foray here on Saturday. Long over due.

I went to the Galerie Rudolfinum, near the river, to see an art Exhibit by Gottried Helnwein, called “Angels Sleeping”, a grotesque and quite disturbing exhibit showing paintings, which looked like photographs of dead children, or seemingly dead. His artistic political statement on Children’s suffering, dying in war, and Nazism. It was disturbing on many levels although thought provoking.

The paintings themselves were amazing in that he captured these images as if they were photographs. The end of the exhibit had a room with several macabre paintings of Marilyn Manson, in various stages of outrageousness, with his signature weird one eyed contact lens, along this time, with Metal teeth. A strange dude, but his images fit in with the exhibit. His were dark. …perhaps fitting, as the last room of the exhibit, directly leading to the exit.

Sunday

+79 v Praze

I won....

This is the Czech version of scratch off lottery.... you purchase these and other types of lottery tickets at the Post Office and perhaps at other places, I am not sure about that as yet. So I bought three for about 50kr or 60 kr... and then opening this one.... I won.. 50 kr. Enough for about one cup of coffee, which is excellent. BUT, you see the 3 circles under the tab.... you are only supposed to scratch off ONE of them.... I couldn't understand the directions and scratched off two and almost the third.... thereby making this winning ticket NULL and VOID. Luckily it was not
a Big winner. Yesterday I went to the Post Office again to mail something and bought one and actually got a 40 kr winning ticket. I know now how to scratch off correctly. ;-) and will keep trying for the big bucks... I mean big Krowns. + 78

1st of August - Vinohrady it is !

…so, those two apartments I looked at on Wednesday….

One was in old town, in a section I had not even been to yet… that area of Prague was nice; OLD, old Prague, stunning, treed stoned squares with benches, several small old cathedrals in the vicinity, and some nice restaurants and wine bars, upper end shops and the street the apartment was on, was out of the dark ages…really cool…winding, cobble stone, old lamp posts,, … and the apartment was nice, and imagine opening the “living” room windows to a amazing view of Prague castle.. yes, I couldn’t believe it… jaw dropping…Prague Castle. full side view, with spires and all. People kill for that. The night view would be absolutely amazing.

Then the other one. Is mine. In Vinohrady, bordering Žižkov on Slavíková ulice. The above pix are the street it is on; the second shot shows the building on the left almost to the far corner. It is a 2+1. Two rooms + Kitchen. It was a no brainer… the area I have wished to live in and now will …and the café I spoke about in my blog the other day is two blocks away and the same with the park, riegrovy sady, with Korunni ulice close by as well. It is a brand new refurbish, with all new furniture, internet capable, living room w/ TV and large sofa, dining room table, 4 chairs and two book shelf units, large bedroom with Queen sized bed, two end table with lamps. The kitchen is small though, but great bathroom with a fancy sink, tub, shower, toilet and bidet and real ceramic tile floors in the kitchen and bathroom and hardwood and new carpets. So…I put the down payment on it and will move in on the 15^th.

I had to remember, that living in Old town, THE tourist area, is extremely expensive. I walked around and even the neighborhood grocery stores are more expensive and if I wanted only a glass of wine some night there in the neighborhood….120 kr, compared to 50 kr in the area I will live in. So even though the Old Town ambience would have been unreal…almost surreal, it would have been prohibitively expensive over the 12 month lease, just to live there and frequent the nice places all around or to buy food…

as I said, Vinohrady has been on my list as THE place I wanted to live and now, ….I will be living there. Un-freakin’ believable. +77