Prague Diaries - Week 1

Wed August 4th
This was it. The big move was finally here and a new life abroad awaited. One backbreaking suitcase and an equally overbearing hand luggage were to be my only companions for Aer Lingus flight EI0646 from Dublin @ 18.30. Well I lie, I did of course have human companionship in the form of Zuzana. This was a joint move and one which he hoped would transpire to be a prosperous one.
Packing everything was of course a nightmare. Despite our best efforts to turf out the unnecessary in the weeks leading up to the move, we still managed to accumulate 13 boxes worth of 'stuff' aside from our suitcases. They are now safely ensconced in my parents garage until a permanent address is confirmed.
The flight itself was extremely pleasant. Aer Lingus is a low cost operator these days but it still maintains the all important customer service element. I'm not about to start slamming Ryanair because I'm an admirer of what they have done for air travel but the difference in attitude towards customers is marked.
On arrival at the airport we were met by a friend of Zuzana'a who along with her husband gave us a lift to our short stay apartment (1 month to be exact). The apartment is located in Prague 3 and is in a beautiful old building. The whole area in fact is surrounded by the most striking buildings. Plenty of shops and restaurants too as well as being only a 15 minute walk to the central station. 10 minutes further and you are in Wenceslas square, perfect really.
Thursday August 5th
First full day in a new city. I'd been to Prague a couple of times before but that consisted of visits to the tourist hotspots around the old town square. I read in a time out guide to Prague that Zizkov, where we were now living, is renowned for it's rowdy pubs and quirky outlandishness. There are quiet a few pubs around, it'll take time to decide whether they are rowdy or not, by Irish standards at least. The morning is spent lying in for me, long days traveling don't you know. Zuz has two interviews scheduled. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. I tag along to the one in the afternoon because we were in town anyway. I had picked up a vodafone prepaid sim so as to have a Czech number for the flood of calls that would surely arrive! All looking for me to sign a contract of employment! Tagging along transpired to be a bad idea, 2 hours reading through magazines in the Czech language in the waiting room. Yes, 2 hours reading magazines in a language I didn't yet speak. It was like being a child again seeking out the good pictures at least. If anything it focused the mind on getting to grips with the notoriously difficult Czech language.
Interview over and a return home by tram and metro. The trams are efficient and clean, as indeed is the metro. This is how public transport should be. Oh and it's cheap as well. Happy days. Still having no food in the house we go to the restaurant/bar across the road. Menus in English, wahay! Also delicious pints of Pilsner Urquell for a quarter of the price back home. Suitably refreshed we retire home to catch some shut eye.
Friday August 6th
The weekend has arrived. Zuz was of course anxious to get home and see her family so caught an early bus home. She had an interview in Brno on the way. I stayed behind in Prague because I had a telephone interview @ 3pm with a finance house in Lausanne. I'm glad to report it went well and they wish to see me in person. With that out of the way it was time to pack a bag and catch a train to Zlin to join up with Zuz. I wasn't looking forward to a four hour trip on what I had been told were fairly outdated trains. Punctual yes, comfortable no. The trains were the sort I was used to seeing in old European movies where carriages were the order of the day. I guess these can be fine depending on the company you have. It started off well, an attractive girl in her twenties who spoke English. 'Mluvíte Anglicky' (Do you speak English) is usually my first port of call. Just as we were to depart we were joined by 3 others. The first to arrive were a couple, also in their twenties I'd guess, followed by a sleek Czech guy dressed completely in black, bald, fifties I'd guess and the look of a ruthless serial killer. Think John Malkovich, only more brooding. He sat directly across from me of course. His intense stare was something I didn't really want to deal with for 4 hours. He listened to music on his phone for most of the trip, interspersed with the odd loud deep laugh. He also drank water from a brown paper bag. I considered telling him how utterly weird that would look back home but then decided against the bother. The attractive student type listened to music also and thankfully informed me when we needed to move carriages about 3 hours in to the journey as the train was splitting.
The other two carriage companions spent most of their time eating chocolate loudly, didn't think that was possible, but their strained efforts proved otherwise. Inexplicably the guy took his shoes off and planked his feet on the seat opposite, next to the attractive student. I couldn't help think he'd have his jaw re-aligned if he tried that on an Irish train.
Anyway 4 hours later, tired and I was in Zlin. Zuz picked me up and drove me to her parents place. I had a chicken dinner and a couple of bottles of Staropramen. Only fit for bed after that.
Saturday August 7th
Zuzana'a father Jirí picked us up at 1 to go for lunch in one of his favourite restaurants, in the forest above Zlin. It was a picturesque setting, we even had some dears run through the forest only a hundred yards from where we set. I decided to try a local specialty, named shepherd's pan (english translation). It was an assortment of vegetables, lamb, beef and pork in a rich sauce. Nice stuff, would eat again. After lunch was over we went to visit Zuzana's grandparents on her fathers side. As with previous visit's they were most accomodating. Her grandmother, as indeed all relatives are when guests visit, was laying out the table with plates of food. This just after we'd eaten a hefty lunch. I tried to nibble away at a few bits despite being stuffed. Of course it wasn't only food. Out came the infamous Slivovitz and no amount of gentle 'no I'm fine' was going to cut it. This is the Czech equivalent of poitin and Zuzana'a grandfather makes his own regularly. Ended up getting through 5 shots of the stuff. The trick is to drink slowly, otherwise the glass will keep being refilled. It's powerful stuff and we still had Saturday nights drinking to come. After leaving the generous hospitality of the grandparents we made a courtesy call to Zuz's uncles new place. A beautiful spot nestled in the hills overlooking Zlin.
Back home and with 15 minutes to get ready for the night ahead. Change of clothes basically and out the door. A friend of Zuz, Jana and her boyfriend Tomas picked us up. We hit one of the towns beer gardens where we were later joined by another friend, Petra and her boyfriend Pavel. My pidgin Czech provided much amusement but I know they were secretly impressed. Thankfully they were all adept English speakers so the conversation flowed as well as the pilsner. We got through a lot, soaked up by a pizza half way through. After the pub it was on to one of the local clubs. It was located at the end of a dark alley and looked like the entry to a warehouse. No entry fee and a closing time of 4am, nice. The music was the same commercial stuff pumped out back home and to be honest it was the same sort of vibe you get in local clubs the world over. The views were probably slightly better though to be fair. A couple of hours was enough and a taxi took us back to snoozeville.
Sunday August 8th
Awake with a sore head and a dodgy tummy, overindulged to be sure. A scheduled train departure of 3 was put back to 7 to allow further recovery. I managed a bit of beef for lunch to try and get some energy back. We got a lift to the station from Zuz's mum. Half way there we hit a traffic jam, a red light was stuck. Not what we needed on an already tight schedule. A quick detour had us in the station with 5 minutes to spare. The train journey took 3 and a half hours, the last 2 spent on one of the modern pendelino trains. I had a strong coffee on board which wasn't the brightest move. An already dodgy tummy flared up and I thought I was going to spew on a couple of occasions. I was glad to see Prague come half ten. A tram home and bed for some much needed sleep.
Monday August 9th
It was probably about time we got some food in to the house. The nearest supermarket was a tram stop away. We decided to walk, not the brigtest idea as it happened. Heavy rain showers meant the walk took about an hour. The wearing of flip flops didn't help matters. We got to the local 'Albert' supermarket and squelched around it for a half hour filling a few bags of hastily conceived dinners. The first home cooked meal that evening was good ol spag bol. Can't beat the old reliables!
Tuesday August 10th
The best day so far weather wise so we hit one of the local parks in Prague 2 and soaked up some rays. A lunch in one of the adjoining restaurants captured a nice relaxing afternoon. It seemed like the first day of pure relaxation since the move, every other day had been filled with traveling or rushing of some sort.