Prague Diaries - Week 5

Wednesday September 1st
Saturday is moving day in a golf tournament. For us it came on a Wednesday and constituted a 10 minute taxi trip across town with all the belongings to our name, in the Czech Republic at least. In this case two large and two small suitcases. We were both looking forward to the move and having a long term residence. The short term rental was fine and all but it never felt comfortable. It was a small space in truth.
We arrived shortly before 10am to be greeted by the landlord. He helped us haul the cases in to the lift. Next stop Floor 3 and the start of the next 12 months. The place looks and feels right and out initial instincts prove correct. The estate agent arrives a few minutes later with copies of the lease agreement. We have a read over them and sign three copies, 1 for ourselves, 1 for the landlord and 1 for the estate agent. One sideline to this is the agents commission. It was one part of the process which we had difficulty with. They charge a months rent as commission for finding you the apartment and drafting the lease agreements. It's extremely steep but it can be hard to avoid as they seem to have the majority of attractive apartments on their books.
Zuzana departs to head back to work and I begin the process of unpacking the bags. I get through it in about an hour and then give the place a once over and compile a snag list. There isn't anything of significance really as the place is in very good nick. Most of it centres around some repainting of walls which have been tainted by scratches or marks. The dishwasher wasn't working either but that was remedied by simply switching on a valve behind the sink. The landlord, Mr Sharaf, is a pleasant middle aged man who deals with our queries in a considered and pleasant manner.
One unfortunate is that the apartment isn't equipped with an iron and ironing board, nor a clotheshorse. It amazes me that a large number of apartments don't supply what is a basic requirement.
Thursday September 2nd
The first nights sleep in the new bed was a good one. That's not something I've always been able to say, I'm usually quite a bad sleeper when away from my usual lodgings, depending on the amount of drink consumed of course!
True to his word Mr Sharaf returns to go through the snag list. He is apologetic as he hoped to have ironed out all these small issue before we moved in. He though he would have had a few extra days but as it was we had to move immediately as the old apartment was being rented out to a new tenant. He applied a coat of paint to cover up the wear and tear marks of the previous tenants. He fixed a slight looseness in the bathroom door. He applied some pollyfilla to the bottom corner of the shower door as we had identified some leakage from a previous evenings shower. He fixed the issue with the dishwasher by turning on the valve. The final issue was to put our names on the intercom panel outside the front door and to get us a key for our letterbox. These issues he would see to over the coming days in conjunction with the Italian Management company.
The fridge and cupboards still needed to be stocked with food so I waited for Zuz to come home from work and we headed off. Given our central location we are within walking distance of a few supermarkets. We choose Tesco on this occasion as it's the closest.
I haven't missed a lot of things food wise from back home but tea was one of them. It was proving hard to find black tea similar to back home. Tesco carried a Lipton yellow label however which is the closest I've found so far. The previous tea I had been using had been infused with bergamot which is great for all those bergamot fans out there but it didn't wash with my taste buds. I never thought I'd miss the Barry's so much but there you go. God, I sound like one of those ad's I consistently cringed at. I haven't had any hankerings for a fry up mind so I'm not quite the disconsolate paddy abroad.
Friday September 3rd
The weekend is on the horizon. The day starts off with a call from a company who I had applied to for a job a week previous. I had a quick phone interview with a HR representative and was told they would be in contact if they wanted me to come in for interview next week. I didn't leave the conversation with a good feeling however because she told me that they were ideally looking for someone who could speak a proficient level of Czech along with English. I also apply for an open position for a Financial Analyst with Accenture in the afternoon.
This evening sees the first round of the qualifiers for Euro 2012. I need to find an Irish pub showing it. There is an 'Irish' bar named Martins about four minutes walk from the apartment, very close to the IP Pavlova metro station. I am in town around lunchtime to pick up the Prague Post so I stop in to Martins on my way back to inquire if they were showing the game. The conversation with the barman went something like this.
Me: Dobry Den, mvulite anglicksky prósím? (Hello, Do you speak English please?)
Barman: Eh, uh, eh, a little.
Me: Are you showing the Irish game this evening?
Barman: Eh, uh, Which game is that?
Me: The football game vs Armenia.
Barman: [brings up CT4, the Czech public sports channel and scans the listings] shakes his shoulders
Me: Thanks, Bye.
The cheek of these guys to be passing off as an Irish bar. I return home and scan the pub listings in the Prague Post. There is an Irish bar on Stepanska called Rocky O Reillys which is described as 'rowdy, but in a good way'. Stepanska is only about a 12 minute walk from the apartment so off I head about quarter to 5. Zuz will join me after she finishes work. The place is very quiet for a Friday evening but it is early enough for weekenders I suppose. The pub is split in to 2 sections. The one immediately left of the entrance is the more twee Irish of the two sides, with the pictures of Irish pubs on the wall and the obligatory signposts. The other side, to the right as you go in the front door is much larger and this section screens all the home nation internationals on a number of screens. A plus is the attractive waitresses who ferry the drink to the tables promptly.
The game itself is dire enough but the result was what was needed. Armenia away will be tricky for all opponents in the group. After the game we grab a McDonalds, primarily because Zuz want's some coca cola glasses on offer with a menu plus meal. I'm lazy so I'm happy to go along with McDonalds for this evening. It's only a five minute walk home from there and kick back with a bit of telly for the rest of the night.
Saturday September 4th
Zuz is going to be busy all weekend on her thesis so I pretty much have a free rein. It's a cracking day so I decide it's better to spend as much of it as possible outdoors. I walk to Wenceslas Square, takes about fifteen minutes at a leisurely pace. The centre is teeming with tourists as always and the atmosphere can often be claustrophobic, especially in this heat. I needed to pick up a few household items so I nip in to Marks & Spencers and pick them up. I then head to Luxor bookstore to hopefully pick up a copy of the expats.cz survival guide. Expats.cz is a website exclusively designed for Prague's many new arrivals. It has a forums section as well as many news articles that would be of interest to expats. It also produces an annual survival guide which is a great reference point for the many requirements a new arrival might have, telephone numbers, street maps, addresses etc. I ask an elderly lady in Luxor who hasn't two words of English for the guide. I then try a younger member of staff who tell me he has never heard of it and they don't have it in store. So much for this place being listed as an authorised supplier. I then head to another bookstore that is listed as supplying the guide. It is an english owned bookstore down by the old town square. Unfortunately they are out of stock so it was somewhat of a wasted journey. I did manage to pick up some pyjamas in H&M on the way home. I have a feeling they'll be needed once the Autumn sets in. Underpants just won't cut it at this time.
Sunday September 5th
A nice lie in to round off the week. There really is sweet dam all on the schedule today, not even a premiership match to kick back to. In the morning we head to the local Billa supermarket for a weekly shop. We get about four bags worth including beer for the equivalent of about €40. Not too shabby at all.
I take a walk up to Namesti Miru in the afternoon. There is a nice big square there to wind away the afternoon in the presence of some of Prague's nicest buildings.
I complete my research on possible language course options in the evening. Zuz finds a well regarded school that is only around four minutes walk from the apartment and they have reasonable rates also. They are offering a 1 month intensive course for beginners starting on Tuesday the 7th @ 6pm. That consists of two evenings a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays, running from 6 - 8.30. The cost comes in at the equivalent of just over €100. There is also the option to progress to the next stage after completion of the beginners course.
Monday September 6th
I apply for a position with an American company in Prague 4 this morning. It's for a senior accountant position and I tick most of the boxes required. I need to apply for every job with English as the number 1 language as there aren't an abundance of them in the accounting field. I have even started pondering the notion of teaching English if something doesn't turn up in accounting soon.
In the afternoon I head down to the language school to register, a process that is completed in all of 2 minutes. I'm looking forward to getting started on it because it was one of my main priorities along with getting a job when I move to Prague. English isn't as widely or well spoken as I had though before coming so getting a handle on the difficult Czech language is now a must.
I prepare a killer chicken szechaun for dinner and that;s about that for Monday the 6th of September.
Tuesday 7th September
The morning is spent browsing job sites and catching up with any news back home. A cursory browse of the RTE website and a listen to some of the shows on Radio 1 tells me that not much has changed. The faltering economy dominates once more and our clueless politicians are as clueless as ever.
Today is all about the busy evening schedule. I will be starting my Czech lessons at 6 followed by the Irish game at 8.45 local time. I should be able to finish classes, head home and drop the bag and be down to O Reillys just in time for kick off. That's the plan anyway. I get dinner in early at 5 to prepare for the long evening ahead. A simple pasta dish but pasta is great for sustenance.
I leave the apartment at ten to six for the short walk to the language school. I climb the 2 flights of stairs and the first door on the left is marked 'Beginners Czech, Intensive'. There is only the teacher present so far, a pleasant woman in her thirties by the name of Draha. We are soon joined by 2 German women, one an intern with the German Chamber in Prague named Elizabeth, the other an older German women named Monika. The final member of the group is a 22 year old Armenian girl called Karmela, a masters student at the University of New York Prague. That means by default I am the only male, fine by me. No need for any of that male posturing.
The class progresses at a nice pace. The basics like the 'to be' table and 'to have' table are first on the agenda followed by the correct pronunciation of the alphabet and some numbers. There is also some dialogue practice towards the end of the lesson to recap on what was studied throughout. This is going to be difficult but worthwhile I reckon.
Class over, albeit 15 minutes later then scheduled. No worries I reckon, it's a Tuesday night and we're playing Andorra. The place will probably be as quiet as last Friday. How wrong I was. I arrived just after 9. I have a look in to the Irish section to the left of the front door. It's jammers so I chance the larger side. When I eventually get to the bar at the top it's just as jammed. I head to the counter and get a pint of budvar. I manage to grab a stool at the corner of a table occupied by an English couple. I knew this because they were both wearing the 3 lions. The place is hopping and roasting. A quick glance around the room tells me why. This section of the bar is very much a sports bar. The 2 screens above the bar are showing the Irish game. The projector screen in the middle of the room is showing the England game with commentary (the cheek!). The screen in the right corner of the room was showing the German game with its own corner of German fans. The screen to the right of where I was sitting was showing the Scotland game. The atmosphere was electric. The games didn't quite match but Ireland once again secured the win and 6 points from 2 games was the aim. Tougher games to follow. The English stuttered to victory in a game which included a stunning strike form the young Swiss player Shaquiri. Scotland meanwhile were incredibly lucky to strike a 97th minute winner against the mighty Lichtenstein. I head home after a few Budvars and crawl in to bed. A good evenings work.