Settling in

January 26

Our apartment is a one bedroom flat in the Josefov section in Old Town. It is newly renovated, has fresh furniture, has linens, a washer/dryer and a kitchen well-equipped with dishes, pots, and utensils, and a dishwasher…nice. I can’t figure out the TV yet. It seems to need a PIN. I called the building manager, but don’t have an answer yet. I also have yet to figure out how to get internet. We’ve been here about 24 hours now and are having withdrawal symptoms with no internet.

This afternoon we went out foraging for food and supplies. It is a new experience to go shopping on foot, without a car to toss things in after you buy them. We brought some bags to carry things home.

There were no light bulbs to replace the two that were burned out when we moved in. They seem to be “special.” We’ll probably buy a non-special lamp. We couldn’t find a coffee maker. Maybe that’s why there are lots of cafes. The supermarket at Tesco was really crowded and the checkout line was really slow, which gave us lots of people watching time. When we left there, we stopped at a mini-market near our apartment. We may shop there most of the time. It was less overwhelming.

Tomorrow evening one of the full-year Fulbrighters is hosting a get together and has included us newbies. I am eager to meet the others and have many “how to” questions. It should be easy to get there. She lives near the same tram line that is closest to us.

January 25

Wonderful dinner at MJ’s. She has a beautiful two bedroom apartment with a view of the castle. We learned lots of useful information about shopping, taxis, cafes and restaurants, customs, and stuff in general. I’m eager to meet her colleagues in public relations at Radio Free Europe.

January 24 (Kathy’s 55th birthday)

The apartment hunt wasn’t smooth, but the results are lovely. Our first choice turned into a “bait and switch” on what was included. My agent was helpful. We went to our second choice. I think fate intervened. The second choice is really nice. We’ll move tomorrow.

Tonight we are having dinner at MJ’s. She is a friend of my colleague Mindy’s, has lived and worked here since August, and has been a good source of information as I prepared to come. Now she is our first non apartment-hunt related person to meet in Prague.