Welcome to our Humble Abode

I finally got pictures of our apartment... enjoy the grand tour!

Our entry-way: 

The kitchen/dining "room"

Our bathroom: 

And of course, the living room/"bedroom"

Now, based on my previous research and the price of this flat, I knew that it was going to be small. I figured that the living room and bedroom would be one and the same. I think I am glad that the bed is lofted: after all, just think of the amount of space in that room if it weren't. 

Note the daybed/mattress/couch: that is where you sleep when you come and visit. :-) 

problem solved?

Alright, so after some frantic emails and some confusing phone calls, I think we have the situation figured out. 

I am going to arrive using just my passport (without a visa) and that gives us both an automatic 90 days. Now I'll have to go to another country's embassy pretty much ASAP to apply for my employment visa (I think probably Vienna, it is quite close). Then go back again when my visa arrives. 

The upside of applying in Europe in person is that they don't make me fork over my passport for three months like I have to do here (thus the major problem). 

The downside is that it will be a little bit of chaos right when I arrive in Prague, and it will also be some extra money spent right off the bat. But that is OK, especially since it is our only option at this point. 

The other thing that this situation has revealed is that my future boss is extremely helpful and super sweet. In the past day and a half we have had a series of about 15 emails trying to figure this out, and it was her who told me that I can apply in Vienna. On top of that, she is making the necessary appointments for me with the consulate AND letting me work unofficially until my visa arrives. 

So....HOORAY! 

PANIC

This is all the stuff that I have to do for my application

Please note the part that says it takes 90-120 days for processing.

However, as I have not yet received all the necessary paperwork (as outlined in the link) from Prague, I can not do anything about it. It is out of my control, and I am helpless.

We are leaving just short of two months, but this could complicate matters.

I am stressed.

Any prayers and good thoughts would be appreciated.

Public Transportation

= Saving some $$$

It seems that everyday the gas prices manage to make the news, and as the increase is showing no signs of slowing, I will be glad to not have to deal with the prices. In Prague, the public transportation is almost perfect, and I almost never had any trouble getting around while I was there. I certainly never missed my car. 

I will be thankful to not have to worry about spend $75 to fill up my gas tank (that happened the other day), however, we are going to get border-lined spoiled by this that we will most likely suffer from some massive sticker shock when we get back.

On the image: the star on the left is where my school is, the star in the middle is our apartment, and the star on the right is where Jace will have school for a month. 

Screen Shot

This is a Google Earth image of our home in Prague. 

We got the apartment!!

Moved

We spent our last moments in our San Antonio apartment today, and I can truthfully say I don't think I will miss it one bit. I could probably fill up a whole new blog about that: JacksonSquareIsAwful.blogspot.com 

Seven hours were devoted to scrubbing, vacuuming, spraying, chipping away caked on syrup at the bottom of the fridge, etc. (Thanks Kirsten and Bobby!)  It's incredible the amount of cleaning we did considering we will never step foot in that place again, and it was strange in a way as well. As I was scraping off tape with the aid of some GooGone, I was thinking about how we were erasing the fact that we ever even lived there. There is zero evidence of our time spent in apartment 1302. 

We took pictures in case our apartment tries to claim we left a mess (you never know with them) but they are on Bobby's camera. Besides, they aren't really that interesting, just the empty shell of our squeaky-clean apartment. 

Prague Fitness

No new news on the apartment, trust me, you will know either way as soon as I find something out. 

I hate how cumbersome it is to have to walk more than five minutes to get anywhere in the States. We fight cars to find the nearest parking space and drive a half mile to get to the grocery store. I am guilty of this. 

Therefore, I am looking forward to relying on my feet as a primary source of transportation. My last time in Prague I became so fit simply from all the walking I had done. Also, in March, Prague hosts a marathon, with a half-one included. I would love to run across my favorite bridge. I hope to figure a way to continue running and begin training. To do so, I need to get accustomed to running in the cold, and find a way to do some cross training. Its now an official goal of mine: to run the Prague half marathon. I mean, how cool would this be:

photo compliments of http://www.praguemarathon.com/ 

I had a dream about Prague last night, we had arrived (and my mom was with us to help us get situated) and we were getting a cab to find a hotel for the night. I can't wait!

Five Minute Break

It is just a minute before midnight on our last night in San Antonio. We plan to leave tomorrow morning (realistically, the afternoon). We will be headed to Corpus Christi for the summer. 

Our two years in the apartment has been gutted and boxed, and all the stuff is in a pile in the corner. Packing can get overwhelming, but also refreshing because we have cleaned out and gotten rid of a lot of unnecessary things that have collected. Goodwill either loves us or hates us. 

To alleviate some of the stress, and for posterity, we took some photos:

Posed with our pile o' stuff. It looks smaller in the picture.....

Silliness kicks in. 

and again. 

and more on the apartment: it is furnished with the basics, and about half of what we were planning on spending for rent and utilities. I am trying not to get my hopes up, but I am very excited. I should find out soon if it is available for us. I really hope it is. 

Fingers Crossed

As we do not know much about finding flats in Prague (aside from internet searches), I asked my employer for suggestions about housing. She informed me that the school owns a flat near the campus where I will be working (!!!); however, she needs to see if it is available. So lets cross our fingers that it is available. I also don't know the price or if it is furnished, so hopefully both of those factors are also positive. 

Additionally, I found out the campus I will be working at is the Prague 6 campus. That is the one I really wanted! I wanted it because it is two blocks away from a metro station (super convenient), and also because this is near Prague 6:

 

Photo compliments of Travelblog.org 

Last Days in San Antonio

We are fast approaching our exodus from San Antonio. Graduation is in 2 days, and we plan on leaving sometime the next week; therefore our apartment is all sorts of a packing mess. Our lease does not end until the end of this month, but we are ready to move and get settled into our summer in Corpus. We will be living with Jace's parents to help save so we can afford our first month in Prague. Money will be tight while we are abroad, but we certainly aren't taking this trip for monetary wealth. 

I've been thinking about how I am going to use this blog while we are in Europe. My goal is to write at least once a week. I hope to write more, but I don't really know what our internet access situation will be. There are certainly internet cafes, but hopefully either our flat and/or my school will have internet. I also want it to take on a photo theme: either a photo of the week or day. I'm afraid a photo a day may be too ambitious, but I like ambitious. Any other suggestions for the use of the blog?

Nothing new on the paperwork, I sent off all the necessary papers to my work and am now waiting for my work permit so I can apply for a visa. We finally paid off our credit card, so the plane tickets are officially fully paid for!! We leave in just over 3 months. 

So in keeping with the theme:

This is one of my favorite pictures I took on my last trip. It was blown-up and framed and has been hanging on the apartment wall for over a year, but now it is gone. It's alright though, I get to see it in person again so soon!

And one more, taken on the same evening as the previous picture.