Today was our move in day at our new flat. I got up early and took the Metro over - just 5 stops away, so it did not take long. I was there by 8:30 just to make sure I was there and ready for when they got started. Due to the streets around our flat they had to do the move in 2 phases: First, they had to park the main container truck down the street at the stadium and Secondly, they had to use a small box truck to ferry the boxes from there to our flat about 6 blocks away. The plan they had given me had them starting by 9 or 9:30 and (hopefully)done by 5pm. It was a beautiful sunny day in the low 60's so I opened up all the windows to make sure the flat would stay cool for the movers.
At a little after 9:30 I headed down the 8 flights (5 floors) of stairs to check and see if anyone was outside yet. When we first decided to look at the flat, we were told it was on the fourth floor with no lift. We said to each other, "Well that is not so bad...we can do 4 floors. However. there were two things that we had not taken into account. We forgot that they count floors slightly differently and the first floor is actually 0 not 1, and we forgot that most buildings here have two full flights of stairs between floors. Thus the 4th floor to them is actually the 5th to us...and believe us, once you start having to climb them that extra floor it a big deal! Still, we went ahead with this flat because we needed the space - and we figured it would just be a good work out and help us to get in shape. However the poor movers had to deal with over 240 items (boxes, couch pieces, and bed stuff) to be brought up to our floor.
When I looked around on the street I actually saw the Move One truck pulling up with 5 guys in it. I flagged them down and they pulled up out front and got out. They told me the container truck was a little behind schedule but should be there within a half hour. So I figured a 10 am start was no big deal. I headed back upstairs with an English speaking team member who wanted to see where the stuff was going. We went upstairs and I showed him where all the rooms were and that I had put numbers on the doors to the rooms so I could tell the movers as they came in with stuff what room it should go to. He said he was going to head down and find out what the status of the truck was. 3 minutes after he left he buzzed up from the front door and told me there were further problems with getting th container truck and that it would now be an even longer wait. They were going to park the small box truck across the street and would let me know when things were sorted out.
At about 11am the rep from O2 arrived to hook up our phone line. His first question was where was the phone hook up...and I, of course, had no clue so we started looking through cabinets and closets. We finally found it after about 15 minutes. It was an obvious hiding spot - in the front hall coat closet, in a cabinet on top...where else would it have been? :) Unlike most normal homes in the states we have a computer aided phone system similar to what most building offices have in the US. Thus you need special phones to work with it and dial a 0 to get an outside line etc... Seems a little strange for a home but I had been told the area we were in had the most advanced newest phone service of the city as we are near the Embasseys and other government buildings. Since our only intended use of this phone line was for our ADSL, I really only wanted one outlet to work and that was the one in the living room. The guy spoke basically no English but, as past experiences have shown, by pointing and gesturing he understood what I wanted. He worked at it for about 25 minutes or so and then came to me and started to try to explain something in Czech. As he saw I was totally confused he dialed his cell and talked for a bit in Czech and then handed me the phone. Turns out he called our friend Jens from the office who had helped me set up the service call in the first place. Jens explained to me that the tech had never really worked on this exact phone system before and that he could not get the outlet in the living room to work. He had however gotten a few others in the flat working and the line was hooked up into the flat with no issues. He said to either contact the landlord or call back O2 and ask for a specialist for this type of system. I thanked Jens for his help and handed the phone back to the tech. They talked a bit more and then he had me sign the work order and he left.
It was now almost noon and I still had not heard any more from the movers. I looked out the the window and saw the truck was still across the street. So at least they were still here. I took the opportunity to call our realty company to ask about the phone issue. They agreed to send over one of their technical contacts later in the day.
So it was now about 1pm and I looked out and noticed the box truck was gone. I headed downstairs and opened up the front door and the hall doors so they would be able to unload easily. What timing...just as I finished, there the truck was pulling up fully loaded. I spent the next 5 hours in the doorway to the flat directing the movers as to where each box or piece of furniture was to go and crossing them off the list. The movers helped put together the Futon, the china cabinet, the beds,the crib and the kitchen table. They were extremely polite and worked incredibly hard. By the time everything was in, the end the flat was full of boxes and wrap but it seemed all the stuff had made it in one piece. I continued trying to get our bed finished up - it is a Comfort Select so it takes a bit to put together and I still had to find the air pump to inflate it for use.
Somewhere in the midst of this crazy moving mayhem the other phone guy came and got most of the outlets sorted out. However, one problem was if I wanted ADSL in the living room he would have to change the outlet there and he did not have one with him. We made an appointment with him to come back and get that set up. All of these conversation took place with one of the realty guys acting as translator.
I ran out for food at around 8:30 thinking it would be as easy to find as it had been in Prague 2 where we lived for the last 30 days. Alas, it was in fact far more difficult. All the stores I found were closed and stated they closed at 8pm. This was different then the 24 hour store we had a block from our flat in Prague 2. I ended up walking about 5 blocks to a sandwich shop where I got us some sandwiches and 5 bottles of water.
After eating, feeding Logan, and making sure the kids were down for the night Pam headed back to our temporary flat to get more of our stuff and to grab some things from the 24 hour store there. While she was out I continued to look for the air pump for the bed. After another hour or so I gave up and just blew up the bed myself. I was a little woozy when I was done and it was not adjustable yet but at least I did not pass out. :)
Pam just managed to catch the last Metro train - it stops at at midnight - back to the new flat. We unpacked a few more things, got the bed made, and were finally in our very own bed (first time in over 30 days!) by 1:30 am. Whew what a day...
Now that we have an internet connection I can show you what the place looks like after we unpacked. The flat is 200 Sq meters (2172 Sq Feet), located on the 4th & 5th floors (that is EU 4th/5th, so our 5th/6th) with no lift. The flats seem to have about 12 foot ceilings so this is quite a hike from the front door to the door of our flat...there are 8 sets of stairs with landings between them. The first set is only 7 steps so you think it will not be so bad, but then it progresses to 9 steps, and then 11-12 for all the rest so it gets tiring very quickly. We also have a storage space in the basement that holds our 2 bikes...and our 12 foot ladder that was accidentally shipped here. We are located about a block away from one end of the large Letna park, 2 blocks from the Castle Gardens, 1/2 a block from the Hradčanská metro stop, and right next to Restaurace U Písecké brány - a very nice pub. Here is a map link to the location. We are on the corner of K Brusce and Na Valech. Our new mailing address is K Brusce 280/7 #11 Hradcany Praha 6 160 00 Czech Republic.
