I am taking it easy today. As much as I travel, my body doesn’t handle jetlag well and I don’t feel too great. I haven’t slept much all week and I’m hungry and thirsty all the time. The thirst part is exacerbated by the heat. I’ve been drinking water like all the rivers in the world are about to dry up. In fact, the first Slovak word I’ve learned (besides pivo which means beer) is neperliva which in regards to water means flat or without gas. Anyway, a relaxing day with not much to do provides me the opportunity to take care of things around the apartment as I continue to work towards making it a home by the time Jenn arrives at the end of the month.
It’s amazing how much a so-called “furnished” apartment does not include. I’ve made two trips to Ikea this week, all with public transportation, of which I am very proud. I’ve been to the Tesco, the grocery/department store in the center of town that has everything, every day. The biggest surprise to me is that the apartment does not have air conditioning. In our initial tour of the place, which was unfinished at the time, it was explained by the landlord that they would be installing it. When I arrived, the landlord told me they decided not to install it. Now, most places in Bratislava do no have air conditioning, so it’s not a huge deal, but it’s just a matter of comfort and what we, as Americans, are used to. And for anyone who has ever been to our apartment in Austin, you know that Jenn prefers to keep the temperature roughly at the level of a meat locker. We’ll live, but it’s an annoyance for sure. It doesn’t help the fact that it’s over 90 degrees here every day.
One more note on the apartment. When I showed up on Tuesday to meet with the landlord, the entire pavement on our side of the street was torn up and under construction and there is a temporary walkway from the street to the building front door. I have been told it’ll only be under construction for a month, but for now, I get to wake each morning to the harmonious sounds of a jackhammer.
The apartment otherwise is great. We have a TV with about 60 channels, 95% of which we cannot watch because they are in Slovak. All the appliances are new and the real luxury is a dryer, which is not common here. I had to try out all of the appliances per the landlord’s request so I successfully cooked dinner last night and made an omelet and toast for breakfast this morning.
It’s been a good first week. There are the usual challenges of moving and adjusting to a foreign country which cause one to feel awkward, uncomfortable, and like a complete idiot, but there have been some high points. I had a nice run Thursday morning along the Danube, have sampled the offerings of both ice cream shops within a few hundred yards of our place, and at dinner the other night enjoyed the national Slovakian dish called bryndzove halusky, which is dumplings with sheep cheese and bacon.
There is much more to come, but for now, I’ll leave with you a couple of pictures from the 8th floor coffee shop at the Dell office. It’s so nice having windows at work by the way. In Round Rock, I am surrounded by cube walls and am nowhere close to a view of the outside, so I wouldn’t even know if an alien spaceship landed in front of the building.
I’m heading to London for the week for work. Happy birthday, America!
wow, nice office view!
ReplyDeletehow does the ikea there compare to ones in the US? similar?