Further to my previous post, on Monday 15th May, we moved out of the Chaplaincy Flat in Prague, and into my retirement home in in the North Bohemian village of Stará Oleška. I approached the day with considerable trepidation but in the end, everything proceeded remarkably smoothly.
As promised, three removal men and their truck, arrived promptly at 09.00 at the Chaplaincy Flat. Fortunately the team leader Filip, had quite good English, which certainly aided communication. The main issue was making sure that nothing belonging to the Prague Chaplaincy got carried off into the van, and equally, that nothing belonging to us got left behind. In this respect, the only mistake was an ironing board belonging to the Chaplaincy, ending up in Stará Oleška. I’m returning it tomorrow 🙂
By 11.00, everything was packed, either in the removalists truck, or in the back of the ‘Carly’. Fortunately, the ‘Carly’ travelled faster than the truck, so we reached the new house about half an hour before the bulk of our belongings caught up with us. The task of unloading also proceeded smoothly so that by 16.30, everything was done.
We were particularly grateful for the willingness of the removal men to get a whole lot of boxes, particularly those containing books, into the two small rooms on the first floor. We had visions of being unable to move in the ground floor rooms because of being surrounded by boxes. They also reconstructed our double bed, meaning we had somewhere to sleep comfortably on Monday night.
The past four days since our arrival, have been a mixture of both practical and administrative matters. Aided by our Real Estate agent Martin Tonder, I’ve now signed a lien regarding our water supply which comes from a source on the neighbouring property. This will allow him to finally register the transfer of the property with the regional authorities in the next few days. I’ve also been to the offices of our electricity suppliers to get it into my name and agree how I’m going to pay for it!
On the practical front, we are now able to cook, the fridge and the freezer are plugged in and working, and on Wednesday morning, I successfully plumbed in the washing machine. Four loads have now been washed without any leaks from either the cold water supply or the waste water disposal 🙂
Today, I finally found a suitable wardrobe that will fit into the designated space on one side of the bedroom. There are limitations caused by the relatively low ceiling, a protruding pillar, and allowing for where a door opens. The new wardrobe will be delivered next Thursday, finally allowing the dismantling of these cardboard ones.
Of course, having bags and boxes lying around, waiting to be unpacked, have a great attraction to the feline member of our family. My old cricket bag sitting in the enclosed glazed area on the front of the house, with his favourite old towel on top, makes for a very snoozy place to curl up and rest 😉
