• Czech Republic,  Expat Life

    the week of bureaucracy

    this week has been the most exhausting one since i’ve moved to the czech republic.  having the visa trip in the first part of the week was tiring enough as it was, and it took me literally two nights more worth of sleep to feel normal again.  even riding the city buses to my lessons this week made me think…. “i don’t want to ride another bus somewhere for a good while”. the rule states that no more than three days after you receive your visa, you must register with the foreign police.  we were fortunate enough to have alex’s boss marketa, who is czech, along with us for this…

  • Expat Life,  Winter

    how to just barely get a visa

    the past forty-eight hours have just been sort of a blur of long bus rides.  we traveled to bratislava for the second time to pick up our visas, but it wasn’t all quite as simple as that.  to obtain our visas, we had to show documentation that we have paid for at least six months of czech insurance, and could only pick up the visas within a half hour window.  the bus we wanted to take that would eventually get us home before midnight would leave less than two hours from the visa pick-up time. recipe for stress! after barely making the bus TO bratislava in the first place, we…

  • Expat Life,  Travel

    bratislava

    just rolled in on a very comfortable bus trip back from slovakia!  alex and i went over to bratislava (just under a 5 hour bus trip from prague) for a one night getaway.  purpose: to apply for our visas (or trade licenses, to be more precise) so we can not only stay in the schengen zone and the CZ longer than three months, but so we can be legal to work here!  and yes, you have to apply for your visa at a czech embassy in a country other than CZ.  (I KNOW) but i guess it weeds out the people who don’t take it seriously, right?  and we are…