A Room of Our Own

For the first time (excluding the nights that Kate crashed on our couch in Lakeland or the month we stayed in Michigan before leaving) as a married couple, we found ourselves living with a roommate here in Prague. Alex, a native North Carolinian and suspected clone of Peyton Manning, actually flew to Prague via Dublin as well. His layover was a little under two hours, which meant he had to check into the flight, so I actually saw him before we met, or knew that we would be sharing a bathroom.

Alex is a year or so younger than I am, taking a year off of college and here for the same reasons that most of us are: mainly for adventure. As a result, he is, and was, often out of the flat and prowling the foreign supermarkets for the weirdest possible snack foods he could find. He came home one day with a pepper-flavored chocolate bar that was surprisingly good.

Our initial flat here was stunning. Lindsey, I'm sure, took some pictures of it. It belonged to a professional impersonator of German actress Marlene Dietrich. Possibly channeling the dramatic delirium of Ms. Dietrich, our absent host, who is really named Jana Heuer, took to decorating the apartment as garishly as possible. Candleabras and chandeliers stood and hung throughout the apartment, such as on the baby grand piano in the living room, and occasionally snuck up on us. For instance, upon spraying air freshner in the bathroom, I looked up to see that I had, on accident, doused a glass chandelier in a fresh lilac scent.

Our kitchenware was equally as substantial. The bowls were to the point where they could fit enough cereal to feed the Denver Broncos. Wine glasses bloomed from foot-high (hardly and exaggeration) stems. Our plates were only plates because we refused to call them platters. Even the toaster looked like something out of a space station.

The search for the new flat took place during the crescendo of the course (week three). Somehow we found the time to email landlord after landlord and arrange viewing after viewing. After parading through half of the apartments in Prague, we settled on a spacious, if underfurnished, flat a few blocks away from Starometska Namesti. The ceilings are high enough to allow a mild game of touch football. However, there are enough giant windows to keep us from actually playing. In addition to keeping Alex, we have adopted another married couple from Boston (or they have adopted us), Patrick and Cornelia. Pat and Nell. Thus we have all moved into our three-bed, three-bath apartment smack dab in the center of Prague. And through some nifty negotiating, we are paying just under 84% of the asking price, which means that we should have a few extra pennies for a beer on the weekend. Maybe two.