Pulling Back the Curtain... The Move

One neat thing about writing in this blog is it's our message.

It's reality as we dictate, in black and white...

I wrote the earlier Schengen article weeks ago, but saved it, knowing our time to write would soon be scarce. It came in handy, but now it seems out of place, especially given our bud Eric is here.

So, time to really write reality.

These go to 11

We're moving this weekend. We "close" on our new place tomorrow evening. If we had a stress dial, it would be at 11 (and set there). We didn't plan our move to be 1 December - it was supposed to be late August, then became end of September, then tentatively 17 November, but ultimately pushed to 1 December. Again, not how we planned -or wanted-, but this is how it is.

Mostly it's To sum up in quick bullets:

• Earliest delay was lift construction -delayed from Dec 2006 to last month!
• In contract negotiations, the Seller welched a few times, causing more delays.
• Final delay was Seller's new flat was delayed, so he pushed our move-in date back 6 weeks.

All this and pregnant, too???
No matter. In our final round of negotiations on 1st October (at the time, the deadline for moving in), we pushed and pushed hard. If you know Maylia, she can make a compelling arguement.

Still, Seller refused to budge. Threats of a lawsuit were empty since he wanted only 2 more months, versus 2-3 years for a court battle.

By the end of 4 hours at the table, even the Sellers' lawyers were frustrated of the Seller's lunacy - and they fought on our behalf. You know its bad when lawyers get frustrated.

How has this affected us?

• May has flu, averaging 3-4 hours sleep per night for ~3 weeks.
• Ella has flu & running nose for past ~2 weeks
• Yesterday Ella started complaining her ears hurt...
• ...and today's visit to doctor's labeled May with bronchitis and Ella with early ear infection

But between local friends and Eric, a rental van and some good luck, we might just move in to our new place tomorrow night. We thought you ought to know what's really going on around here...

Next time you hear from us, we will have set up Internet at our new flat ...so it may be a while.

Until then, take care.

love, us

"Schengen" - "Bless you."


Schengen isn't a household word for family and friends back home, but it's big in Europe.
And next month here, it gets much bigger.


The Schengen Agreement is a treaty between countries to eliminate border checks. Yes, like driving past the US/Canada border without so much as slowing down.

21 December 2007 - Czech + 9 others join Schengen Agreement

At the end of 2004, ten countries joined the European Union. Nine of those 10 are joining the Schengen border free zone at the end of 2007. It's very popular idea here: no checkpoints on the road, no traffic congestion and fewer illegals.

Schengen isn't good news for all. For people living & working here illegally, someone only has to take the 2-hour train ride (~$30) to Dresden, get their passport stamped and double-back. Doing this every 3 months makes you a semi-permanent tourist, but a legitimate tourist. The work-visa paperwork is a major, major hassle, so this tourist train trip is a popular trick of English teachers and self-employed folks. It's a cheap and fast trick, but very illegal.
That's today...but when we become part of the Schengen Agreement, going to Germany will no longer get you a passport stamp. Those illegals will have to travel all the way to Croatia or the UK - a more expensive and, by flight, much more tracked. Say goodbye to the "easy life," illegals.

Totally Open Borders in 1 month

Right now, Luxemburg is the only country in Europe with 100% open borders: landlocked (no shoreline to guard) and surrounded by countries also in the Schengen Agreement.

Next month, Czech Republic will join Luxemburg with this distinction. Czech Republic has no shores and will be surrounded by Schengen countries. This means, driving north (south and west) to Germany will be as open as the highway. Likewise driving to Austria or Poland.

Imagine no border crossing between Calais, Maine and Calais, New Bruswick? Between Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario? El Paso and Tiajuana?? Yeah, ....someday, someday.

Eric's Here!

In fact, Eric's been here, left for a 2-night stay in Dresden, and returned here again. The man gets around.

We believe he's enjoying his trip. Ella's certainly enjoying him. She typically doesn't warm up to folks too quickly...only after 3-4 days of them being around. But she found an easy friend in Eric and has been long asking "Eric come play with Ella?"

Eric's also known to be an accomplished photographer. Rather than post some of the same sights from other visits, May had an idea of posting a collection of his close-ups. Here's goes...

17 November - big day in history

3 things happened on this day:

• 1939: Nazi crackdown on students
• 1989: Start of Velvet Revolution
• 2007: Eric Korte arrives to visit

1939: Nazi crackdown on students

Celebrating the anniversary of independent Czechoslovakia on 28 October 1939, many students protested the Nazi occupation in 1939. The Nazis broke up the protest by firing into the crowd, seriously wounding a student Jan Opletal.

Opletal's funeral became an even bigger protest and on the night of the 16th November the Nazis closed many universities. They later sent off some 1,200 students to concentration camps. Since then, 17 Nov is International Students Day.

1989: Start of Velvet Revolution

Fifty years later, around 15,000 students held a candle vigil to honor Jan Opletal. They were again protesting their occupiers, this time, the Communists.

Students were approved to march in a south neighborhood of Prague. Instead of stopping, however, they tried to continue to Wenceslas Square. The police brutally stopped students just a few blocks away, at Narodni Trida. This crackdown shocked the people awake, starting a chain of events leading to the Velvet Revolution - a bloodless end to Communist rule in Czechoslovakia.

2007: Eric Korte Arrives
We'll probably tick off some people with comparing these 3 events, but hey, it my blog. The third event is happening today (well, I'm writing this a week in advance...).
Eric arrives this morning, ~9:30 am. I'll pick him at up at the airport and ..., if he's lucky, I'll only march him for the last few kilometers along the students' path (after we drop off his bags).

Last time we saw Eric, we were all hiking through Red Rock National Conservation Area, outside Las Vegas. Here's a pic of Eric & Ella in April 2006. I'll post a new picture soon.

Here's his airplane coming in ...care of GoogleEarth (click to expand):









...I should get going to the airport. later

Got a New Washing Machine

Our old washing machine went kaputen. Had to get a new one.

Funny though, we noticed as the guy installed our new washer ... the dials go to 11. ???

Maylia and Czech guy had a brief talk about it (in Czech naturally), but I translated it for you here:


Czech Washer Guy: The numbers all go to eleven. Look, right across the board, eleven, eleven, eleven and...
Maylia: Oh, I see. And most washing machines go up to ten?
Czech Washer Guy: Exactly.
Maylia: Does that mean it's cleaner? Is it any cleaner?
Czech Washer Guy: Well, it's one cleaner, isn't it? It's not ten. You see, most blokes, you know, will be washing at ten. You're on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you're on ten on your washer. Where can you go from there? Where?
Maylia: I don't know.
Czech Washer Guy: Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do?
Maylia: Put it up to eleven.
Czech Washer Guy: Eleven. Exactly. One cleaner.
Maylia: Why don't you just make ten cleaner and make ten be the top number and make that a little cleaner?
Czech Washer Guy: [pause] These go to eleven.

Note: If you didn't find that the least bit funny, try renting the movie This is Spinal Tap.

If you still don't find it funny...you have no soul.

Or you can just watch this segment.

It's 9.11 today

(Jeff here)
At work, I just glanced at my desk phone and the display's top line struck me funny:
11:09 09/11/07 x1919.

The time is 11:09am. My extension is 1919. All fine.
The date struck me funny, it's 09/11/07 - the 9 November (9 listopadu) here
It's not November 9 or 11.09.07.
I just finished off a PPT presentation, where I wrote the date as 9 Nov 2007 without a thought.

Just one of those things.

The Dollars

We just saw the news the Canadian dollar hit another all-time high to the US dollar. It's now $1 to $0.93? Wow. One Canadian dollar is worth a US dollar, plus 7 more cents.

Yeah, the Canadian dollar passed the US dollar over a month ago. And since Friday afternoon, the 'loonie' hit its highest in over 30 years. Nice going, eh?

Sure, 7 cents isn't much, but the Canadian dollar has come a long way in only a year ago.

Our NH friends remember caravaning to Quebec City for Bonhomme carnival for 2 reasons: the “Caribou” and the cheap Canadian dollar. Only 5 years back, it was US$1 = Cdn$1.50!


What's going on?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!
from the Goldfish and the Jack-O-Lantern



Ella and Maylia celebrated by attending a party. (Poor Jeff was home sick in bed and missed out on his favourite holiday.) Claudia, Lucaš, and Santiago were excellent hosts. 14 toddlers, 4 infants, and a bunch of adults....a wildly spooky time was had by all!