This past weekend I was busy MOVING. I was living right in the center/heart of Prague, just a 3 minute walk from I.P. Pavlova, a main metro station. However, for a multitude of reasons, I needed to move apartments, and around the time I needed to move, one of my friends and co-worker's roommates moved out to live with her boyfriend, so I moved in to the apartment. The place is a bit farther from the touristy part of Prague, but it's only a few minute walk to a bus stop and about a 5 minute walk to a tram stop, so it's still easy to get around. The place I am living now is super-duper nice. The guy who owns it had just renovated it for him wife and their kid when he got transferred to Vienna for work. He was very picky in finding tenants, but rented it for way less than he could get for it. Basically when they re-did the place, they were very thoughtful in adding little touches that make it so nice to live here, for instance: a light switch beside my bed so I don't have to get out of bed to turn out the light, lights all have dimmers, bathroom has it's own temperature control so it can be set warmer than other rooms, TONS of closet space in bedrooms, TONS of cabinet space in kitchen, gas stoves, heated towel racks, double shower heads, etc. Tamela and I even have our own bathrooms!
Anyone wishing to send me mail should no longer use my old address. My new address is:
Sarah Vaughn
Mexicka 3
10100
Praha 10
C/O
Hanna Sands
Moving this weekend wasn't too tiring. My new roommate is dating a guy here in Prague and he has a car. He was nice enough to come pick up all my things and drive them over to the new place so I didn't have to pay for a cab or struggle on public transit. I thanked him profusely, and then started unpacking. As is always the case when moving, I soon realized I was missing this or that so I compiled a list (sheets, a duvet, pillows, a bathmat, a trashcan for the bathroom, bedside lamp, a spatula, an oven mit, hand soap, etc) and headed to Ikea. It took forever, but I left with the things I needed and then swung back by the old apartment to vacuum and drop off keys. Finally, I headed back to the new place to keep unpacking. When I arrived, Tamela was cooking tacos/fajitas and so we opened a bottle of wine and ate dinner. It was delicious!
Yesterday I just continued to clean and unpack and then I braved the grocery store. There is a small Tesco only about a block away, tons of potraviny's, and a HUGE Tesco 2-3 bus stops from here. I went to the big Tesco so stock up on somethings and the trip was a success.
I mad soup last night since it's been so cold here and it turned out really, really well- for anyone else who is a soup fan, I highly recommend it so here's the recipe:
Ingredients:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter (I used 1/2 this amount of butter and then added a little bit of olive oil to the pan)
1 1/2 cups chopped onions (I didnt measure in cups but I used 4 small onions b/c that is what I had)
2 tablespoons peeled and grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 1/4 pound peeled, chopped carrots
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
11/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
4 cups chicken broth/vegetable broth
juice from 1/2 a lemon (2-3 table spoons if you're not using fresh)
Preparation:
Melt butter in a heavy, large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute until tender (4 min). Add ginger and garlic and saute another 2 minutes. Add chopped carrots, tomatoes and lemon peel and saute 1 minutes. Add broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until carrots are very tender (20-30 min). Cool slightly and then in batched pour soup in blender and puree. Return soup to pot and mix in lemon juice, then season with salt and pepper.
I ate the leftovers for dinner tonight with 1/2 a grilled cheese. Perfect comfort food on a cold night.
This coming weekend I'll also be cooking up a storm. My new roommate and I decided to do a traditional American Thanksgiving for the American (and other) expats that we hang out with in Prague. We're expecting 12-15 people and we're doing all the cooking- though people are donating ingredients this week to help us cover the cost. I'm really excited about it but also pretty nervous because I've never cooked this big of a meal for this many people. New respect for being a real grown up (what is this?)
Anyway, I'm off to be productive and then get some sleep!
I'll update again soon and post pictures of the apartment!
--Sarah
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