Laundry

Laundry

Generally, flats are furnished with a washing machine. Occasionally, with a clothes dryer. Our flat as is aimed to rent short term (perhaps very short term like 3 days) and so it doesn’t have a washing machine much less a clothes dryer. There lies the quest for finding where do to the laundry. By the information given to me by the landlord, one is not too far from our flat. Being so new though, I wasn’t inclined to get to know the bits and pieces of where it can be found. Until we were running out of fresh clothes to wear.

Luckily, I was instructed by one travel agent (Jana of Pergo.sk) where I can do the laundry. When her machine broke down, she had to find one herself. And so there is one in Karlova Ves at Matejkova 1 (flipperwash.sk). As if getting there was the easiest thing to do, I had to carry a heavy loaded bag to get to the bus stop. Of course, I missed my stop and headed until the end of the bus line. Great! I started to walk back until a supermarket signage showed how far it still is, one kilometer. I walked back to the bus stop and wanted to buy the ticket. What happened? The ticket machine was broken. What to do? In this area not a lot of people spoke English. So I was left there looking left and right what to do. Fortunately, there was a Korean who sold me a ticket. So off I went with the bus. Again.

Arriving at Flipper Wash, I didn’t know what to do. In my entire life, I never went to do laundry outside. Even worse were the instructions in Slovak. But the lady was very kind enough to show me with hands, fingers, feet whatever how to wash. First, the detergent, which I of course forgot at home, so I needed to buy for two loads. Then, the tokens. No need anymore to have just coins, the token automat also accepts Euro bills. 2 tokens (4.50 Euro in total) are needed for one washing of up to 6kg. You need to choose a smaller machine for this weight. The bigger ones are of course for the bigger loads. Then you choose the temperature for washing. Just remember to look at the clothes tag for the temperature one can use. I used 40 degrees Centigrade. It showed I needed 30 minutes to wait for washing.

What is there to do? Go out? Walk around? Shop? I started to bring out the computer to write my articles for this blog. I finished the first two until a gentleman my age with his dog Buni started a conversation. He could very well speak English and is in the military service. Nice person.

Washing finished. Now to dry the clothes is again another system to learn. Now you really need Euro coins to wash clothes. Plus it was promised to me by the lady that I could mix the whites and the blacks together while drying. I was very skeptical! Another 30 minutes and voila. My laundry was done.

As I unpack the bag at home, I check all the clothes and everything smelled fresh and clean. When I separated the men’s shirt, the size did not look so much for men anymore. It shrank! Well, I did not look at the tag how hot one could wash it. Let’s just say I gained again another dress shirt for me!

Happy washing!

Transportation in Bratislava

In the last 16 years of my life, I have been used to driving a car. It is like a bare necessity that one thinks one has a car all the time. We are, however, still using Bratislava's great public transportation system until we buy our car. We are into walking to the stops, checking connections, possibilities, etc. It is to me an additional experience to get lost and waste time getting lost but I would never know some places if I never got lost.

Let me begin with taxis. Everybody says that getting a taxi from the street is much more expensive. I just don't know why. Perhaps when I am able to speak (????!!!!????) Slovak, I will be able to ask a taxi driver if this is true or not. I got a taxi from Bratislava (http://wwwbratislavahotels.com) to pick us up from the airport in Vienna. This apparently is more economical than getting one from Vienna itself. Plus one is sure that the driver knows his way in Bratislava and will be able to bring us directly or with side trips to our aim.

Taxis within Bratislava are ordered via phone. I got once a number in the internet and they advertise that they speak in addition to Slovak, German and English. It was however not correct but I did manage to order a taxi. If you are somewhere without a phone, most hotels and restaurants would call a taxi for you.

Fun Taxi 16777 or +421216777 from your mobile
Hello Taxi 16321 or +421216321 from your mobile
Profi Taxi 16222 or +421216222 from your mobile
Trend Taxi 16302 or +421216302 from your mobile
MB Taxi 16916 or +421216916 or +421905916916 from your mobile - only Mercedes and Skoda Superb vehicles, slightly higher rates

Trams are trains, trolleys are run by electricity so it is environment friendly without the fumes and buses are buses. They are really great to bring you from one side of the city to the other. It is possible to combine the three transport systems to arrive to your destination. There is just this thing of how to understand what kind of ticket you have to buy. There are two kinds of ticket: prepaid (24-hour, 48-hour, 72-hour, 168-hour, 30-day, 90-day and 365-day) and the time-ticket for travel with transfers. I will elaborate on time tickets as it is what I used most. There are two time-tickets (15 min and 60 min). At the beginning we really didn't understand what to do with the ticket, if we are allowed to use it to board another public transport or not. After checking the website of Bratislava public transport, it is said that one can use the 15 min ticket for destinations which is reached within the 15 min time limit regardless of how many connections you get. If however you are not sure how long your travel will be, it is safe to buy the 60 min ticket (extended to 90 min during Saturday, Sunday and Holidays). Of course, one could be quite lost in checking out what connections you can get. For me, I achieved this only by checking their website. It is quite a hassle if you do not have access to the internet so perhaps asking the hotel or a local or taking a taxi will be the most suitable. As I have a 5 yr old child, he still doesn’t pay. Children below 6 travel free. So do seniors above 70 years.

Happy riding!

House Hunting

While still in the Philippines, I have tried to schedule an appointment with some real estate agents to search for a house. On the very Monday after our arrival, Adrian and I were picked up by Katarina from expat4u.sk. A lovely lady who showed me 6 houses on the first day. Houses in Slovakia, well perhaps what I can generalize in Bratislava with the houses I have seen is that they have, regardless of how many bedrooms ,one and I mean one, uno, ein, bathroom. They have of course a guest toilet, plus a separate toilet and one main bathroom. Usually there is always a bathtub. In only one flat was a bathtub missing. Kitchens are always in the houses including fridge, oven, etc. A washing machine is also always included. Generally, there are wardrobes. A garage and storage are also usually there. Most have fireplaces (wood can be ordered). If it has a garden, there is also a company who could come and do the garden, shovel the snow, etc. Most have an alarm too.

With regards to the areas this is what I think:

Horsky Park – a sought after area by the embassies. There is the largest park in the city and it is really a quiet, well guarded location. It is very near the city and it is served by bus. I’d prefer to stay here due to its proximity to the German school.

Koliba – an area on the hill overlooking the eastern part of the city. It has great walking, hiking and skiing possibilities. With a tower on top of the hill, there is also a revolving restaurant. Those who don’t live here has an opinion that there is only one way to get out of Koliba which could really be a disadvantage but that I couldn’t say yet. The houses in my opinion should have good views but it is not the case all the time.

Kramare – it is on the other side of the hill of Koliba. It is famous to the French due to the French school nearby. I have seen a house with a great view to Dubravska and to the castle. Unfortunately it is located on a place where its road is too steep. It houses the best Children’s Hospital of Slovakia, the Oncology Hospital. There are newresidential buildings built around those hospitals.

Karlova Ves – this is where our temporary apartment is located. It is known to house dormitories for students but there is also a large residential area. It has two international schools in which it is also preferred by expats. On top are supermarkets, restaurants, banks, laundry etc. Stare Grunty is also located in Karlova ves where new detached houses are being built.

Arrival in Bratislava

Arrival

After arriving in Vienna, we look for our designated taxi driver whom I ordered via Internet from Bratislava. A mafia looking man with my name written on paper, we approach him and directly realized we are not able to communicate with him. An eye opener that a different language is spoken and life is not gonna be that easy. We relayed that we want to pass by a supermarket. A shrug on his shoulders.

We drove. The drive to Bratislava was short. The white castle on the hill at dusk was like a smile saying we are going to enjoy the beauty of Slovakia. The lights of Bratislava gave a twinkle of happiness to those arriving to their city. And with that majestic castle on top, it tells you already that there is so much to see in this “Little big city” as they call Bratislava.

But before we arrive to our apartment, we did stop by a supermarket. Carrefour. As I look for the shopping cart, I realized one needs coins as a deposit to use one. Trying to change my bill with a cashier, a customer offered me a chip. Isn’t that something? Friendliness at the first minute! Wow! It was supposed to be a short trip to buy basic things for breakfast. It took me one hour to find everything. Before you understand that it is milk and not yoghurt on your hand. That it is shampoo and not a dishwashing liquid and so on. And coffee…coffee is instant coffee. A rack full of instant coffee and 3 choices of ground coffee. Hmmm. There goes coffee.

We arrive at our apartment with the nice landlord waiting for us and helping us with our tons of luggage. And as we open the apartment door, voila. A view on the Danube river. Our apartment sits just at the bank of the river. Our very modern apartment fully furnished with a friendly landlord and he did provide us with some drinks and chocolates. As far as I am concerned, we couldn’t have a warmer welcome in a country as Slovakia.