LivinginBrno

Is not a secret that the Czech Postal Services are working great but for newly arrived expats it might be something easily disregarded. Will be starting a weekly series with short step by steps guides on how to ask some paperwork via email from various Czech based offices. I am doing it first for me, to have these details in future, in case someone asks me or I might just forget and is handy to have it here. If you are on a maternity leave and the term for your Parental Leave start is close, you might need a paper from MSSZ office which states you are on a maternal leave.  If you are Czech native speaker, this guide is not for you and you might even find it funny, this guide is just for new expat moms of Brno - sorry to say it:  exhausted moms, like me who really don't wish to make that trip to Gajdosova street and wait in line to take the paper. First, you can call them but I haven't try that as I cannot speak Czech on that level or any level... if it matters.

Finding a free place to a state Czech kindergarten is quite difficult , not only for us as expats but for the Czech people as well. I do trust there is no difference between czech and non-czech kids in this country, the people of Brno and Czech Republic in general, really respect and put children on the first place. I try to think and trust that we are not competing against czech families because I have seen how difficult is for them, as well. Now, that we know we have equal chances, how do we enroll our kid to the state kindergarten. Except for few broken pieces of information available on hidden Facebook groups there is little to almost no information available for the non-czech speaking people.  Maybe you work fulltime and don't have time to read all FB group discussions, that information stays buried there as opposed to having it on a forum or blog. It's odd to me that no other expat parents made such information available to help the rest of us, there are many out there

Before even thinking to start typing an email to that real estate agency for renting a place in Brno, take the time to sit back and relax for a little. To think. What are you searching for? How do you choose and find a place to rent in Brno? Here are my tips, feel free to add more to your own list or use them as a starting point: 1. First, plan your budget and state your maximum  (not here on my blog but to your own attention and notes) - how much are you willing to pay for renting a place in Brno? Write the number down and take into consideration an 8-10 % yearly increase because of the energy recalculation that are counted every 12 months. It might be minus 8-10 %, for us it was always plus (we cook a lot at home, work from home and so on). To that, the landlord might increase yearly around 2% but that is always negotiable and must come with real improvements to the living space. Always try to negotiate 2. Brno is divided into 29 city districts - use online information like Goo

Being a parent is already hard enough, but parenting your cute, precious little energy bombs in a foreign country brings a little extra to the situation, of course the great things outweigh the bad, at least that is what we think so far. I searched online information about how the expat parenting is done, what are the common traits of expat communities and, particularly, how to the parents living in foreign countries are different from those who live in their native country.  I strongly believe the expat parenting has some peculiarities that are more prominent, we are a different segment of society groups and even if we prefer the global type of thinking and living, our behavior as parents is strongly shaped by the socio-economic context of the country we chose to relocate to. As not much information is available online - for example, statistics or real life opinions about the differences between the two groups, I came up with my own view on this. Far from me to label people - I trust

Trying to learn Czech since 2011 but without much success and results, I quickly stopped my efforts. Now my son goes to kindergarten and cannot procrastinate anymore. I am learning from and for him this amazing, tongue tickling language - the czech language. The text bellow for sure known by most preschoolers in Czech Republic and here is my own, free interpretation in English (in yellow highlights): Hody hody doprovody, Sing this holly holiday Dejte vejce malovaný, Put/bring the painted eggs Nedáte-li malovaný, If you don't have painted eggs Dejte aspoň bílý, Bring at least the white ones Slepička vám snese jiný The hen lays another egg V komoře v koutku In the hen roost corner Na zeleným proutku. In a green nest. Proutek se ohýbá, if the nest will break Slepička kokrhá. Then the hen crows Dejte ji jísti, So take and eat the eggs Dejte jí píti, Give the hen some water Dejte jí semence, Feed it some seeds Ona snese tři vejce. She will mak

We went to the veggies and fruits market on Saturday morning . It was our first visit this spring and kids were delighted about Brno city appearance, the market, honey bonbons, and gingerbread Easter eggs. I wanted to publish for you a detailed list of the prices on the Saturday farmers' market but was unable to find all I had on my list so here are the ones I got: -  2 branches of medium sized tomatoes - 80 czk (about 120 czk / kg) - 200 g walnuts - 23 czk / 100 g - 200 g goji seeds - 23 czk / 100 g - gingerbread Easter egg (kids were delighted) - 45 czk/ piece - 2 garden flowers in a pot - 15 czk / pot - fresh parsley - 15 czk - 500 g strawberries - 20 czk I wanted potatoes and fresh salads but these were not to be found on the market today. Maybe next time, as the season is not yet fully opened and with the latest freeze session maybe the crops were already damaged. Anyway, hope the cherries will survive this season. What are your thoughts on the farmer markets? Where

So, you washed your IKEA cover mattress despite the clear instruction on the label to not do it. Well, I did it because...I have a toddler and had to try and save it. I also washed the cover in a 3h program on 50 degrees Celsius. it did not shrink but I had a very hard time putting it back on. I would do it just once in a mattress' lifetime and only if necessary. If you are in the same situation, do not give up and run to IKEA for a new mattress...If I could put mine back so can you. Here a few tips: - turn the cover inside out and start pulling it on the mattress from one part slowly - grab small parts of the cover so it slides onto itself, allowing thus a smoother pulling on the mattress surface - pull each side at a time, with patience All operation took me about 8 minutes, here I share a video showing my struggle, you might find that helpful: Putting Back On the IKEA Cover Mattress