On May 2 I happily started at Asus Czech Service in Ostrava. True, I missed Labour Day (for the lucky ones, the day of lovers) by a hair, so I hope to make up for it next year. And it was quite a lot for me. The worst part wasn’t even the commuting and getting up at 2 a.m. so that I could leave at 3 and have 1 hour 15 minutes for a 6.8 km walk, catch the train at 4:17 and be in the hall by around 5:30.
Even if I used public transport as much as possible and walked the rest, it still took 5.5 hours out of my day. For the first 2 weeks I tried not to sleep on the train back, but I realized I was only destroying myself. When I was asleep more than I was awake, the work was worthless; it was counterproductive.
I started looking into workers’ hostels so that instead of several hours I would travel at most 2 hours a day, including walking and the various transport closures in Ostrava. In the end I gave up on it, other things tempted me, and back then I also didn’t have the money to pay for anything. I was already borrowing just so I could buy lunch at Asus for 25 CZK. 2 days before June 12 I started finishing what I had left undone with the hostel; payday was already on the horizon. On June 13 I also sold my Xperia M4 Aqua, bought for 6,500 CZK in July 2015, now for 3,500, and I had even bought a new screen protector of exclusive Japanese quality for it.
I had good experience with it myself, unlike some dodgy one I got as a freebie with my Huawei, which, when I unwrapped it, didn’t have a single uncracked bit. But now on to how it all went. First I went to RIP – this server didn’t even survive its own hosting.. I thought it was that shabby building with huge windows, but I turned right, where I discovered the reception and learned (I’m leaving some things out, they’re in the sheet linked below):
- Price 226 CZK / night
- Everyone cleans up after themselves; when your stay ends, the room is prepared for the next person
- Cancellation is possible, but because of accounting it’s better to buy extra days as you plan to stay
- Alcohol in reasonable amounts is allowed
That ancient-looking building, looking like a ghost in the middle of time, is the Faculty of Education of the University of Ostrava. My second stop was Laguna on Pohranicni Street. I expected that since it isn’t directly in the north of Ostrava, or straight in Privoz, there wouldn’t be large groups gathering in droves of our “excellent” Romani fellow citizens.
Not right on Pohranicni, but just next to it is Valcovni Street, where our most hardworking fellow citizens were killing time lying around on the ground. I couldn’t even get anyone to answer the door at the hostel; there were 3 doorbells but not a single one was labeled, several different businesses, and Laguna didn’t even list any “opening” hours, so I gave up on this den of Darkness without ever opening the door.
Then came Karin . Even from a distance it looked like at least a 3-star hotel; when I rang, the buzzer let me in, and at reception the lady told me, for example:
- All single rooms are occupied
- We try to pair working people with working people and keep those on benefits separate
- If I wanted a double room just for myself, I would have to pay for two
- Cancellation works the same as at TJ Ostrava, so it’s possible but best avoided
- The boss will get in touch with me once a single room becomes available
I wanted to spend the night from Sunday to Monday already in Ostrava, and I had one last iron in the fire. That was the Nerudova hostel, owned by the construction company Stavia – the link burned down along with the old server.. The photos will tell you more: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipN1bc7FEt8igD0FS-Fiteem71Qv-mua6xFxqfrXIgm_rdmXqKr3_MSbG-dWArxh9Q?key=RW9aUEcwMEdJVUFhNVBPLV9MbWNVR1VxRmJ2R3Jn At reception they told me, for example:
- It’s good to return the key when you go out, so they know who’s in and who isn’t. They have spares anyway.
- No smoking in the rooms, but it’s allowed on the terrace
- Visitors are allowed, but each one for 2 hours at most
- Quiet hours 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
- Towels and cutlery can be borrowed free of charge
- There’s one fridge per apartment, and I’m free to switch it on, which I did
It was really nice there, only the chair was terribly uncomfortable. For anyone staying a month or more, it’s one of the cheapest options of its kind. My apartment had 4 rooms, but nobody was in the other three. Only tomorrow are some workers supposed to move in.
As for mobile signal, the Vodafone BTS is about fifteen meters away from me and looks something like this: https://gsmweb.cz/foto.php?op=oskar&cid=40401&okres=OV . They also have wifi; I was warned that I probably wouldn’t catch the Wifi in my room, maybe in the hallway, but that’s it. Nevertheless, I picked up 3 of the hostel’s networks there 🙂
https://www.speedtest.net/result/a/2010821832 By tram it takes me 4 minutes longer than if I came by train to Ostrava-Vitkovice. And just one street over is Zengrova, where in 2014 I was supposed to live with Nikol and Lenka, but in the end it fell through, not by my choice. I may not have hips like a wardrobe, but at least I have a wardrobe like hips 😀
PS: The list I put together is at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1U46ZLFvWF-0QUtszCT6D-QjjhXfcw51aL0zxMEU6v0E/edit?gid=0#gid=0