For nine months I had been planning a week long home exchange in the beautiful Czech Republic city of Prague, along with four other weeks of travel throughout Europe, and as most of my home exchanges through HomeExchange.com have been, it turned out wonderfully!
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| The First Morning's View From Our Apartment |
Catherine, who I had dealt with through emails since the original exchange request was made in February for her family's second home, met us at the train station on a dark rainy night in Prague, drove us to her one bedroom fourth floor apartment, showed us around, and left us to admire what appeared to be another successful exchange. Even though we had never spoken on the phone and had communicated only through emails, I felt that I knew her and was glad to see a welcoming face at the train station after our four weeks of travel throughout Germany and Croatia. After searching for hotels and connections throughout Europe on our own it was a relief to be met at the train station and to be driven to our destination without struggling to find it ourselves. Now it was time to finally unpack and relax for a week in our own apartment!
The apartment itself was beautifully decorated and newly remodeled with all of the newest gadgets and appliances, but, minus an Internet connection! Can't have everything I guess, though this place almost certainly did!
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| Only Went To Starbucks For Internet Fix (ok, and maybe a giant cup of coffee too) |
To circumvent this problem we headed out to Starbucks or another cafe to get our Internet fix as often as possible between our site seeing and dining. Problem resolved, though not as efficiently as I would have preferred, but I did get to enjoy lots of wonderful lattes while checking email, and doing other work.
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| Our Lovely Bathroom . . . . |
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| . . . And Cozy Bedroom |
An inviting bedroom with a wonderful bed and modern bathroom was a welcome relief from some of the other places we had stayed throughout our trip!
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| Hostinec U Kalicha A Wonderful Czech Pub Just 3 Doors Down From Our Apartment! |
We were also able to shop at little local markets for our breakfast needs, get away from the hoards of tourists, and explore local neighborhoods most visitors to Prague never view. Though we were able to eventually discover many of the local businesses on our own, I wished that Catherine had left a list of nearby recommended stores, cafes, and restaurants, as we always provide when people come to our homes.
Though our apartment was about a 30 minute walk from Old Town Prague, which at first was a little disappointing, all of the walking we did made us feel less guilty while partaking in lots of sausage, goulash, potato dumplings and weinersnitzle, as well as some very gourmet meals, and of course lots of Czech beer. Bet you didn't know that the Czech Republic is the leader in the world for per capita liters of beer drank per year!
Though our apartment was about a 30 minute walk from Old Town Prague, which at first was a little disappointing, all of the walking we did made us feel less guilty while partaking in lots of sausage, goulash, potato dumplings and weinersnitzle, as well as some very gourmet meals, and of course lots of Czech beer. Bet you didn't know that the Czech Republic is the leader in the world for per capita liters of beer drank per year!
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| From great sausage and beer to . . . . |
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| . . . gourmet wild boar and wine. We ate well! |
I realize now that I should have clarified the location of the apartment better before making the exchange and would suggest doing so before finalizing any agreement. Getting walking distances to popular tourist or desired locations is highly recommended, but since this was the only Prague apartment available to us for an exchange I didn't do this and was just grateful to have found something which looked to be from the the HomeExchange.com web site, and accurately so, a lovely property.
Catherine and her family will be coming to our condominium in Reserva Conchal, Costa Rica sometime next year, and though we will not be there to greet her as she did us, we will have our concierge waiting for her with a key and directions and suggestions for a week of fun on the beach in tropical Central America, another world from beautiful historic Prague. Though our place in Costa Rica is larger, and Catherine may wish to stay longer than the six nights we spent in Prague, we have found that exchanges need not be exact equals as long as everyone is happy with where they are staying. And we were certainly happy!
A view of the city of Prague . . . . .
. . . . for a view of the ocean of Costa Rica! Seems like a good exchange!
Important Exchange Points
- Request a list of recommended local businesses before arriving at exchange property and provide a similar list for your home and neighborhood.
- Obtain detailed location information regarding walking or driving distances to desired attractions before agreeing upon exchange.
- Arrange to have someone greet your exchange guests if possible, especially if international travel is involved.
- Try to speak with your potentials exchangers either on the phone, Skype, or if that is not possible through lots of emails, so that you feel that you know each other and are comfortable with the exchange.
- Don't be concerned if your property may be smaller or larger than the other property, as long as each party is happy.
Now go out and make an exchange for yourself! I guarantee you won't regret it.
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| Cheers! |
