My goodness, it’s hard to believe about many things in this world.

It’s hard to believe that more time has passed between the Stegosaurus and T-Rex than between T-Rex and humans.

It’s hard to believe that Lake Superior has a larger surface area than the entire Czech Republic.

And it’s hard to believe that I haven’t updated this blog nearly ten months despite living in the Czech Republic for over three and half years now.

Dear reader, you might wonder what sort of wisdom I’ve accrued in this time, or what has happened to my initial wonderment after settling in for an extended period of time. Maybe you’ve wondered how I managed to conquer the seemingly simple act of grocery shopping, when local “supermarkets” often don’t have basic staples like soap.

Well, for any American currently considering an extended stay in the Czech Republic, that is indeed a very good question. Prior to my arrival, I had read few blogs and watched a videos from other Americans who stated, in rather broad terms, that grocery shopping in the Czech Republic isn’t quite as convenient as American stores. However, that is quite an understatement.

To make a long story short, you can mostly forget about the convenience of “one-stop shopping.” Also, your options for shopping are largely dictated by whatever neighborhood you live in. For example, when I first arrived in Holešovice, I had luxury of living in a densely populated urban area with a high percentage of American expats. There were multiple grocery stores within walking distance, and the nearest farmer’s market was a short tram ride away.

That was lovely.

However, when I moved to Střešovice, I unknowingly made a devil’s bargain. In exchange for quiet, tree-lined streets and stately homes, I lost any reasonable access to a quality supermarket.

Thus, travelers beware, as this might happen to you. Your neighborhood might have an Albert or Billa. These are close approximations to Stop N’ Shop in my native New England, although the selection, is much, much smaller. If you want anything remotely resembling the level of choice that you have in the United States, your options are Tesco or Kaufland. Again, this is another devil’s bargain. While Albert and Billa have good prices and poor selection, Tesco and Kaufland have good selection and poor prices–as in, the prices will make you poor if you shop there regularly.

And yet the complexity of Prague grocery shopping doesn’t stop there. You see, not all Billas and Alberts are created equal. The BIlla that I lived closest to, prior to its recent remodeling, generally had not only bad selection but bad quality produce to go with it. That, along with dirty floors and crud that seemed to perpetually drop from the ceiling meant that any meaningful shopping trip meant a thirty-minute tram ride to the next nearest Billa–you know, the one that doesn’t stock soap.

For years, grocery shopping was a hassle for me. Purchasing anything had to be carefully planned based on where I was at a given moment, or if I wanted to sacrifice a solid part of my weekend for a “big” shopping trip that wouldn’t be able to cover all of my needs anyway. And boy, it was embarrassing every time I had people over and I tried to welcome them by saying, “help yourself to anything you want in the fridge.” Invites like this typically resulted in a guest who would open the fridge to find it nearly barren, then look at me and wonder how I hadn’t yet starved to death.

Something had to give, and that something came to me in the form of Košík.cz. Kosik, which is the Czech word for basket, is a recent addition to the scene of Prague grocery shopping, and a must for those of us who don’t have the luxury of living in places like Vinohrady. Košík, the Czech for “basket,” is online delivery service that provides actual, comprehensive selection at modest prices. Simply place the order, schedule a delivery time that is convenient for you, and faster than you can say “tady to je,” it is here!

In hindsight, I wish I’d embraced this much sooner. Perhaps the American romantic in me was still stuck on the idea that I’d be back in Hlošovice before long, or that the cardio workout of lugging multiple bags of groceries up the stairs was with the reward. Well, not anymore. Now I have the convenience of placing an order for everything on Saturday, getting everything I need on Sunday, and not having to worry about needing anything else for the rest of the week. While there are a few items like freshly cut bacon that still must be procured locally, it’s a vastly simpler, more convenient, and more cost effective process than what I had before. Just saving the one hour in transit is worth it.

And the delivery driver’s are super nice, too. If you just leave a small tip of 20 crowns (about one US dollar), they’ll walk it up the stairs and hand you all your bags with a smile (people rarely smile in Prague). One driver was kind enough to inspect the eggs from one of my orders beforehand, notified me that they had been damaged in transport, and promptly applied a credit to my next purchase. I was able to see this credit right away, because I already had a credit as a newly registered customer, something you can receive if you open your Košík.cz today!

Now, after reading this, you might wonder, Hey, are you “on the take?” Is somebody at Košík.cz paying you write this? Well, quite frankly, that’s not really business, but after saving so much time and money with this convenient online service, you’ll have plenty of time to think about that!

Now you’ll you excuse me, I’m going to take this sum of money I’ve recently acquired to purchase a lovely flat in Vinohorady . . .