Greetings from Prague

I've reworked this photo of Prague apartment building that was partially demolished using a variety of filters. I think it has that antique, "Wish you were here" postcard feel.

Giant lollipops!

I don't really understand how anyone would ever be able to eat one of these monster candies. I had Levi stand next to the display for perspective. They're huge and can be bought at the duty-free in Prague. Make a note of that.

Leaving for Lyon

I haven't posted anything over the past couple days. Long days and late evenings so I've been a bit too tired to write.

On Tuesday, we met my friend Fanda who took us on a walking tour of Prague (Prague 6, 7, 8) - through parks, to the zoo, the botanical gardens, the national technical museum and the residential areas of the city. We also met a couple of his friends, Irena and Jiří and their very cute baby, Christina. The first evening we went to Irena and Jiří's apartment for coffee. Last night we went out to a very good Italian restaurant near their apartment (though I was completely lost since the apartment blocks are huge and numerous - some from the communist era and some more contemporary). My Czech is still awful but it was good to have three people try to help me. We worked on Czech and English tongue twisters to round out the evening. A very pleasant way to spend vacation time.

We're now waiting at the Prague airport for our flight to Lyon. The weather turned warm and sunny yesterday and continues to be pleasant today. I'm pretty sure it will be delightful in France. I've got a bit of the traveler's malaise - longing for my routines and not to be pulling clothes from suitcases. It will pass quickly but I still miss home a bit. Anyhow, it's onward and upward.

Of course, by the time I tried to upload this post, my free 15 mins (15 mins?!! Are you kidding me) on the airport WIFI has expired, so I'll have to post this when we arrive in France.

 

Driving to Prague

Despite our map-studies and the contingent plans we made in case we missed our turns to get back into Prague, we got lost en route back to the city. The most frustrating thing seemed to be "banging a u-y" wasn't the simplest activity. At one point, after figuring out where we were (a minor miracle to my mind), we realized we needed to turn around, so we took the next right in order to turn around. Unfortunately, the street turned out to be a tunnel that spit us out somewhere else. Still, I managed to keep my cool (I was the navigator).

Finally, we managed to get directions from a fellow on the street and made it to Malá Strana only to miss our left turn to get us to the hotel. No problem, right? Well, there was a massive backup and the road we wound up on had massive construction on it. Missed another turn after turning around again (at this point I lost it...I kept insisting that the soccer stadium was just an illusion, that we couldn't possibly be passing it and the map must be wrong). Finally, calmer minds prevailed and got us back to where we needed to be and finally to our hotel. This is the second time we've driven into Prague and both times have been extremely challenging. Somehow I believed this second time would be easier. I can drive in NYC but here is extremely nerve-wracking.

Prior to arriving in Prague, we had driven to Jihlava, which is the birthplace of Gustave Mahler. He is a picture of a park built in his honor:

And here is a picture of Levi enjoying an RC Cola in the Smile Bar:

 

After a run this morning, we'll meet my friend Fanda for a local's tour of the city. Hopefully, it doesn't rain too much (I'm wishing I brought at least one more pair of pants since it's been a bit on the cool side).

Sunrise at Red & Blue Hotel

I've been awake since 3:30 so I finally got up and took some early morning pictures out the window. Here's one with the sun starting to rise.

Czech Republic Day 1

After what seemed like the endless day (leaving home at 9:30 am on the 9th and arriving in Prague at 1:30 pm on the 10th), we are finally settling in to the hotel for the evening. We got here after an uneventful couple flights and took a 3 hour nap, which was utterly delightful, though it was a bit difficult to rouse ourselves from our slumber. Finally got up and took a wander up Petřín hill to look at the views, the gardens, and to climb the tower. The weather was perfect - sunny and not too hot. I would post pictures but I didn't take any with the iPad yet (although it's a better device, it's not as portable as my phone).

After out hill climb, we descended toward Nerudova Street and stopped in a great pub for beer and herring (yummy!). Levi has decided that we should go there every day - laid back and comfortable atmosphere.

That's all for tonight. Tomorrow it's off to Ostrava and the Colours Festival.

 

 

Strange realization

Oddly enough, after years and years of wanting to go to Prague and the Czech Republic (I originally wanted to go when it was still Czechoslovakia), I took just a small number of photos while there. I found myself much more shutterbuggy in the countryside and outside of Prague. I'm not sure why that is. Prague has got tons of stuff to shoot. Could've been because of the frightening number of tourists. Or perhaps I didn't feel like I could shoot much that hasn't been shot before. Lots of people go to Prague. Less go to Podmoli.

That being said, I've posted a small collection of Prague shots on my SmugMug site. Enjoy.

All hands on deck

That phrase really has nothing to do with my life. I just happened to be watching Moby Dick last night (pt. 2 is this evening - I'm sooo excited - though I promise I will, eventually, finish reading the entire book) and that came to mind as a good title for this posting. I recently purchased a piece of artwork from a blogger I follow named Seth Apter. The piece is called Fides.

I love the hand position in the piece - it's originally from a religious statue. I feel as though I'm perpetually being blessed.

I had originally planned to place it in a more quirky spot beside Godzilla and a fake orange, but it didn't seem to go. Instead it's beside a pine needle Tarahumara basket, a miniature painting by a Georgian (think Russia, not peach) artist, a enameled Russian box and an Acoma ceramic piece. I think this is a better location.

This piece is a nice companion piece to a porcelain hand/plate that my husband gave me. It came from the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City, CA. The admonition on the plate is "Fairly Safely Venture."

Fides also reminded my husband of a monument we saw in Prague. It commemorates a student protest that occurred on November 17, 1989 during the Velvet Revolution.

A round of applause for the hand in art. Sorry...I had to say it.