Building Budapest

When visiting a beautiful, old city for the first time, one MUST take pictures such as this one. It's a law. What the camera does not capture are the bright colors of the tiled roof. You can sort of tell they are colored, but at high noon they are a bit bleached here. Travelers can't be choosy.

And just look at this little headless man hanging out on the wall of some person's home. I left Rich anchored at a cafe with coffee and took a swift walk around the neighborhood. Is this stencil graffiti on purpose or is the homeowner hapless? I'm not sure, but a cropped version turned into a great wallpaper pic for my laptop.

And this beauty was found between our hotel and the metro. It was such an enthusiastic welcome to the city!

Oh Vinohrady! I wine for you!

In 2008, Rich and I lived in Vinohrady for five months. Named for the vineyards that used to be there, it is a comfortable neighborhood with parks and pubs and the hum of everyday life. We went back this week to visit the dentist. She charges so much less than the U.S. and does a careful job. We found ourselves walking down Záhřebská in search of a recently opened art exhibit. The exhibit was a disappointment, but the neighborhood stroll really had me feeling nostalgic. This picture was snapped as we waited for our tram at Náměstí Míru.

We have since stayed in lovely flats in the heart of the old city. It's great to be close to the beautifully restored center, but it does not feel like a neighborhood. This year it feels more like living along a cattle trail! We are on the hill above Prague Castle. You can imagine it is a very popular destination! Large tour groups pour endlessly out of the tram and downhill to the castle. The shopkeepers here do a very good business!