Woman and her Dog

We were at a tram stop this morning and couldn't help but notice this woman and her Greyhound. Besides the remarkable tattoo on her back, I noticed that her shirt reads "Czech Republic Coursing Team". (click on the photo to see it larger) Intrigued I snapped the photo and looked it up on the internet. Turns out that coursing is a kind of dog racing on natural terrain.

Hammered Glass Tram Stop

There are few panes of hammered glass left in the windows in the apartment we are renting. But the one window provides the most delightful reflection of the street. Click on the picture to see it in more detail. There is something about the hammered waves in the glass that makes the reflection shimmer that enhances the action around the tram stop. (I considered snapping a photo of a horde of tourists coming down the street en route to the castle, but the leader didn't carry an umbrella and so it seemed lacking in character. Waiting for a red tram seemed the better alternative.)

She was a HOT ride!

Looks so charming, right? So simple and harmless. And yet, outfitted with air conditioning and windows that don't open, she was a mighty HOT ride for seven hours when the air conditioning didn't work. Sure did make my shower feel good when I got home.

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!

Budapest Held Captive

Rich wasn't feeling too well so it was up to me to create the itinerary for our day in Budapest. First on the list was the Parliament building. Our waiter from the night before recommended it and as we approached I was quite awed by the size and grandness of the building. WOW! Only, there was all this construction. No matter. Follow the tour groups and we are bound to find the entrance. Or not. Shut down and inaccessible. *sigh* So visible. So out of reach. We did get a good view from across the Danube River.

And as we walked toward the bus stop to head over and up to the castle complex we discovered that the Parliament building was not the only beautiful thing being held captive in Budapest.

Approaching Budapest in the Round

Traveling in foreign countries can be a bit disorienting. That's part of the fun, right? And I'm okay with that. Especially when there are all sorts of lines, shapes and new perspectives awaiting my discovery! As we boarded the train from Prague to Budapest, well, we took the right train, just the wrong direction. No turning around for an HOUR. And of course we had to pay for the extra journey - both ways. Whoops. These pictures were taken as we waited to take the train back to Prague and then to Budapest.

Doesn't it almost look like a fake backdrop to some modern set? But it's not.

I spy a tramvaj

We said goodbye to Prague - this year. But the people and personality of this hauntingly romantic city have wrapped around our hearts and I don't doubt that we will return again next year. Red-tiled rooftops, red trams and red cheeks from uphill walking are just a few of my favorite things!

Power Flowers

There are lots of flower boxes in Prague and red flowers provide a powerful punch of color against the earthy tones of the buildings and cobblestones. When this woman in red stood in the doorway of this  castle complex bistro it was too much for me to resist.

White Benches

It was a quiet day at Prague castle (Pražský hrad). And sometimes sunny too. There was something special about these empty white benches that appealed to me. I hope they appeal to you too! And then from my original I experimented a bit.

I've been fascinated by flat colors and their effect on the form and depth. I could use a little training, but until then I will wield the airbrush recklessly!

Morning adventure collage

We decided to get adventurous on our morning walk today and climbed above the Strahov Monastery. As we strolled along a wooded path I glanced to my left and - wow - what a lovely view had fallen out of the trees! I was so pleased I whipped out my trusty camera.

 We continued  walking out to the street toward the garden at the top of Petřín and spied a bit of graffiti. Look closely.The only addition is the face. A door or window was removed and filled in leaving room for an artistic eye and a can of spray paint to transform it into design. Cool huh? Much better than 99% of the lame graffiti I've seen around the city. 

We arrived at the rose garden and stopped to smell them! Ahhh. A bit past their prime, really, but nevertheless fragrant and beautiful.

 Then we jumped onto the funicular for a drop down one stop to Nebozízek and the pathway through the park that would take us back home.

I don't want to get lost

Riding my bicycle in New Jersey growing up, I wanted to get Lost. Because, of course, I had my fabulous street map in my back pocket waiting impatiently to be consulted. In Prague I have no desire to get lost outside the old city center, amongst the Soviet-era housing blocks, modern houses and everything in between. So I ride the tram.

Saturday we took the #22 towards Bila Hora. We got off randomly and walked through a little park into a neighborhood with small streets and houses. We met two friendly cats and spied a curious young child. Lovely, bright flower boxes punctuated old, sagging homes looking decrepit adjacent to modern ones with sharp lines. A quiet weekend to send children into their backyards to play.

Late night prowl

I took an afternoon nap. We ate dinner. Hours later we trekked across the old city to seek out Blues Sklep, a local blues bar. We creeped down the stairs into the musty basement bar. We picked up drinks and squeezed into two seats amidst the brick and cement arches. You could probably fit 30 people in there if you shared laps.

It wasn't quite blues music that night, but it was good. They were a talented group and very entertaining. Lots of stories and joking. Someone won a pair of drum sticks. It was all in Czech. I had no idea what they were saying. Except when they were doing covers of American songs, in Czech. Very fun, foreign experience, which is what we were hoping for.

The easiest way to get across town was to walk the Charles Bridge. On our way over the sun was setting and lighted the clouds purplish-pink. On the way home the buildings were purposefully lit. We might have been entering a Disneyland facade, but instead we were entering the inspiration for it.

The Ladies who Coffee

A trunk full of coffee cups and saucers would have been more representative of my experience, but A Divadlo Pokračuje is the restaurant where a group of international ladies happened to be having coffee. The International Women's Association of Prague (IWAP) was founded for wives of company men who have been transferred to Prague. There are associations like it around Europe. This morning I was attending the IWAP American Coffee meeting.

In America we have an expression "The Ladies Who Lunch" and this group has some reflections of that. I met some fascinating people and was inspired by the retired postal worker who moved here because she could, and has now accomplished great fluency with the language. And she's a scrapbooker too so one must be impressed!

First Prague Pride!

Rich and I were excited to attend the first ever Prague Pride parade! It was threatening rain and even gave us a few drops, but was mostly a fine day for a celebration. The parade was only one of many events over a few days. It had to be the calmest gay pride event I've ever witnessed. There were a few drag queens, but overwhelmingly it was a river of everyday people pouring along the cobblestones. Happy people. Gay people. 

I was almost disappointed to see only one person dressed in black leather. And as far as protesters go, we saw one man with a sign about Jesus, but not protesting really. The media were all over him - photographs, interviewing. There was nothing juicy for the media so they took what they could get. This was no doubt a relief to the serious police force present on the streets. Fully decked out in riot gear and everywhere, they were largely left sidelined.

Prague President Vaclav Klaus loudly opposed Prague Pride, but he was truly an outlier. While same-sex partnerships have been legal since 2006, gays still fall short of other rights such as adoption and protection from hate crimes.

So we cheered and smiled and watched and we would have waved our flags, but shockingly there wasn't a street vendor to be found hawking pride paraphernalia. Really, really.