1820's Cardboard Prague....

For those Prague History buffs out there... here is a link to a cardboard model of Prague from the 1820's...

Antonín Langweil’s unique and remarkable cardboard model of Prague has just been unveiled in a new form – a digital version which means users can get a taste of the city as it was in the early 19th century on a computer screen.

http://www.langweil.cz/index_en.php

and the article about the project in Radio Prague:

http://www.radio.cz/en/article/113651

Wish I could put time in a bottle...

“Life is all about timing... the unreachable becomes reachable, the unavailable become available, the unattainable... attainable. Have the patience, wait it out It's all about timing.” ~ Stacey Charter

Today marks the end of February.... a short month ahead. Still have wishes I desire to obtain.

Pankrac: Prague 4

I walk through an area of Prague known as Pankrac in the early morning every Tuesday and Thursday morning, on my way to teach a 7:30am class, one of my favorites. It is quiet here at 7am as I walk through Pankrac Park, a huge park. I see this site in the darkness. The Czech Television building. I walk through this area 4 times a week and it is a nice walk... but on many of these cold winter days... it is "challenging".

Pankrac is also where this high rise office building is; The City Tower. This area has a new mall, "Arkady", and a new "V" shaped building is set to be built next here. The City Tower, is the tallest office building in Prague and in the Czech Republic with 27 stories and an elevator that can take you from 0 to the 27 floor in fastest time in Europe. I teach in this building on the 14th floor every Wednesday morning, another nice class.

Mauve and Pink along the Vltava

Why do two colors, put one next to the other, sing? ~Pablo Picasso

Looking south down the Vltava from Most Legii toward the cathedral at Vysehrad... A late winter afternoon with interesting colors...

Local Grocer....

Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand. ~Mother Teresa

One thing about Prague is that you see brilliant colors all winter long, along the sidewalks, as attested to by these full colors at a local potraviny(grocer). The oranges are from Egypt, apples from Greece...

....one additional still life....

another still life, just hanging out in one of the many alleyways...

....another....

Yet, one more...

..na Křemenova in Vojtěšská čtvrt(quarter) of Prague 1. There were three more of these
statues adorning the roof of this building...

More Still Life....

Along Janačkovo nabř...along the river

Art is indeed not the bread but the wine of life. ~Jean Paul Richter

Still Life on Narodni trida....

Petřin Hill......Hunger Wall

Petrin Hill as seen from across the river....

One can see the Hunger Wall clearly in this picture. The Hunger Wall was built, similar to a public service project, devised to help feed the poor, by allowing them to work for food for themselves and their families.

The Hunger Wall was built by order Czech King Charles IV between 1360 – 62. It is said that Charles IV built this wall with the aim to help the poor in Prague in the time of terrible famine. Old records prove that Czech lands really suffered from great famine in the 1360s.

Certainly, it must have also served a dual purpose of necessity during those times as well.

Petřin Hill

Black and White on Snow.

Looking up to Petřin Tower,through Seminarská zahrada(Seminary Garden), from Hellíchová Ulice(street);perpendicular to Ujezd Ulice - Prague 5.

Sunday

If you woke up breathing, congratulations! You have another chance. ~Andrea Boydston

From below the Charles Bridge(Karlov Most); one of the religious statues making up the alley of 30, mostly baroque, statues and statuaries along the bridge. They form a unique connection of artistic styles with the underlying gothic bridge.

Most sculptures were erected between 1683 and 1714. They depict various saints and patron saints venerated at that time. The most prominent Bohemian sculptors of the time took part in decorating the bridge, such as: Matthias Braun, Jan Brokoff and his sons Michael Joseph and Ferdinand Maxmilian.

Charles Bridge in the early morning...

The Old Town end of the Charles Bridge with Old Town Tower and to the left, the Dome of the Church of Francis of Assisi(sv. Františka z Assisi zvaného Serafinským) u Karlovu mostu(at Charles Bridge), which was built from 1679 - 1689.

National Museum

If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. ~Pearl Buck

Narodni muzeum, as the sun sets...

.... then evolving into a cold February night...

Old Town Square

Spend the afternoon. You can't take it with you. ~Annie Dillard

...of Juniper and Lamplight...

"..we walked on frosted fields of juniper and lamplight; I held your hand...." ~

Just one of the many lamps that are omnipresent throughout Prague...

Cobblestones and byways

Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will find them gradually, without noticing it, and live along some distant day into the answer. ~Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet



One of the many alleyways that meander throughout Praha...

Alavotre zase

Here in the Czech Republic, a „Z“ sticker affixed to a car’s rear window signifies a new driver, a beginning learner, someone just starting out, or perhaps returning after a hiatus of not driving for awhile, due to not having a need to drive. It strikes fear in the minds of other drivers…( I am just kidding ;-) ) or just advises other motorists of this new driver.

And yes, certainly, even with a “Z” rating, the driver of this red car did/does a fine job driving, even when fully animated, talking, shifting, talking, braking and remembering directions, while driving through the winding back roads of southern Bohemia. It was nice… I do remember it fondly. Ano.

I even got to drive this little red car on 7 February, and my left foot was too big for the clutch; each depression of the clutch also depressed the brake. Ano...Your directions were excellent as we drove to Černy Most ... and yes, next time, I will try not to park at such a terrible angle in the garage parking space... ;-))))) you made me smile on that Saturday. very much! ..and I still do. I enjoyed our drive.

Just please be careful in the fog on these cold mornings. ...and as you go into April be careful in the rain.

And most certainly, if you ever need help negotiating those ramps in the parking garages at the malls… tak zavolej mi, Ja mohu vyjednávat garáž rampy přikladně .. )
..and ano, urcite, I will show you how to use the drive-through car wash as well...

9 months in Prague - Uhelný trh

Today marks my ninth month in this glorious city.... Starting into my tenth tomorrow. Just an unbelievable experience and an experience of a lifetime...as I have said before: this city, these places, the Czech people that have become my friends, to every picture my lens has captured, to everything my heart has felt.

and this picture; At the end of Rytířská ulice, sits Uhelný trh, with its fountain statue, a picture of summer and winter calmness. This triangular "square" sits at the end of one of Prague's most visible fruit and gift open air markets. In the summer, this square is filled with vendors selling paintings and other art work. In the winter, it is stark, cold and bare. Translated, Uhelný trh means "Coal market".

February Flowers

on the heels of Valentines Day. Krasne ...and right down the block from my flat, when the sun peaked out for a few minutes this past week.

Special Hearts

If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden. ~ Claudia Ghandi

Anyone can catch your eye, but it takes someone special to catch your heart.

Happy Valentines Day to friends and family.

...and of wine and roses....

I want a bottle of wine,
That tastes like you,
And a glass never empty. - asc

Frankovka - Moravian red wine

From the Znojmo region of Morava(Moravia), south of Brno, and minutes from Austria, I have grown quite fond of this Czech red varietal: Frankovka. In this region of southern Moravia, Frankovka is coming into its own. Deep ruby in color, with aromas of plum and morello cherry, underlined by elegant, flattering wood, this cru is beautifully full, with gorgeous coated tannins. (Fakt jo, how is that for a description ;-))

In more normal terms; this is a dry red wine, but much lighter bodied than a Merlot, and just a bit heavier than my favorite, a Beaujolais. So in other words, quite nice.

...and it is to be found in many of the cafés of Prague... and that is perfectní. ;-))

Café on the left bank... část dve

Another Cafe on the Left Bank (of the Vltava) in Kampa at Maltézské náměstí.

See this blog: date 27 Nov 08, for the Fall version of this shot.

A wine glass full of kisses.

Cold Crisp Blue Skies....

Sunday

Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of our Lord (Kostel nejsvětějšího srdce Páně) at Jirího z Poděbrad, one block from where I live, with storm clouds to the East.

A modern church, of unique architecture, by Slovenian architect Josip Plečnik. It was built over the years 1928 - 1932.

Café Louvre's horká čokoláda

Back to the Café Louvre once again for their amazingly thick, rich and dark hot chocolate... although a seemingly small portion... you ARE full when you reach the bottom.

2009 Audi R8 5,2 FSI quattro V10

Spied this new Porsche clone in Prague 1 last weekend. The new Audi R8 V10. It is an eye catcher... and perhaps a Porsche eater????

http://microsites.audi.com/audir8/

While walking in riegrovy sady

A setting sun brightening the buildings with storm clouds to the east.

Café on the left bank...

Cafe on the left bank...at Maltézské náměstí in Kampa.

Driving Responsibly in CZ

The Ministry of Transportation here in the Czech Republic has placed a series of very graphic advertisements on the television warning citizens to think ! when they get behind the wheel of their car.

They are Very graphic, very disturbing, but highly effective due to the content and their graphic-ness.

You would never find this type of safely message in the states… there would be too much of an outcry by various groups about the sensitivity of viewers and the ads harming children, but it is the children that need this protection. This would be highly effective perhaps over there across the pond, as well. Check it out. You don't need to know Czech..

These ads are heart wrenching.

http://www.nemyslis-zaplatis.cz/

Nemysliš = You don’t think Zaplatiš = You will pay.

Ground Hog Day, but not here....

The groundhog is like most other prophets; it delivers its prediction and then disappears. ~Bill Vaughn

Today is Ground Hog day in the states.... they don't have groundhogs or woodchucks here in the Czech Republic, but the sun was out this morning, and as I walked down Slavíkova ulice toward the Metro at Jirího z Poděbrad this morning, I saw MY shadow... so.... I know there are only 6 more weeks of winter. ...and I hope that prediction is true! ;-)

A Crossroad

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. (and it has!)
~Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken but....

Every possession and every happiness is but lent by chance for an uncertain time, and may therefore be demanded back the next hour. ~Arthur Schopenhauer

Change is the only constant in Life. They say change is always good. Not always wanted by one party, or perhaps the other. With change, one must trust there are equally good things on the horizon… or over the horizon... or perhaps even the changes may change back. Though, perhaps that is less likely…

So, One must focus on the forward, life changes for a reason. We expect Life to be Good and the Future better, no matter what the Change is. That is how humans deal with change.. ...while perhaps longing for it the way it was.