A secluded Grotto..

Found this interesting Rock Shelter on a recent walk...

Easter Tree at the bottom of Vaclavské náměstí.

Houses in Smichov

...a few blocks from me and adjacent to Klamovka Park.

Riddle #5

Riddle #5:

Alive without breath.
As cold as death.
Never thirsty,
Ever drinking.
All in mind, never clinking.

Svatopluká Čecha square

St. Vaclav church by Josef Gocar, built around 1927 in Vršovice, Prague 10. It is a huge somewhat Modern church as you can see.

It is easy to get to by Tram #22, just get off at Svátopluka Čecha Náměstí(square) at Tram stop: Čechovo náměstí.

Chapel in Průhonice

More of yesterdays Castle...

Easter Images

Easter is on its way. Here are several shots of decorations at Pankrac Arkady Mall, one of the newest and largest Malls in Prague 4. The plants you see in these pictures are all real, including the cabbages, and of course, the Bunny Rabbits and the little girl standing there.

The Mall was packed with Little kids as I walked through at close to 13:00 on a Wednesday after teaching a class in the area. The Rabbit pen was a hit with the children and adults alike.

Průhonice Pub

It was enjoyable walking around Průhonice this afternoon. The temperature was in the low 70's, no clouds and brilliant sun. I happened upon this Creperie and Pub or hospoda(CZ) called:U Slepiček, which means "At the Little Chicken". Perfect for Easter soon to come. It was all decorated up for Easter BUT also, had lots of Chicken related items everywhere.

I stopped and enjoyed the sun as well a Pilner Urquell (or two). ...and nice to watch the town go by.

I mentioned it was like Prague's Pittsford: Well, as I sat there I counted over 25 ultra high end Mercedes, several Porsches, including two Panameras and tons of Audi and Volvo SUV's. Yes, It was clearly a high end suburb of Prague, just 6 km from the outskirts of Prague and with its own Castle. ;-)

A nice resturant and little Town. I will go back again soon.

Průhonice - Prague's Pittsford

Traveled by bus just 6 km outside of Prague's city limits, about 20 minutes, to a small town named: Průhonice. A beautiful little town with extremely narrow winding roads leading up to it. It has it's own castle and extensive gardens, lakes, ponds, streams, waterfalls and a very tidy town square. It has a population of about 2100.

Feet in the shade

What is art but a way of seeing? -Thomas Berger


Riddle #4 Answer: Darkness

Ujezd Cafe

Special Edition Czech Stamp

Today marked the day of issue for a special edition stamp commemorating Martina Sablokova's 2 gold medals and One Bronze at the winter olympics in Speed-Skating.
So I stood in line for awhile in the main post office on Vodičková ulice and got a few of them, plus a commemorative envelope or two.

It was one of those days when....

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade. ~Charles Dickens

Forecast today is for another nice Spring day with temps at 17 C or 63 F. Nice.

Picture: Krtek and Jaro(Spring). The name of a little book about the little mole and Spring.

Tuesday afternoon.....

My Favorite Song.... but I digress..
This afternoon I had yet some more time to kill, since another class got canceled ( Ach JO!) so I walked a few blocks west from my flat to this rather large park I found the other weekend; Klamovka Zahrada(garden), but it is a True Park. Many paths to walk, benches to sit on and from which to watch the world go by and trees.. lots of trees. So today I went here for a bit, to soak up yet some more Vitamin D.

Watched people throw balls for their dogs; mothers stroller their young children; teens play hacky-sack; and mothers follow behind their newly walking little ones.

Yes. Another very sunny day here and very comfortable for March 23rd!

The most valuable lesson man has learned from his dog is to kick a few blades of grass over it and move on. ~Robert Brault

Today

Another nice day... about 55-60 and sunshine, light blue sky with no clouds, but cool in the shade. I had some time to kill and sat on the steps of this cathedral for about 45" just sucking in the sun... Vitamin D, very little of it this winter. It was almost warm. Watching the people walk by, the kids play in the square and other people doing the same as me... enjoying the sun. Nice.

Here are some shots from this afternoon. The first three are at Náměstí Míru at the cathedral of Ludmilla.

The bottom shot is an office building I walk by on my to the Ministry of Environment. Cool eh?

A Home, on a back side street, near Ujezd Ulice, in Prague 5, nestled amongst the apartment buildings and a church; deposited there like an oasis.

I can't help but wonder who lives there.

Riddle #4

It cannot be seen,
Cannot be felt,
Cannot be heard,
Cannot be smelt.
It lies behind stars,
and under hills,
and empty holes, it fills.
It comes 1st and follows after.
Ends Life and kills Laughter.

Another one of David Černy's sculptures

Lucerna Palace’s central atrium is dominated by Czech sculptor David Černý’s 1999 dead horse Sculpture ridden by St. Wenceslas. It is supposed to be an ironic twist on the St. Wenceslas statute in the square just about a block away from Lucerna Passage.

The rider of the Černy's dead horse is supposedly St. Vaclav IV, put there to match rider of the the equestrian statue at the top of Vaclavské náměstí, but Černy has made his St. Vaclav in the caricature of President Vaclav Klaus.

Interesting find....

So I was out walking, happen to notice something white on the ground, it caught my eye, half buried in the dirt...I reach down, pick it up, clean it off, and this is what I saw.

A Perfect Heart. There are no marks on it to suggest that someone made this and NO, I did not buy it. It was there in the dirt. Pretty cool.

Last year I might have taken this a some sort of "sign", but this year, I just think it is an interesting find.

Krtek & Pat a Mat

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. ~Marcel Proust

Three of the main Czech Children's Characters that bring smiles to their faces.... Krtek, the happy Mole & Pat and Mat.

Two months from today...

My kids will arrive here in Prague in the late afternoon on May 20th, to visit for a little over a week.... Excellent! (AND Can't Wait for YOU to get here!!)

The Last Snow in Prague

from outside my flat... this side of the street gets total shade ALL day long...but the opposite side IS sunny. Taken yesterday afternoon..and this morning, it is gone.

Spring is Here

The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month. ~Henry Van Dyke

But not in this case... Prague is having truly wonderful Spring weather today...FINALLY!

In the US and Canada: today, March 20th, is the official first day of spring for 2010 and Spring will appear in Prague technically tomorrow on the 21st, most likely late tonight/or early am Prague time.

Spring arrives anywhere from the 19th to the 23rd of March each year. The actual dates and times change yearly. They change yearly since the first official day of spring occurs on the Vernal Equinox, when the sun is directly above the equator. On this day, the sun also rises due East and sets due West. This does not happen on the exact same day every year because the annual calendar is not always exactly 365 days long each year. Really?

But for today Prague Spring has finally arrived, something everyone here has been ardently waiting for. And it is quite Spring-like today with Temperatures at 16C or 60 F. A Spring day, like today, refreshes us mentally for even nicer days soon to come, and does the Psyche good; Very very Good! Gloriously Good.

And today; This is my First Spring Equinox in Prague; One of my initial goals back in 2008 was to be living here during Spring and this year I finally made it. Now on to see the springtime hues of light green begin to wash throughout the parks, hills and islands of this city. I can't wait!!

..and a week from today; the clocks are moved ahead one hour, making the days delightfully longer. ;-))

The Wind

Photo: Architectural adornments on Na Přikopě, Prague 1, Centrum.

Today starts my weekend. All my classes for today have been canceled due to various reasons which allows me... a free day. An entire day, not unlike a Saturday..on Friday. And It is suppose to be another day like yesterday. Spring-like. but they predict warmer, closer to 60 F. Excellent. So I have a 3 day weekend, and I am off...

Riddle #3 Answer: The Wind

Today...was lovely

Today, a pure Spring day. Our first. The temperture now as I write this at 8:15pm in the evening is 51F. It was so nice today, that just a sweater was all that was needed.
This was the first day in a long time where it felt wonderful... full sunshine and actually warm'ish, if you can call in the mid 50's warm. ;-)

John's Wall

Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted. ~John Lennon

The John & George Pub (top photo), named after you know who, is located just to the right of the Lennon Wall near Kampa Park and directly across from Zee French Embaszee; here with three recent Murals(as of 27 Feb 2010), which pay tribute John Lennon.