Chestnuts in Bloom Over the Vltava

 

Along the Waterfront

The green line starts here.

Christine, over at My Typography, suggested microblogging for August. She inspired me last January to try everyday art - turning one of my least favorite months of the year into a time of joy and satisfaction for me, so I thought I'd take her up on microblogging too.

I decided I'd try it with a twist though, picking a theme every few days to follow. As you can tell, I'm on a graffiti kick this week. We live with a lot of graffiti here in Prague, and it is one of the first things people remark on when they arrive in town. I notice it too when I first get back from a trip or when I pull out my camera, and over the years I've found all sorts of samples that are a bit more interesting than the incessant tags and bubble letters that cover walls here.

These pictures are from 2006, the last time the Vltava threatened to flood Prague. When the water rises, the city builds barricades along its waterfront. Firmly anchored by posts buried in the embankment and further buffered by sandbags, the barricades work well. They kept most of the river out of downtown Prague in 2002 and again in 2006. They are tempting graffiti targets though - someone apparently decided that the post would make a fine connection to the green trail and slapped on a sticker to help show the way.

You can see just how high the barricades can go in the broader view below.

A Day for the River

The weather continues beautifully sunny and hot. Today while I work (on babies, contracts and laundry) I'm daydreaming about being out on the river, messing about in a boat. In Prague, paddle boats and row boats are easy to rent, there are several ferries that will take you across the river for the price of a tram ticket, and you can even rent a Chinese junk by the hour. My favorite boat for the river though is a canoe, and my favorite spot for a paddle is in the south, near Cesky Krumlov, where the river is wilder and the banks are closer than the Vltava near Prague.

While I wait for our next trip south though, Caroline and I have a treat in store for us - just in time for the summer, a read through of A Wind in the Willows and life with Ratty and Mole, Toad and Badger. It will be interesting to see what C thinks of a quartet like those fellows!

Prague Summer Weekend

View from Vysehrad

This weekend, Prague was hot. It was even humid. Most Czechs left for the countryside, but those who did not headed to parks like Vysehrad, in search of green trees and shade, good views and cold beer. We did too, on Sunday. Saturday I toured my twin sister and her family around Mala Strana, exploring the gardens at the foot of the castle. We kept to the less trodden byways and stayed as much in the shade as we could - but we were still nearly melted by the time we got back to our side of the river and home. Below, you can see some of the gardens we passed by and the castle on the hill, plus, very close by, a stream running towards one of the old mills on Kampa island.

What I liked best about being outside all weekend - besides family, beautiful views, pistachio ice cream, a few sips of cold beer and taking lots of pictures...besides all these favorite things, the baby did not cry. I think he likes fresh air. He definitely liked sleeping in Kampa Park.

Back to winter

Today we're back to clouds and chilliness. But I don't mind, the city was cheered up by yesterday and there is a lighter step in people's walk (and talk).

Weekend in the Sun

This weekend we drove to Tabor, Třebon and Cesky Krumlov to visit our babysitters at their spa and to introduce Czech towns to my father. The weather continued hot but the skies were magnificent and this picture from Cesky Krumlov shows off the amazing light we revelled in all weekend.

Added bonus - if you peek closely you might even be able to find Caroline watching the boaters slip over the weir! (She is not in the stroller, as she emphatically reminded me ;-).