Sound, Fair and of Marketable Quality
This morning we picked up laundry. Sooner or later on vac you have to suss out a drop off laundromat. Then we headed out to the southwest of the city, to an area called Vinohrady. The weather was crazy: First…
Themes and Variations, Variations on a Theme, and a Really Good Meal, er Meals
This morning started mild, but quickly turned hot and humid. We took a very long walk to the south; in fact, we exceeded 10,000 Fitbit steps well before noon. Along the way we walked through Wenceslas Square, the largest…
Do Not Hold Your Water, Nor Your Winds
This morning dawned cool, under 20 degrees (!), with a light drizzle; not enough to get wet, but enough to irritate anyone who wears glasses. By noon it was dry and humid and by late afternoon back to summer, blue…
A Person Could Go Crazy in This Dump… 49,000 Acres of Nothin’ But Scenery and Statues
We started our day as many tourists do, at the Prague castle (Prazsky Hrad). But unlike most, we walked there, which is mostly uphill and something of a trek from our hotel. There are ten different sites to see, you…
I Smell Home Cooking. It’s Only the River, it’s Only the River
Our driver met us just before 10 a.m. in “CK” as he called it. He was an interesting guy, with two degrees, one in civil engineering and another in psychology. We had an unusually in-depth and considered conversation en route,…
Wait Master, It Might Be Dangerous. You Go First.
Can you tell it was a beautiful day? Our pension put on a nice breakfast spread, toast, jam, fruit, yogurt, eggs, meats, cheese, cereal, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, crudités (?), salad and, for what reason I don’t know, dill pickles. …
A Postulant in the Abbey
Well, so long Vienna: with your cool retro cars in mint condition… your ludicrous deserts, especially your ice cream pasta… your every second store selling chocolate… your literal translations… your cafe signage… …your naked people running through the streets. This…
Pediments, Portals, Palaces, Pastry, Not Necessarily in That Order
An absolutely priceless weather day: hot, but not scorching, a light breeze and a few fair weather clouds which offered periodic relief. We had some strawberries, cherries, yogurt and Nespresso at the apartment, then wandered into the centre. We stumbled…
One More Embellishment and We’re Done
Six statues? Six statues? I asked for eight statues. This is a disaster! If there’s nothing to do in Vienna there’s a museum you haven’t seen. There is even a Third Man museum (which, alas, is open once a…
Cue Harry Lime Theme
The Valens Aquaduct: Goodbye Istanbul. IST to VIE, TK1885: We were checked out of the hotel at 8:30 without breakfast. It was sunny and steaming up but the city doesn’t really come alive before noon. We had booked a comfortable…