Around the Castle

Prague Castle, north side

Královská zahrada / Royal Gardens

St. Vitus Cathedral, south side

St. George, near St. George’s Basilica

View south from St. Wenceslas’ Vineyard

St. Nicholas Church, Malostranske namesti

Svatováclavská vinice / St. Wenceslas´ Vineyard

Looking west, St. Wenceslas’ Vineyard

During the couple hours of sun yesterday, I went up to the royal gardens at the castle and wandered west and south from there, over to the cathedral and then down through the vineyards. Everything is blindingly green after ten days of rain, and most people walk around with a dazzled, happy look that suggests the entire country spent the last week indoors, staring out, listening to the rain drip everywhere.

[Edited: Yesterday, June 27, was the Remembrance of the Victims of the Communist Regime--not, of course, twenty years since the end of Communism. All week long, I've been seeing ČT1's promo for its program (which runs tonight) on twenty years since the end of Communism--so maybe that's why I goofed.]

Here and There

New York………………………………….and Prague

bagels                                                              rolls

Upper East Side                                          Vinohrady

Brooklyn                                                        Zizkov

back in style: the ‘80s                              never went out of style: the ‘90s

the Village                                                    Tynska Literary Café

potholes                                                        tram detours

protester chic: iPhones                        protester chic: nudity and body paint

misspelled English on menus               misspelled English on menus

lobotomized motorists                           lobotomized motorists

single subway ride: $2.50                     single subway/tram ride: ~$1.40

dinner                                                            lunch

dinner for two: $75                                  lunch for two: $45

dinner for two in the park: $20           lunch for two in the park: $10

eau de subway                                            eau de tram

cranky people on the bus                      cranky people on the tram

knockoff handbags on Canal Street    knockoff handbags in Prazska Trznice

verbal abuse by taxi drivers                 customer service

gangs                                                               supermarket employees

cost of an apartment: millions             cost of an apartment: millions

American Apparel                                    Starbucks