Winter Walks (9) – Žižkov

Another cold day in Prague. I took the bus to visit Žižkov, one of the Prague quarters, just a little (North/West) part of it. In fact I went there to look for shoes :-).

View to Karlin Viaduct (now in reconstruction).

Crossing the border of Žižkov, Military History Institute in Prague: The Army Museum Žižkov in the middle of the picture.

I took a bus, it needs just 5 minutes from city center and I am here at Tachovske náměstí with some street art.

Horses.

Details on the buidling connected with Hussites (and Žižka) history.

Pedestrian tunnel under Vitkov Hill back to Karlin.

I look at the tunnel, but today I am not going there. I am even not going South and Up, where one of the most visible Prague landmarks is, Žižkov Tower, you can read about it in one of my previous posts about Prague towers here.

Žižkov TV Tower.

Another famous landmark of Prague in Žižkov is one of the biggest equestrian statues of Jan Žižka. But today I also wanted to make a picture of another equestrian status, of Jaroslav Hašek. Reading his book of Good Soldier Švejk (happening during the first world war) you can learn about Czech character and sense of humor, we even use the word “švejkovani” (švejking) after the main character, meaning something like: pretending being stupid to get something I want and not to get something I don’t want (like punishment for what I have done or something):-). The statue is quite interesting as well.

Jaroslav Hašek.

My goal is a visit to the shop with men’s fashion (I love them :-)) to look at their new shoes for my husband. I visit the place for the first time and it is quite nice with lot of interesting design supplements. The name of the shop is Gentleman Store.

Gentlema Store Shop.

The next place I really want to visit here is unique cubist Bethlehem chapel hidden at the backyard. The chapel is in use and unfortunately is closed now, as there is not any ceremony at the moment. But even from outside it is nice.

The entrance from the street to the courtyard.

The chapel itself.

Some details of the exterior.

Even today it is really really cold and I just need to go home, therefore I climb up the streets for a tram. During the walk I meet Czech writer Karel Havlíček Borovský in the middle of the square with some of his quotation written on the street.

Karel Havlíček Borovský.

The text bellow:
The honest one suffers from hunger
Thieves are at risk of gallows
The Czech writer has more troubles
He is at risk of hunger and gallows

A poem.

No one there to listen to him. No one wants to freeze :-)-

Empty chairs.

Some of the buildings at Žižkov are uninhabited, empty.

Street art doors.

Another street art piece on the wall.

What’s the time?

And quite new picturesque colorful building.

Studio Pokrok.

Couple of colorful windows.

And finally just under the tram stop, a memorial to Jaroslav Seifert, Czech author, who won Nobel price.

Jaroslav Seifert Memorial.

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Cozy Cafes of Prague (1) – Cafe No. 3

Cup of espresso

I have decided to invite you to my world of cafes in Prague. There is so many of them and the tradition of good coffee is really strong (despite the fact that during communistic regime it was only “turkish” coffee available).

I will show you my favorite places, tell you something small about their history and ask baristas couple of questions, which are:

1. why you are at this place, this cafe?

2. what would you get being a client in this cafe

3. your favorite place or recommendation what to see and where to go in Prague

4. nice story from the cafe

Let’s start with Cafe No.3., you have had a chance to see this cafe in my post about the Yards of the Old Town here. Cafe was opened in July 2015 at Jakubska street at the city center. The owners are Zbyšek and Pierre and very often you can also meet Duyen.

Cafe No.3.

Why this place:

Zbyšek: I fall in love with the green blind on the door (seen when the cafe is closed) immediately

Pierre: after moving to the Old Town (which was my dream) I had a problem to find a cafe nearby where I would like to go. We decided to open cafe of our own in our style and by a chance this place was available.

Duyen: I like it because it is small, cozy and friendly

Cafe on Sunday with closed blind.

Coffee and strudl and beze.

What would you order from the menu:

Zbyšek: homemade soda (ginger and strawberry), beze

Pierre: capuccino and beze

Duyen: homemade soda and pancakes

Katy (me): Štrudl pro Marušku non alcoholic version (hot apple juice with cloves and cinnamon and raisins and whipped cream), beze

“Beze” means type of dessert in Czech, full of whipped cream made with pecano nuts (in this case), the chocolate version is also available, but the “white” version is better, look at the picture.

Interier.

You recommendation what to see or where to go in Prague:

Zbyšek: I recommend visiting Glass Gallery in Moser factory shop at the Old Town Square in the cellar of the shop.

Moser factory shop with the gallery at the Old Town Square.

Gallery (click on a picture to make it bigger):

Pierre: I would recommend to very tourist to have a chance to get lost in Prague for some time and just enjoy its streets and corners, let it surprise you with something only for you.

Duyen: Visit the neo-rennaisance building of Czech Saving Bank in Rytirska street, its nicely decorated and looks like a palace. It is not possible to make pictures inside, but you can go in, walk through the doors guarded by beasts and left up the stairs. Up there is an expat bank center as well.

Bank entrance on the right.

Gallery (click on a picture to make it bigger, the quality is poor as the pictures were stolen on the phone not to be seen):

Nice story from the cafe:

Some people (like me) fall in love with the cafe, for its friendly atmosphere, creativity (check the pictures on the walls, mainly done by Pierre) and we keep coming back. And two of Cafe No. 3 clients created a mystery, as they are sending postcards to the cafe signing them Circle Foxes. Once Zbyšek was cleaning the table after clients and he found a chocolate and another postcard, which were left there by Circle Foxes. See in the gallery.

Really good time for a visit is Christmas, because we all (Zbyšek, Pierre, Duyen and me) are big lovers of Christmas tree and for Advent and Christmas time there is really beautiful tree installed and decorated, see the picture and gallery bellow:

Christmas tree.

See also collection of my watercolors made based on the photos of my drinks taken at the cafe.

Pierre and Zbyšek.

Zbyšek and Duyen.

Christmas evening.

Coffee to go – when you are too big group to fit in or the cafe is full.

If you have made it to the end of the post, you can send a postcard to the cafe; the address:

Czech Republic

Weekly Photo Challenge: Favorite Place

It was quite difficult to chose my favorite place for Weekly Photo Challenge, as I love almost every place I had a chance to visit, but finally I decided for one that really touched my heart.

I was there in October 2015 for the first time and I have been there for 4 weeks, not surprisingly I have chosen the place also for our holiday in summer 2017. Where is it? It is just a little suburb of Brighton in the UK called Shoreham-by-Sea.

In the first gallery pictures from early autumn morning walks to school around River Adur with typical houseboat colony.

I also got a chance to find nice friends in Shoreham / Lancing and it is also thank to them that I love the place so much.

Lake view.

For our visit in summer 2017 we found an accommodation right in the river in a houseboat in a shape of firetruck. The stay there was really pleasant and I fell in love with the place even more.

Beautiful view from the boat across the river to the city center during the day.

Shoreham over Adur.

And at night.

Nightview.

The Shoreham Fort at the mouth of the river.

Fort.

Gallery

And my try to get the city atmosphere on a picture.

Watercolor Shoreham by me.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Rain or Rainbow

For this week Cees Fun Foto Challenge: Rain or Rainbow I have chosen for you few photos from Iceland.

The first two are taken at the South Iceland almost at the same place, the same time of year, but 2 years difference (2015 and 2017).

These four were all taken in Gullfoss, 3 of them are with rainbow (2001, 2016, 2017) and one (2015) with rain :-).

Couple of years ago I posted about Rainbow above Prague and you can find my post with pictures here :-).

And one about Rainbow colors here and about Water here.

Museums Of Prague (1) – DOX

There is a lot of museums in Prague, some of them I like and visit, some of them are traditional. I will visit couple of them for you and I do not follow any special key, like the most famous one, the newest one or any other. I will choose just as the idea would cross my mind. As today morning, I’ve seen a picture of DOX museum somewhere on internet, and almost immediately I decided to visit it now. The museum is on my plan quite long time, but today was THE day.

DOX, former factory building.

To read more information about DOX museum follow this link. I will share more my feelings about the museum :-). To be honest, my main goal was the visit of Gulliver Airship and the cafe and the design shop. I did all three, but then I decided to visit the exhibitions as well (mainly because you have to pay the entrance fee for the Airship which includes the exhibitions, and then there was no reason to skip them).

Gulliver from the street.

I started with the shop and then the cafe. I love Czech design and Czech designers, therefore I enjoyed the shop a lot. I have seen a lot of familiar names and pieces, but also some new ones.

Qubus DOX design shop

Jizerská collection from SKUBB.

Then came the coffee (and pink wine) time.

Museum Cafe.

Museum Cafe.

As you can see there were a lot of books at the cafe. Old books. For sale. 10 Czech crown per one, what is something less then 50 cents! How many do you think I purchased? 5! And two more at the other part of the museum!

But they all were quite nice famous books, 5 of the 7 bought books were criminal stories for my husband, Graham Greene, Mika Waltari, just 2 were for me, one my favorite childhood book (I know I have it somewhere but I can’t find it) and a first part of Skalholt books by Gudmundur Kamban (the second one I just got from similar book shelf at the train station). They also had a lot of Czech classis bookf, for example from popular writer Alois Jirásek, but these are too big and heavy to carry.

On the roof.

After the coffee (and wine) we went to see the Airship on the roof of the former factory. As it is cold, there is no special action happening there, but from April through the warmer months you can go there for lecture or performance. I have loved it :-).

Up the stairs.

Inside.

One more.

And back to the warmer part of the museum.

There were currently three exhibitions on program, and you will see some installation lower, but I really enjoyed the overall space of the museum, the technical style of it.

The coridor.

Fishes.

Fishes.

From three exhibition I am choosing one author from them for this picture. You wouldn’t believe what it is. Take a olook ant think. The name of the author is Luboš Plný and he is (wait for it) certified Academic model! As he didn’t made to the Art school, he attended the lectures as a model for students, even made a thesis and finally he got the title.

What it can be?

Hard to write: the author took everything that grew up in his “umbilical whole in the navel” (I am not able to find the translation of this one, the left picture) and put it on the scheme (the middle picture) and wrote the notes, what he wore that day and other information, what can influence “the product” (right picture). Creepy. isn’t it?

Pictures form the current installations here:

Last picture from the cafe terrace.

Found on WordPress:

https://openartdoors.wordpress.com/2018/03/05/lubos-plny-viva-lubos-plny-dox-centre-for-contemporary-art-prague/

Winter Walks (8) – just around us

Today it was so cold that I decided to walk only around our place, have a coffee and and back home.

First are the buildings on our street, like the newly reconstructed Lanna palace (sorry, link only in Czech).

Lanna House.

Or Cafe Arco (soory link in Czeck again, but you can read there the list of people who were regulars to the cafe), where Franz Kafka used to come (but not regularly, but would not find the doors opened today, as the cafe is not in use.

Cafe Arco.

Not talking about touristic highlight of the Powder Gate / Tower at the end of the street.

Hybernská street with Powder Tower at the end.

Some other buildings on our street.

Where is also nice Podzemní antikvariát (Underground bookshop) – shop selling old books, print etc.

The entrance to the Underground bookshop.

And at the same building you will find this beautiful “detail”.

Hall? Balcony?

The oldest train station in Prague Masarykovo nádraží, on the opposite side of the street.

Masaryk train station.

My goal today is to visit another one of my favored cafes Kavárna Pražírna Voznice at YMCA palace. At the palace I will also show you something quite unique.

But still we have couple of steps to get there around Hilton Old Town with beautiful mosaic and through the shortcut to Na Poříčí street.

And we are there, at YMCA palace.

The main corridor of YMCA palace.

AND NOW the surprise. YMCA palace is one of the places in Prague where you can see and actually use the pater noster lift. That’ the one with lot of cabins permanently moving around and you jump in and out, when you want to use it. Even more adrenaline you drive at the top (or bottom) of the lift, but be careful as this is forbidden (the sign VYSTUPTE means EXIT NOW).

Find my reportage from the ride bellow, I was playing a little with time-lapse, so please survive my “creativity”.

Or you can just use the stairs in YMCA palace :-).

Up at the palace.

I think I have deserved the delicious cafe then :-).

Kavárna Pražírna Voznice.

Nice filter cafe.

Before you leave its good to use this one (specially when it is so cold outside).

Entrance to the bathroom at YMCA.

Outside from the palace, and you can take tram, subway, go shopping to Palladium or just simply walk home in this cold.

St. Joseph’s Church and monastery.

The list of pater nosters in Prague here (some of them closed = zrušené).

Night Walks (3) – Yards of the Old Town (2)

Lights at the garden.

And now I go on with my walk through the yards of the Old Town, and its after dark. The previous part you can find here. We ended the previous post at Cathedral Cafe, and we are not leaving yet, as its courtyard is really nice as well.

And the next picture is really interesting, look at the white chairs and table, what they are standing at?

Is it a well?

Yes! It is an old well, older then the buildings, so when the buildings and courtyards were built, people just put halves of the well to the different yards. Let’s look at it from the other side.

Much better, what you think :-).

And a little closer look.

No water, but snow.

Courtyards of the Old Town and House by a Stone Bell.

Beautiful blue light at the yards of the Tynska street.

Brick a brack and cafe and private appartments.

House by a Golden Ring, museum that much worth visiting.

House by a Stone Bell stands on the Old Town Square and not long time age it had Renaissance facade. When I watch movies from 1970 and there are shots from this place, I wait to see it in its Renaissance version. But at late 70s they reconstructed the building and gave it the original Gothic appearance by taking down the Renaissance “dress”.

How it looks inside of the Stone Bell yard.

Look up.

And we are at the Old Town Square.

From Old Town Square I went through my favorite spot the Tyn yard to finish the evening at lovely Cafe No.3.

Ungelt (or Tyn).

Cafe no.3.

My espresso.

Cafe no.3 is fortunately (for me) empty at his time of the day and year, as it s cozy but small place with just a few seats and I am happy when I can have a chat with the owners Pierre and Zbyšek about life, taste Zbyšek’s delicious dessert (the pecan one, but others are great to). Sometimes I have just espresso, but mostly I get “štrudl” (hot apple juice with whipped cream and cinnamon), or London fog and white hot wine, that is just great as well.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Sunset to Sunrise

Promenade.

For this weeks CFFC I decided to share with you pictures taken through the week I have spent in Nice in February 2015. I was not able to get rid of one of the places in Nice and I was coming back there every evening to make a picture. More or less they look the same but as the sky was changing, the pictures vary.

I hope you will enjoy it as I did :-).

Promenade.

Promenade.

Promenade.

Winter Walks (7) – Yards of the Old Town (1)

This post can be either in Night Walks or Winter, as I went out at the evening and it was freeezing :-). But still it was very beautiful to visit hidden yards and places just around the Old Town Square. Finally I decided to split the photos to before and after dark. And this post is about the before-sunset one :-).

I was happy to have a chance to visit the premises of the Monastery of Minor Brothers next to the Saint James Church at the Old Town. Its best years were in 14 century, when the weeding dinner of Czech King John of Luxembourg and his bride Elisabeth from Royal Czech Premyslid family (parents of Czech King and Roman Emperor Charles IV)) took place, next wedding celebration was the one of John and his second wife Beatrix. You can rent this place even now :-).

The refectory / ceremonial hall.

With its beautiful courtyard:

Paradise court of the monastery.

And even better pictures at the gallery:

After the visit of the monastery I have just wandered around the area, where originally meat and fish markets used to be, so the names of the streets will not surprise you – Masná (Meet st) or Rybná (Fish st) – and also the house signs reminds you of this business.

House U Podvinů

From Týnská street is also nice view to the spires of the Church Our Lady in front of the Tyn (Ungelt), or as we call it shortly Tyn or Ungelt, even thought the Tyn (or Ungelt, which is the same but in German and we historically use both names as synonyms) is in fact the courtyard behind the church.

Tyn church.

From Týnská street you can visit hidden courtyards.

Týnská 15.

Take a seat. Or not?

And as the dark is coming, you can also see the ceilings through the windows in enlightened interiors.

Look at the ceiling.

And finally some warming up in my favorite Cathedral Cafe.

Cathedral cafe.

Look through to its courtyard.

Cathedral cafe.

Night Walks (2) – Vysehrad

I hope you had a chance to read a little about my Winter Walk in Vysehrad here, and now I want to share some night photos from the same place.

Religious sign at the Vysehrad area.

Guarded entrance to the rotund of St Martin.

Back view of basilica of St Peter and Paul.

Boats on Vltava river.

Prague Castle on horizon.

Moon above the ramparts.

Entrance to the basilica (closed for night).

Gable above the entrance.

Not the best quality picture of Emauzy monastery and New Town under Vysehrad.

St Apolinar.

One more Castle view.

Down from the ramparts to the entrance gate.

Leaving Vysehrad through the Brick Gate.