Photo of the week- The sun sets behind Istanbul

On a ferry across the Bosphorus Sea between Europe and Asia is the place to be at sunset. Shadowed minarets from countless mosques dramatically pierce the sky and compose an impressive scene- the perfect precursor to an unforgettable night.

Photo of the Week- Prague Botanic Gardens

Naked vines soak in the early spring rays at Botanická zahrada Praha. It's a matter of weeks before the the botanic blooms!

Photo of the Week- Bohemian Carnevale Praha

Gathering of the masks in in front of Old Town Hall. 

Soirées! Feasts! Costumes! Bohemian Carnevale has official begun! 

Photo of the Week- City of 100 Spires

Prague is "The City of 100 Spires". This is one city that lives up to its nickname.

The spires of Prague from Letná Park.

Photo of the Week- Prague's Beating Heart

The Prague Metronome in Letnà Park towers 75 feet over one of the most scenic overlooks in town. The red needle rocks back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth until onlookers are hypnotized by the passing of time. It proudly passes the hours, minutes, and seconds since the largest representation of Josef Stalin in the world once stood in its place. With each tick the needle waves goodbye to the past and welcomes the future.

A compilation of some video I took that day:

Photo of the Week- Hungarian Language Barrier

It's not enough for the Hungarian language to sound difficult. It even confuses my eyes. I'll never understand it but I will continue to marvel at it's fascinating intonation and alphabet. 

Photo of the Week- Thermal Springs

Everyone in Karlovy Vary carries around a glass cup to capture a few drops of thermal mineral water from any of the 13 springs in town. It is believed to have health benefits for numerous ailments. The water is hot (between 86°F and 161°F) and salty. In my opinion it wasn't bad nor was it good. If beauty is pain, maybe health is pain too.

Photo of the Week- Charles Bridge

 

If you've ever been to Prague you have walked across Karlův Most- Charles Bridge. During certain months of the year it may take up to an hour in the crowds to cross, but today it was a breeze. Prague is cold and treacherously icy in January but the tourist crowds have subsided (for now). Charles Bridge was pleasurable at sunset with minimal crowds and even a small Czech assembly marched across singing with brass accompaniment.

Photo of the Week- this time last year

This time last year we were on a family ski vacation near Granby, Colorado. 

Winter was beautiful and the aspen trees were calling me.

Photo of the Week- Happy Holidays from Prague!

The Christmas Markets are closing up shop. Who wants to work on Christmas?! It's been a magical Christmas season in Prague. Happy Holidays to my readers!

The video below does an amazing job of capturing the mood of Prague at Christmas time. Watch and enjoy:

Photo of the Week- Foggy lens

Going in and out of the cold weather in Poland gave me and my camera quite the chill. The lens of my camera fogged up inside a dim bar and captured the ambiance perfectly.

Photo of the Week: 'Tis the xmas market season

The season is in full throttle and I've never experienced anything quite like it. Christmas markets galore! All over central Europe the markets are hopping even after the sun goes down. Despite the Christian connotation of the Christmas holidays, the markets are just as prominent in the Czech Republic where there is a large atheist population. People swarm the outdoor stalls buying traditional holiday gifts or for something to warm their stomaches like hot chocolate, coffee, grog, or hot/mulled wine. Food is also easy and cheap to come by. The potatoes roasting next to grilled sausages and steaming pot of sauerkraut seem to sell themselves. Whatever your motive, the markets are well worth a stroll just to rub shoulders with locals or tourists alike and soak in the holiday season.

Photo of the Week- Moravian Wonderland

A view of the abandoned St. Sebastian Church at the top of the Holy Hill in Mikulov. Looking down on the snow covered countryside was well worth the hike. My first visit to Moravia was timed perfectly with the first snowfall of the holiday season. It was only appropriate to warm up in cozy wine bar after seeing the snow covered vineyards! There we sampled wines from the Moravia region. Ordering can be tricky when white wines have the word "red" in the title. Communicating with the friendly locals was a fun mixture of hand signals, czech-english dictionaries, and the occasional use of Jon's German skills. English-speaking tourists do not seem to frequent this quant Czech town. But this American will be back there in the summer when those vines are lush with grapes and the countryside is begging to be hiked.

Photo of the Week- Pilsner Urquell Brewery

Plzeň is only a one hour bus ride from Prague, and with a Brewery like Pilsner Urquell it is well worth the trip. If you want to try "Pilsner from the original source" or Plzeňský Prazdroj as it is called in Czech then Plzen is the place to go. The brewery tour is available in English 3 times per day and only costs 80 CZK for students (roughly 4 USD). The tour lasts 1.5 hours and includes a tour of the packing plant, exhibition, beautiful brewhouse, "hall of fame", and the cellars. The cellars were my favorite part. The sweet scent of hops, barley, and water fermenting in wooden barrels is enough to make your mouth water. We were served a large cup of open air fermented, unpasteurized Pilsner Urquell directly from the barrel. It doesn't get fresher than that. Even the head was delicious (Czech beer is meant to be served with a thick head of foam). On the way out of the cellars, there is a dummy beer barrel top. Why? To see if you're small enough to be a beer-barrel cleaner. This involves fitting through a tiny oval in the front of the barrel. Everyone shied away except for me. I stripped out of my coat layer and shimmied my way through that hole. If teaching doesn't work out for me, at least I know of one alternative.

Photo of the Week- Decorating with Human Bones

40,000 human skeletons decorate Kotnice Ossuary in Kutná Hora, Czech Republic. The bodies are from Black Plague and Hussite Wars of the 14th and 15th century. The chandelier in the middle of the Ossuary might just be the most interesting piece. It makes use of every bone in the human body.

This scene can't help but remind me of the Catacombs in Paris I visited a year and a half ago.

Seeing stacks of thousands of people's bones is eye opening and quite sobering to the idea of how precious life is and unavoidable fate of death.

Photo of the Week- Final colors of Autumn

The last viewing of autumn on a tree outside the Dresdner Residenzschloss in Dresden. Colors are fading quickly in Central Europe but this tree took advantage of its time to shine before winter.

Photo of the Week- The Sound of Austria

A flower? No, a beautiful antique phonograph for sale at the Naschmarkt in Vienna. This massive food market blossoms into a flea market on Saturdays where you can find anything from hardware tools to fur coats.

Photo of the Week- A view of Český Krumlov

Český Krumlov has earned it's UNESCO World Heritage Site title. Nestled in the meandering Vltava River, it is complete with the 14th century castle, churches, Eggenburg brewery, and more romantic overlooks than you would expect in a small town. This panorama was one of the many photos I took after touring the castle and wandering through the gorgeous castle gardens. It was a perfect location for a birthday weekend get-away in the Czech Republic.

Photo of the Week- Old Jewish Quarter

Hundreds of tombstones from the early 15th century lean and wither away in the Old Jewish Cemetery. Synagogues, cemeteries, and halls in the Jewish Quarter are testament to the turbulent history for the Jews of Prague over the past millennium.

Photo of the Week- Legacy of John Lennon lives on in Prague

This week John Lennon turned 70. You may ask, "Isn't he dead?". No, he is still very much alive. I saw him today at the John Lennon Wall in Prague. His messages of peace and love have been illustrated on this wall by dissidents since his death in '80 leading up to the fall of communism in '89. The candles and flowers scattered beside the wall prove that Czechs have not forgotten the man who gave them hope. John Lennon žije.