The wooden sticks you get as a beginning cake-baker are useless if you get to talking with the women in front of the house and the cake just keeps on baking and baking.

The sparrows aren’t as cute as they once were. They soil everything they touch…

Every day, we encounter locals and outsiders curious about the project. The first and only tour route of our studio flat is completely booked. Many visitor stick around for a while, but most prefer to go right back to their quiet homes. I get it – nobody envies us our situation in the least.

A local woman passes by saying, “How about supporting small businesses in the center, to make it more attractive for business. Bakeries, pharmacies, dairy stores, green grocers, tailors… All of it barrier-free. We have two stationary stores in town, but neither one of them is accessible to someone with a stroller.

Then how about discounts and reduced prices for locals? It’s financially impossible to go out to a restaurant more than twice a month or to a cafe more than four times. Soup for 60 crowns is not unheard of.

Or at least discounts for regulars.

And repair the empty buildings downtown, so we don’t get dangerous people moving in. People should feel safe, after all it’s a bit hairy making your way downtown from Plešivec at night. Beneš Bridge, the municipal park by the weir, and the area around Linecká and the Plešivec stairs are becoming like Sherwood Forest.

In the evening we go out for some culture… my son has a concert.

We will be taking a break for two days, and will be back in full swing for the Festival of the Five-Petalled Rose. Let’s hope that us extras won’t get trampled to death. I don’t want to predict the future, but if we’ve made it this far, we’ll survive the festival as well. I’d bet my hat on that, and if not then I’ll have to return my crystal ball.