Dear friends, greetings from Latrán. We’ve just planted some flowers in flowerpots, and are surrounded by dirt and curious glances. I’m going to leave the flowers out till evening and see what happens 🙂 I’m sitting by the computer with a cup of tea, talking with a neighbor. We are both, in a way, home […]
The workmen start work on the neighboring building just after 7 o’clock. One of them arrived on bike. Every now and then, a pedestrian or a car passes by. By 9am, there’s the first group of loud Asians by the change office. The clock tower strikes 9, and it’s as busy here as on Wenceslas […]
It’s a little after 7 o’clock on Sunday. The street is almost completely deserted. The workmen are working on the house that is being renovated. I go to check the grocery store. It’s well-stocked, patronized by locals, with friendly clerks. They even have my favorite brand of milk. But they don’t have Czech apples, and […]
Today, I opened the latest edition of Respektmagazine and immediately came across two articles about the issues we are addressing here in Český Krumlov. Too many tourists, not enough locals, the disappearance of normal life. One article was about Venice, the other about Prague Castle and the surrounding areas. All the things we complain about […]
Life has returned to normal. After the festivities, everything seems ordinary. Pepa is wondering if there is a place that could be any worse. Věra dreamt that all the places where there had been barricades during the festivities now had doormats where visitor had to clean their shoes before entering the city center. The first […]
When I cross town from the school on Tavírna Street to the monastery, I generally try to avoid Široká, but walk down nearly all of Latrán. Many years ago, when we lost the watch repair shop, we also lost a small shop that specialized in glass engravings. The owner would do custom engravings of beer […]
I think that it’s good here in Český Krumlov, but I can see that the locals have neglected the downtown a bit, or maybe some of them don’t have a chance to say or do anything to make it better. There should be more trash cans, because it’s really gross to go out for a […]
We somehow don’t feel like doing anything today. Although it may not look like it, this project is quite demanding work. What has been especially draining is that you have to be constantly on the alert when you’re not in your home environment. This is best seen when I want to sweep up: At first, […]
On Thursday, we had a long-planned visit by relatives. On situations like this, you never know what is going to happen, since the kids go wild (especially in the company of grandpa) and then everything ends up differently than originally planned. Today some aunties are supposed to come with their dog, so at least we’ll […]
In the morning, we open the door to our home, and what do we see? A market. Market stalls right under the windows. Not from UNES-CO, but stalls selling ceramics as part of the 50th Festivities of the Five-Petalled Rose. Right across the street they’re selling sweets – this is going to be a test […]
