Walking in Brno

First of all, let me say I've tried to find better quality pictures, I've looked on my computer and it seems all I've got are not so good pictures of Brno, as if every time we go there, there is no time for photos. Maybe because of the partying?

A big part of Brno means the Universities it hosts, so the student life is quite thriving. Everyone who's lived in Brno knows Ceska, the street that starts near the Masaryk University's Social Studies Department and it ends in the main square, the Freedom Square or Svbobodaku as it is known by the Moravians. If you want to meet someone, just say Ceska, under the clock, they will know where it is, something like Piata Romana n°9 for Bucharest dwellers.

Very close by is a church dedicated to the great teacher Jan Amos Komensky. Of course there is also statue of TGM in front of the University bearing his name. For a very laic country, these guys are held in almost Saint-like reverence.

Going towards Namesti Svobody you will find bars and restaurants, nice places to take a young lady from MU. A cool place is this mall that hosts coffee houses and a Student Agency window. I will write sometimes about this company, another Moravian symbol. Anyway, the shopping gallery is in an old building that has kept its charm. You can go with the elevator to the top floor for a coffee or wonder around until you find a gem of an Indian tea  house. The shops are unique as well, art galleries, hand made, young designer clothes and jewelery, spice shops. From the outside you'd never say you're going to find some little treasure.




















The Square is a large meeting place, I like it very much in the afternoon because the sun lights up the roofs beautifully. But at night it is mysterious and wonderful and the architecture helps create this air. Well not all the buildings are equally successful (much as my pictures I'd say). This green lit shopping center is outright horrible in my opinion. Of course the square (which isn't quite square, ironically) has it's Plague Column, but I don't have a picture of that, once you've seen one or two of these, the rest pretty much look alike.


















Brno's old town lies between the hill of the Cathedral and the Castel hill. If you want to go to the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Cathedral, one way is to pass the Town Hall with it's interesting colums. There are many legends related to Brno and at least some of these have left a sign here. One is the legend of the dragon menacing the city who's skin hangs in the Town Hall. Another legend is that of the master who did not get paid for his work and so left one column crooked, as you can see below.

Above, a replica of the Castle Spilberk. The castle has never been taken and it has had a gloomy past as a prison, but it deserves a visit at least to spend some time in the gardens overlooking the town (maybe with that young girl you've met at Ceska?).

Both the Castle gardens and the Cathedral hill offer  beautiful sights to the city. These are favorite spots for Brno residents to relax in the sun and play some petanque for example. Sometimes, you can find couples celebrating their wedding on a terrace overlooking the city.


If you do go to the Cathedral though, and I wish you do, you will not be disappointed, the walk is long but the view is beautiful, especially at sunset.

Brno is the second biggest city in the Czech Republic and it has about the same size as Bucharest (around 230sqkm) but only about 400 000 inhabitants so it does not look very crowded. Several of the neighborhoods are perched up on hills, including old worker's quarters where you can now find the Montmartre of Brno, an area of older workers' houses restored by newer and richer owners.
  
The Cathedral is interesting as well and the astronomical clock it hosts, deserves a look. The bells in the two tall bell towers are said to have saved Brno from invading Swedish armies. After a long siege, the invading army's commander decided that if they don't take the city by noon the following day, they will give up the assault. Somehow a local soldier learned of this and convinced the priests to ring the bells 12 times at 11 o'clock. And so the city was saved but to this day the bells ring 12 times at 11. Just in case.



Now that you've been up the major hills of Brno, admired the sights (met a pretty Moravian blond, took her to a bar), and wandered in the cobbled streets,  you might want to try a local beer and a specific dish. Although Moravians are more proud of the local wine, they do have some good, traditional brews. One local beer is called Starobrno or old Brno, to be enjoyed responsibly. The brewery has a very good restaurant in the style of the Munich beer houses. I once ate some great spare ribs for a very decent price. Last time we were there, the restaurant wasn't open yet and we had to go just next door, to the Starobrno Pivnice, which would be the pub, but in very Czech/Moravian fashion, the pub serves food, very good food actually. What you see in this photo taken with my phone, is a wild boar goulash with bread dumplings, potato rosti and some slices of gingerbread that complemented the sauce very well and were a much welcomed although surprising, addition. It is among the top 5 goulash I've ever had. And the beer was just perfect.

There are much more things to see and do in Brno. There are very good theaters and art galleries. You should also visit the Villa Tugendhat for some design inspiration as well. If you are passionate about history, the site of the battle of Austerlitz is 6km away, in Slavkov u Brna. Each year the battle is reenacted for the public.

As for me, I like the Moravian capital for its laid back charm, the lazy afternoons after a picnic on the Castle Hill and the crazy nights spent barhopping. Reminds me of Nantes. Do give it a try, it might be a nice change from the hustle and bustle of Prague's many tourists.

La vache...

Confit de canard

Je l'ai bien mérité ce confit de canard...

Ce matin j'ai fait une heure de spinning assez intense, mais les jambes n'étaient pas au rendez-vous. Pourtant, dans l'après midi, la demi heure de balade en vélo vers centre ville a été très agréable et en plus on a vu un couché de soleil assez magnifique. Moi je dit, j'ai bien mérité ce délice du Sud Ouest accompagné d'un petit Merlot - Beciul Domnesc, pour la touche internationale. Bon dimanche a vous aussi!

Source de l'image: marmiton.org

Going up the hill

Once or twice a week I put on my pants with special pads for my tush, I tuck in my heart rate monitor belt under my sports bra, put on my favorite t-shirt and my best sport shoes. And I prepare to go up a hill. Well, actually I just go in a class with 20 other people, each on bikes, and we sweat and hurt on music.

Oh boy does it hurt. I'm not the best at spinning, that's what this torture is called, but I do try and as my heart rate goes up I concentrate on continuing and above all breathing. Sweating is easy but breathing...  It's hard but I also like it, some sort of masochistic sport. Anyway, I can disconnect from the world for an hour or think about my plans, I only pay attention when the instructor screams what her a change in the program. And so I bike, but don't put me in a forest please, not yet anyway.

HNY 2011

The holiday has come and gone. It was very short, well, very short for all I wanted to do and see. I woke up late every date and went to bed late every night because I wanted to take in as much as possible from everything and everyone at home. I relaxed and I enjoyed myself, sometimes it was boring as well but all in all, I had great Holidays and now I'm ready to get back to work. (As ready as I'll ever be when it comes to work).

It's my turn to wish you, later but better late than never (and good wishes should not come with an end date), to have a great year, a memorable year in fact, to talk to interesting people, to see and hear unbelievable beauty, and to taste ultimate pleasure And I wish you to enjoy all that is good in your life, just open your eyes: it's right there.

Cheers, have a good year!

Source.

Snow on the Charles Bridge

As I write this, Czech Republic is covered in snow and my only hope is that I will be able to take  my flight back home, next Wednesday, very late in the evening. Winter came early in this part of the world, it brought way below 0 temperatures and it seems that snow and cold are here to stay. Maybe I will eventually find the time to take some pictures until March.

End of November was a white hell. Snow storms almost every day, snow piling up to 30 cm very fast. And yet, the traffic was fluent, despite all the trucks breaking their metaphorical necks on the highways and people crashing into trees in the cities (First day of snow I saw 3 accidents). I find that the authorities reacted quickly, clearing the roads of snow (and the occasional truck). Now that the weather is a bit quieter, and the worst has passed, people are going about their daily business without minding very much the snow.

Tourists still come to Prague in large number, especially for the Christmas Market and I think that the City of 100 Spires is just as beautiful under the white coat of snow as it is in Summer. But the streets are full of melting snow and although not as dirty as I am used to see them, still not pleasant when you are on foot, running to meet a friend. Which is my usual situation. Personally, I like the snow but I don't like the effects it has on traffic, as it falls and on my shoes, as it melts on the sidewalks. The pleasant surprise is that people here do clean the sidewalks in front of their houses and so, after the first snow, in good Czech style, you see a lot of people with shovels in their hands, clearing paths for the passersby. No wonder Tolkien was inspired by Czechs in creating the peaceful, hard working and jovial Hobbits, I see this same spirit in these activities (and not to mention they love Fireworks too).

Luckily for me, so to speak, I spent most of my time at work or in cars, going from place to place so I don't have much to do with the snow on the sidewalks. I don't live in Prague, but for the holidays I find myself living more in Prague than in Plzen. With the end of the year close upon us, I have a lot of dinner parties to attend to, either related to my personal life or to my work place. It sounds as glamorous as it is tiring. In the past week I went to two office parties, one concert and one party with friends. All in the name of Christmas!

You will not see my on the Charles Bridge this Holiday Season, I am flying home for the holidays, but I did go to the Christmas Markets, in Prague and in Plzen and I did try the mulled wine and the Christmas cookies. Oh, Czechs love this time of the year so much. You should come and visit, it looks so different during winter, but still like a Fairy Tale, I expect to see the Snow Queen on her sleigh anytime.

I am sorry I didn't take any pictures of Prague but I think that from the picture you can see just how dramatic the scenery can look.

Source of the image: here.

Carti care mi-au marcat copilaria (1)

Din lumea vrajita a plantelor

Aceasta carte m-a fascinat si speriat de-opotriva. Imi placeau foarte mult ilustratiile pline de culori si de viata. Chiar inainte sa invat sa citesc, imi treceam degetele peste desenele din carte si parca prindeau viata. Imaginile care imi umpleau mintea, poate nu aveau multe de-aface cu povestile din carte, dar asta nu aveam de unde sa stiu, inca.

Erau desene cu pasari ce pareau foarte reale, zburand prin canalele Venetiei, paduri de mangrove in care te puteai ascunde, plante veninoase, imblanzite de femei cu manusi. Imaginatia mea zbura cand bunica imi citea. Ii ceream sa-mi arate si imaginile in timp ce-mi citea: nu prea reusea sa ma adoarma asa, ba din contra. Si totusi cartea ma speria, plantele veninoase ma speriau. Si oameniii care taiau copacii. Dar reveneam mereu pentru culorile acelea vii. Si pentru ca mi-ar fi placut sa am o casa intr-un copac.

Din pacate am crescut si cartea s-a pierdut dar tare mi-ar placea sa o regasesc candva.

Povesti fermecate rusesti

Clar cartea mea preferata. Tot asa, imaginile ma fascinau, mi-ar fi placut sa fiu precum printesa Vasilieva, cea care se transforma intr-un porumbel si care era cea mai frumoasa si inteleapta dintre printese1. Copii mei vor cunoaste cu siguranta povestea cu lupul cel negru sau cei trei frati. Asta pentru ca am pastrat cartea. Este nespus de frumos ilustrata iar povestile te fac sa visezi cu adevarat.

Imi aduc aminte o seara, inainte de revelion, eram inca mica. Mama, care vroia sa scape de tata si de mine din bucatarie, l-a trimis sa-mi citeasca pana adorm. Asa ca tata imi citea povestile rusesti, si eu visam, dar cu ochii deschisi, ca orice fetita de varsta mea. Si tata adormea, si eu il trageam de maneca sa-mi spuna ce mai urmeaza.

Am gasit-o aici recent. E pacat ca asemenea carti nu se re editeaza.

Bad News TV

I recently realized I had a problem: I cannot give bad news. Because of my job I have to inform lots of people about delays and other problems that can appear in a project. And trust me, that makes for a lot of bad news. Production delays, parts not delivered on time, parts blocked by customs, tools not ready. It's not glamorous but this is how it is and every day I have to explain the why and the how and the who and the when, to several people, all pushing to solve the issues.

To make things worse, it's not always my fault but I still can't help but blame myself although I know this will not help: they will blame me either way. The bearer of the bad news is always hit by the wave of anger. And so I try to protect myself, but sugar coating everything is not a solution in this business,. People look for the hard candy which is the truth and more so, they look for the answers and solutions. And sometimes I just don't have them. Or I don't have what they expect me to say. And then I have to give bad news again, to someone who is already pissed off and missing hope and confidence.

I try to be sympathetic and explain as best as I can, give solutions, make proposals and the result is people shouting and being angry. And so I change strategy and I'm being mean but that only makes people even angrier. Is there a way out of it? Avoiding to break the news doesn't help either, trust me. It's like people ask for it, they want to know so they chase you around by mail and phone. Some days I feel like they all hate me!

How do you solve this? How do you break the news and how do you react to the aftermath?

PS. Click on the pic, the article is quite interesting. I think I need more help than that, though.

France, in Plzen

A while ago we had Czech friends over and the common language was...French. For a change, because usually all is in English, at work, with the Czechs, etc. As one of our friends noticed, we felt like in France.

Why? Well the menu for one thing. Galettes bretonnes and Crepes, accompanied by fine Alsatian wine and prepared by a French cook. And because the setting was there, we also put on some French music and watched some funny French movies such as La cite de la peur or Kamelot. So naturally we wanted the whiskey before the finger, that's not false. Good jokes don't sound as good in English as they do in French and that's why French, Czechs and Romanians, all made jokes with the flavour of good Munster cheese and felt transported to another place.

Budapest City Break

The weekend passed like a dream again, a very nice one, such a good dream that this girl was very sorry to wake up to the reality of office work, this morning. For you see, weekends have always been a pleasant escape from day to day, real and cruel life. And now, even more so than ever because I have to keep my dreaming and wandering only for weekend getaways. That's why I wanted to take advantage of the Bank Holiday we had here last Thursday. And so I managed to transform an ordinary Wednesday in a Friday, turn the Thursday into a lazy Saturday as for the rest of the weekend, I lost track of time.

Well now, let's not get melodramatic. Here is my little guide for a romantic weekend discovering Budapest on a low budget. Since I live in the Czech Republic, I have easy access to almost all corners of our continent, thus, I took the bus, Orangeways, excellent coaches, very comfy, wifi and hot beverages included, toilet, all services for just 80 euros both ways for 2. But you can also come to Budapest by plane, there are many cheap flights and the airport is well connected to the city.

I was staying at a friend's flat. But if you don't have the pleasure of having a Hungarian friend, you can make one on couch surfing or  try one of the many hostels. I recommend visiting with a local: this is my advice for any travel of course. Our friend lives in Paris but she was arriving in Budapest on Friday. We came first, about an hour and a half before, her so we sat down in a park, near the rendez-vous spot, munching on a sandwich and enjoying the good weather by making plans for another weekend. I told you: weekends are big for me.

Our friend came and she dropped us off at a flat in Buda. You should know that Budapest is basically 2 towns: Buda on the West of the Danube and Pest on the East side. In Buda you will also find the Castle Hill neighborhood, the oldest settled part of the city.  Pest is the flat side of town, the financial center, the party spot and the place to shop.

From our flat, we took a hike up the hill to the Citadel. It's quite a long winding way up but you get to see Art Nouveau mansions on the way and the view on top is wonderful, especially at sunset.  Somewhere in the area, the Hungarians put all the statues of the communist era, a funny view of the system. I had forgotten my camera, sorry, but no pictures were taken.

On Friday night we went out, partying with our friend and her friends. Hungarians are great party people, there are many pubs and clubs, quite cheap and I found them to be rather safe. There are many expats, either just passing by or living in the Budapest, we got to meet a colorful crowd and had a great time. There is a night service bus but be careful, you must have tickets in advance, or else you have to buy them on the bus and they are more expensive. And it's full of guards checking for your ticket: you cannot escape the power of the Revizor.

The next day, we woke up late of course, we had a brunch made up of local products such as croissants (yes, Hungarians claim this invention), some local bread specialties and sausages, another famous local brand. There are many supermarkets around town so you can get what you need for a cheap meal and some souvenirs such as wines and sausages. By the way, I had this great Merlot that made me take a closer look at Hungarian wines, they are so diverse, don't be fooled by the Tokaj, there are red's as well.

The best way to explore Budapest, and any city, is to take a map, mark all the places of interest and just set your itinerary from there. You'll find that Budapest has a good transport network. For the tickets it's a bit more difficult: you can have about 10 tickets from any newspaper stand, but they are valid only for one bus/tram ride or one day passes. We took the 10 tickets and it was a good deal, there were no stands to buy one day passes around anyway. I am a map lover, I took out  my map of Budapest, checked the itinerary of buses and trams and made my own itinerary based on these and our personal POI.

And so we started our visit by taking a tram along the Danube to Adam Clarke sq. which is right at the base of the Chain Bridge (or Lanchid). From there, I was planning to go up to the castle on foot but that's only because I had forgotten all about the funicular which runs fup to the Castle. The queue is long and the price quite high, 840 forint for a one way, but I always wanted a ride on a funicular so I indulged but I have to warn you, the view is not as awesome as I would have thought. From up the Castle though, you can see the whole of Pest, and the bridges on the Danube. We walked around a bit but if you want, there are other options such as taking the public transportation buses and exploring the grounds and the neighborhood this way.

Next, we took the Chain Bridge and crossed the Danube. I found Pest to be busier and more posh, lots of brand shops everywhere. We stopped for a coffee on Andrassy utca, it felt a bit like being on the Champs Elysee. In fact the streets in the area seemed to me to be like a mix between Paris and London, I quite liked it.

We visited the St Stephan Basilica and then took some pictures of the Opera House, before strolling around the streets towards the Parliament. Budapest has large avenues lined with trees, it resembles the grandeur of Vienna in some way but there are also smaller streets, with shops and cafes, it was a very pleasant walk on an autumn day. 

Unfortunately I did not visit the Parliament either; it was closed by the time we got there, be warned, it closes quite early, we were not the only disappointed tourists. 

 

Next we took a bus ride across town (we saw Vaci utca, the shopping street, on our way) and arrived at Keleti pu, which is a very beautiful train station in my opinion. What do you think? We walked a bit more in Pest before catching a bus back to Buda.

Dinner was had in a pirate ship. Well, a restaurant decorated as a pirate ship. I had these ribs in sauce with home made potatoes and a glass of good but not exceptional wine. The bill for two, including drinks was around 20 euros, quite reasonable I'd say. We spent about 100 euros each for this trip, without accommodation, just transportation, food, going out and some mementos.

I didn't have a lot of time and also because of some unexpected issues I couldn't visit as much as would have wanted. But I'll be back.I know I've missed some spots, such as the Gellert spas or the Margit Island. Please give me some more tips, I want to come back, that's for sure. Because you know me to be a freak, I searched for information and I found this guide to be very helpful, I forgot my notes, of course, so I had to rely on memories and a map. But you can also ask locals on the street, they are very friendly.  

All in all I spent only one full day in Budapest, wandering the streets, looking at shop windows, taking pictures of quiet streets, taking in the beautiful sights of the city. But what a great day it was. At the end of it I was happy and exhausted and happily exhausted.