show me your neighborhood

have you ever wanted to take a peek into the neighborhoods’ of others all around the world? i do and i love seeing where other people live. finally it’s my turn to show you my current neighborhood in české budějovice, czech republic (where i’ve been since january 2013) through the show me your neighborhood around the world project. the rules state that i must include photos of these six things: a school, a typical method of transportation, a playground, a supermarket, a street nearby, and a typical house or building.

the thing i like most about living in budějica is that everything i need is so central and that i can walk to work in about seven minutes. the district i live in is quite close to the city center and is full of beautiful old buildings built in the 19th or early 20th century. i had always wanted to live in a typical european flat, so this has truly fulfilled that dream.

here is the street that i live on and some typical houses and buildings. it’s quite central, over-run with stray cats (and thusly, cat shit), and near the farmer’s market, a yoga center, some great cafes, bakeries, flower shops… i just love the colorful way people paint their beautifully ornamented buildings here. and i enjoy a glimpse of the (sometimes snowy) hills to the east while walking to the bus stop every day.

some pretty doors in the neighborhood…

here we have a local high school or gymnasium. you really gotta love czech architecture.

…and the closest thing to a playground in this part of the town. essentially it’s more of a play yard, but there are children out there enjoying it every school day of the the year, rain or shine. indoor recess is apparently not a thing here like it is back home!

a nearby police station (yep, the blue building with the turrets)– quite different than any other police station i’ve ever seen!

and then you’re at nearby mariánské náměstí, or mary’s square. the clarion congress hotel, the town’s only skyscraper and modern eye-sore, looms barely visible in the background. alex hates it. i’m mostly neutral.

krajinska street is definitely a big part of my neighborhood. it’s one of the main roads leading directly to the town square from my house and i find myself walking down it a several days a week. it’s full of boutiques, jewelry stores, restaurants, pubs, and shops. the british center (and english library) is also on this street. man, i was excited when i discovered it! it’s also nice to walk down because its sidewalks are almost allcovered by arcades– a very typical czech architectural move. it’s wonderful when it’s raining and you just want to go to work without getting wet.

down krajinska you’ll find the mini-tesco supermarket– a slightly overpriced but oft patronized version of big tesco which is further from the center.

and krajinska around the holidays.

it wouldn’t be a proper neighborhood tour without including the gorgeous town square, officially named náměstí přemysla otakara II; colloquially called “the square”. especially lovely on snowy winter days or those sunny warm summer evenings when live bands play free shows every weekend.

here we have the most typical method of transportation: the good ol’ city bus, pictured here in front of the kulturny dům. as well as regular buses, there are also trolley buses, which the locals like to distinguish between, but it’s all the same to me. there used to be a tram network in the first half of the 20th century… that would’ve been fun.

and one of my favorite green areas near my house is na sadech park, a sort of green-belt that runs all the way around the north part of the city-center along the canal. even though it’s in the immediate center of the city, sometimes it feels much further away.