spring happenings

i got a bike! borrowed to me by a student’s mother for the duration of my living in budejovice. then i rode it home from her house along the vltava river, then turned off at one of the bridges and rode through the main town square and up towards home. even that little ride which probably took no more than ten or fifteen minutes was quite exhilarating– riding through cobblestoned streets with beautiful colored buildings all with different ornate early 20th century facades, and thinking “i live here!!!!” gotta hand it to the czechs, during this period in time they sure knew how to make buildings look beautiful.

the weather this week has been just like summer in the NW. all of the trees are coming back  to life, the cafes are all moving outside, the beer gardens are in full force, and the fountains in na sadech park along the northern part of the city center are on. the other night alex and i went to a nearby beer garden, and sat outside under huge trees. it was still about 70 degrees at 9PM! this is what i’ve been waiting for!  all is good here. finally trees and flowers are all blooming and everything is green yet again.

yesterday we discovered a farmers market on our street– “u tri vrbne”. it was just like home on a smaller scale: vendors selling fruits, veg, cheese, sausages, homemade crafts, a fresh-squeezed juice booth (apple/beet juice for the win!) and a specialty coffee booth with “real baristas”, as alex says. it was awesome. but only until noon on saturdays.  most shops, businesses, banks, and post offices are open on saturday here, but they close at noon or one. worth getting up early for!

the next two weeks bring two czech holidays we will be celebrating– the evening of april 30-may 1 (witches night and may day) and my birthday, may 8 is VE-day (the day world war II ended in europe), another public holiday . and the day cynthia is liberated from her work duties and free to celebrate her birthday. i could really get into this birthday as a public holiday thing!

and now, for a kitty enjoying the warm weather.