Notes from 20 June 2018

It’s just after 7am on Wednesday. Four street sweepers pass by, then a truck to take away the trash. The scaffolding disappeared from the house across the street yesterday, so it’ll be beautiful for the Festivities.

At 8:45, I leave the house. A piece of an oriel window on the building housing the pizzeria has been broken off by a delivery truck. The driver apparently wanted to drive off, so a neighbor called the police.

As I am taking out the trash, by the brewery I see two people riding on one scooter. By the monastery, I even see the local mayor.

I go to town hall and to the pond. I pass the trash containers by the brewery and see that where there’s a will there’s a way – some people really can find the containers and separate their trash.

There’s a scooter standing in front of town hall.

At town hall, I come across an exhibition by children from concentration camps. Sometimes they have beautiful exhibitions there.

I go back to Latrán. After 11am I see a beer delivery truck in the pedestrian zone, and a little past that by the Hotel Růže is a laundry van. Aren’t they supposed to do deliveries before 10am?

I also run into several Jehovah’s Witnesses around town, offering their magazines in Czech and several other languages.

Then I meet some neighbors by the fountain on the square. We look at how much money is in the fountain. I thought I saw a 100-euro bill, but it probably was a Chinese banknote.

As I am passing the sweetshop by the courthouse, I see a flyer advertising dairy products from the Diviš family farm in Chrášťovice.

By the children’s art and science center, there are several tastefully designed containers for recycling, but unfortunately it’s only in two places close to the center.

At 11:45 on Latrán, I run into a woman from Plešivec who says she was at the cemetery but that she’s now going home because there are too many people. I overhear some Czech tourists saying, “It’s overpriced here just like in Prague.”

I go to return a book at the library, and the librarian says, “Nobody will be here tomorrow because of the Festivities.” The man at the leather shop: “If you like us, don’t come during the Festivities.”

In the evening, we go to a snack stand by the river across from the brewery gardens. It’s quiet and peaceful. The owner has promised Zuzana a surprise tomorrow.

A friend from Šatlavská Street had to leave, so we stop by. There’s trash around the house again.

As we’re walking past the house on Latrán, we can hear someone drilling (it’s almost 9pm). When I start recording, it stops. A little further on, there are musicians on Radniční Street.

Šatlavská Street is so beautiful.

An employee of the hotel on Šatlavská has parked in front of the building. The police is giving him a ticket.

Zuzana likes a purse in the window of a shop, but what ordinary mortal can afford a purse for 8,400 crowns? Often it’s not even good quality. The shopkeepers take advantage of the fact that tourists won’t be back to return anything they buy. For instance, a friend bought some shoes in one of those overpriced shops, but she’s going back to get a refund.