Zuzana is celebrating her 9th birthday today. She’s been looking forward to it (the presents, mostly) since morning. A little after 7, we take the bus to Větřní. She goes to school and I make a cake for the afternoon. Armed with all the party supplies, we get in the car and almost leave without […]

Eva wanted to plant some herbs that grow well in a planter in the house on Latrán. I promised that I would procure the herbs and soil at a nearby gardening store. I brought everything home, but how to get it to her place on Latráň? That’s what neighbors are for! I popped by to […]

Even the bad weather couldn’t keep the Čareks from organizing a farewell party for their friends and for any locals who happened by. I always looked forward to seeing Věra and her family whenever I went out on one of my walks. They were always doing something outside their window: once, they were making elderflower […]

I promised Eva and her kids that I would come by with the dogs and we’d take them for a walk together. On the way, one of my girls decided to do her duty in the narrowest place between the wall and the garden on the island, and by the time I managed to pick […]

With the Festivities of the Five-Petalled Rose approaching, local have been engaged in a debate that could be summarized as: join in or leave town? Some locals don’t like the crowds of tourists; they have begun to feel that the festival is no longer theirs. But there are also those who enjoy attending the event […]

It’s been raining since early morning. That’s the price we pay for having had nice weather all month long. We think about how to deal with today’s farewell BBQ. But in the end, it all turned out better than we could’ve hoped. I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as we did. And that’s that: […]

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 […]

First thing in the morning, Věra got an earful from a woman at the information center who’s seen our photographs in an article about UNES-CO in today’s local newspaper. She talked on and on about how people are really angry that the project is too little, too late, and how the city slacked off on […]

It’s just past 6:30 am, and the Asian are already here. A little after 7 o’clock, we go to the bus station. We enjoy the empty streets. On the way, we encounter a truck delivering beer. I think about how it’s a shame that the house in town has no garden. I go shopping at […]

The historic center could definitely use some more greenery.