Prague Castle

Our exploration of Prague fittingly ends here in the Prague Castle. While we did not make an extensive exploration of the place, what we did see was worth a visit. We were discouraged by the crowd from entering St. George's Basilica and the state of our feet from walking through the armour displays in the Maria Theresa Hall. Clearly we need to make another visit.

On the other hand we (partially) saw the changing of the guards complete with the military band playing.

St. Vitus Cathedral

This is an impressive gothic cathedral. I quote from Wikipedia since retyping all the Czech is beyond me at the moment:

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saints Vitus, Wenceslaus and Adalbert (Czech: metropolitní katedrála svatého Víta, Václava a Vojtěcha) is a Roman Catholic metropolitan cathedral in Prague, the seat of the Archbishop of Prague. Until 1997, the cathedral was dedicated only to Saint Vitus, and is still commonly named only as St. Vitus Cathedral.

It is located on the grounds of the Prague castle and is largely surrounded by the castles and its associated buildings. Thus, my photos from the outside are taken from fairly close and don't give a full reflection of the size. This is the third church on this site. Construction began on 21 November 1344 when Prague was elevated to the seat of an archbishopric.

A Little Info

I know that not everyone who follows this blog (the thronging crowd that you are...) is really into webby things and social media. However, Just a quick reminder that new blog entries are also posted to Twitter.

For those who would like to see something a bit more irreverent, I also post to Instagram when we are on the road (and a small amount when we are home). These are photos taken with my phone of things I find amusing or little more outside-the-box . Usually entirely different from the blog and once in a while kinda fun. These are also copied to Twitter in case that is your thing.

I'm found on Twitter at @SteveWhisnant and on Instagram at steve.whisnant. If either of these outlet is your "thing", enjoy.

Church of the Infant Jesus of Prague

A more modestly appointed church is the Infant of Jesus church. The decorations are pretty much all about Jesus and Mary.

The (Other) St. Nicholas Church

It turns out that Prague has two churches dedicated to St. Nicholas. This the largest (as you can see) and the most significant historically. This church is at the foot of the hill where the Castle sits. It was built between 1704 and 1755 and is hailed as the greatest example of Prague Baroque.

Klementinum

In the 11th century a chapel dedicated to St. Clement was built here. In the medieval period, the Dominicans too over and in 1556 the Jesuits transformed it into a college. As Wikipedian says:

In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.

What I toured was the library and astronomical observatory section. In the photo above you see the library which is now essentially a rare book collection for the National Library.

Jewish Museum - Pinkas Synagogue and Cemetery

What started with the intention to visit the medieval Jewish cemetery and a synagogue, once we arrived, turned out to include a visit to three synagogues and the cemetery. The first of these synagogues is, in fact, a memorial to all the czech jews killed during WWII.

This place is rooms filled with walls covered, as you see above, with names of those killed. To fit the wall in, the print is so small as to be illegibly small.

Old Town in the Evening

By the evening of the first day, the gray skies had lifted and pink clouds helped frame patches of the late-day blue sky.

Church of St. Nicholas

On the edge of the Old Town square sits the Church of St. Nicholas. Unlike the catholic church dedicate to the same saint in Valencia, Spain, this is a Hussite church. On the information board in the church is says that they are basically Presbyterians "with Episcopal elements."

The Top of Old Town Hall

Going inside the town hall and paying the entry fee gets you to the bottom of the elevator shaft that sits in the open center of the tower. The design of the railings and the sides of the round elevator in the multi-storied structure make an interesting pattern.

A First Visit to Old Town Prague

One our first day in Prague, we headed out early, at least by Prague standards. We spent what seemed like all morning walking fairly empty streets. Until they weren't. Next thing you know, there are swarms of tourists everywhere.

But before that, we saw some interesting things. For example, the art work suspended above the street in the photo above, is a man hanging by one hand. From the Atlas Obscura:

First created in 1996, the work known as “Zavěšený muž” (“Man Hanging Out”) is the vision of Czech sculptor David Černý, whose work can actually be found all across Prague. Many of Cerny’s works are seen as somewhat deliberately provocative, and this one is no different. The dangling Freud is surprisingly lifelike at a distance, and a number of people have sincerely taken it for a person in danger. However, it is simply a sculptural statement about intellectualism in the 20th century and Černý’s uncertainty about it.

Prague

After a long day that included a missed flight and long wait at Gatwick, we have arrived in our hotel. We have a map and many things are at the intersection of Check and American... There is a Lennon Wall, and Dancing building referred to as Ginger and Fred. (pictures to come).

We are pretty centraily located so I expect to get lots of interesting photos.

We're Off for Another Adventure!

After a long summer of relatively few postings, we are leaving tomorrow for another adventure. Now that Seamus and Charlotte are getting settled in, Seth and Anna are both employed and back to work, it seems like  good time for us to go away for a while.

Chihuly Museum at the Seattle Center

Today we visited the Chihuly Museum at the Seattle Center with our good friends, Bill and Linda Ingham. The well lit glass sculptures in the darkened rooms make for good (and easy) photography. all images today are taken with my iPhone.

Snoqualmie

Since Seamus has been so enamoured with trains, we decided to take him (and the whole family, of course) to Snoqualmie to see the Northwest Railway Museum and ride on the train there. There were beautiful train cars on our short little train, especially the one in which we rode, as you see above.

County Fair and Rodeo

Labor Day weekend is the last weekend for the Evergreen State Fair (a county fair, in spite of the name) and the weekend for the local rodeo. Since none of us had ever been to a rodeo, we had to go.

Sunset at Rialto Beach

Even though sunset is not until 8:30 pm (already past my bedtime!) these days, we ventured out to catch the sunset over the Pacific at Rialto Beach. There was a fair number of people joining us for the same pleasure on a mild (upper 60-ish) evening. Here are a sequence of photos, in the order of progression of the sunset. Since I adjusted the color balance on each image separately, you'll see some fluctuations in the sky color from one image to the next, but the general trend is correct.

Seamus in the Pacific Ocean

Seamus had his first dip in the cold Pacific Ocean and it was good.

On to the 1st Beach for a Look

After the long walk to the 3rd beach, we made a visit to the 1st beach (love these clever names!) that is just beside the road. Like Rialto and 3rd Beach, this one also has lots of large logs washed up on shore.

Rialto and 3rd Beach Near La Push

We are on an adventure on the Olympic Peninsula. We've hired a house near the very small town of La Push for the entire family. Today we tooks Seamus and Charlie to Rialto Beach in the morning for a look about. Naturally, I tried my hand at a few photographs.

On a Clear Day...

Today was the clearest it's been this year. From Union Avenue, less than a block from our house, I could see Mt. Rainier and Little Tahoma Peak in stunning clarity. I developed them in B&W since in the afternoon sun, the image is very blue and I could not correct it to be anything sensible.

Kla-Ha-Ya Days Parade

Today we attended the Kla-Ha-Ya Days Parade. "Kla-Ha-Ya" is the word for "welcome" in the language of the Snohomish. What we found was a small town celebration in classic American style. Tractors, trucks, and lots of children. Here are a few of the shots I took to give you a bit of the flavor of the event.

I should also point out that the young people on the tractor above are wearing long sleeve flannel shirts on a day in which most of the country is suffering 100+ F temperatures. Today was the first clear blue sky we've had in a couple weeks and the high was in the mid to upper 70's. Clearly, we are in the right place.

Wallace Falls State Park

Seth agreed to accompany me on what is, for me at least, a significant hike. Without him along to navigate the trail, juggle my equipment, and keep me company, it would not have been nearly as successful or as much fun.

Not far from the small town of Gold Bar, about 40 minutes east of Snohomish is the parking lot and starting point for the trail to see a total of three sets of falls along the Wallace River. We made it the 2 miles one-way to the middle falls and back. That does sound so bad until you realize that it also covers almost 1000 feet vertically. I'm going to pretty sore tomorrow.

Pike Place Market - II

The market is also known for it signs and all were well lit on this day.

Pike Place Market - I

Pike Place is well-known for several things. Near the top of this list must be flowers, and fish. A recent trip to the market with our friends Renee, Georgia, Gigi, and Bethany from Virginia gave me a chance to once again explore this interesting place.

Chuckanut Drive Headed South

We spent the night in Bellingham and the next morning, drove the coastal Chuckanut Drive south. The good places to stand to take a photo were all filled with houses and private drives. Nevertheless, I got a few images looking toward the Samish Bay once we entered the Larrabee State Park. This one above is looking rom Wildcat Cove at low tide.

Low Tide in Edmonds

On July 3rd we had an exceptionally low tide in Puget Sound so Seth and I loaded up Seamus for a visit to the wonders of walking where the sea normally lives.

A couple things to note in the photo above. First, the tide s really far out. Secondly, Seamus is wearing a coat and long pants on July 3rd. Welcome to the PWN!

Bellingham, WA

We bought tickets to the Bellingham Festival of Music opening concert and a very fine concert it was. We drove to Bellingham (~ and hour) and arrived in time for lunch. We selected a curiously themed bar and lunch spot that was reasonably good.

Rusty Relics

The annual Rusty Relics exposition of all things old, upcycled, recycled, and re-invented has occurred and here are a few images I took while we visited.

Spada Lake

Not too far from Snohomish is Spada Lake. This is a manmade lake that serves as a reservoir for Snohomish and is operated by the Snohomish PUD (Public Utilities Division, can't get used to that abbreviation).

Father's Day

Sorry it has taken me a week to get these photos posted. Been busy around the house trying to get caught up from our short house sit in Queen Anne. While we were there, we celebrated Father's day and here are a few photos to mark the event.

A Short House Sit in Queen Anne

This weekend we have a short house sit in Queen Anne, a neighborhood just north of downtown Seattle. A few of the things to do near us were calling so we got out to see a few sights.

Our first stop was at Kerry park. This small park sits on the edge of a hill from which we could see most of Downtown Seattle and the sound.

Poulsbo

In Kitsap county, we find Poulsbo, a small town founded by a Norwegian, Jørgen Eliason, in the 1880's.

A Sleeping Charlie

The little Miss Charlie is having a nap. Thought you'd like to see her.

Lowell Riverfront Park

This is a house across the Snohomish River that I've photographed before but never from this angle. There's rumors of a little rain coming our way and today we see further hints of same in the gowing array of clouds. We've had very little rain for our region this month and the snowpack is below half what it should be for this time of year. Some water would be nice.

Everett Farmer's Market

We drove to Everett to check out the farmer's Market there and here are a few images of what we saw there. Lots of flower vendors to bee seen along with the food concessions and the crafty folks.

Welcome to our Charlotte!

Just a little shy of 3:00 AM today, we welcomed a new addition to our family: Charlotte Elizabeth McDonagh!

Seamus and the Cupcake

The process of toilet training has started and this, naturally, involves a certain amount of bribery. In reward for a day of progress and a minimum of errors, Seamus got a sugar covered cupcake after dinner.

The Superb Lyrebird

I came across this video of the David Attenborough talking about and listening to the Superb Lyrebird and I couldn't resist posting it for those you have not yet seen it. These animals are truly amazing.

A Monochrome Walkabout

A short walk about town to see what I could see resulted in a few B&W images that are respectable. Something I've noticed since we've been in Washington are the fences and trees filled with shoes. Never seen this anywhere else and I don't really know what it means. It does make an interesting photo.

Sky Valley Motorcycle Show

After my adventure across the mountains, Snohomish was treated to the annual Sky Valley Motorcycle Show. First street is blocked off and people bring motorcycles from miles around to compete for trophies and bragging rights. There is also food and lots of bike/biker related stuff for sale.

Taking the North Cascades Highway Home

My last day of adventure started along the shores of Banks Lake not far from Steamboat Rock. Here we find a small quiet pool reflecting the rocky cliff above it.

Grand Coulee Dam

Driving onward from Steamboat Rock State Park, I passed through Electric City and to the Grand Coulee Dam in the city of Grand Coulee. all the photos I have here are from the downstream side of the dam. Upstream is Lake Roosevelt.

Steamboat Rock State Park

As I drove past the motel where I was staying, I noticed the large "Motel" sign across the road and through it would make a good photo with all the dramatic clouds behind it. I think you will agree.

Lake Lenore Caves

A bit farther south from Dry Falls State Park is Lake Lenore and a series of caves that were created by the floods. Above is a small community, no doubt containing many vacation homes, along the opposite shore of the lake.

Dry Falls State Park

Those of you who pay attention to such things will know about the Missoula Flood. Since this is such a mind bogglingly large event, I will give a longer than usual quote from Wikipedia below the fold.

On the Road to Coulee City

So, after finally getting my new Fuji GFX camera and lens sorted out I decided I needed a "shakedown cruise" to learn my way around using the camera. Looking about a place to drive that wasn't too far away, I settled on a visit to Coulee City and Grand Coulee to see what there was to see. Nominally, this was a trip to the dam and Grand Coulee, but I discovered much more.

I took US 2 all the way. On the west side of the Cascade Mountains, I detoured toward a fish hatchery not far from Gold Bar (actual town name) where I could get a clearer look at the mountains in the clouds and fog. As you can see above, the weather was pretty thick.

Lowell Riverfront Park

Since we now, finally, have some proper spring weather with real sunshine and everything, E and I went out to Lowell Riverfront Park to relax a bit in the sun. There's a place to stand where you can look north down the river and see Mt. Baker in the distance.

Lake Eyre in Flood

You may recall that when in Australia, we had a plane flight over Lake Eyre. Follow the link for a reminder of what this place looked like.

Once you have set your notion of what a salt pan in the desert looks like, have a look at this video from the ABC News about where all the water from the typhoons that hit northern and eastern Australia went. The change is not only remarkable, it is dumbfounding. The roadhouse shown in the early part of the video is one we visited and had lunch in.

Makes us what to return for another visit.

Turtles!

Another visit to Flower World, not so much for flowers as for an opportunity for Seamus to visit the turtles again. The turtles were in a posing mood, so I thought I'd bring you one of the poses.

Flowers are Blooming

Today we learned that later this week it may well get to 80 F! Oh. My. God. We are going to melt into little puddles of soylent green and flow into Puget Sound. How will we survive it simply not being cold any longer?

In celebration of this record breaking (no, really!) heat wave that is coming our way, here some flowers I found in the greenhouses of the local nursery.

Bob Heirman Wildlife Park at Thomas' Eddy

I found a new park to check out. It is the Bob Heirman Wildlife Park at Thomas' Eddy (like there are more Bob Heirman Wildlife Parks about). Since it is a sunny day with no clouds, it is a good test of what can be done with no clouds to make it (more) interesting.

Along the way to the park, I found this peaceful bucolic scene.

A Few Antiques

On the east end of town is an antique store that seems to have one of everything and two of most things. And it is overflowing onto the street.

The Snohomish River

On the west end of the central business district in Snohomish is a bridge for the vehicular traffic in town. On the east end is this railroad trestle. Today I got there at low tide (yes, the river is tidal where we are) and got a few images.