All the People

Back to the orchard campsite. It is funny to spend four days in Praha, and yet only visit the city twice!! Praha became a pit stop to recharge the batteries and soak up the simple everyday delights of not sight seeing or walking the heels off. We became trusted lodgers with our Campsite Landlady, who insisted on calling Laura –‘Madam’ and leaving us the keys to her kingdom. Although it seems to defeat the purpose of travelling and seeing new sights, and living new experiences, the attractions of the familiar on a journey bespoke with the unfamiliar are all too compelling. Or at least once every so often, a holiday from the holiday is required. So we decorated this orchard with blues, reds, oranges and other colours with our washing. We even managed to perform a late spring clean. I also battled with iTunes!!! Prior to leaving London, I moved my library to the external hard drive, and loaded all our music on board. Disaster struck somehow, when my computer or I inadvertently renamed my hard drive from E to F. So iTunes could not find the music. I tried all sorts of tricks, but none worked. Eventually I reloaded all music folders and then went through all to remove the various duplicates. Perhaps I misspent my time in Praha. I think a lesson I am being learnt is to try and understand more about machines, in order to prevent them controlling me.
I find it hard to leave behind the old ways, the schemes and the little cheats, such as not paying for a fare here and there!! I noticed that few people seemed to have the prebought tickets for the Trams in this gothic city. Despite there being warnings galore about non-uniformed inspectors and the penalty charges there was a paucity of vending machines. At times it would have been a lot easier to break the law and ride for free, feel the exhilaration of getting away with a little cheat. Alas, Praha so beautiful, but so popular with so many. With crowds, it becomes a bit tricky to see all the beauty much remarked upon. I found myself walking as if on the busy streets of Brixton, with hardened elbows and widened shoulders, ready for contact. Oh the hardships of being a tourist. I sympathise with the inhabitants of such places, who have to face this onslaught daily. The Lonely Planet recommends sleeping during the day and visiting the towns architectural delights in the waking hours of the morning! Any takers? It was here that the spectacle of tiny digital camera with massive tripod was glimpsed and amazed at. It seems to defeat the object of having a mini camera if you are wont to use such an unwieldy platform.
Sampled some more of the traditional food of Bohemia, plenty of meat, generally smoked flavours, and the sauerkraut variations and served with breadlike dumplings and lashings of gravy. The pivo is going down a treat, and so cheap.
So, we left the city and headed south. Well, we left and re-entered the city, rode anxiously along narrow streets with a tram tailgating me briefly. Yet again a city seemed to have hypnotized and dazzled our orientation. Still, we managed to glimpse a different side to Praha, than the highly manicured one seen by most.
Briefly watched a Czech version of Irish Dancing. However, they had replaced the traditional dress with one resembling a cheer leader’s. A slightly surreal sight in Vaclavsky Namesti. God bless River Dance.