Architecture from an Untrained Perspective

Antoni Gaudi was a Catalan architect who concentrated his work in Barcelona. The church of the Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) represents the pinnacle of his achievement, and it is not yet finished, almost 100 years since his death. He was a man of deep faith who loved nature and melded both in new and sometimes shocking ways through his architecture. 

The church above is a model of what the building will look like when completed. It is ornate, fanciful, and audacious in its design, unlike any building I have ever seen. I don't know if I like it or not, but it makes me think. I do like the stunning stained glass that circles the church with all the colours of nature. 

Gaudi says, "The straight line belongs to men, the curved one to God." In his work a straight line is rarely seen as he imitated the curving branches of trees, the undulating form of waves, and circles of light. 

In my own humble way I disagree with Gaudi's thought about straight and curved lines. The horizon, when seen from a beach or on a flat prairie, is a straight line to the human eye. A tree, round in form, often stretches straight upwards to the sky. I think the combination of curved and straight make for harmony. What do you think?

In the Park Guell, also designed by Gaudi, I was most impressed by the wonderful mosaics displayed on walls, sculptures, and benches throughout the park. They have me wanting to smash a few dishes and create my own. 

On our way to Madrid, we stopped in the town of Zaragoza where a festival honouring the Virgin of the Pillar was starting. I enjoyed sitting in the plaza under a flat blue sky listening to folk music and watching the dancing. Later, I took a walk across the river through a city park where great views of the enormous church were to be seen. 

No photos were permitted within the ornate Baroque-style church, and it was full of people on this special day. 

My architectural preference tends more to the simple, light, and elegant, more Gothic than Romanesque or Baroque. Of course, there is wide variety in any of the styles, and I don't pretend to know very much about any of them, but I do know what I like when I see it. 

After two very relaxing days at home after flying home from Spain, I was at school for two days catching up with my classes. This weekend I've done some regular housecleaning, baked bread, did a little garden cleanup (it's very soggy out there with all the rain), and we went out for dinner with friends on Saturday night. I'm feeling very much back to normal, although I still wake up at 4 am for a bit each night. 

Sunny Spain seems very far away as I watch the clouds scud past my window and pull up my jacket hood as I dash to the car in the rain. Autumn is well and truly here.

Barcelona in the Sunshine

The rain is pouring down here this morning, echoing in the chimney, pattering on the skylight, and dulling the already muted garden. Sunny Spain seems eons ago.  I've spent the past two days doing very little and feel great! Later this morning I'm off to school to see what my students got up to while I was away. 

Our group of 14 arrived in Barcelona around noon, after 24 hours in transit. We all slept more on the plane going there than on the return flights. Our guide, Silvia, met us at the airport and we dropped our luggage off at the hotel, then hit the ground - walking rather than running. 

Barcelona is a beautiful city with the soft air that comes from being near the Mediterranean. Beautiful architecture, interesting sights, great food - there is much to appreciate about it. Narrow streets bordered by tall buildings meant that one had to look up to see sky and trees, while maintaining an eye on the ground for uneven cobblestones, and also looking straight ahead to prevent bumping into the many people on the streets. 

Looking up along La Rambla. 

More looking up - the Umbrella House, also known as Casa Bruno Cuadros - is distinctive for the ceramic umbrellas and fans decorating the house. There is also a dragon. The original owner of the house owned an umbrella shop on the main floor, hence the decor and name. 

Looking up to see intricate light fixtures. They are everywhere in many styles. 

The sheer number of decorative features in this photo make it a busy one, but the busyness typifies the city to me. 

If you've been watching the news recently, you might have heard about protests and demonstrations in Barcelona. They occurred in the square reflected in the photo above. While we were there, quiet groups of people with posters and signs stood in front of the buildings, watched carefully by police, but there was no violence. That changed later, after we left. 

I quite like the distorted shapes of reflected buildings in the window.

Light slants in another narrow passageway. 

We were almost ready to leave the city and head back to our hotel. In the Plaza de la Catedral a talented guitarist had been playing and singing, filling the air with lovely, gentle melodies. A street performer created bubbles that floated up and up before bursting into nothingness. As we prepared to leave the square and head off for dinner, the guitarist began singing a song that my students knew well from Spanish class. I use it for teaching some grammatical concepts, but also for culture. 

The students looked at me, wide-eyed, "Mrs. Orr, - it's Vivir mi Vida!" They started dancing and singing along. Tears pricked my eyes as I thought of how wonderful it was to have these students see that what they had learned in the classroom was a part of real life. That moment was one of the highlights of the trip for me. 

My next post will be about the Gaudi architecture that Barcelona is so famous for. 

City and Countryside

Shall we take one last look at Prague? If I don't step this up, I'll still be posting about this trip come December! I'm choosing the highlights as there is so much we saw and did. My journal is filled with perceptions, observations, and details which you would tire of reading.

We spent a morning visiting the Jewish Quarter, choosing a self-guided tour this time. The Jewish Museum in Prague comprises a complex of buildings and sites and one ticket covers all of them except for the Old-New Synagogue, which is a separate entrance. That building is also the only current Jewish house of worship and prayer in Prague.

The Jewish Town Hall, above was built in 1586 and renovated in the 18th century. I found it a particularly beautiful building with the blue walls and white trip (I'm a huge fan of blue and white), and the dark clock tower atop. 

One of the most moving sites we visited was the Pinkas Synagogue where the walls are covered with the names and places of the 80,000 Jews taken from Prague by the Nazi regime. No photos are allowed. It is a quiet place other than for the continuous reading aloud of the names written on the walls.

In another part of the synagogue there is a display of artwork done by the children of Terezin camp, a "model" town devised by Hitler as a means of placating the Red Cross about the treatment of displaced Jews. A Jewish artist from Vienna, Freidl Dicker-Brandeis, brought art supplies in her allotted luggage and worked with the children of the camp, using art as a means of expressing their emotions. When she knew she would be transported to Auschwitz, she hid more than 4000 pieces of art in the attic where it was discovered after the war. You can read more about it here.  

When I looked at the artwork, I could not help but compare it to the lighthearted drawings my own grandchildren create. The Terezin children drew pictures of camp life where guards hover, of families torn apart, of waiting for transport to who knows where. It was a sobering sight. 

Hitler's plan was to maintain the Jewish Quarter in Prague as a memorial to an "Extinct Race" and so he brought many artifacts from other parts of Europe to Prague where they remain today. Another synagogue explained much of the daily life of the city. The graveyard is an astounding site. The Jews were forbidden to expand the boundaries of their quarter, including the graveyard, so new layers of soil were added on top of old graves, and the old stones removed and placed in the new soil along with the new gravestones. This happened many times over 3 centuries and now the graveyard is several metres higher than street level with the most amazing hodgepodge of gravestones. 

We like to get out into the countryside, away from the more touristy areas, if we can. We're sometimes asked how we do this without knowing the language. Google Maps is wonderful, and can be downloaded to use offline. Transit schedules are often on the internet, as well, and we used that a lot. 

Divoka Sarka is a nature reserve on the outskirts of Prague with a walking loop of about 3 hours. There is a lake, but you can't walk all the way around, because of a fenced complex, as we discovered, and had to back track. Going the other way we soon left the lake (where it seems homeless people like to hang out), and entered a lovely wooded area with a little stream. 

It was another very very hot day and we took our time. We had brought a lunch (sandwiches from a bakery) and sat on a bench in the shade enjoying the peace and quiet. There was a flock of goats along the way, but very few people. 

We left Prague, by train again, headed for Linz, Austria, where we met up with our cruise boat. The views from the train were lovely; fields of newly mown hay, white houses with red tile roofs, lots of trees, and the occasional view of a village in the distance. 

I find that it takes time to distill experiences such as these. Tim and I talk about various bits and pieces often. Reviewing my photos bring back a lot of memories. And it's fun to share them with you, my readers, and to read your comments, as well. 

Linking with Mosaic Monday, hosted by Angie of Letting Go of the Bay Leaf

Exploring the Czech Countryside

Most of our time in the Czech Republic was spent in Prague. One day, however, we ventured out of the city to Krivoklat Castle, in Central Bohemia. We purchased our train tickets at the main station, and found our way to the correct train. We knew, from reading Rick Steves guidebook, that we would change trains at Beroun, to the cute little diesel train seen above.  

As our train curved and climbed through the hills and mountains, we saw people swimming in the river, lots of campsites, and green forests. At every stop, hikers and backpackers got on or off the train. Clearly, this area is well-used for recreation. 
   

Krivoklat Castle was first built as a hunting lodge before the 13th century. The Gothic towers lend a fairy tale air which is enhanced by the castle's setting in a lush forest. Later, the castle was used for incarcerating prisoners. The top right photo shows one of the kitchens - let's just say I'm very thankful for my small, but efficient, and light-filled place to cook. 

The castle is perched on a hill overlooking a small village. The steep climb from the train station, on a very hot day, had me looking for every bit of shade along the way. What a great view!

On the way back, we stopped at Nizbor for lunch in a converted former railway station. Flower boxes and tables made from old treadle sewing machines made it a charming stop. We ordered a traditional Czech dish, svickova - tender beef slices in a vegetable puree sauce, with dumplings and a bit of cream and cranberry sauce. It was filling (very) and delicious. It's one recipe I may try to recreate here. 

After lunch we walked across the railway track to the Ruckl Crystal factory and watched glass blowers and cutters at work. I admired the precision and speed of the gentleman above, cutting the patterns of lead crystal by looking through the glass. 

Soon we were on the train again, chugging our way back to Prague. The train station in Nizbor had these pretty geraniums on the window ledges. 

Venturing out of the more touristy areas and relying on public transport was an adventure that turned out well. I am so impressed by the graciousness of everyone we interacted with - we don't speak Czech, but English, on varying levels, is common - and so we muddled along. 

Linking with Mosaic Monday, hosted by Angie of Letting Go of the Bay Leaf.  

Home Again

Well, hello there. It's been awhile. We were off gallivanting for 3 weeks and arrived home late on Monday night. We left Budapest at 3 pm and arrived in Victoria at 10:30 pm, however, there is a 9 hour time difference, so it felt much, much later. We're still recovering from jet lag - last night I tried my best to stay up until 9:30 and almost made it, but not quite. Then I was awake at 2:30, so I got up to see if I could see the meteor shower - no luck. I crawled back into bed and dozed a very little bit and thought a lot. 

On our trip we visited the Czech Republic, went on an 8-day river cruise, and spent a week in Budapest, Hungary. Because the river cruise started in Linz, Austria, and included air fare, that's where we landed, on a hot afternoon that just happened to be our 42nd wedding anniversary. We figured out public transit and made our way to our Airbnb on a farm property in Leonding, a small community just outside of Linz. Those striking blue doors were part of the farm complex where we stayed.

Although we were in Leonding for less than a day, we thoroughly enjoyed it. We wandered around the town and found a restaurant with a terrace where we enjoyed a dinner that featured local chanterelle mushrooms. Yum! Better than dinner was breakfast. In the freshness of early morning we walked to a bakery just across the square from the restaurant. There we sat outside enjoying fresh bread, a boiled egg, and coffee and tea. It was one of those "pinch me" moments. 

Later, we caught the train to Prague. I had asked our three eldest grandchildren to draw me a picture of themselves to take along on the trip. They did such a great job. The Flat Grands had many adventures along the way that I posted on Facebook for their entertainment. Here they are on the train, settling nicely into their seats.

We arrived in Prague 4 hours later and made our way to our lodgings. It was hot, very hot, during our 6 days there. Prague is beautiful, with striking architecture at almost every view. It was not damaged during WWII, so there are old buildings from medieval to Baroque to Gothic.   

Prague is known as the City of 100 Spires, but in actuality there are between 500 and 1000 spires, depending on one's definition of a spire.

We had an amazing trip, and I'll share some highlights over my next posts, but I don't want to bore anyone with the dreaded "come and see our slide show" kind of thing. The garden didn't take a vacation during our absence and we've spent the past two days wrestling it into some sort of order. Tim returns to work tomorrow and so we're slowly getting back into normal everyday life. 

Postcard from Prague

Prague is such a beautiful city, filled with amazing architecture at every corner. Spires of all sorts stretch to the heavens against a cloudless blue sky. 

View from the Charles Bridge towards another bridge not so far away.

Such a pretty and interesting decoration over a building just off of Wenceslas Square. I love the beehive in the centre and the pale blue background.

Wonderful details.

Just a quick post - there is much to explore! Today we're off to a tour of Castle Hill and a classical music concert later. 

Celebrating here and there

There were presents. Wonderful handmade and thoughtful gifts. Woodworking, embroidery, sewing, cooking, crocheting were all represented. 

There was food. Lots and lots of delicious things to eat. Our dinner culminated in an eggnog cheesecake with a raspberry sauce and whipped cream. Oh, so delectable. 

There was a lot of fun. The marshmallow shooters were a hit with young and not-so-young folks. Tim and I were last home from church on Christmas Eve because we stayed to talk to out-of-town friends for a bit. When we opened the door to the house, we were bombarded with mini marshmallows shooting at us from every angle. So much fun! We're still finding those little white balls in the oddest spots. 

There was a trip on the ferry to the mainland to see my parents and siblings. Rain fell, coming and going. It didn't stop the merriment.

Everything appeared rather ghostly through the rain. We were glad to arrive home last night. 

I determined to do very little today, and I met my goal. When the rain eased to a mizzle I went out for a walk. Lovely fresh air cleared my head. Bright moss coated this rocky spot with cheerful colour. 

More grey over the rooftops and into the distance. A few hours later, a strip of pale pink showed above the horizon.

Most of the day has been spent here, in front of the fire, with copious cups of tea and a few cookies, along with a new book. This evening will be the same, with perhaps a switch to a movie instead of a book. 

Are you finding time for walks and peaceful moments in this week between the years?

Linking with Friday Bliss, hosted by Ritta of Floral Passions.

Cruising Down Memory River

Just one year ago we were in Europe. I've been reading my travel journal, remembering, and enjoying the trip all over again. Today's post features photos taken during our Avalon river cruise up the Seine. I can't say enough good things about the cruise. It's a good thing we can enjoy it over and over again in memory. The sunflower bloomed in Monet's Garden. 

Close to where our ship docked in Vernon, this house, bordering on the river, had an "Â vendre" sign out front. The gate was open, and the front door, so my friend and I walked into the garden and up the stairs. We were not quite brave enough to walk in the door, but we did peer in a little. Were we brash? The idea of purchasing such a house and renovating it occupied an hour or two of pleasant conversation later. Our husbands were not so enthralled with the idea. 

Wrought iron fences are a weakness of mine, and this one, painted robin's egg blue, went to the top of the list. 

I think my favourite colour is blue. (Any family members reading this are rolling their eyes and saying, "duh.") Isn't this the prettiest window? Blue gingham curtains with a little ruffle, blue shutters, and a pot of white flowers. It just makes me sigh with satisfaction. 

Church steeples dominated the landscape of each village. There is such disdain for the Church in many places today, yet people forget that without it, much of our knowledge would have been lost, health care would not be where it is today, and society would be very different. I'm not excusing the injustices and atrocities committed, but I think that modern society has lost its compass. We have become so arrogant that we believe we hold all the answers ourselves. It doesn't seem to be working so well.

The old mill of Vernon straddles two piers of an ancient bridge. The waterwheel is long gone, but the mill has been preserved. It likely dates from the 16th century, and was painted by Claude Monet. An engraving of the mill is featured on the postal stamp of Vernon. 

The food on the Avalon Creativity was amazing! There was no standing in line at buffets, but instead very civilized dining with various beautifully presented courses, served by attentive waiters as the ship sailed along the river. Buffets were available for breakfast and lunch, but with only 80 people aboard, there was never a wait. 

There were always several choices on the menu, including vegetarian options. What really tickled my fancy was the option for a cheese course instead of dessert. The cheeses and accompaniments varied every night. Oh my, they were delicious!

One last photo of Monet's house as seen from the garden. 

Do you make vacations last long after your return home? What makes a vacation memorable for you?