tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post5534228794018852440..comments2024-03-26T07:58:59.761+00:00Comments on I'll think of something later: Brno's churchesDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-85227947677863147302018-12-26T13:27:14.338+00:002018-12-26T13:27:14.338+00:00Season's greetings to you, Will and Laurent. T...Season's greetings to you, Will and Laurent. There's a famous Antica Farmacia in Florence, isn't there, but I see that its much-exported products all use chemicals the monks would abhor. Nice one in Tallinn's main square, too. Good to see more of Lisbon through your eyes. Happy travelling in 2019 - time for you to visit us here.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-29576200174649504722018-12-26T03:20:41.051+00:002018-12-26T03:20:41.051+00:00Once again you take me on your travels and give me...Once again you take me on your travels and give me a glimpse at things I would not otherwise encounter. As always your word and photos brought things to life. Many thanks. <br /><br />That pharmacy reminded me of a visit we made during our time in Rome to La Farmacia di Santa Maria della Scala. It sent me back to find the post I wrote on it at the time. Unfortunately it was now only a historical site not a working pharmacy. <br /><br />I hope you and J. had a happy Christmas? Willymhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03652532356102638621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-15302706420337327882018-12-24T11:27:19.007+00:002018-12-24T11:27:19.007+00:00Well, regulations for a start: no cruise ships all...Well, regulations for a start: no cruise ships allowed into Venice (corrupt Italian legislation is responsible for that), no tacky chainstores in the centre of Prague, no monocycles or mass scooters (the latest substitute in Prague, I gather), no building around sacred sites (since I visited Petra, a dirty great big Movenpick has sprung up by the entrance). Unfortunately communist rule did not prevent much insensitive rebuilding in Czech towns and cities, though there was less knocking down, I think.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-69219105036733413872018-12-24T10:42:08.392+00:002018-12-24T10:42:08.392+00:00Yes but what has happened to Prague has happened a...Yes but what has happened to Prague has happened all over the world - Versailles, the Roman Forum, the Sistine Chapel, and I suppose Angkor Wat around which they have built so many hotels. And look at the size of the cruise ships approaching Venice and other ancient places. But what can be done? Only allowing in tourists who have passed a test set by Nice and Damant?<br /><br />It is in the smaller towns in the Czech lands that one can feel the atmosphere, as you say. Two points occur to me. First the communist rule for 45 years, terrible in many ways, did protect Czechoslovakia from modern rebuilding in the tedious style of the 1960s -1980s. Secondly, as I drove through the villages of Moravia and Bohemia in 1968 I saw chickens running wild. I mentioned this to my Czech hosts in Prague, and said that the chickens would be very tasty. " O no" they replied" we don't eat dirty chickens like that, ours are brought up in nice clean cages."David Damantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-3873037176314817332018-12-24T09:17:23.259+00:002018-12-24T09:17:23.259+00:00Yes, I completely fell in love with the place: som...Yes, I completely fell in love with the place: something very real about it, as I said before, while the centre of Prague, beautiful though it essentially is, has fallen to all the tackiest aspects of mass tourism. But there are so many other smaller Czech towns worth seeing, too, and I haven't done more than explore the tip of the iceberg there. Happy hols to you both, too. Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-77724615244200863392018-12-24T01:02:41.453+00:002018-12-24T01:02:41.453+00:00So Brno is clearly filled with treasures, old and ...So Brno is clearly filled with treasures, old and new. I admire the way you take as full advantage as possible of every place you visit in the limited time you often have. Here, certainly, in a very short time, you covered a lot of ground, even in the bitter cold! The St. Jakub light-filled interior is particularly striking. Happy holidays to you and J! Susan Scheidhttps://prufrocksdilemma.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.com