Thursday Thoughts – Seen in Prague

Some things really caught my eye in Prague, or rather – many things did. It is a beautiful city, just as beautiful as I thought it would be.

And there were Easter celebrations everywhere. Nice people, good food.

I loved all the typical things like the great architecture and the good food, but I also love something unexpected.

Charles Bridge is of course a Must.

And the handsome trams are everywhere.

But I always enjoy the little things just as much.

Many of us do, and that is a good thing.

Thursday Thoughts – Vyšehrad cemetery, Prague

The Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul is a neo-Gothic church in Vyšehrad fortress in Prague. It was founded in 1070–1080, and in 2003 the church was elevated to basilica by Pope John Paul II. Behind the church is located a large park and Vyšehrad cemetery, which is the final resting place of more than 600 distinguished Czechs, including the composers Antonín Dvořák and Bedřich Smetana.

I love walking in cemeteries, and today I want to walk this beautiful cemetery again, with you. I found some very special statues and monuments that really caught my attention. Some serene, some rough and some more strange than others. In fact, so strange that I could hardly believe I was in a cemetery.

It is not a big cemetery, but on some stones there were familiar names of famous people. Kaja Saudek was one of the most influential cartoonists in the Czech republic and was called the ”King of Czech comic books”. Dvořák and Smetana both had beautifully. ornamented headstones.

The strange woman statue leaning forward was made by the reputable Czech sculptor Olbram Zoubek. The fallen eagle was spectacular – but who would want it on a grave? I found out that Josef Suk was the grandson of Antonín Dvořák. I loved his beautiful broken violin.

I so enjoyed strolling here again, I hope you did too. This is a very special place indeed, and the church door in the header belongs to this basilica.

I do think the most ”normal” in this cemetery was this lovely lady tending to a grave.

Lens-Artists#242 – New Experiences

Anne is leading us this week, looking for New Experiences.

Every day there are new experiences, but some days there are fantastic new experiences. Looking forward to that experience can create overwhelming feelings, and even more so when the experience is something you wished for but thought would never happen.

Anne went to Australia and had a long wished for photographic tour with Leanne Cole. An amazing adventure! I too have chosen a dream come true – The Amazon Forest and the Galapagos Islands. In 2016 we left Sweden for the great adventure. Here – some memories from the Amazon.

Arriving at the lodge!

We went to Ecuador, lived in the jungle for a week and then sailed the Galapagos Islands. Every day was an adventure, something I had dreamed of since I was a child. To fall asleep to the sounds of the jungle, to walk high above the gigantic canopy of trees… fighting mosquitos in the morning, but wow, these are unforgettable memories.

Trees are a passion with me, and at Sacha Lodge on the Napo River, I lived my dream in every moment. The birds, the flowers, the hilarious monkeys shouting through the jungle while jumping over our canoe. And, watching the sunset over the Amazon from a Kapok tree, to all the sounds of the jungle – is hard to beat.

From the canopy down to the forest floor, everything was fascinating. The night walk was intense…no light, only sounds. Our excellent guide knew where to look, and he spotted Tarantulas, lizards, snakes and frogs – effortlessly. We were so impressed, but of course – he grew up in the jungle and was well acquainted with every creature there.

Every day we spent many hours in the canoe, ”looking for anacondas”, but we felt (rather…) safe. Immersed in the dense jungle and its many sounds, I just wanted to stay forever.

When we returned home in the evenings we always felt we’d been blessed with new, exciting experiences. I wished we could have stopped the time there for a while.

But today, your challenge is to show and tell us about a new experience You had. It could be a trip, the birth of a child or grandchild, a road trip to a new place, the possibilities are endless. Please link to Anne’s original post and use the Lens-Artists tag.

We all enjoyed your responses to Sofia’s challenge of Spring. Your beautiful images made us all long for spring wherever in the world we live. Next week, April 1, Donna Holland will be challenging you so …Be ready for anything! Go to her lovely site for more inspiration.

Thank you to this week’s host, Anne, for encouraging us to share our New Experiences. Visit her site to see photos from her travel to Australia. Amazing!

Interesting in joining the Lens-Artists Challenge? Click here for for information.

LAPC #236 North Meets South

It’s never the differences between people that surprise us. It’s the things that, against all odds, we have in common.
― Jodi Picoult

Thank you to Amy of The World is a Book, for hosting this week’s interesting challenge. She asks us to explore, East Meets West or North Meets South. Read her creative post here to inspire your thoughts. Remember to link to her post and add the Lens-Artists tag so we can find you.

I must declare this was a difficult task for me – how to? I hope my solution is OK with you.

Because, I have focused on North meets South, and two very different countries with much in common. Just like we humans, wherever we come from – we have got so many things in common.

I guess you already know from the first images which the two countries are…

Both have got spectacular natural phenomena as volcanoes and hot springs, and ice and snow in beautiful nature.

They have got similar houses too…(!) even if one of them only is from some famous films made here.

So, how do we use their natural resources, the hotsprings? We can bathe in them…

cook in them…

or maybe just love the sight of them as a tourist. For energi they are outstanding and sustainable resources.

Both countries also boast spectacular natural layers of stone.

In one of the two countries, there are no forests – in the other one the jungle lives side by side with the glaciers.

If you follow me, you know how close to my heart these two countries are. They carry the clear light of a natural world less spoilt. One of them is called the land of the long white cloud, while the other one, if you look at the images above, maybe is the land of the short white cloud…

A special thank you to Patti as she made us look at Shadows and Reflections in Monochrome last week. Once again, the interpretations to the challenge were creative, fun and inspiring.  This way, we also learned something about what photos work best in monochrome.  Next week, we welcome Bren as our guest host.  She challenges us with: ”Lowering That Clarity To Bring Softness.”  We look forward to more learning next week!

Interested in joining the Lens-Artists Challenges? Click here for more information.

Thursday Thoughts – Walking in Porto, Things that Caught My Eye

Today I feel like sharing another random walk…in Porto. When we walk it is not always a scheduled walk, I love lonely walks without a meticulous plan. Just to see what cathes my eye…so, come walk with me. Not many words needed.

Abandoned places always speak to me…

Walking on bridges gives you a different view of things.

Narrow streets are often tempting to walk…quite irresistible.

Realising the scale of things can be breathtaking.

His view?

This one! The young Brasilian playing was a complete virtuoso. He played among other wellknown artists, Carlos Santana. It was almost impossible to stop listening.

Just for fun.

Old houses and new art.

And who can resist a sight like this?

Some more of the beautiful wall art.

And we ended our Porto tour with a beautiful play of light and music in the neighbouring church.