An HDR shot, taken while looking for the café Joelle used to frequent in 1996, when she was teaching French in Prague. Unfortunately this area of the city was devastated by the floods on 12 Aug 2002. She didn’t locate it, so I guess it never reopened.

Charles Bridge on the left, fills with souvenir stalls and visitors soon after 8 am. So I was lucky to find a view that wasn’t crowd filled. If visiting Prague, it is best to avoid the route between the old town square and the castle via Charles Bridge unless you enjoy tourist watching. Dawn and dusk are probably the best times to visit Charles Bridge.

From the  “Around Europe with ghosts” series.

Currently, I am spending a lot of time in Brussels. You could say I am on permanent vacation here. You do not need to travel far to gain a rewarding travel experience. To illustrate my point, this last weekend, there was two Street parties within 200 metres of my apartment in Brussels.

The first was the Czech Street Party held in the street by the Czech Embassy. This took place on Friday night. The street was closed off and a stage erected, along with a number of tents highlighting what the Czech Republic has to offer. There were samples of Czech beers, wines, cheeses, sweets, and goodies given away at the stands representing the various regions. Of course there were brochures and help available for potential visitors to the Czech Republic.  I really enjoyed the Czech Music although the young Mandrage and Clou were more to my taste than Mig 21 and the headline act Kristophe. Czech nationals made up the largest contingent of the crowd which completely filled the street up to the front of the stage by the time the headline group was playing.

This is a video clip of Clou, a band from Prague in action.

The second Street Party was Matongé en Couluer. This took place on Saturday and Sunday on Chausée de Wavre and parts of rue de la Paix and even the junction of Chausée de Wavre and Chausée d’Ixelles. Like the czech Party, this is an annual event with stands selling African Foods and goods, filling the streets. Again a music stage showcased African music and dance from across the African continent as well as from Brussels. In addition small bands were playing at other locations on the streets as well as a few DJ sets providing music for street dancing. In common with the Czech Party there was no entry fee for any of the events. An excellent opportunity to immerse myself in the sounds, colours, smells and tastes of different cultures without going more than 800 metres from my front door.