Best Belgian Battlefields, People and Places To See: Sad Surrealist Magritte and Mad Van Gogh

Problem
Driving across Belgium, leaving Dover and landing at Calais in France, or going to Ostend, you can route via Brussels, into Wallonia, as you cross France en route to Belgium or Belgium en route to France or Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and other countries, such a waste not to stop somewhere interesting en route. I have always wanted to see the Magritte Museum but seen to arrive before or after it opens, in a hurry to get somewhere else, or on the day it's closed.

Answer
"I've got a little list," as the Gilbert and Sullivan song says. I've compiled it alphabetically, by town. Plot the place and time, month and day, of your visit.

Charleroi - Rene Magritte (1898-1967)
1 Art Deco belfry
Unesco listed clock tower and belfry. I must admit I would not have realised it was art deco, but now they come to mention it. Looking at the photo in the tourist brochure I see that it has round-topped arches, and lots of parallel lines.
2 Rene Magritte paintings in Museum of Fine Arts
Rene's father was a tailor. The family had money problems and kept moving house. Moving house is nowadays known as one of life's stressful experiences.
The river Charleroi was where Magritte's mother, a dressmaker, drowned herself in 1912 when he was 14, found seventeen days later with her night-dress wrapped around her face. Three years later seventeen year old Magritte left for Brussels. But never forgot, as his paintings show.He knew de Chirico, was successful, panted murals, and lived to the age of 69.

Liege - Paul Delvaux (Painter) 1897-1994 (died age 96!)
Another Surrealist painter.
1 La Boverie, art museum, has Delvaux paintings.
2 Wine route. See www.liegetourisme.be
BE, of course, stands for Belgium.

Mons - Vincent Van Gogh (Painter)
1 Mons Memorial Museum
See uniforms, guns and drums of the military, plus exhibits on civilian life
2 Saint-Symphorien Military Cemetery
Among the little grey-white gravestones surrounded by green grass under the peaceful green trees are:
Two WWI gravestones:
First British soldier killed on the Western Front, Private John Parr, a teenager, in the Middlesex regiment; and nearby
Last British soldier killed on 11,11.1918, Private George Ellison.
See graves of British and German soldiers.
3 Mons Battlefield
Diary Date - November 2018 commemorations in Mons.
4 In nearby village of Cuesmes, see the brick-built Van Gogh House house where Van Gogh lived, now a museum. Van Gogh was a lay preacher, a would be minister to the miners from 1878, but was too pious for the practical miners, who called him 'the Christ of the coalminers' so he turned to painting and wrote to his brother Theo, "I felt my energy return".

Namur
1 Félicien Rops Museum (Musée provincial Félicien Rops

Tournai - Roger Van Der Weyden (painter)

(More later. I'm resting before New Year's Eve. I see that they have already celebrated with fireworks, first in tiny islands, then in Sydney, Australia. The Far East is next. Then Europe including England and Scotland, with Hogmanay. Then America and Canada.)

Story
For me the most memorable story, visually, is that of Magritte, who does the weirdest paintings, spooky. Yes, spooky. There's such a sad story behind his paintings. His mother committed suicide and was found with a cloth wrapped around her face. He was a young lad at the time. Clearly haunted by this, his pantings have a woman lying prone, deathly white, with a missing or covered face.

Some of the jollier famous Belgian-born notables do not have places commemorating them. But you may wish to cheer yourself up thinking of Sax who invented the Saxophone, the man who invented roller skates (adapted from ice skates which already existed), Georges Simenon (1903-1989) the prolific writer of the Inspector Maigret stories. (You have plenty of choice - 75 novels and 28 short stories if you want to read something by him on your trip. He went to live in Paris and the USA and died in Switzerland but received honours from Belgium).

Finally, take a tour around a brewery, stay in a format hotel, and for a bit of colourful fun, a delight for two senses, a gourmet hotel which tickles your tastebuds, then retire to your bedroom whereto can change the colour of your bedroom to your taste by flicking a light switch.

Tips
More Details from Wallonia tourist board which has a booklet on the area and the famous people and beers, wines, chocolate, cheese and other food.
www.belgium-tourism.co.uk
visitmons.co.uk

AUTHOR
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube. Like and share my posts.

Be Prepared - travelling with tissues

Problem
What should you carry to be prepared?

Answer
Basic emergency medical supplies, which for most people would include paper tissues, a sticking plaster or two, and an aspirin or panadol.
Some people carry water and a chocolate bar or an apple on any journey. Others take a plastic container with a secure lid for leftover food. (If it's big enough, it could also be an emergency potty for children or adults if you break down on the motorway in snow or fog or get stuck in a ski lift.)

Stories
1 A Facebook friend, David Astbury, told us how he supplied a fabric handkerchief to stop the bleeding of a child who fell of mother's lap at a wedding. I replied:
The magic is not in having a fabric handkerchief - paper tissues would have done just as well. The magic is knowing in which pocket you have placed the handkerchief or tissue in order to produce it instantly on demand. The average person can spend twenty minutes searching for a paper tissue, a door key, a train ticket, their spectacles, their handbag, or the right coins for payment at a till. I know. I'm an average person. Trying to be above average. A place for everything and everything in the correct pocket.
Angela Lansbury, author of How To Get Out Of The Mess You're In (a book I wrote to remind myself of everything the rest of the family and the world had taught me, all of which I forgot until and after I wrote the book.)
2 I was stuck on a three person ski chairlift in America, with two other people. Balanced in mid-air. Can't even wriggle or reach in a pocket. No food or toilet. Sitting in the cold. Eventually saw people ahead being removed by a rescuer who was abseiling. Then a megaphone told us the lifts would be starting again.
Why do you need tissues? To blow your nose. Emergency toilet paper. Mopping up spills when you talk with your hands and spill wine or water. For the child or adult who starts bleeding.

Tips
1 Before leaving the house check your checklist - which could be stuck on the back of the front door or in your phone or diary:
2 Address and phone number of people and place you are visiting. Ideally phone to check they are open and will welcome you.
3 Depending on your location, you might also carry a small umbrella.
4 Carry a pen and paper and a business card.
5 Mobile phone.
6 Paper tissues.
7 Hat and gloves.
8 Wear white at night. (To be seen by traffic when crossing the road.) I keep a white scarf or hat or bag handy. Failing all else, carry a newspaper. A newspaper is also handy if you sit on one of those cold metal seats at a railway station. (But newsprint is black so don't sit on a black newsprint item wearing a wet or white or light colour coat.)
9 Go to the toilet before a journey, even a short one on a ski lift.


AUTHOR
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.
Follow my posts on this and other blogs, also on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram. Please like my posts and share.

The Dancing House At Prague, Must see outside and inside for dinner

Problem
We had hunted all over Prague for somewhere Michelin standard to eat and the top restaurants seemed too expensive. Then we found two in one day. The other one was the TV tower, out of town.

Answer
The most centrally located is the dancing house. If you are staying in or near the old town or spending the afternoon there you can walk to the dancing house (and save on a taxi fare).

Story
HISTORY
The building was a bomb site for many years after WWII. I won't say that's a sad story (don't know whether people inside lived or died) though obviously the landlord of the day would have been devastated, and it's a tut tut story for the Allies who apparently mistakenly bombed Prague thinking it was Dresden. (Why? Many armies, not only terrorists, drug soldiers sent on dangerous missions go give them courage and daring, so if you have to be drugged up to go on a flying mission, which in wartime is not for those with a fear of flying nor a fear of dying, that might account for a few so-called 'friendly fire' 'errors') But I digress. Let's stick to the jolly stuff.

ARCHITECTURE
The Dancing House is certainly a masterpiece. Out of disaster comes opportunity, as the motivational speakers want us to believe and here's a prime example. To fill the space in prime position facing the river (with a VIP living next door), somebody called in world famous architect Gehry (who designed the sail shaped Guggenheim art museum which is the focal point of tourism in the riverside city of Bilbao in Northern Spain). The Gehry effect is to attract tourism to any city or area which was in the doldrums.

I'd seen the dancing house in passing previously and considered it an oddity. Not as pretty as the curvy Gaudi buildings in Spain which are also more ornate. But it has many features which are more obvious inside. In my view a great building has the elements of:
1 Curves
2 Colours (or white rather than black)
3 Practical
4 Pretty
5 Surprising - the wow factor
6 Co-ordinating with surroundings, yet adding
7 Neat symmetry
8 Restful - eg a water feature such as a reflective pond or fountain
9 A focal feature, a centre
10 A grand entrance
11 Entertainment inside
12 Sensual surfaces
13 Glamour or luxury - such as gold or marble
14 A free element for the onlooker
15 Souvenirs
16 Safe
17 Welcoming
18 Friendly
19 Entertaining
20 Instructional - a learning experience.
Entertainment can be active or passive - watching others, letting them decide, entertaining you as you watch others pass, or teaching you a skill.

1 Curves (and 5 and 6). It's difficult for a building to both surprise and match the surroundings. The Dancing House scores on surprise. It does have curves, but unsettling curves in the supporting pillars. You wonder how it stays up. The supporting pillars are solid looking.

2 The colour is white. (How do they keep all that glass clean?)

3 Practical. Yes, there's a lift. No miles of walking. Terrace for smokers.

4 Pretty? The view of the floodlit hilltop castle is seen all over the city, but the view here is across the river, unobstructed - unless you are stuck behind the pillar as I was. We swapped seats half way through the meal so I got my share of the view.

I thought the Fred room with its white draped ceiling was prettier, larger, jollier. The glass Ginger room has only about five tables, so more secluded. We could not hear the people at the next table, although we could hear loud American voices and a shrill child, a high-pitch boy at the back.

5 Constant surprise. You keep noticing more things. The chair backs are wavy, diagonal, at least two different styles. Or maybe if you put two diagonal back chairs back to back you get the illusion of two different styles. Later we noticed some dining chairs had paintings of animals on the back.

The first surprise is the pencil with your knife and fork wrapped in a napkin. The second surprise is the place mat of thin card shaped like a palette. It is not for mixing colours but for you to draw on.

They should have give you a 2B pencil, not HB, and pointed out the water colours for sale upstairs.

Only when I went for a wander did I discover that the upstairs bar had souvenirs for sale and a cabinet displayed artwork done by visitors.

FRED AND GINGER
When I heard the name of the restaurant, Fred and Ginger, I thought that like Marks and Spencer, they were the names of the owners or chefs. No. Fred and Ginger are Fred Astaire and Giner Rogers, dancers, to match the name of the building The Dancing House.

A picture of the two dancers is in the building. We missed the significance of the picture on the way in, but noticed it after we knew what it meant. I also loved the quotation on the wall:

They were both great dancers. Fred was a great dancer. But Ginger danced just as well, backwards, in high heels.

FUN FACTORS
1 The outside of the building.
2 The drawing materials.
3 Animal pantings on the backs of chairs.
4 Odd shapes of chair backs.
5 Two different styles of dining room.
6 Upstairs bar / observation deck if you have no time nor money for dinner.
7 Cheese trolley shaped like a cow with cow's rear protruding at one end into the space between tables - from a nearby table I saw this first.
8 Ginger and Fred theme inside matching the exterior.

FOOD
Finally the food. Prettily presented. A small free surprise taste compliments of the chef. Plentiful portions. Enough for us to take some home for the next day. Every dish a delight to look at. Wonderful food with the wow factor.

Can't wait to go back. Next time I shall take my own pencil and watercolours.

Tips
If you are entranced by your partner, or family, you might not mind seeing the view on the way in and out and looking at your loved one(s). But if you want a view and are stuck behind the pillar, swap seats half way through the meal to give everybody a turn.

Which room? I preferred the Fred room, the concrete room which is cosier with its white draped ceiling. My dining companion preferred the picture window glass room, like a conservatory, the Ginger, which I thought looked colder and emptier. I'd like to be in the Fred room as a change on a second visit because I was in the Ginger room the first time. On a first visit either will do. I asked how they decided which room diners would be allocated. A waiter told me that it might depend when you booked and how many bookings they had when you booked, and other factors.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram. Please like my posts and share.

Making Friends Through Triathlon Training Clubs

Running on your own for a marathon keeps you fit. But if you train with others you can make friends. If you are competing in a triathlon, you might be doing a shorter run, but also swimming and cycling - more of a challenge but more opportunities for making friends who are keen on one or more of these three sports.

Problem
How do you train for a triathlon in another country?
How do you maintain enthusiasm during the weeks or months of training?
How do you make friends when working in a new country?

Answer
You join a triathlon training club in the country where you are living or working.

Story
My friend in London, Olga, originally from Austria, has been training in London for a triathlon, and made friends through the Triathlon club. You don't have to be training to do a triathlon in London, you could be training for a triathlon anywhere in the world.

You can join a club and meet up with others for one of more of the three events you choose. For example, you might be doing swimming. You meet other swimmers and train every morning before work at a local swimming pool.

Or you could be doing cycling as one of your three events.

You make friends in London. They could be platonic friends of the same sex, or the opposite sex. You might even start a romance. Or find a flatmate. (Americans say room mate.)

Tips
Join a triathlon club.

Prepare to pay for equipment.
For example, clothing for swimming: a swimsuit, swim hat, a towel robe, and swim shoes, gym kit bag, padlock.
For cycling: clothing and equipment for cycling: a bicycle, helmet; accessories such as a water bottle holder; cycling clothes.
Plus the fee to enter the event.

Expect to pay about £30 for a certificate giving your time as well as the event.

http://www.trinewbies.com/tno_trainingprograms.asp
http://www.trilondon.com

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Fog, London's delayed flights, Stansted Airport Car Troubles Solved

Problems
1 What do you do when your car won't start at the airport?

Answer
On the bus the driver told us: "If you can't start your car, go to the help point in the bus stop. Tell the person who answers the number plate of your car. That will enable him to work out which car park and the exact position of your car and he will call the AA for you."

Story
Fog in London has delayed flights in Heathrow and Gatwick. Also a multiple pile up on a motorway.

We were very relieved to touch down at S t a n s t e d after a 45 minute delay on the runway at Prague.

(Sorry about the spaces I have had to insert in the airport name. Predictive text tried to change it to Stagnated and Satan!)

We saw all the cars in the long stay car park at S t a n s t e d were covered in ice. The bus to the long stay car park runs every fifteen minutes and you may have to wait up to 15 minutes.

London was colder than Prague. Luckily I had prepared for cold weather. Boots. Gloves. Hat. (For warmth I wore two hats, one over the other.)

You pay in advance for the long stay car park. As you enter the car park has number recognition. The system automatically connects your number plate and your parking place. A sign tells you which section of the car park to go to.

The advantage of leaving your car at the airport is that if your flight home is delayed, you are not keeping your taxi nor your relatives waiting.

Tips
1 In any car park, photograph your car, its position in the car park, the car park name, and any ticket you have been given. That way even if your ticket is lost by the time you get back, you still know where to find your car by looking at your phone.
2 The long stay car park at Stansted is better if you have luggage to carry. The long stay car park has a bus. the short stay car park is nearer but is so large that you may be at the far end of it. You also have to drag your luggage up the long ramp up to the terminal building, whilst the bus from the distant long-stay car park drops you right outside at the bus stop.
3 If you see fog at anywhere, you can still get a good photo of fog, perhaps two photos side by side, comparing the same scene before and after the fog.

Here's an atmospheric picture I took of a street in fog in north west London.

Photos by Angela Lansbury. Copyright December 2016.
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

The Green Stove Restaurant and cafe in Prague

The old tiled green stove gives its name to this restaurant in Prague.

We sat at the treadle sewing machine table for two by the door. Next time I shall try to arrive early and get the table by the window next to the old typewriter.

I must admit I thought the meringue on its own was too much sugar. I like the way the Australians and New Zealanders serve meringue with fruit (and cream).

But if the people are really nice, you forgive them, make allowances, still have a good feeling about a place.

Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.


Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. Author and speaker.

The Green Stove - which Kafka probably passed

Problem
Where can you eat in Prague without having a full meal?

Answer
I highly recommend the Green Stove, for the decor and the owner. We were staying at the Golden Star hotel next to the castle on the hilltop in Prague. On our last day it was pouring with rain. So we just went a few steps in either direction exploring the nearby street which is full of amusing shops, restaurants and bars. A few steps uphill was the Green Stove, advertising a free coffee or tea with any cake.

Story
In we went. At lunch time they were full, only a few tables, so we had to take the last table for two just inside the doorway. I put my feet down and discovered we were sitting at a table with the rocking pedal of an old sewing machine.

I went to the counter to look at the cakes and saw some postcards. The waitress told me that I could see them on the door of the toilet.

I had wanted the vanilla cheesecake but was persuaded to have another cake, which had fruit on top. It wasn't a cheesecake and I'm sorry I didn't stick to my original choice. Having persuaded me to choose the more healthy option, my companion then chose a meringue, the unhealthiest concoction imaginable, consisting entirely of sugar (and egg white). The meringue wasn't in the special offer but cost extra.

My long latte was good and my companion was pleased with his genuine mulled wine. We had looked at mulled wine sold from kiosks around the castle and weren't sure that the so called mulled wine contained spices, or was just hot wine. We had found the real thing.

The owner Martin was an entertainment. He told me three interesting things. I said it was a pity Kafka had not visited the place, or passed by.

He said the road outside was originally the king's highway for approaching the castle, before the new entrance was built. Kafka had almost certainly used this street.

The pub is called the green stove because it has the old green tiles below the counter.

Finally, his name, Martin, which is both Czech and English, comes from the Roman for the God of war.

We had a discussion on language and I was sorry to leave.

Tip
Enjoy one of the tables on the left hand side of the room.
The toilet door locks on the first door, not the cubicle.

More pictures in the next post.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Russian Dolls in Prague

Problem
What are the Russian dolls called and how do they make them and where?

Answer
We saw the Russian dolls in Prague in shop windows in the old town (Stare Mesto). (Why? See my previous post.)

Story
What is the name for Russians dolls? It depends on which language you are speaking. The Belgian couple sitting at the table beside me in the Golden Star hotel restaurant pronounced everything differently. For example, they said Lay-ka. I asked them to spell the name. L E I K A. I said Leika, pronounced lie-ka.

Wikipedia says:
A matryoshka doll (Russian: матрёшка; IPA: [mɐˈtrʲɵʂkə] ( listen), matrëška), also known as a Russian nesting doll, or Russian doll,[1] is a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside another. The name "matryoshka" (матрёшка), literally "little matron", is a diminutive form of Russian female first name "Matryona" (Матрёна) or "Matriosha".

When I visited Russia in the late 1960s the Russian dolls were all traditional folk figures. Now the ones in Prague are all types, like Barbie dolls and Action Man they have different kinds,modern characters, ski fi.

How do they do it? You can do it. A youtube video shows you how.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb7hRuyMS6Q

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author, speaker, language teacher.

Russian and Russians in the Czech Republic

ProblemS
Why are there so many Russian dolls in the shop windows in the old town of Prague? Is it because Russia is nearby?

Answer
Just ask a local person and all will be revealed.

Story
Over lunch a Czech friend told me:

"I learned Russian at school. We had to, in the Russian and Communist era. I wanted to learn another language but I had to do Russian as well, right through secondary school and university. I nearly failed my University degree because I could not pass the Tussian exams. The teachers were all Russians, so you had to get it right, no leeway. Eventually, thank goodness, I made it.

"At first Russian seems very easy. It follows rules but there aren't many rules. However, there are exceptions to the rules. Ans exceptions to the exceptions. After you've learned one lot of exceptions, you find another lot of exceptions.

"I still can't speak Russian fluently or well. I've forgotten it. I'm not confident. I can read it. And understand it.

"But this proved an advantage in business. I went to Russian and the people I was dealing with could see I could hardly say a word in Russian. So they assumed I could not understand anything. But I could understand everything they were saying. So when they were discussing a business deal they voiced their opinions and strategy clearly in front of me. That worked to my advantage."

I asked, "Is Russian still useful to you in daily life? Are there lots of Russians here? I've seen Russian dolls in the shops in the old town. Is that to sell to the Russians? Or because it's cheap to buy Russian dolls?"

"It's not because of the shops' customers. It's because of the shops' owners. The Russian dolls are in the shops because the shops are owned by Russians. After the Communist regime ended, the Russians bought up property very cheaply in the Old Town. Many Russians were business minded. The leaders were managing big companies for the state and could see that when it was privatised they could be making money for themselves.

"The children of the rich were used to the idea of having money and running businesses. So the movement for the end of Communism came from within. The next generation, the children of the former leaders, thought they would benefit.

"The Czechs also thought they would gain. The people who had had land or property or shops before WWII, they saw they would get their old property back. So everybody was very happy and enthusiastic and supported the change."

I now look at the Russian dolls with new eyes, new insight. Not just craftsmanship, and geography, but business and history unfold before me. The little dolls are silent witnesses, symbols. of the Russian influence.

My friend continues, "The Russians like to visit the Czech Republic. We were 'a former colony' if you like. So they feel at home."

Ah, like the Brits visiting America, Australia and South Africa, the Commonwealth countries. They speak our language, English, and share our history which we learned at school.

Now you know why the signs outside the restaurants in the Czech Republic are in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Russian.

I sigh, "So Russian is a challenge. I have started learning Russian on Duolingo. The internet is really good for starting new languages, for free."

He smiles, "Yes, it's amazing. You can translate anything into any language. I even did business in China, holding conversation without speaking a word, just typing in Czech and showing the Chinese the translation. We managed quite well."

For the traveller, and the linguist, and the non-linguist, we are living in the golden era.

Tips
Use Duolingo to learn languages for free.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Teacher and tutor of English, languages and public speaking.
Follow me on Facebook. Link to me on LinkedIn. I am also on Twitter and Instagram. See me perform poetry and speeches and give guides to spelling and grammar on YouTUbe.
See more posts and other blogs. Please like and share.

The Two Best Restaurants in Prague and five others

Problem:
Where to find great food at reasonable prices?

Answers:
I have eaten at only seven restaurants, pubs and cafes in Prague but here are my findings:

The two best:
Joint firsts for both views and in our opinion Michelin quality food: I went to both on my last day in Prague.

!a Ginger and Fred
The Dancing House
About £60 for two if you choose a main course and dessert and one glass of wine each and bottled still water. Views over the river and city from the third floor in a weird building.
Cheaper choice - you could also have a drink in the bar. Romantic. Ideal for romantic dinners, architects and artists. Unique. Special. Triple creme brûlée dessert. (Separate post later.)

1b Oblaca (meaning clouds)
The Zizkov TV Tower
More expensive. The third floor but many metres up in the sky, a bit like the Shard.
Cheaper choice, observation deck and food from kiosk. To impress. Ideal for techie and scientific types and business lunches. Like the Shard. (Separate post later.)
www.tower park.cz

2 The Riverside Restaurant
Food was expensive and nothing special. But you are down by the river with the weir gushing water behind you.
Conveniently right under the end of the Charles Bridge.

3 The restaurant beside the Kafka Museum.
Just an odd doorway, inside full of funky stuff like an old gramophone. Potato soup in a bread bowl. Czech version of a British pub with themed decor. Good for a one course quick lunch.

4 The Golden Star Hotel
www.hotelgoldenstar.cz
Brilliant breakfasts. Stay at the hotel. We had one dinner on Christmas Eve, not as delightful as the breakfasts. Must have the creme cheese topped bun, like a cheesecake combined with a bun. You can make yourself a bucks fizz from orange juice and Prosecco at breakfast. We also received a glass of Prosecco when checking in to the hotel. The tea choices at breakfast and in the room included carry and yogurt by Pickwick brand, now my favourite.

www.hotelgoldenstar.avehotels.cz

5 (Details to be added later - near the YMCA - Toastmasters Business speakers club of Prague go there after meetings every Monday all year, inclusion bank holidays - we went on Boxing day. Soup in a bread bowl, smaller than the one near the Kafka museum. Huge downstairs basement with long tables, good for groups.

6 Chocolate Wine
Free taste of chocolates at their shops in several locations. One just a few steps from this cafe. The cafe is a few steps away beyond the chocolate shop on the left going downhill from the Golden Star hotel.

Tips:
Walk past the Dancing house on the riverside. If booking a meal, take your own watercolours and drawing pencils.
If your budget allows, have drinks, dinner or stay in the hotel in the same Dancing House building. The restaurant serves the hotel breakfast.
Check out all the restaurants on TripAdvisor - if you've got endless time. Read before your trip.

Ginger & Fred
Tancici dum
Jiraskovo namesti 6
120 00 Praha 2
tel: +420 221 984 160
www.ginger-fred-restaurant.cz

Wishlist
Still to try:
Choco Story
Celetna 10 Prague 1, (25 metres from Old Town Square).
Tel: +420 224 242 953
www.choco-story-praha.cz

NB it should be C h o c o story but predictive text sneaks up and changes the word to choice.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Follow me on FACEBOOK. Also on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube. Books on Amazon.com and Lulu.com
Please follow me and like my posts and share.

Soup in a bread bowl and breads

Problem
How do you make soup in a bread bowl, like the ones in Prague? In the old town of Prague many restaurants offer potato soup or vegetable soup in a bread bowl.

Answer
No need to find a chef in the Czech Republic willing to divulge a secret recipe. Just google it on the internet.

Story
On Dec 26th (called Boxing Day in England) I had soup in a bread bowl for the second time.

I looked at the 'magic' ingredients for the bread bowl. Bread is basically flour, (ground up wheat or another grain) and water (or milk), plus some oil (or butter), cooked with yeast to make it rise (otherwise you have a flat bread, either crackers or softer pitta).

When I lived in America I bought The Last Whole Earth Catalogue which had a recipe for making bread which I left overnight to rise in a hot cupboard or airing cupboard above the boiler in old style UK houses. I used to get a rather solid loaf. Then the mystery was not how to make a solid loaf, but how to make one which was light and fluffy, more like the long French baguette.

Most people usually cook bread in an oven. In theory a bread maker saves you time and energy. Set it and forget it.

I did not get on with the bread maker. I found it a nuisance to clean. However, other members of my family found it a great success. You could time it to have hot bread ready for breakfast.

Our bread maker came with a whole book of recipes. Sometimes I have made bread in a bread maker which mixes in the yeast, possibly flavoured with salt. The trick is the heating and timing and kneading again. For sweet breads you could add sultanas or peel. I like brown breads with seeds on the outside.

The best commercial seed bread I have found is cooked on the supermarket premises, albeit probably from a pre-mix, in supermarkets in the UK such as Tesco, Morrisons and Waitrose. Fresh bread is usually available every morning. They may sell out of the kind of bread you want later in the day. When I see breads going cheap in the reduced price section I buy a couple of loaves and put them in the freezer.

The Italian recipe adds egg white.

Tip
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/25210/italian-bread-bowls/

PS
Sour dough bread, so I'm told, makes a heavier loaf, suitable for a bread bowl.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Day and night photos from a hotel window

Problem
We took day and night photos of Prague on our latest trip. The pictures were almost the same shot, but not quite. How do you get matching before and after or day and night shots of the same view.

Answers
1 Mark the spot

2 Bracketing
Take several shots of one view. For example, left side of the window, centre, right. In the evening repeat the positions.

3 Evening
Take a late afternoon shot. (You can increase exposure on editing.) Wait until twilight for a second view. Wait until it turns dark for a third view.

Story
We took two photos from the window of our hotel in Prague.. You can take two photos, such as one with a well lit dome in the distance, another with the street below you well exposed, and merge them to get one picture showing both.

Tips
Editing
Photoshop editing program has a function called Photomerge (which is a registered brand name - I can't copy the little R symbol so I'm telling you).
You can combine up to ten shots of the same view.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, speaker.
See my other posts and blogs. Profiles and posts on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram; performances of poetry and speeches on YouTube. Please follow me, like my posts and if you find a favourite post, share it.

We had a wee chat - about Prague's soup in a bread bowl

Problems
1 SCOTTISH ACCENTS
How do you understand a Scottish accent?
2 PRAGUE SOUP IN BREAD
How do you cook or find Prague soup in a bread bowl?

Answers
1 SCOTTISH ACCENTS
I had a wee chat with a big chap from Glasgee. I'll say that again. I had a wee (small) chat with a big chap from Glasgee (Glasgow). (After five minutes chat I can make an attempt at a Glasgow accent. I also have a Scottish friend, Fiona, who I see every year at a Writers' Holiday or a Writers' Summer School. But her accent is Edinburgh. To understand the accent or speak it, repeat what somebody says to yourself a few minutes later. Also listen to the Scottish accent announcers on British television news.

Story
I told him I'd tried the soup in bread in Prague. He has visited Prague several times. His other favourite city is San Francisco, USA.

He said you get the same soup in a smaller bread bowl, more the size of a roll, in America, especially San Francisco.

He says you can also get soup in bread bowls in the UK, and eat the roll.

I asked, "You mean American chains of restaurants in the UK? Can you name one?"
He thinks you can get soup in a bread bowl in Frankie and Benny's.

Tips
LUNCH IN PRAGUE
In Prague some of the restaurants offer a two or three course lunch for little more than the cost of a one course meal.

XMAS ACTIVITY
I thought that you would need to go to a non Christian country to find attractions open on Christmas Day. But places are increasingly opening for the Xmas tourist trade. In Prague the Kafka Museum was open on Xmas Day, shorter hours, but still open.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, speaker.
See my other posts and blogs. Profiles and posts on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram; performances of poetry and speeches on YouTube. Please follow me, like my posts and if you find a favourite post, share it.

Czech goulash soup in bread roll bowl

Problem
Where to eat a typical Czech meal in Prague, which is not too expensive? but not a sausage of suspicious origin from a stand, but somewhere you can sit, out of the rain, with free toilets?

Answer:
A small restaurant with a sign in the window or on the door advertising soup in bread.


Story
For days I had wanted to each reasonably priced local specialities. seen the signs and wanted to try it.


The one we tried, the first was beside the Kafka museum.

You could try this at home. I plan to make it. Buy a round bread with a firm crust or any shape but a round looks like a bowl. Slice off the top. (If only one loaf, slice in half horizontally.) Scoop out the loose bread leaving enough edge to hold in the soup. Pour in hot soup with hearty filling of meat and or vegetables or casserole, ideally a thick soup with thick filling so it doesn't soak too far into the bread and melt or break it up. Replace bread lid and serve with a sprig of parsley or greenery on the side, plus, of course a soup spoon.

Incidentally, in England soup spoons have a round bowl.

More tomorrow.

Angela Lansbury

Kafka Museum Fun Fountain Which Turns and Urinates

Problems
1 Surely I should start with a blog post about Franz Kafka.
2 Is this too rude for readers?

Answers
Before you enter the Kafka Museum, you are bound to stop and stare at the fountain in the centre of the courtyard. Two figures of males. See for yourself. Oddly, it does not look as rude as the famous Belgian Mannequin Pis. The Franz Kafka story is rather sad. This fountain is a jolly distraction.

Story
Franz Kafka was not short of family, friends, girlfriends and amusement. As a child he had a cook to take him to school. Photos show his friends. One of his girlfriends was with him at the sanatorium where he died of TB, although he never married her.

He seems to have been in poor health most of his life. I wonder whether the depression was a side effect of that.

He worked in a department dealing with industrial accidents. Enough to make anybody depressed. the documents displayed include his comments on how he wanted to leave work and get on with his writing. Plus requests for sick leave.

Tip
The museum takes you anything from half an hour to an hour and a half depending on whether you sit around watching the rather dull videos, all pictures with no commentary, and every caption.

Allow another five minutes to 30 minutes in the museums which has books on Kafka and related subjects such as Jewish History and the Golem (a Jewish story about a creature which is supposed to help but after it comes to life ends up getting out of control and turning against its creator - like Frankenstein).

The museum also offers 50% off tickets to the much jollier Mucha museum about the romantic artist. reminded me of Aubrey Beardsley and art nouveau. Some pretty jewellery on sales in the Kafka Museum Shop and the Mucha shop I presume.

I was very pleased with the restaurant at the entrance. (See next post.)

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I also have other blogs. You can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube. See my profiles and look at my books which you can buy from Amazon and Lulu.com
Please like and follow and share my posts. Thank you.

I Forgot Packing List

Problem
You always forget something, even when you make a packing list.

Answer
Keep a list of things you forgot previously - and where you left them and why.

Stories
My I Forgot Packing List

My passport
1 At home - I was so busy making sandwiches for the trip down to Dover I forgot my own passport.

2 Visiting our au pair girl in France, I left behind in my hotel bedroom my passport hung on the back of a chair.

3 visiting the USA, I left behind my passport in the box art security.

My Underwear
On a trip across Russia to Japan, I had only one set of underwear which I was wearing for a four week trip.

Sunglasses
On a trip to a ski resort I forgot sunglasses. Sunglasses are not just for summer. Snow is blinding white. I found it a nuisance to have clip over sunglasses on sighted glasses, and the same applies to goggles. Now I order photochromic lenses, so I can never go on a trip without sunglasses.

(Not photo chronic, photo chromic. I must remember to check the blog post after it appears.)

Now I have travelled all over the world. I should be the perfect packer. I should never forget anything, right?

Nope.

2016 - I forgot lip salve.

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. Author and speaker. Please check my other posts and other blogs. Like and share. Also on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram. Youtube videos. Books on Amazon.com and Lulu.com

Midnight Mass in London and Prague

Midnight Mass on Christmas eve is a tradition in Catholic and Eastern orthodox churches and cathedrals.

In London the glorious striped Catholic Cathedral near Victoria is one of the best known cathedrals. If you missed Midnight mass, look for the Cathedral if you are in the Victoria area of London, England.

In Prague, Czech Republic, members of my family went to the Midnight Mass.

A queue had formed outside.

The service was all in the Czech language. The prayer books were also all in Czech. The numbers of the hymns appeared in red on an electric sign board.

One hymn was recognisable by its tune, Silent Night. You can see the word night appears as n o c, repeated at the start. So it's possible to follow along. Stand when the others stand.Sit when they sit.

Prepare for the collection of money at the end with some coins.

If you miss the Midnight Mass, you can walk uphill to the monastery, on cobbled streets past hotels and buildings. The view from the top over the city is called Bella Vista by a receptionist at the nearby hotel, Golden Star. She used to work at the monastery and thanks to her we added the view to our list of things to do in Prague. The Golden Star has good food, and an indoor restaurant and bar and an outside terrace right next to the giant walls of the 'castle' palace complex.


Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Happy Christmas and Happy Hannukah - worldwide

This year for the first time I can remember Hanukah and Christmas are coinciding.

Christmas and Hanukah lights seems to be bigger and better and more widespread every year.

Here's just a glimpse of what's going on around the world.

UK Christmas
Christmas Eve is important to children because Santa is delivering his gifts. In the UK we have Santas and carol singing. The big meal is Christmas Day, December 25th.

Prague
Over in Europe Christmas has started already. At 5 pm in Prague fireworks were set off in the city, viewed from the wide pedestrianised Charles Bridge.
Photo of Fireworks in Prague, Czech Republic, New Year's Eve 2016, photo courtesy of Trevor Sharot.

Christmas Tree in Prague. (Photo by Angela Lansbury.)

Tonight in Prague the Czechs, plus of course restaurant and hotel guests, will be enjoying the traditional Czech meal of carp, followed by breads with sweet flavours and fillings - like fruit bread in England but plaited.

I tried the Czech traditional dishes: fish (carp) soup has a delicious and distinctive taste, not quite as good as the juice of fresh salmon, but very good. I love trying new foods and learning about new tastes.

Check potato salad is different from the British version. the Czech version has smaller potato cubes, sliced carrot, onion, Green pickled cucumber, ham, and more.

The strange thing about Czech food is that the Christmas meal my family tasted on one of the coldest days of the year had hot fish but cold potato salad, followed by hot strudel with cold ice cream.

UK Hot Christmas
In England the we opt for hot food which is designed for cold weather. For example, the road meat such as Christmas turkey is served with hot roast potatoes, and hot gravy. The hot Christmas pudding is served with hot pouring custard. You can even set light to the brandy on the Xmas pudding (in a five star restaurant. Don't try this at home.)

Tonight there will be midnight mass. In Prague, the service is not in Latin, because the churches are not Roman Catholic but Eastern Orthodox.

Hanukah
Tomorrow in Jewish areas hanukah starts. Each of the eight days of hanukah one of the candles is lit. Note that the menorah has seven candles for seven days or nights of the week, but the hanukkah has eight candles for the eight days 9plus the on for lighting the others, making nine, four each side of the central candle.

For the children eight small presents, including often chocolate money in gold foil.

Happy Christmas and happy hanukah, everybody.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

(Christmas and Hanukah photos coming later today or tomorrow.)

Name Days And Names Worldwide

Problem
How do you remember people's names?

Answer
1 Keep repeating the name.
2 Discuss the meaning of their name, or why they were given that name. Some names are related to name days.

Story
How did I get my names? I was given my first name by my grandmother (my maternal grandmother - my mother's mother). My second name was chosen by my mother. The surname came from my father.

My surname is Lansbury. That's on a deed poll for change of name. The original name was from Ukraine. After WWII my parents wanted to change the name to something which sounded more English. Easy to pronounce and patriotic.

I thought that my parents changed the surname before I was born. After my parents both died I opened a deed box and discovered that my name was changed when I was a toddler.

The name of the new surname copied the initial letter of the original name. In my family we also kept the initial letters of our first names over three generations. Albert-Angela-Anthony. It makes it easy to have one set of name tapes, or handwritten labels, or initials, especially if you borrow each other's hats, gloves, bags, suitcases and umbrellas.

I could celebrate my name day, for Angela, on the English day, which is the same as the day in German and Austria, but other countries have more dates!

Tip
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_day
Wikipedia covers 22 countries:
Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Romanis, Russia, Scandinavia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Hispanien America, Sweden, Ukraine.
http://www.happynameday.com/country.php
(Name days for these 18 countries: Austrian, Bulgarian, Czech, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish. The site sells greeting cards and ecards.

Author
Angela Lansbury

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author, speaker, teacher of languages.
Please follow my posts and share. More on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube. Books by Angela Lansbury on Amazon.com and Lulu.com

What to call your child? Names from places, months, birthdays, saints' days

Florence Nightingale was named after Florence in Italy, the bird, the Nightingale.

Placenames

Placenames include

Alexandria

Austin

Berlin (Isaiah Berlin)

Charlotte

Chelsea

Dallas

Florence (Florence Nightingale)

Helena

Israel

Jordan

Madison

Paris (Paris Hilton)

London (Jack London)

Problem
1 What to call your child?
2 What to call yourself if you want to translate your name to make it understandable to people who pick another language?

Answer
1 and 2 In Europe and Catholic countries such as in South America, or visiting a Catholic colleague in another country, pick a saint's name day.
Family dispute about the name? End of argument.

Story

Tip

Wikipedia has a list of the names in the Czech Republic. They leave out the national holidays. You can also check the

January

New Year's Day
Karina
Radmila
Diana
Dalimil
Tři králové
Vilma
Čestmír
Vladan
Břetislav
Bohdana
Pravoslav
Edita
Radovan
Alice
Ctirad
Drahoslav
Vladislav
Doubravka
Ilona
Běla
Slavomír
Zdeněk
Milena
Miloš
Zora
Ingrid
Otýlie
Zdislava
Robin
Marika

February
Hynek
Nela, Hromnice
Blažej
Jarmila
Dobromila
Vanda
Veronika
Milada
Apolena
Mojmír
Božena
Slavěna
Věnceslav
Valentýn
Jiřina
Ljuba
Miloslava
Gizela
Patrik
Oldřich
Lenka
Petr
Svatopluk
Matěj
Liliana
Dorota
Alexandr
Lumber
Horymír

March
Bedřich
Anežka
Kamil
Stela
Kazimír
Miroslav
Tomáš
Gabriela
Františka
Viktorie
Anděla
Řehoř
Růžena
Rút/Matylda
Ida
Elena/Herbert
Vlastimil
Eduard
Josef
Světlana
Radek
Leona
Ivona
Gabriel
Marián
Emanuel
Dita
Soňa
Taťána
Arnott
Kvido

April
Hugo
Erika
Richard
Ivana
Miroslava
Vendula
Heřman
Ema
Dušan
Darja
Izabela
Julius
Aleš
Vincenc
Anastázie
Irena
Rudolf
Valérie
Rostislav
Marcela
Alexandra
Evženie
Vojtěch
Jiří
Marek
Oto
Jaroslav
Vlastislav
Robert
Blahoslav

May
Labour Day
(May Day)
Zikmund
Alexej
Květoslav
Klaudie
Radoslav
Stanislav
National holiday
Ctibor
Blažena
Svatava
Pankrác
Servác
Bonifác
Žofie
Přemysl
Aneta
Nataša
Ivo
Zbyšek
Monika
Emil
Vladimír
Jana
Viola
Filip (English Philip)
Valdemar
Vilém
Maxmilián
Ferdinand
Kamila (English Camilla)

June
Laura
Jarmil
Tamara
Dalibor
Dobroslav
Norbert
Iveta
Medard
Stanislava
Gita
Bruno
Antonie (English Anthony or Antony)
Antonín
Roland
Vít
Zbyněk
Adolf
Milan
Leoš
Květa
Alois
Pavla
Zdeňka
Jan
Ivan
Adriana
Ladislav
Lubomír
Petr a Pavel
Šárka

July
Jaroslava
Patricie (English Patricia)
Radomír
Prokop
National holiday
National holiday
(Jan Hus, 1415)
Bohuslava
Nora
Drahoslava
Libuše/Amálie
Olga
Bořek
Markéta
Karolína (English Caroline or Carolyn)
Jindřich
Luboš
Martina
Drahomíra
Čeněk
Ilja
Vítězslav
Magdaléna
Libor
Kristýna (English Christina - short form Tina)
Jakub (English Jacob)
Anna
Věroslav
Viktor (English Victor)
Marta (English Martha)
Bořivoj
Ignác

August
Oskar (English Oscar)
Gustav
Millie
Dominik (English Dominic)
Cristián (English Christian)
Oldřiška
Lada
Soběslav
Roman
Vavřinec
Zuzana
Klára (English Clara)
Alena
Alan
Hana (English Hannah)
Jáchym
Petra
Helena
Ludvík
Bernard
Johana (English Johanna)
Bohuslav
Sandra
Bartoloměj
Radim
Luděk
Otakar
Augustýn
Evelína (English Evelyn)
Vladěna
Pavlína (English Pauline)

September
Linda/Samuel
Adéla
Bronislav/Bronislava
Jindřiška
Boris
Boleslav
Regina/Regína
Mariana
Daniela
Irma
Denisa (English Denise)
Marie (English Mary or Maria)
Lubor
Radka
Jolana
Ludmila
Naděžda
Kryštof
Zita
Oleg
Matouš
Darina
Berta
Jaromír
Zlata
Andrea
Jonáš
Václav
Michal (English Michael)
Jeroným

October
Igor
Olívie/Oliver
Bohumil
František
Eliška
Haunt
Justin (English Justin)
Věra
Štefan/Sára (English Stephen, Steven, Sarah)
Marina
Andrej (English Andrew)
Marcel
Renáta
Agáta
Tereza
Havel
Hedvika
Lukas (English Luke or Lucas)
Michaela (English Michael)
Vendelín
Brigita
Sabina
Teodor (English Theodore)
Nina
Beat
Erik (English Eric)
Šarlota/Zoe
National holiday
Silvie (English Sylvia)
Tadeáš
Štěpánka

November
Felix
All Souls' Day
Hubert
Karel
Miriam
Liběna
Saskie
Bohumír
Bohdan
Evžen
Martin
Benedikt (English Benedict)
Tibor
Sáva
Leopold (In English Leo for short)
Otmar
Mahulena
Romana
Alžběta
Nikola (In English Nicholas or Nicola)
Albert
Cecilia
Klement (English Clement)
Emílie
Kateřina (English Catherine or Katherine)
Artur (English Arthur)
Xenie
René
Zina
Ondřej

December
Iva
Blanka
Svatoslav
Barbora (English Barbara)
Jitka
Mikuláš
Ambrož
Květoslava
Vratislav
Julie
Dana
Simona (English Simon for a boy or Simone for a girl)
Lucie (In English more often Lucy or Lucia)
Lýdie
Radana
Albína
Daniel
Miloslav
Ester
Dagmar
Natálie
Šimon
Vlasta
Adam/Eva, Christmas Eve
1st Christmas Holiday
Štěpán (2nd Christmas Holiday) (English Stephen, Steven)
Žaneta
Bohumila
Judita (English Judith)
David
Sylvester

I have highlighted some of the names which are more common in English. Go to Wikipedia to see the days.
Author, Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, speaker, language teacher.

Useful Websites

https://www.insider.com/baby-names-inspired-by-geography-cities-countries-travel-2017-7#1-florence-is-a-city-in-italy-but-also-comes-from-a-word-meaning-to-flourish-1

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Secrets of Names in the Czech Republic Revealed: what would your first name and surname be?

I am learning German and Italian on a daily basis on Duolingo and I am registered to be notified when several other languages start. The Czech language is 98% ready so I keep looking to see when it will start. Duo lingo has a straight forward easy to understand introduction to each language and its pronunciation and sentence structure on the first page of the course.

Meanwhile I thought I'd have a little look at Wikipedia. What most surprised me was the names. Until recently it was usual to be given a prescribed first name, named after the Roman Catholic Saint from the Roman Catholic Calendar on whose day you were born.

Therefore, if a traditional older person in Prague told you their name, and it was a saint's name, you would automatically know their birthdate, at least the day and month, not their age. You would be able to wish them happy birthday and send them a birthday greeting.

But the Czech language also has some other peculiarities. My surname would change. Female surnames have different endings to masculine names.

Problem
How would I introduce myself?

Answer
Here's the solution, check the popular names and family names in Wikipedia.

You can see that Alicia Markova, if she had come from Prague, would be the daughter of a man whose surname was Mark. Her brother's surname would be Mark. Her mother's surname would be Markova.

Story
When I visited St Albans I went into the cathedral which was free to visit and had an exhibition on the history of the cathedral and city. I read a medieval document which was very hard to understand because it concerned two characters, both called John, involved in a conflict. Both men had their names spelled differently, changing throughout the document. This made the events described very hard to follow.

For example, "John said that Jon owed him money but Jonn also said that John had repaid half the money but John denied this because Jon had said that Jonn ..."

The same change of spelling applied to all the other words. "We noe that hee hadd sed know but now that the judge has said that no dose not meen know ..."

I then realised the advantage of fixed spelling.

I am now very interested in how languages and names very and what they imply and tell us.

Tip
Even if you can't learn the language, you can have an interesting conversation with somebody from Prague or the Czech Republic about their name and birthday and the names of members of the family and friends and colleagues.

Here are some of the most interesting parts of the Wikipedia article:
"During the Communist era, parents needed a special permission form to give a child a name that did not have a name day on the Czech calendar. Since the Velvet revolution in 1989, parents have had the right to give their child any name they wish, provided it is used somewhere in the world and is not insulting or demeaning. However, the common practice of last years is that most birth-record offices look for the name in the book "Jak se bude vaše dítě jmenovat?" (What is your child going to be called?),[1] which is a semi-official list of "allowed" names. If the name is not found there, authorities are extremely unwilling to register the child's name.[2]

"Czech parents remain somewhat conservative in their choices of baby names. In January 2004, the most popular boy's names were Jan (John), Jakub (Jacob or James) and Tomáš (Thomas). The most popular girl's names were Tereza (Theresa), Kateřina (Katherine) and Eliška (Liz or Elise). Throughout all the nine years, the name Tereza is ruling among girls born in January every year.


"What is not shared with English but is similar to North American native languages is the extremely colorful nature of some Czech surnames, such as Brzobohatý (Soon to be rich), Volopich (Pricking an ox), Urvinitka (Tear a string), Rádsetoulal (Liked wandering around), Stojaspal (Slept standing), Vítámvás (I welcome you), Tenkrát (Back in those days), Skovajsa (Hide yourself!), Nebojsa (Don't be afraid!), Skočdopole (Jump in a field!), Vozihnoj (Driving with manure), Osolsobě (Salt for yourself!), Ventluka (Knocking outward), Rádsetoulal (Usurped in vain), Nejezchleb (Don't eat bread!), Potměšil (He sewed in the dark), Přecechtěl (He wanted anyway), Drahokoupil (He bought costly), Nepovím (Won't tell) or Blabla.

Female surnames[edit]
As in English-speaking countries, Czech females traditionally receive their father's surname at birth and take their husband's name when they marry. However, the names are not exactly the same; the endings differ to fit into the Czech language's systems of gender adjectives. For example, the tennis players Cyril Suk and Helena Suková are brother and sister; Suková is the feminine form of Suk. In fact, Czech female surnames are almost always feminine adjectives. There are several ways of forming them, depending on their male counterpart:

If the male surname is a masculine adjective (ending in -ý), the female surname is simply the feminine equivalent. Thus, a girl whose father's surname is Novotný would have the surname Novotná .
If the male surname is a noun, the female surname takes the suffix -ová, making it a feminine adjective:
Novák becomes Nováková


So Kim Novak is Kim Newman. But when she visits Prague she would be called Kim Novákova. (I keep adding the accent on the second a in the surname but the system keeps removing it.)

"-ová is still added, even when speaking of foreigners ("Angela Merkelová"). Because gender-marked suffixes are inherited in the Czech grammar and also because the gender of a person could be told straight from the surname regardless of the context, Czechs tend to add a feminine suffix to the surnames of Czech as well as foreign women surnames. Thus, e.g. American first lady Michelle Obama is referred to as Michelle Obamová in the Czech press."

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author, speaker, teacher of languages.
Please follow my posts and share. More on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube. Books by Angela Lansbury on Amazon.com and Lulu.com

Map of Italy showing Tuscany

Problem
Where is Tuscany? It's in Italy. But where in Italy?

Answer
Tuscany is on the west coast of Italy. It's where the Etruscans came from.

Story
I went to Italy, and like many English speaking people I had heard of both Tuscany and the Etruscans but not realised that the roots of both words are connected, until it was pointed out to me and my group by an Italian speaking guide. Often people go to visit both Tuscany and Umbria together.

Tuscany is an area containing Florence.

Umbria's capital, Perugia, has the most amazing defensive tower gate built up the cliffside in a typical Etruscan tower city. Think of the Etruscans as tower building people.

Tip
umbriatourism.it

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. Author and speaker. Please share posts.

Map of Italy showing Umbria

Problems
1 I can't remember where Umbria is on the map of Italy.
2 I can't pronounce the name.

Answers
1 Umbria is billed as the heart of Italy. What do they mean by the heart? Umbria is about half way down. Also it has no coastline with the sea on the west, nor the sea on the east. Once you know that, you can eliminate two other landlocked shapes, and see that Umbria is indeed 'the heart of Italy'.
2 Umbria with an oom as in zoom. Zoom to Umbria. (Not dumb nor um nor Cumbria.)

Story
I downloaded a map from Wikipedia but the dot for Assisi vanished.

Tip
Find Wikipedia maps for countries, cities. The tourist boards will send free maps of towns.

Start outwards and work inwards. The map of the country first. Then the towns within the area you are visiting in relation to each other. Finally the map of the main town or city or area you are visiting.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
Follow my pictures and posts and profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram. Please like my posts and share them. Thank you.

Learning Italian From A Brochure

Problem
You look at a brochure or map or guidebook and it's all in a foreign language. You put it down again thinking, "I can't read that!"

Answer
Often you can. If it's a small map with only twenty or fewer words, half of them are likely to be place names you soon recognize.

Story
Two friends of mine went to Israel. One was a doctor doing work experience in a clinic. Another was on holiday, first working on a kibbutz, then staying on in a flat. I went to visit my friend in the flat. When I reached her apartment block, to my horror I had forgotten or lost the piece of paper with the number of her flat. I looked at the bells and names alongside - in Hebrew - not one in English! I saw there were at least twenty flats. I could not read Hebrew. I knew about one third of the Hebrew alphabet letters. I looked down the list of names. Hopeless.

I had no choice. It was either try to read or go home, disappointing both my friend and myself. If I could not read the name, my only other choice was to ring every bell until an English voice answered, or ask somebody who spoke English if they knew an English girl.

I started reading. Hopeless. The first four names were long and complicated. I could not read them and they looked nothing like my friend's name. Her first name began with a D. Her surname started with a c/k sound. The fifth name started with a D.

How many names started with a D? About five of them. This one started with a D. The second name started with a C or K. Plough on.

The names had no vowels, or none I could recognise. Just the dots or lines. So all I had was the consonants. But that made it easier. I only had to look for the consonants in the word.

The first name looked likely, the right number of consonants. The second name looked likely, the right number of consonants for the number of syllables in her surname.

I pressed the bell. My friend's voice answered. "Hello, come on up!" she said. ""Third floor. Number ...."

I spent half an hour torn between wanting to tell her and not wanting to tell her about my difficulty. I did not want to admit that I had lost her address. (I knew the location and block of flats, not the exact flat number). But I was very proud that I had deciphered the letters.

When I finally told her, she just shrugged. "If you'd pressed any button, people would know me. There are only two English girls here. If they sent you to the other one, she would have sent you to me."

The moral is: if you have to translate something, you probably can. As the American car manufacturer Ford famously said, "If you think you can do something you can. If you think you can't do something you can't."

Tips
Look for the words you know first. Learn the way locals pronounce and write famous place names. For example, in Italy, Florence is Firenze. In any item you are translating, you can usually recognize some of the names of people and places.

Look at signposts and learn the name of the capital or the city where you are staying. If you are lost and looking for a bus or train or station name, at least you can get back to the city. I have found this useful worldwide.

For example, driving from Athens to the second city of Thessaloniki, I kept seeing the same sign. I wrote it down, first the first letter, next time I saw it the second letter. Now I would do the same thing but just copying with a picture on my phone. You can ask the driver when you stop or the guide over lunch. I found the name I saw on all the signs was Athens. I then recognised one letter, the oval with a line across it - theta!

Yes, Greek is nearly 'all Greek to me'. Chinese is even harder. But driving around Hong Kong towards the border with China, I kept seeing a sign which looked like a square or oblong with a line through it. I asked a taxi driver, then a friend who spoke Mandarin, to confirm. The sign was for China, and the symbol meant Central. Central did not mean the centre of the city but was the name for the country. As far as the Chinese residents were concerned in the old days, China to them was the centre of the universe.

Then look at the words adjacent to the place names. What are they likely to be saying?

From this map, at first a mystery, once I had got over my reluctance to start, I soon translated every word:

Italian - English
di - of
Firenze - Florence
valle - valley
via - road

English - Italian
Florence - Firenze
of - di
road - via
valley - valle

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and teacher of English and foreign languages.
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Learning Italian from Maps: courtyard, food, park, post etc

Problem
I've been learning Italian for several weeks but still cannot follow every word of the guide, although I get the general gist of most things. Sometimes I miss the vital part. I understand the words open and Sunday but I am not sure whether the place is open every day except Sunday or open every day including Sunday.

Answer/Solutions
The five solutions are:
1 Check the leaflets and brochures and signs in shop and museum windows - especially the ones in several languages.
2 Write down the sentences for the words you really need to know either in capital letters on the outside or inside cover of your diary or notebook - a post it is handy.
3 Ask a guide or any bystander. They will probably be delighted to help and you might make a new friend.
4 Write down any mystery phrases, checking the spelling with the guide or the poster which puzzles you. Use translate on your phone, iPad or laptop at the time or when you get back to the bedroom in the evening.
5 Add the new word to your daily word list and keep repeating it.

Story
My late father in the former (much missed) restaurant at Pinner Green, went into the Ladies toilet by mistake because the words for men and women look so similar. Check my memory aids below.

Italian - English

Al cortile - the courtyard
antico - ancient
aperto - open
approvati - approved
associazone - association
cacciatore - hunters
castello - castle
castelnuovo - new castle
citta - city
cortile - courtyard
cupola - dome
gastronomico - food
giardino - garden
municipi - town hall
museo - museum
parcheggio - parking
percorsi - paths
punto di ristoro - point of refreshment
rifugio - refuge
sacro - sacred
spettacoli - spectacle/show
stadio - stadium
stand - stand
teatrali - theatre (adjective)
teatro - theatre (noun)
tugurio - hovel

English - Italian

ancient - antico
approved - approvati
association -
castle - castello
city - citta
courtyard - cortile
dome - cupola
food - gastronomico
garden - giardino
gents toilet - signori toilette (memory aid I am not a tall man in a toilet)
hovel - tugurio
hunters - cacciatore
ladies toilet - signore toilette (memory aid e - we wee are wee ladies in the toilet)
museum - museo
open - aperto
parking - parcheggio
percorsi - paths
post box - casella postale
post office - ufficio postale
refuge - rifugio
sacred - sacro
show - spettacoli
stadium - stadio
suore - nuns, sisters
theatre - teatrali (Adjective - i.e. theatrical); teatro (noun)
theatre show - spettacoli teatro
toilet - gabinetto (sounds like cabinet)
town hall - municipal

NB Predictive text may occasionally change a word.

Pronunciation
The double c CC is pronounced CH .

For translation use
translate.google.com

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, tutor and teacher of English and other languages.
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St Francis of Assisi, the manger, and the St Francis Trail to Cannara and his hovel

The story of the nativity and the animals is told at Christmas time in many tableaux in churches, public buildings and end of term school plays, as well as popular jokes. The custom of creating a living nativity scene was started by St Francis. Where can you visit sites associated with St Francis? Assisi in Italy, of course.


Problem
Where do you go to see sites connected with the nativity, and St Francis of Assisi, the most famous person in Umbria, Italy?

Answer
Don't worry. There's plenty to see associated with St Francis. You can take an entire St Francis of Assisi trail and many churches arrange group tours and many individuals make individual visits and pilgrimages. You can get maps marking the trails, for walking, cycling or driving or taking a tour bus.

The two sites most well known are in Assisi, which is blessed with both his birthplace and burial place. However, even if you do not visit Assisi, with its grand basilica, or leave his burial place to last, several other sites have fascinating places associated with St Francis.

Story
I flew from Stansted airport in England to Italy to the Umbria region near the town of Perugia and I flew into Perugia airport. Perugia itself is a lovely town, with an impressive towering Tuscan gate built against the cliffside and cobblestone streets leading up to the hilltop cathedral and the square in front with the fountain.

I had researched St Francis and found my tour of Umbria was missing the two big sites associated with St Francis, in Assisi. Assisi is only about half an hour from Perugia. We contemplated paying for a taxi cab. I saw there were buses and trains. But would we have time?

I was taken around in a minicab on a press tour of Umbria. At first we were mystified as to why the tourist board was diverting away from the two most obvious places to visit. Why? Eventually I summoned the courage to ask. The reason was that so many groups went to Assisi and wrote about Assisi, ignoring all the other places in Umbria. So the tourist board wanted half a dozen of us on the tour to see other places, which are not so inundated with tourists and stories being written. Naturally all the other towns, villages, cities, museums, churches and restaurants in different areas want their turn in the media spotlight.

Cannara - Red Onion City
The first place we visited was the real thing. St Francis slept here. Where? Cannara. A town famous for red onions. I'd never heard of it. But once you've been there, you don't forget it.

The Hovel
Our guide found a local VIP who phoned a woman to open the door of the St Francis site. Beyond the hall is the door into the Hovel where St Francis slept. This is the origin of the word hovel. A small place. He slept on a stone bench. Hard. Hardly any light. A tiny room.

In the hall are souvenirs, postcards, and a little statue of St Francis to buy. I was given a postcard, and another postcard, and a statue, one, offered it.

I treasure the pictures, and my statuette. I don't know why. I am not a Catholic, not even religious. It's absurd really, to be so fond of a figurine. It's a sort of cross between a protective St Christopher and a Barbie Doll. Or maybe it's just that I like souvenirs of places I have visited and people I have met, and heroes of history. I especially like souvenirs which are small enough to pack in a carry on bag to take back home on Ryan Air.

How do you find it? "If it is closed, just ask in a nearby cafe," our guide said. That sounded to me a bit hit and miss.

However, after walking around for half an hour, I realised that leaving the cafe and the cafe owner, I was soon passing the same shops with red onions, and streets, street names, the same cafe and owner again, the same shop window with the red onions. If I know half the VIPs who operate the St Francis site, the cafe, the hotel, all living or working yards from each other, the vital people, after half an hour, it's clear that everybody knows everybody and will be glad to help you find the right person.

I visited:
1 Cannara St Francis's Hovel
2 The Bed and Breakfast

Gosh, St Francis, this great man, who has influenced people worldwide for centuries, knew the top people of his day, founded whole movements, slept in a cubby hole on a hard rock bench, without electric light or heating.

A bit of a hermit, he went out to the nearby fields and talked to the animals and birds. That's understandable. I do that. Especially if you have a day when you have nobody else to talk to. On the other hand, I have not had the vision and determination to found a monastic order following my feelings and teachings. Nor the charisma to persuade opponents to change their minds and to take up my cause.

I stood in the street, thinking, this is a 'real place', not a huge monastery, a small town where the saint slept. I would definitely recommend this.

But where would you stay? I asked, 'Can I see a hotel?"

"Ah," says Mr VIP, "you really want to see a hotel? We don't have a hotel, just a guest house. Will that do?"

"Yes, I must see it," I said.

The others in my group look like they might be ready to head back to the bus.

"Maybe the others would like to see it?" I suggest.

One of the others declines. A guest house is not quite what they want to recommend. We are staying in the four star Castello di Monterone, a wonderful hotel with suits of armour, views over the valley (see the pictures in my previous post). I can imagine what everybody is thinking.

But I still want to see the guest house. Our VIP greets the owner at the doorway, we have to walk through her house to get to the guest rooms, in an annexe at the back.

Oh well, local colour, all madonnas and rustic charm and Italian bric a brac. Some people will prefer this, chatting to a local lady.

Across the courtyards, full of pots, up a flight of stairs, no lift, then suddenly a miracle occurs. We reach the back building and step inside a miniature cathedral. It has murals, ceilings paintings, artwork, colour, cloths, hangings, sculptures! A honeymoon couple would love this.

You have a choice of two bedrooms, both like a king's or bishop's secluded boudoir. Each room looks like it is in a converted chapel, with cupids and scenes painted across the ceilings. Yet, you have all mod con bathroom en suite in beautiful Italian tiles and perfect plumbing.

What's more, there's a real chapel, where you could get married, before taking a few steps across the hall and jumping straight into bed, legally wed.

The price is not that cheap, nearly a hundred pounds (translated into Euros) but you'd struggle to find a basic hotel room in London at that price. The word boutique paints itself in gold.

Compared to the hovel of St Francis it's a five star hotel.

Final revelation, the mayor who shows us around is somehow connected with the hotel. Yes, they all know each other, so here you are part of one big Italian family, through space and through time.

More information from
umbriatourism.it
www.festadellacipolla.com (Onion festival, annually, in September.)

Photos by Angela Lansbury (to be added shortly).
See other photos of Umbria in previous and subsequent posts.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
Please see posts and profiles and share them and like them here and on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube Twitter, Instagram. See books by Angela Lansbury on Amazon.com and Lulu.com