I am no longer curious about the world. I get it. Now all that is left is chasing beauty and kindness — Beth Byrnes
Some people say the Old Town Main Square is the heart of Bratislava. They also say Schone Naci hung out here in his day. Schone Naci in Slovak means “beautiful Naci.” His real name was Ignac Lamar; the diminutive for Ignac is Naci (like Bill for William). He preferred Café Mayer right on the corner of the Hlavne Namestie, the main square, but there are numerous other cafes here that you might like.
The Main Square is a salient place to watch people, to enjoy the architecture, to embrace the ambiance, to sense the Magic” target=”_blank”>magic of the place while sipping a crystal flute of local grapes or a demitasse of roasted beans.
In the center of the square, you’ll find Roland’s Fountain, formerly known as Maximilian’s Fountain. Maximilian II, the Habsburg king during the late 16th century, had it built in 1572 because the city had suffered a devastating fire—even though the river is near by, they had no efficient way to transport sufficient water quickly here at the center of the city. You have to admire a king who would build a thing of beauty with serious utilitarian value. It certainly beats a fire hydrant for artistic currency.
The fountain is rather impressive, and consists of a ring-shaped, carved-stone tank with a 30-foot radius. In the center, a decorated 35-foot-tall sculptured-stone column supports a knight in armor at the top. This knight would be King Maximilian II. Legend states that on New Year’s Eve at 12 midnight, the knight rotates —however, this phenomenon can only be observed by Bratislavans born here and only those with the highest moral character. Word on the street is, apparently, not many see the king turning, and some say, those who do see him turn may have downed a few too many stemmed glasses of that high-end, and psychedelic, absinthe at the New Year’s party.
The Bratislava Old Town Hall stands behind Roland’s Fountain and faces the main square. If you feel frisky, you can climb the tower staircase for something like five euros.
The building dates back to before the Medieval period, in 1370, and is now composed of a number of separate buildings unified into one. It was used as the town hall from the 15th century through the late 19th. At one point, it was utilized as a prison; iron bars still cover some windows. Today, it is home to the Bratislava City Museum, exhibiting items of torture, dungeons, armor. If you’re visiting during Christmas time, this is where you’ll find the Christmas bazaar and craft markets. This is also a place where you can find one of Bratislava’s eccentricities: a cannonball lodged in the stonework of the tower, fired by Napoleon’s army in 1809.
Here’s one more way I’m weird: I am not a museum person. I simply cannot savor artifacts sterilized behind lighted showcases. I’d rather study the skeleton of a ruined castle or find a shard of broken Mayan pottery in situ than stare at a pristine, jeweled sword behind glass. I will admit that I have enjoyed some fine museums: the Vatican, Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, Rijks Museum in Amsterdam, Cairo’s Museum of Egyptian Antiquities. But click here to watch two minutes more than I can stand in a museum. And you may not believe this, but one of the mummies in the Cairo museum actually communicated with me. And no, I wasn’t downing high-end absinthe nor snorting Gaza sand. Sometimes, a miracle is nothing more than reality enhancing our own self-imposed limitations.
It might be interesting to stand in the middle of Hlavne Square (pronounced Hlavne) and shoot a 360 degree panorama, or video. I didn’t do this, but if you go to Bratislava, it’s something to think about. Go early in the morning when nobody else is there, except maybe a street sweeper.
When you leave Hlave namestie, head down Sedlarska street. If you haven’t stopped for refreshments yet, you may find it difficult not to linger at any one of the cafes or restaurants or pubs you’ll find here. This time of year, you might also find guys wearing red tennies and green earphones and the now-everywhere-else-out-of-style, three-quarter, cut-off cargo pants.
When you arrive at the T in the road, turn right onto Michalska, and you’re heading north toward Michael’s Gate.
If you’re the kind of traveler who loves to rub elbows where the crowds roam, you may find yourself a little disappointed in the pedestrian streets of Bratislava. However, if you like discovering places without being jostled or hassled or hustled, or you cherish taking photographs without a troupe of tourists shooting selfies on sticks in your shot, you’re in the right place now. From here, you can glimpse the steeple of Michael’s Gate at the far end of Michalska street.
You may have no desire to take a bite out of one of these garlic bulbs, or crunch a clove in your teeth—or slip a clove into your shoe and wait for its aroma to rise through your body and enter your mouth (no really, try it). But you might enjoy the artistic display of fruits and vegetables you discover here and there.
At the end of Michalska, you arrive at Michael’s Gate. During the Medieval period, Bratislava was bordered by high, fortified stone walls, and there were four guarded gates to enter the city. St. Michael’s Gate was constructed in about 1300, and was remodeled into its present 170-foot-high baroque shape in the mid-1700’s. If you climb the seven floors to the observation deck, you’ll be treated to a panorama of the city.
Beneath the tower, you’ll find a metal compass of sorts, known as “kilometer zero”, embedded in the road and indicating distances from here to other capital cities: Vienna is 50 miles away, Paris is 820 miles away. One of the 29 cities listed is New York; it lies 4250 miles away—something for freaked-out Americans to consider if planning to abandon ship before the shit hits the fan.
You know, idioms intrigue me; I like to imagine why they may have been created. I understand “abandon ship” and “go down with the ship” and “get out of Dodge.” But when did shit hit the fan for the first time, or any time? Was it, perhaps, a ceiling fan in Casa Blanca? And here’s a problem: my fan sitting right there on the shelf is one of those new Dyson fans, without blades. I’m guessing in 50 years, all fans will be made this way—safer and more efficient, if now pricey. But in 50 years, what idiom will people be using: “get out before the shit falls through your bladeless oval.” No, just doesn’t have the same panache, does it? We’ll need to invent a new idiom at some point, something more contemporary: maybe something like—“get out before the shit hits the hadron collider.”
Another disquieting moment in life is this: it sort of breaks your heart when you discover you are completely inept at something you’d like to master, like creating new idioms or hacking into a bank’s computer system.
From Michael’s Gate, if you head back down Michalska until it turns into Venturska, you’ll pass an elegant piece of Baroque Revival architecture, the Palffy Palace, built in 1747 by Count Leopold Palffy, a general in the Habsburg military. Perhaps in those days, war and the spoils of war were maybe a little different, and apparently, quite a bit more lucrative than they are today? But get this: in 1762, a young Mozart performed in the Palffy Palace. They’ve erected a plaque on the wall to commemorate the event—he was six years old. I was getting scolded for not remembering to feed my dog at age six; Mozart was writing sonatas and performing them in palaces—nothing to stroke your ego here.
If you’d prefer perusing atavistic architecture and quaint back-street grunge as opposed to Christian Dior and Swarovski crystal jewelry shops on Michalska, then instead of going back the way you came, take Bastova, the narrowest street in the city. You will happen upon some enduring, rustic structures. And doors and doorknobs, perhaps.
As you cruise the back streets, you’ll hook up with Kapitulska Street and follow it until you walk into Rudnayovo Square where you’ll discover St Martin’s Cathedral. To my eye, it’s not overly impressive from the outside, compared to many other less-important churches and cathedrals you see in Europe. However, the inside is rather elegant, and it served as the coronation church for the Hungarian Kings between 1563 and 1830. The coronation procession backtracked north from here to Michael’s Gate. You will find small crowns set in the road, which mark the route.
Here’s a beguiling aside: some people say the first complete version of Beethoven‘s Missa solemnis in D major was played for the first time here in St Martin’s Cathedral. But I heard the same thing about one of Mozart’s pieces being performed first in Prague and then later read a different story involving Vienna. This is one thing every traveler should learn before venturing into kindergarten: “don’t trust anyone.”
The cathedral’s 280-foot-high steeple punctures a deep blue, cloudless sky above Old Town’s skyline. You might want to visit St Martin’s underground crypt with atavistic catacombs—for me, just slightly more appealing than a museum. Another watershed moment in the life of any traveler is when you discover you couldn’t care less about something so many others find culturally enriching, and even relish.
You might just sit on a bench in the park at Rudnayovo Square and watch the ivy ravish the ancient stone wall.
From here, you’ll follow Panska Street, or if you’d rather not walk, take a detour over to Klobucnicka and board the tour train to take you back to the Danube.
You’ll soon see the New Bridge again above you. Who knows what you’ll see on the ground in front of you? But isn’t it always intriguing to note how the younger generation delineates itself: in the 60’s, it was long hair, free love and bell-bottoms; in the 80’s, it was big hair, girl bands and Cabbage Patch dolls; today, it’s shaved heads, tats and nose rings. Let’s just be thankful disco disappeared so thoroughly—who were those guys, anyway? And shouldn’t something be done soon about Rap?
As you head south toward the Danube, you’ll wander past the Holy Trinity Column, a rather ornate Baroque-style monument sculpted of stone and built to commemorate the termination of the plague of 1712, in which thousands died here.
If you haven’t paused to eat in all this time, you just may feel hungry by now. Since you’re at Holy Trinity, you might cruise into Moods Bakery & Coffee on the corner here at the far end of Hviezdoslavovo namestie, with outdoor tables beneath impressive deciduous shade trees—a fine sidewalk café with a nice view. And surprisingly good coffee.
And they do a nice job with Slovakian-style goulash even if they don’t serve it in a bowl of bread as they do in Prague eateries—but then remember, in Prague, some witless bartenders still set their absinthe on fire. Perhaps, yet one more lesson on why we shouldn’t expect, nor compare, things—and simply enjoy “what is” where we are.
You’ll also devour a worm’s-eye view of Bratislava castle from here, a fine Baroque palace with roots dating back to 907 A.D.
Today, the castle is another—right—national museum located on Castle Hill. And no, I did not pay to go inside it, either. If you love reading museum reviews or perusing photos of ancient crypts, Badfish is not the connoisseur at the top of your list is what I’m guessing.
By now, the sun is slowly slipping itself into the river, casting shadows and blushing the landscape and cobblestones with a florid afterglow. As you walk toward the Danube, you get a glimpse of the cable-stayed SNP (Slovak National Uprising) Bridge. Many people, and maps, call it the New Bridge. But most locals here call it the UFO Bridge because the restaurant at the top looks like a flying saucer from outer space. I reckon if I were going to allow myself to feel any disappointment about my time here, it would be that I did not get to the top of that UFO bridge. Funny how sometimes things that seem so important, you just never get around to doing.
I did wander along the Danube a while. Curious, how different people enjoy a body of water: some watch it, some fish it, some walk it (in thongs), some rant about its hue while humming a waltz.
Other people sail it. There were actually quite a few riverboats moored alongside the quay. Apparently, many of the tourists you see in Bratislava are touring the Danube on these boats. If you gaze long enough at these ships, flaunting cabins with floor-to-ceiling windows and balconies with lounge chairs, you might develop a rogue desire to clench a knife blade between your teeth, maraud across one of their gangplanks, saunter onboard, down a snifter of sugar-plum slivovica in the bar, stow away, and let that boat sail you anywhere it dang well pleases.
And that, matey, is how I washed up in Budapest, 200 kilometers downriver.
One more thing to think about: this is the hottest time of year in Madagascar, and also the wettest; it’s monsoon season, many roads are dirt and now impassible. Sometimes, decisions are made for you.
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Next post: ONE FINE DAY in BUDAPEST
WHERE WAS BADFISH ONE YEAR AGO? Alone and sick, in the freakin’ MALDIVES
Discover more posts on Eastern Europe:
Prague: STROLLING THROUGH PRAGUE: ONE FINE DAY—PART II
Czech Republic: DANCING WITH THE GREEN FAIRY AFTER MIDNIGHT
Bratislava: ONE FINE DAY in BRATISLAVA: Part II
ONE LONG ROAD TO BRATISLAVA: Part l
Great post and great pictures.. I found Bratislava just be so charming!
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Hey there Wild, glad you liked the photos and post. And yeah, it is quite the charmer of a place.
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Great travelogue! Thanks for sharing! 🙂 xx
https://angieisagirl.wordpress.com/
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Angela, hey thanks, glad you liked it.
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You know the only place in Slovakia we were – was Banska Bystrica of all places. And this was on the way to Budapest, so we only stayed for a few hours! We’d love to be back in Eastern Europe and the Balkans again!
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Hey guys, thanks for visiting and commenting. Banska Bystrica, eh! Well, it’s better than some places I’ve been. But it’s in the middle of the country…how did you get there, fly?
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It was on a coach on the way from Poland (Krakow we think) to Budapest
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Ah, yeah, nice countryside to view along the way. Did you see any windmills for power? Was Poland cool? I didn’t get there yet, feel like I’ve missed something.
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Krakow is indeed very beautiful. Just exploring the city itself will take you days if you really want to immerse into the local culture. Because it did not suffer as much damage from the war, many of the buildings are still the original
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Got it…now I think I have to go…soon!
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A most enjoyable tour, thank you for letting me tag along. Now … about that mummy in the Cairo museum, was it a very private conversation or dare I ask … ?
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Hester, hey welcome along any time, girl! And yeah, it was a very private conversation, scary really…but no, he didn’t tell me any secrets of the cosmos or how to make 1200 thread count cotton or anything like that!
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😀
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Now Mr Badfish, I have to admit to not caring two hoots about this Bratislava place, but I do, however, love reading your descriptions of it. Pure entertainment. Great writing. Like this bit:
“Sometimes, a miracle is nothing more than reality enhancing our own self-imposed limitations.”
Indeed. Love it. Now like the commentator above, I’m wondering what the Mummy said to you – secrets of the ancient buried treasure would be nice. Please share around with your blogging mates. And I’m wondering, of course, are you speaking from experience when you talk about the garlic in your shoes trick??
Now, with all those digitally enhanced photographs and lovely lines like “By now, the sun is slowly slipping itself into the river, casting shadows and blushing the landscape and cobblestones with a florid afterglow” – well this is entertainment that money cant buy. Mind you, there are plenty of us here who would pay good money for a book with a random collection of BF posts, ,along with some random samplings of Chippie comments.
So I guess madagascar is out?
And what’s coming up for “this time of year wouldnt be the same without…..”… Bratislava? or simply,,, “wouldnt be the same without a Badfish post”.
Onward! Down the river in a stowaway ship with the Green Fairy…..
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Deb…you know it’s so fun for me to discover what lines people like. And it’s interesting that people like different lines! The one you like…I like that line a lot!! And I just don’t know where it came from, or how it got on my page or in my head to begin with. Still, there it is.
The mummy…yeah, a very scary (no not scary), a very intimate vibration between us. I don’t think I can explain it. Past life? They have discovered, you know, that through your DNA, you can have memories from your ancestors! I’m pretty sure I once sucked mosquitoes into my mouth with my tongue when I was a lizard way back when.
It would be cool if all I had to do to write a book was play around with you guys here on the blog and have someone pay me like billions, and then me and JK Rowling could have the same banker.
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i hear you about the mummy, i saw one once but didnt have any intimate conversations but there was definitely a very weird presence. the weirdest thing is, i have absolutely no idea, where, and even in what country, i saw the damned thing. that is just too bizarre. but i know i saw it in a museum somewhere, i can still see the shrivelled up thing in my minds eye.
the line? its worth repeating again. Sometimes, a miracle is nothing more than reality enhancing our own self-imposed limitations.
so true. all i can say is, you must have some genius hiding inside you somewhere, Baddie – or perhaps, to tell the truth, maybe you’ve just been looking at Lucile’s Bridge for so long the bridge -genii have entered your psyche… now, when youve got your hacking skills organised and you need jkrowling’s banker… because the book, mate, wont make jk’s kinda money….. some of us just love books. rereading amazing lines like
Sometimes, a miracle is nothing more than reality enhancing our own self-imposed limitations.
🙂 sick of it yet? nup. never.
bring on that kinda reality. please. …..
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Deb…you are ssooo funny. You’re like a miracle going somewhere to happen in my comment section. I think it is Lucile’s genie lurking somewhere in cyberspace.
And right…I don’t even need or want JK Rowlings kind of bread. Just give me once fraction of it is all I want.
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aw gee baddie… why.. um.. thanks? yeah, right, thanks. lol. think thats the first time in a while someones called me a ‘miracle’… maybe my mum when i was born ? actually come to think of it, probably not….
ok if you know JK’s banker, maybe we can go thirds with her cast offs – split it with Lucile? now wait… lets split if four ways – cant forget Fimn, even though she hasnt been around for a mighty long time…..
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I’ve never had a four-way before, but I’m game for it! should we bring thongs or jandals or strawberries!
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and dont forget the wine and the beer and the chocolates…..
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nobody forgets chocolates
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Well, normally I’d be the first frisky person to leg it up that tower for the view, but being as I’m flat on my back on the floor with my legs propped up and the laptop balanced at a most inconvenient angle (ok for reading and appreciating but hell for commenting 🙂 ) on my stomach I’ll have to decline today. Sciatica! Not convinced that this position will cure it but got to try something 🙂 Nice tints you’ve used on your photos, and that chap with the scarf does look very happy-go-lucky. Wish I felt so cheerful. Thank you very kindly for the link. Hope to be up and running, albeit slowly, soon :).
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Yeah, you’d be hiking up those steps and walking the walk through town. You need to rig a rope from the ceiling and hang the computer on it so it hangs in front of you. Or next thing you know, you’ll develop neck problems!!! Hope you’re up and ambling soon!!
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Nothing says “Christmas” like a holiday bazaar held in the courtyard of a museum dedicated to the art of imprisonment and torture. There’s metaphor somewhere in that, I’m sure. I had a similar experience in London’s National Gallery around the Van Goghs, so, yeah…thanks for that unwelcome memory. And, much thanks for the pronunciation of Hlavne. I always wondered about that (is it Hlavne or Hlavne?), but I think I’ll skip putting the equivalent of a small pebble in my shoe. A Tick-Tack will do the trick just fine where the aromatic quality of my breath is concerned, without having to change my middle name to Gimpie. I am glad, though, I can always count on you to find a b’thonged person wherever your travels take you!
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HA! “Nothing says “Christmas” like a holiday bazaar held in the courtyard of a museum dedicated to the art of imprisonment and torture.” GAWD, I wish I’d written that sentence! I almost feel like adding it now and quoting you!
Right…most people think it’s Hlavne, but no, it’s Hlavne.
And how, really, does one get through a day without a thong?
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You have my permission to quote away! I don’t know how life can ever be lived un-thonged (non-thonged?), but I’m sure it would be the cause of a shit storm (what happens as a result of it hitting the fan) on every Mediterranean beach.
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well, alrighty, then…I’m just glad I wasn’t anywhere in the vacinity of the guy who first called it a shit storm, on whatever beach that was!
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You took the words right out of my mouth!!
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Jo…HA! I know…right! great line
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Ha! I think it’s cool that there’s someone who thinks like me.
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you know what they say about GREAT MINDS, I guess, eh?
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Another brilliant post BF. Love the photos too.
Of course I had to go searching for the etymology of When the shit hits the fan. The best the Oxford English Dictionary (online version courtesy of Vancouver Public Library) can come up with is that it is American slang from WWII, and quotes Norman Mailer’s The Naked and The Dead: ‘When the shit hits the fan that’s when you keep a tight asshole.’ Sounds about right to me.
Alison and I have added Bratislava onto our Eastern Europe Bucket list.
Don
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Don…well, yeah, you gotta wonder where that line came from, eh. Thanks for looking it up. You think Mailer just made it up? How do those guys just make stuff up like that anyway is what I want to know. I think you’ll like it in Bratislava–quaint and cool and by the river! Climb that UFO tower and have a coffee for me, will you?
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Okay will do.
p.s. Re thongs. Alison and I are currently in the land of thongs: the beach at Playa del Carmen!
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The land of thongs–has a nice ring to in my mind. But are you referring to thongs, or THONGS?
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Oh I mean THONGS!!!!
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shouldn’t you be sleeping about now???
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an addition to that line is “where were you, Spic and Span…when the shit hit the fan?” I dont know its origin either, but I heard a joke once that included features such as a hole in the floor which turned out to be a ceiling fan (upstairs) … pressed into service by someone desperately searching for a bathroom. In the joke the punchline came from someone at the party below, upon spying the person who had been upstairs when the messy event occured.
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Ha…love that line, spic and span
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you know that’s an actual cleaning product…I always enjoyed that old joke, as crude and stupid as it is…wonderful images of the great wonderful snobs of the world. hahahaha
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yeah, my mom used Spic n Span
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You’ve got me hooked on this place so I checked the price of flights. Sadly I won’t be going anytime soon, 800 quid especially when I could only stay three days isn’t and Badfish!
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Gilly, so I got you hooked. No, I’m sorry the air ticket is so dang expensive!! That’s the real problem isn’t it. Did you try Ryan Air, I just read an article about them, and there was a photo of their plane in Bratislava airport!
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Just as a courtesy to those of you who are new to Mr Fish…by “walking that body of water” in “thongs”, he means wearing those flip-flop, slipper shoes, not the other kind of thongs. Oh wait, maybe he has a telephoto lense for his own personal use, with which he could, in this scene from his angle, easily discern the presence of the other kind of thong also?
I’m still looking for the “happy-go-lucky chap with the scarf” mentioned by Restlessjo-ouch-so sorry!! (And where did THAT phrase come from? I can only find a reference to Melville?)
Great post Badfish!!
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Kathie, thanks for clearing that thong thing up for the newcomers. And no, I have no X-ray vision or long lense…and even if I did, would I use it to peruse the bottoms of women? Uh…don’t answer that, don’t make me answer that.
yeah…happy-go…huh? what’s that even mean?
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ha! I used to wear thongs on my feet all the time, until they were ruined (feet, not footwear)…as for the other kind…HOW uncomfortable!
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yeah, I don’t get it…
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gluttons for punishment
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hmmmmmm!
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“it sort of breaks your heart when you discover you are completely inept at something you’d like to master, like creating new idioms or hacking into a bank’s computer system.” This made me laugh out loud! A lot! From across the room Don said – Badfish?
Why was the name changed to Roland’s Fountain? That was left kind of hanging there.
I’m with you on looking for the quiet streets. It was highlighted for me in Venice and in Stockholm’s Gamla Stan – main streets crowded to crushing point and wonderful charming smaller streets and back alleys all but empty. Why don’t people go look?!
The video of the Mona Lisa reminded me of the Sistine Chapel. Why would you take a (crummy) photo of the Mona Lisa?! Bewildered. What for? Thank God the room was nothing like so crowded as in the video when we went to see the ML. I got to stand and stare in relative silence and harmony.
I did a rant about the Sistine here: https://alisonanddon.com/2011/11/25/rome-and-milan/ This post was written when we were just 2 months into our nomadic life.
Still I’ve had some amazing times in museums. In the Louvre we stayed away from all the paintings where everyone crowds and went to see the artefacts and Egyptian stuff. I remember rooms of absolutely gorgeous Russian icons that probably hardly anyone ever looks at.
Another wonderful walk through the Brat. And I’m loving your photos. Did you use some kind of filter? The light in some of them is just beautiful.
Alison
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Alison, I wish I knew where this stuff comes from, eh? One minute I’m on a guided tour of some town, next I’m bemoaning the fact that I can’t rob banks. Who lives inside me, anyway? But, I’m glad you got a laugh out of it, and really cool Don “got” who it was…really cool, I think, now that I think about it. You’ve made my day. And yeah…icons. I found one (new) in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria that I loved, but it was $250, and I just couldn’t see spending that on a new piece. I did buy an antique set of prayer beads of amber. I’m playing with the thing in Photos on the Mac…I just can’t force myself to learn LR or PS. I’ll pay you $1000 to work on my photos!
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So how many photos do you think you’ll get edited for $1000? 🙂
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Also forgot to mention: Falling off to sleep comes from the days of long journeys by stagecoach. The cheapest “seats” were on the roof. People who went to sleep on the roof often fell right off.
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hey that’s a good one, and I don’t think I ever heard that before. But I had heard the guy sitting next to the guy with the reins was called “riding shotgun” because he had a shotgun to shoo away Indians and bandits.
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Huh! I didn’t know that one.
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two heads are still always better than one…but had you heard the term “riding shotgun”?
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Oh yes, I was familiar with the term, just didn’t know where it came from.
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riding shotgun in OZ is riding on the other side of the car, eh? why are things different everywhere? in for a penny, in for a dollar just doesn’t work.
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Chuckle. Yes riding shotgun is on the opposite side in Oz. I thrive on things being different everywhere. It’s what makes travel interesting. I’ve just finished a writing a post on Playa del Carmen as I read Jeff’s latest on Yangon – couldn’t be more different. And the Brat wildly different again.
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Alison…well, yes, of course we like those things being different, it’s what thrills us when we wander into new places, I agree. I just want Burma to be Burma, and everyone to drive on the right, and for me to magically know the metric system. And for people not to use words like “quid.”
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Chuckle. You’re gettin’ old BF. Quid’s a perfectly good word. I grew up with it. Along with guinea and halfpenny (pronounced haypney). You should be grateful no one is using “florin” anymore 🙂
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Yeah…I think it’s less about getting old and more about living on the other side of the big pond, eh?
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True that.
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All of them…I have approximately a gazillion, most are still in slide format. All of them because you’re so nice and love doing things for people. Am I right?
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LOL
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I love the colors of the buildings–and the light is fabulous. The picture of St. Martin’s is stunning. I need to check some of my photos of Vienna. I think there was a very similar plague monument there…If you are in Madagascar, you must hear the singing monkeys…no doubt you already have.
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You know, when I shot St Martins, it didn’t seem like much of a shot, but after looking at it, yeah, I rather like it. Something about it…don’t know what. It is a clear day and clear shot?
But no…not in Madagascar, it was on the list of places to go next. But now…no monkeys singing yet!
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It’s a combo of beautiful day, the clean lines of the church and the graffiti . Really lovely.
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Yeah, the combo maybe…and it is a clear day
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I’ve got a question, and I’d rap it for you if you could hear me:
Is it “could care less” or “couldn’t care less” and could you care less?
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It’s “couldn’t care less” MMM… ‘
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Debbie: nobody here could care less
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maybe not, but could you care less that the other night i actually had a dream that you changed your blog name again … i mean who does that? dream about blogs. so when this post arrived i had to check the header again…..bizarre. someone bring me the Green Fairy. ….
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Deb…what is bizarre is that LAST NIGHT, I dreamed about writing comments in my blog…about changing the name back. And I change my screen image daily, sometimes twice a day. I think I may have ADD, can’t sit still, don’t ever get bored, but need change in my life, like new photos…and wives.
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good lord, Badfish, that is bizarre. dont change it back. This is exactly why its called the Cafe. because people talk to each other. That’s a mighty fine contribution to blogsville – hosting a space where people actually talk to each other. ive been watching. there’s bloggers out there that actually use this space to chat with each other. thats a grand thing. donald trump, go eat your socks.
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I know…bizarre. I’m thinking if I change it again, it will be something new, different: like “Thongs are thongs–punto.” Or maybe: “Lucile’s Bridge”
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Hmmm…well, now you mention it, I think it is “couldn’t care less.” Otherwise, you actually could care less. But doesn’t it “sound” right, or better to say I could care less. It just has a nicer ring, or just easier to say. I think I’ve always said it that way–oh poop, I’m flawed. Unless there’s an idiom for an idiom??
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one of the eternal questions…if ya could care less then it means actually caring….couldnt care less means not caring at all. I like that question. The thing that gets me is …what do you call your cousin’s kid? I call the kid my second cousin. some say its first cousin once remove…… ah, life’s riddles
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I guess I’m lucky that way since my only cousin has no kids yet. 😀
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it won’t come up until they do, then when you refer to the kid she/he will be your ?? I wouldnt start worrying about it yet. 😮😃
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😀 Ok, I won’t.
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Great thong photo Badfish. I am on a mission to photograph thongs around the world.
I would rather go to the Christmas market than the torture museum. That sounds ghastly. And while we’re on the topic of museums, just in case you ever have the opportunity, do not EVER go to a museum with Mr ET. OMG, it’s excruciating. He reads every single word on every single item. I find it’s a great time to take advantage of the free wifi and catch up on all my emails etc because I’m always finished several hours before he is.
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ET…yeah, a mission…thongs in every country! You go girl! You can hear Tom Cruise shouting it now: “Show me the thongs.” (or is it “money”?)
I want to read things in a museum, but after like the first one, I’m done with the reading of things in a museum. Maybe I do have ADD? Or better things to do?
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Badfish, you’re so funny! I’m wishing I’d thought to take my thongs to England but I completely forgot. From now on, where I go my thongs go!
When I go to a museum, I read for a little bit but then I just look. For Mr ET, it’s because he is so stingy. He’s paid to go in, so he is determined to get his money’s worth. And if it’s free to go even better, because he gets all that reading at no cost to his wallet!
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England and Amsterdam are two places I don’t usually take thongs. But everywhere else. I mean, they just work, right?
Museums: I can understand getting your money’s worth. For me, that would maybe entail stealing a big ruby.
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Usually, I only wear thongs at the beach or at home. But now I have a mission, I’ll be more adventurous.
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what else is life for!!! go for it
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My dear Badfish… We need to work on your vocabulary. Thongs no longer refer to rubber shoes that go flip flop on your feet! They refer to teeny, tiny ladies’ under britches that you can barely see. Me thinks you need to come home for a brush up course on slang! 😉 Loved the ivy on the wall picture. Are you putting them through an art program?
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sorry, calensariel… they do.. if you are an aussie. and our badfish is an honourary aussie, so he is perfectly allowed to call those things that new zealanders call flipflops thongs.
sad thing is, after reading too many badfish posts, i corrected myself when i was home, last time and asked in a store did they have flipflops? the cash-girl gave me a very weird, confused look and then said,
“do you mean thongs?”
yes. i meant thongs. footwear. for the beach. …. 🙂
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LOL! Well I guess it’s just a cultural thing. I wonder if it’s in all the language guides from different countries… 😀
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i think youre doing okay, Baddie… thongs are thongs. punto.
the kiwis have this weird word “jandals”. i mean really, i ask you?
and yeah, i believe you about your camera. that does explain it, really.
my OPPO would never do that sort of thing. lol.
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OK…now I have a quote from you I can use: “thongs are thongs. punto.” love it
but come on: jandals?
I heard that about OPPO’s…too bad
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Deb and Cal…do we have this thing figured out…I have to know before my next post that will include the proper words for things. I already had to fix “I could care less.” I’m not changing things this late in life. A thong is a thong, and thongs are thongs is all I’m saying.
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LOL! 😀 You do your own thing, my fishy friend. It makes you who you are. And we love you just the way you are! 😉
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cool…I couldn’t be someone else, like Oscar Wilde says: “everyone else is already takeen.”
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You’re looking at it backwards. YOU got FIRST pick! 😉
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now you’re talking!
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if you “could care less” it means ya do care somewhat, but maybe it could be less…..
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the plural form of the word thong may or may not clarify…maybe it’s time for me to re-post my Beaded Thongs story?
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right…beaded thongs or a grammar lesson on the plural of things
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And those teeny tiny undies are g-strings if you’re an Aussie! Thongs are definitely thongs.
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now we’re getting into heavy-duty styles of thongs…I like this. I think I’ll do a post on thongs, you know, like…how to wear one, etc!
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Now here’s a thought. I could do a series about thongs around the world and you could do one about a thong around the world. We could compare notes. 😃
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you mean, like I wear a thong while traveling the world and see what happens to me, or what?
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Well, if you wear a thong and I wear thongs, we could compare people’s reactions. You have to wear the thong, because there’s no way I’m going to.
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I’m pretty sure I’m not going to like the reactions if you’re making me be the one in a thong, lady!
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Oh well, it was worth a try!
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yeah, but you didn’t even try to ply me with absinthe…
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Really Badfish, do you think I am the kind of person to take advantage of someone by getting them plastered and then convincing them to wear a barely-there pair of undies in public? After all, I don’t need to drink alcohol before putting my thongs on. But if that what it takes…
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Hahahah! One can only hope!
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I’ll remember this conversation!
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ooops
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Yes, please do a post about thongs. I’ll send you some photos from the beach at Playa del Carmen, thong capital of the Western world.
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You know, you’ve just given me an idea: you know how some people create weekly prompts for people to respond to, like doors or walks or animal eyes. I think I’m going to start one on thongs! So yeah, send photos!
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well…then there are “tongs”…
which some people confuse. but maybe I’m too old for thongs of any description… wouldn’t that drive ya batty?
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and bongs
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love rhyming games…I guess its the poet influence 🙂
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Okay, I like this challenge. I’ll take the plunge and go first. Here’s my post, featuring me wearing my thongs on the beach at Surfer’s Paradise on Australia’s Gold Coast. https://theeternaltraveller.wordpress.com/2016/10/04/going-up/
From now on, I’ll be looking for thong photo opportunities all the time.
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you win…
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Yay!! Who’s next??
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nobody likes a gloater, you know
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Not gloating, just hoping to see some more people proudly wearing their thongs in interesting places! 🙂
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I found two pair in a photo on another blog, didn’t know how to get it to here!!
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Would it work if you copied and pasted the link?
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yeah, that would work, didn’t think of it and now…not sure where that site is!
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Oh well, you’ll know for next time. 🙂
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yeah, there’s always another pair of thongs
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Yikes! outta style, eh…out of sight, out of style, maybe. I don’t care. I’m calling them thongs forever, “flip-flops” just don’t make it for me…what do they call them if not thongs, not flip-flops, right? one-toed sandals?
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Oaky, Alison will soon be sending you some thong photos from Playa. We can then sing along together Thongs for the memories . . . .
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Hahahaha! You should write a humor blog, dude. But hey, stay far away from the madding throng
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maddening thongs.. haha that is good.
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Badfish that was one heck of a tour! I think I will have to have a day off tomorrow. Here’s a secret. We are not museum lovers either. Yes let us be outside exploring and discovering. Is that your video you link to? I got twitchy by about 30 seconds in.
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I know, it took me a month to get through Bratislava, a mousy little thing of a town. Slow walker? And yeah, give me outdoors to inside museums any day. Twitchy…that’s the right word. And no, not my link.
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Well pretty much everyone made a comment I’d been thinking. When you said “thong” I too had to laugh. A brush up on new meanings might be a good thing. As for the colors in the photos. It was hard to tell which if not all had been “doctored”. Some were obvious but others not so, especially since you mention the “deep blue sky” and I got to wondering if it truly was that blue. In any case, good post and I look forward to the next one.
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Doctored…why no. Listen, I didn’t want to tell anyone this, but my camera drops acid every now and then, and when I take a photo, this psychedelic stuff is what happens to the photos….really. You believe me, right?
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Sure.
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you’re too easy, girl
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You should know
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HA!
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biiiig smile!
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You covered a serious amount of ground in Bratislava! I love the photo of the garlic. I wish I had a longer or wittier comment, but life is becoming a bit of a jumble again at the moment. Looking forward to seeing where you go in a few weeks!
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I know, it took me forever, eh? The garlic was just sitting there, and I thought: I love that image, so snapped it. And yeah, this time of year for me, too,…life is a jumble again: grading and grading.
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Nicely luminescent saturated colors, that absinthe really does work.
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Steveo…Here’s the secret. I dropped a little absinthe on the counter, laid my camera on top of it, the absinthe got absorbed by the camera…and that’s what happens to the photos!
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Well done!
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I have to admit, I never think of Eastern Europe when pondering travel destinations. But, you’ve convinced me that Prague should be on the list. I am open to these other places as well.
My biggest barrier is that I cannot eat most of the food, but being a fan of pastries, I don’t think I would suffer unduly.
Among the many things I want to say in response to this post (before I visit I and II) is that I too am not a museum fan and prefer the anthropologist’s eye view of such things, and also that your mummy experience sounds suspiciously like those described by mystics who claim the only real art is “objective” art. That is, art that evokes the same reaction in all people who witness it. Certain Buddha statues in some ancient city, or the Mona Lisa or your mummy! Maybe.
I love the photographs — you are a wizard with your cameras. And the shout out was nice too. Maybe the only way I will be immortalized, so I shall be forever in your debt. OK, BF, I have a lot of catching up to do here. Glad you skipped Madagascar, I am emotional about that place but can be quite sanguine about Bratislava.
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Food…you know, they grow beats there. And garlic…what else do you need? And Prague…yeah, it’s worth a visit, but not in summer, too many people, spring or fall maybe.
I’m not sure a mummy is art, but it definitely created reactions!
I shot my camera up with steroids on my last trip…they seem to work.
Yeah, I have reservations about a place like Madagascar. But you might like Brat!
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Beats or beets?
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HA! yeah, beets (hate when I don’t notice things like that…or when I don’t think). I actually had some beeeeets yesterday.
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I like beets do but I usually just juice them. Russ doesn’t like them
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I don’t like beet juice…but watermelon!!!
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Refreshing huh?
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the BEST!!! my hermit crab like rind
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Enjoyed the “armchair” tour as it’s doubtful I will ever get there for real! Not that your photis refkect reality, but that is what I like about thrm. Artistic creations of eye popping fantasies and in some cases even a bit of hallucination 🙂
Relating to the rogue on a boat description!
Peta
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Photis = photos
Refkect = reflect
Thrm = them
Excuse the unnoticed changes in text made by evil rogues living in my ipad!
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you can never trust those evil iPad rogues! But I understood!!
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Peta…so glad you liked the photos…but hey, no, I really did stick that knife in my teeth and storm that ship…with a patch over one eye. No wait…
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[…] ONE FINE DAY in BRATISLAVA : Part III […]
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trovo questi colori pastello veramente incantevoli, sembrano dipinti ad qcquarello!
felice sera Annalisa
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Annalisa…thanks so much…I think!!
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I enjoyed the tour of Bratislava. It has now officially been added to my “cities-to-visit” bucket list (so called because the list is so long and heavy, I have to carry it in a bucket). I had a quick look at the YouTube clip you linked to. It makes your point about museums very well. I can’t say I’d be very thrilled about getting to the Louvre and then having to gaze at the Mona Lisa through binoculars over the heads of several thousand other visitors. Incidentally, I was very impressed that a mummy communicated with you. It’s a very rare occurrence, you know? I’m assuming it was on New Year’s Eve and you are an Egyptian of the highest moral character.
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Bun…I have a bucket like that, but it has a hole in it. That youtube gives me the shakes just looking at it. And yeah…maybe that mummy knew about my high moral character…how else do we explain it?
Hey, I noticed on your site a “Discover” badge…is that new, or what?
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The badge has been there for a while, but I recently rearranged my blog a little, so it’s now in a slightly different part of the page.
Strictly speaking, it should really only be displayed on my WordPress.com site, but since my posts are identical on my WordPress.org site, I stuck the badge on the page there too. I now live in fear that at any moment, the WordPress police will kick down the door.
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you have two accounts? what’s the difference between org and com?
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Bravo, Bun. Living dangerously, one day at a time. I’m rooting for you 🙂
Like Badfish, I’m also wondering why you run two blogs with the content that you do 😀
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Thank, Mabel. The two blogs thing is a bit odd, I agree. I’m now gradually phasing one of them out. 🙂
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I never thought about it that way, Mabel. I guess it’s not all bad news after all. 🙂
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Kewl StuFF ….Happy HolidaZe 2 U an Urz dis 2016 season 🙂 frum da’ Q in colorado……
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Q in CO…zame 2 u doood! watch da raindear poo
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So beautiful and such an interesting post. Thanks for providing historic background as it always adds more layers when it comes to meanings 😉 I loved the picturesque streets and in particular Roland’s Fountain and Michael’s Gate.
Great photographs, too, dear Badfish … Wishing You the best 💛🌟
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Glad you liked it, the history, and the photos. Brat surprised me, too. I would go back, but not in winter, maybe. Maybe they’d build a statue of me!
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And again it felt like I was doing a tour with you, discovering all the places mentioned and highlighted in your pictures so nicely with you.
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Well, you are always welcome along, and I’m glad you enjoyed the ride!
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I am not a museum person either. I much prefer the picturesque ‘living museum’ on the streets of Bratislava that you’ve presented here. That Mona Lisa video was scary.
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yeah, you’re more the stuff on the street kinda girl
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oh so much to soak up here – ahhhh – thanks for letting me travel with you – and one thing really had me laughing pretty good – the out of style cargo shorts – omg – LMAO
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Funny, because I refused to wear those things for years, and finally decided I’d try a pair, went in to a store, and they didn’t have any, and the lady said they were out of style and they didn’t carry them now!
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Used pair on eBay?
Kidding
Or chip’s cafe?
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Funny, I found a pair in a used clothing shop in…can’t remember
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Ha!
Well it brings me back to when those cargo pants were in again in 2005! I am sure they come and go….
Happen to be wearing my Gap long sleeve cotton shirt at the moment – seriously – what a coincidence! All this clothing talk now with the small connection to a former clothing chat.
👕👔👖
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when I was a teen, they called them clam diggers…and I envy that LS shirt!!
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🙂
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is that a typo in your first line just above?
Oh wait, I think I’m out of sync here….
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??
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You wrote: “Funny, because I refused to wear those things for years”. The word “things” became “thongs” in my mind as I read it so I made still another obscure “thong” joke…but then so many people commented in between, there was no way to connect it. Just an attempt to prevent you from regressing to “poop” references by trying to revive my interest in THONGS!! smiley face
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Ah, got it, and thanks for moving me away from the poop reference…but you know, it’s not a very far throw from thong to poop.
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Love this history, and your take on the fountain to architecture to superstitions to classical composers to castles. I vaguely heard a similar story about the statue turning as you said that it might on New Year’s Eve, that it turns one round. As you said, it could one’s imagination if they were partying to the nines, but it could also be that a spirit has awaken within.
I too am not a fan of museums and would rather go digging and looking for an artifact with my hands – and get famous for discovering it myself.. Looking at the Mona Lisa video you showed, that is not something I’d do all day long or even for an hour. Or half an hour. The sight of the crowds is enough to turn me away. Even if there weren’t any crowds, I’d probably be pretty quick, in and out.
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I know. And to be honest, I knew very little (nothing really) about the place before arriving here. And you know, I have no doubt that statue turns for some people! I believe in that kind of stuff. I would have liked to have been the guy who discovered those terra cotta army guys in China! I don’t want to be famous though, I’m too shy! But I wouldn’t mind being rich.
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Being shy has its advantages. It allows you to blend in the background and stay out of trouble – which sounds like most of your trips so far I’ve read on your blog 😀
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Mabel…you know, it’s funny, but everywhere I go, I seem to simply sink into the energy, or place, there. I never feel out of place. I never feel threatened, as though I belong there, where ever that is. Like the world is home.
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[…] to animals, you know). Perhaps, the very last thing I desire might be to slip into someone else’s thong that they just wore–at any […]
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Baddie, i was walking down the Stanley Markets today in Hong Kong, and saw a whole stand of thongs… i photographed it.. with my OPPO of course.. just for you. stay tuned. 🙂
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Debbie: HONG KONG??!! What are you doing in Hong Kong. And I’m a little afraid if what you saw and photographed were thongs, or thongs?! Waiting with a heart filled with suspense.
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Baddie: yep, nipped down the other day. Gotta do something to stay sane and healthy with all that winter pollution and dullness. Thongs, Baddie, the footwear. Don’t get your hopes up. I’m sure the passersby thought I was crazy, and I sneaked in the pic before my daughter caught me, she would swear I’m crazy. the things we do for blogging friends. What about you? Staying put in AD with Duncan? or making an impetuous decision to fly to… fly to.. Mars? Venus? Saturn? I hear its got some cool rings. and really, you’ve been everywhere on dis planet, man….. 🙂
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Funny you should ask. I figured I’d just stay here, didn’t want another fiasco like last year’s Xmas trip. I thought I’d do a post on Abu Dhabi. So far, all I’ve done is sleep and begin the book Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. I may need a break from travel?!
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weirdly enough, sometimes one does need a break from travel. staying at home and sleeping in is sometimes just the thing …
and ya know, down here in HK i can read and reply on the OPPO! there IS life beyond the Great fireWall!
you could travel thru your blog and pick out the best of and paste them all formatted in times new roman double spaced ms form to self publish your new book “A Tale of Two Thongs”. okay?😊
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