Ladee's Travels

Curiosity got the best of me and I opened my "PhotoPills" app on my phone to see get time information for the full moon rise and the sunset.  As luck would have it, both would occur within an hour or so of each other.  And the best spot would be from the Charles Bridge, a famous bridge in the Old Town part of Prague.  I found a few travelers from the group that were open to walking tonight (remember, we arrived in Prague this afternoon!!).  We had to have a nice pace to get through the town and to the bridge with enough time to scout out the perfect spot.  Jim knew the way, so off I went with sisters Martha and Jane. We started off on our street Na Porcini to nám. Republic (Republic Square).  In the distance I see the top of a beautiful building dome.  This is Francouzská restaurace Art Nouveau , a beautifully restored art nouveau restaurant.  I can't stop to visit now, but you can take a brief pause and look at the old and new photos here...

I researched and saw that tonight was going to have perfect conditions, location and timing. Sunset on Charles Bridge. Lovely blue hour. And a full moon rising right in time with the blue hour. Add street lights and building lights, a river and a bridge and BAM!!! Magic. I took a few samples on my phone to post for the moment.  Lovers and locks.  While I was identifying where the moon was going to rise, I saw that the Milky Way looked awesome. This is an app. It was too light to see it.  Moon on the rise. Reflections in water. Lovely Blur Hour (follows sunset and is the time before the night sky turns black) Castle in the hill.  Old Town Square and astrological click.  Ladee "There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign." Robert Loui s Stevenson

After check in, I decided to take a photo walk on my street Na Porici to become familiar with the area.  This seems to be a good transportation street.  I've seen buses and a network of street cars.  I crossed the street to get a full length photo of my Art Deco Imperial Hotel with a view of Cafe Imperial on the bottom.  Notice the corner position of the cafe with views from the tall windows. The center opening is access to multiple interior stores.  The seating outside was for an ice cream and drinks small storefront.  A nearby shopping center.  This website has an interesting commentary:  http://www.myczechrepublic.com/prague/department-stores.html The Bílá labuť department store is a sad reminder of what shopping used to be like in Czechoslovakia of the 1970s and 1980s. Back then, the Na Poříčí store with its revolving swan above the entrance was the place to shop. Today, the depressing, ugly building stands almost forgotten. Th...