STL DPB ON THE ROAD - THEY LOVE THEIR PIVO

 

A sign seen in Prague. They love their pivo - beer - and it might be the same price or a little cheaper than bottled water in restaurants. Czechs consume more than any country in the world. 

This is an ad for a college, The top text reads "Through this motif, I wanted to celebrate human relationships—families, friends, and colleagues." The smaller print at the bottom says "In this new beer mug made of Czech crystal, he has combined the classic forms of Czech beer glassware into a motif representing a symbolic companion to share a beer with."  Well, that's how Google Translate has it.          

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - THE OPERA TOUR

Prague

Vienna

Budapest

We are opera fans and this trip was planned, in part, as an opera tour. The 19th Century houses were quite small by the standards of the big venues we've visited in the U.S., like New York, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles, or European houses like the London Coliseum, Paris' Opera Bastille or the Netherlands Opera in Amsterdam. There were hits and misses at each of the three cities we visited.

Prague: we heard Shostakovitch's lurid, violent Lady Macbeth of Mtensk. I love the music and the cast was flawless. We had what we thought were the best seats in the house, first balcony, first row, center. There was about enough legroom for a modern eight year old, and it was painful for 6 ft. 3 inch / 196 cm me. The show wasn't sold out so we found some seats at intermission a few rows back that worked out.

Vienna: this was like a visit to the temple for me, the Wiener Staatsoper where Gustav Mahler was conductor for 10 years. You might tell from the photo that we were in a second-tier box. Never been in a box in all the opera houses we've visited. We were in the second of three rows. My advice: NEVER buy tickets in a box unless you can get first row. There was a was a quite large person in front of me who blocked my view of a third of the stage. The production of Carmen was a disappointment, with particularly minimalist staging and not that great principals.

Budapest: I thought this would be the highlight, a 100th anniversary of Zoltan Kodaly's Hungarian singspeil Hary Janos. It may have had much cultural significance but the very long musical introduction was not that interesting. There were long stretches of dialog, with English surtitles so small and quickly moving that we couldn't follow them. And then again the seats were fit for a eight year old. We left at intermission.

But then we'll be hearing Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera in January, and at least we know what we're in for.                

 
 

STL DPB IN THE AIR - GREENLAND

 

Our flight from London to St. Louis has gone way up north, passing over the southern tip of Greenland. Just an iPhone shot, but what a gift.                      

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - ALMOST HOME

 

Good morning from soggy Heathrow Airport. We are not going where this plane is going. We flew in from Budapest yesterday afternoon. It was worth it to spend a night at an airport hotel so we could get British Airway's four-day-a-week non-stop flight to St. Louis. (No more changing in Chicago!)

Home tonight. There is Starlink WiFi on the plans so maybe I'll get some more editing done.                

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - BUDAPEST METRO

 

From Berlin to Buenos Aires, we pride ourselves in taking public transit wherever we travel. It is becoming more difficult with my spine issues and need of a cane, and we increasingly use taxis, However, we hired a private guide on Sunday and took several trios on the Budapest Metro. Public transit here is free for 65 and older. The stations, trains and cars are tiny by New York/London/Paris standards but they are impeccably clean, run frequently and get you where you want to go.