YOUR MOMENT OF ZEN

As Ben Stein used to say. (Whatever happened to Ben?) We live in a small condominium development, 45 homes. Most are two townhouses in a building that resemble the style of our town, Webster Groves, one of St. Louis' oldest suburbs. Then there are six detached homes that are still condos, like ours. We were having our semi-annual block party on a gorgeous evening yesterday when this ice cream truck drove through. The driver did not know that were no children in the development save for one 5 year old and granddaughter Ellie a night or two a week. That's Chez Crowe in the right background.

ULTRAMATIC

 

This is the rear of the automobile seen in yesterday's post, identified as a Packard by a friend. The antique car license plate indicates 1949. Just what Ultramatic means was left to the imagination of the buyer. Marketing hooey has old roots.                   

THIS THING COULD KILL YOU

Big, elaborate hood ornaments used to be a thing. I remember that my family's first car, a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air (we lived in NYC and didn't use it every day), had one that looked like a chrome jet plane with twin vertical tails. I'm sorry that I didn't note what this car was, but you can imagine how it could eviscerate a pedestrian in an accident. Now the marques are all flat.                              

NEW NEIGHBORS

 

Some time back I posted a picture of a dove that had built a nest in the crook of a downspout from our porch. It sat there for so long that I wondered if the eggs were still viable. Fortunately, I was wrong. Two healthy chicks have now set up residence on top of a hanging swing chair on the other side of the porch. I assume that's mom supervising. Dad was on the porch rail just below keeping watch. They seem to feel safe here,                    

IT'S IN THE DETAILS

 

I don't have any special skill in photographing automobiles. but it seems to me that sometimes you can get more interesting images from the details rather than the whole. If you squint, you might see me in the red jacket reflected in the letter I.              

ANOTHER TRAVEL MEMORY - CESKY KRUMLOV

 

Another Central Europe memory, although there are some local things to shoot this weekend if my spine holds out. This is a cold, drizzly day at a cafe in Cesky Krumlov, with no one out for coffee and treats. The old town in southern Czechia, https://www.amazingczechia.com/destinations/cesky-krumlov/ , is the second most visited in the country after Prague.              

CITY DAILY PHOTO MAY THEME - FRUIT

From the Covered Market in Budapest. The prices are in Hungarian forints per kilogram. The names of the products, with one exception, are indecipherable.              

MORE TRAVEL MEMORIES

 

No surprise, but I took a whole lot of pictures during our trip. The quality and variety was limited by my need of a cane and wobbly balance, but some good ones came through. This is Prague, in the palace gardens of Albrect von Wallenstein, the leading general on the Catholic side during the devastating Thirty Years War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albrecht_von_Wallenstein. The garden has rare white peacocks, something entirely new to me.               

STL DPB HEADED HOME

 

Got home last night. Flew British Airways from Budapest to Heathrow, then BA's new non-stop service to St. Louis. Big convenience! The flight arrived early although the food was remarkably bad and the little international arrivals area in STL wasn't a good introduction to our town. But we're happy to be here after a fascinating if tiring trip. Now to get our body clocks reset seven hours.                    

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - BUDAPEST BY NIGHT

Our river cruise went back out on the Danube after sunset on our last night onboard. Many of the magnificent riverfront buildings are illuminated. This huge confection is the Hungarian parliament building. 

Budapest is much larger, more beautiful and interesting than I imagined. Unfortunately, I had a lot of trouble walking on this trip. If I can get my spine fixed I'd love to come back with more time. Home today, Tuesday. Just one stop at Heathrow, since BA just started non-stop service to St. Louis. Maybe I'll get more pictures edited on the plane.                                   

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - HUNGARIAN SPICE

 

There is a big, multi-level food hall in central Budapest known as the Covered Market. It is geared toward tourists as much as locals. We have no idea why we would buy a jar of paprika. We use it only occasionally in cooking and buy it at the supermarket. Lots of visitors wanted some, though.

These posts are going up on different days. It's Monday here but will be seen Sunday in North America. We are taking a half-day trip out of the city  today, home tomorrow.            

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - HOW TO SEE BUDAPEST

 

That's a new idea to me. The people onboard seemed to be having a noisy good time. Another exhausting day in another very interesting city. I've got a lot more pictures to edit. We're spending today and tomorrow here. Home Tuesday.             

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - CUMIL, THE FRIENDLY SEWER GUY OF BRATISLAVA

 

A new country for us, Slovakia. Only six million people, with the capital, Bratislava, at about a half million. The country punches above its weight, with a huge auto industry exporting cars all over Europe. 

The old town of Bratislava is charming. A favorite spot is the contemporary sculpture of Cumil, the friendly sewer worker (https://www.nomads-travel-guide.com/places/cumil-statue/) who pops up to say hello to the world. Lots better than the monuments to monarchs and wars.            

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - STREET PHOTOGRAPHY IN VIENNA

 

Stock im Eisen-Platz, Vienna, outside St. Stephen's Cathedral. We have only one brief day in this interesting vibrant city.  We'd love to come back with more time, but we wonder if age and spines will rule out future trips like this.         

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - MELK ABBEY

I usually limit myself to one photo. However, yesterday we went to Melk Abbey, situated on a hill over the Danube in Austria and I was pretty impressed. I can't begin to explain its history and architecture here, so if you want to learn about this Baroque blockbuster, I suggest you go here: https://bit.ly/3QtPNig .

My Catholic elementary school made us learn Roman numerals. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the year over the gate is 1718. Corrections welcome.

Vienna today.                     

 

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - OX BOW ON THE DANUBE

 

In America, a river ox bow is an area where a river forms almost a complete loop, not quite cutting off the neck to form an island. There are lots on the lower Mississippi, which are quite striking to view from the air. There is one on the Danube, passing through beautiful scenery of low hills, forest and farmland.           

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - TWO DEMONSTRATIONS IN REGENSBURG

 

After devouring our sausages in Regensburg Sunday afternoon, we went out to the street to find a large and loud group of young women and their supporters marching through town. The themes were feminism, consent and, to use an American expression, enough of mansplaining. I doubt that Google Translate got all the subtleties, but the orange and green sign means something like "unsolicited advice from strange men," and the black on orange "protection is not a privilege, but a right."

Around the back of the cathedral, there was a smaller group who were apparently supporting the old Iranian monarchy. I think that is the pre-Islamic Revolution flag, and I heard the name Pahlavi mentioned. I wonder what they hoped to accomplish.                                  

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - IN GERMANY, THEY EAT SAUSAGES

 

Long bus ride yesterday from Prague into Germany, where we stopped at the charming small city of Regensburg. One thing everybody does there is go to this tiny place known in English as The Sausage Kitchen. This is all they got. You get a plate with a few of these things on sauerkraut, sweet mustard on the side and rye rolls. Everyone was warned in advance: there are no options here for vegetarians or  gluten-free people. Just old school.                  

A DAY LATE AND A KORUNA SHORT

 

I'm bloody exhausted so maybe I'll add to this on the bus to Germany tomorrow. We passed by the hall where the Prague Symphony plays. Leonard Slatkin, who was music director on the St. Louis Symphony for many years and is now conductor laureate, was conducting the orchestra for two nights immediately before we arrived. The koruna, or crown, is the unit of Czech currency. Plans to join the eurozone are in progress.                 

STREETSIDE PRAGUE

 

We're here, and floored by jet lag. For now, a  phone shot just outside our gorgeous art deco hotel. More to come when the brain is functioning.         

RESTAURANT TV

Mrs. C and I had a terrific anniversary dinner Tuesday night (52, thank you) at the locally renowned restaurant Little Fox in the Fox Park neighborhood. Wow. Looking around, it seemed like the open kitchen's reflection in the front window was a television screen with a cooking show, layered with customers and customers' reflections.

Down to Dallas-Ft. Worth mid-day today, London overnight and Prague tomorrow afternoon. Now I'm worried about whether there is going to be jet fuel in Europe in 12 days to get us home. I guess it would be relatively cheap to be stuck in Budapest but what would would we do with ourselves? Couldn't be many more expensive places to be stuck than London but it would be fun.                     

MUST BE AUGUST

 

Caffe, Italian, or cafe, French? In either event, no baristas were on duty. The caption comes from a family travel memory. We were all in Milan in August, Euro vacation season. The tourist office gave us a list of restaurants that were supposed to be open. None of them were, that we could find. We ended up eating at the cafeteria in a department store, which was actually pretty good. It was in Italy.

For locals, this is on Gravois, just southwest of the Bevo Mill. I may be off line for a couple of days, unless I can find something interesting at Dallas-Ft. Worth or Heathrow.                     

MAHLER 5TH

 

Post-performance ovation at Sunday's concert by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. We have a first class orchestra and music director Stéphane Denève led a searing interpretation of Gustav Mahler's Fifth Symphony. I wonder - do conductors ever use hearing protection? My Apple Watch was setting off high decibel warnings up in the balcony.

The lumbar steroid injection went well this morning. Some improvement Monday afternoon but it takes longer to fully kick in.

And it's supposed to be a gorgeous weekend in Prague.                  

TODAY'S DESTINATION

The name on the building may sound odd to out-of-towners. Nothing to do with keeping meat and dairy separate. When I arrived here for college in the late 60s, there was Barnes Hospital and Jewish Hospital facing Forest Park, both affiliated with the Washington University School of Medicine just behind them. In time they all got sucked into a single entity, including several suburban hospitals. What we see here is only a small part of today's complex, which goes back and to the left for several blocks. One of the buildings is the self-consciously named Center for Advanced Medicine. That's where the big guy in pain management is giving me caudal lumbar steroid injections this morning. 🤞                

THIS HAS TO BE A FRONT FOR SOMETHING

 

Or a pointed, understated joke. The old building on Gravois Avenue looks like it has been thoroughly rehabbed. The ground floor looks like it was a storefront, with an apartment upstairs. Not open for business now. I searched for Bang's Ice Cream and came up with nothing, although there appears to be a product called Bang!! Caffeinated Ice Cream. And "DRUGS"? While editing the photo I noticed what may be a mural on the right side. I'll go back for another look when I can walk better. The lumbar steroid injections are tomorrow morning.                   

CHANGE OF CUISINE

 

Another bright facade from my drive up Gravois Avenue on a cloudless day. I don't know anything about the old Lemmons Restaurant other than passing it by. Never ate there. It was taken over at some time by people from our sizeable Bosnian population, but that didn't last, either. I'm glad the current owners kept the ghost sign and antique neon fixture,                    

THINGS ARE LOOKING ROSIER

 

Another eye-catching business on Gravois (pronounced GRAH-voiz in local dialect) Avenue on the south side of the city. Things are looking up cince I got a call late yesterday from my pain management doctor, who is the big cheese at Washington University. Everyone in the U.S. knows that health care authorization and billing are absurd and aggravating. Tiny differences in wording and coding got in the way of my nerve root ablation, so I'll get a caudal steroid injection on Monday. My lumbar spine is essentially made of recycled balsa wood but this will keep me going for a while.                    

COMFORT, AND NOT

 

Ah, comfort food from my young days, although I don't remember gyros and chicken wings being popular in my neighborhood in Queens. However, NY style pizza or a thick burger and fries bring back warm feelings. What isn't comfortable is that the hospital contacted me yesterday and canceled my lumbar nerve root ablation that was scheduled for today. They didn't get Medicare payment authorization in time and I'm really upset they didn't get this done earlier. We leave for Europe a week from today and I'm not sure I can make it without the procedure. Waiting for their response.                      

ODE ON A CONCRETE URN

 

Seen at the other end of Tower Grove Park from yesterday's picture. Keats would not have liked my poor joke, but it's what popped into my head. My head should be clearer in a couple of days after I get my lumbar spine blasted on Thursday.                    

VOICES OF SPRING

 

Explosions of tulips in Tower Grove Park. Although it is a city park, there is a private foundation that supports and helps maintain it. Today's background music: https://youtu.be/c3Ywo8Tsyys?si=ckDPPi_brJnDHdff                

NEW NEIGHBORS

 

There is a crook in the downspout of our house that sometimes attracts nesting birds. It's a bit precarious but squirrels can't get to it. Some years no one shows up. We have had robins a couple of times. This year we have not seen the usual cardinals and robins but there are lots of doves. A pair has  set up housekeeping in this spot and we are waiting to see some little peepy heads.                   

SANTA HAS HIS SLEIGH

 

But here, in suburban St. Louis, the Easter Bunny tools around in a Ford Mustang convertible. I wonder how many eggs fir in the small trunk.                                     

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - STREET SCENE

 

We spent a lot of time on the road Tuesday driving north from the Costa Rican border into Nicaragua. This is the southern town of Rivas. Some general impressions: Nicaragua is notably poorer than CR. The houses are mostly smaller and in rough shape. The cars are older and more beat up, and there are fewer of them. Lots of horse-drawn carts. In more populous areas, there are many autorickshaws, like you see in parts of Asia. Busses and some trucks are as festively painted and religiously decorated as in India. Few if any modern strip centers that are now common in CR. Many fewer supermarkets; our guide said they are too expensive and people prefer to buy from local roadside vendors. Flags are everywhere, with more of Daniel Ortega's Sandinista National Liberation Front than the national flag.

The day was exhausting and we took yesterday off. More of this to come.             

IT'S NOT EVERY DAY . . .

 

. . . that we watch spider monkeys on a volcanic island in Lake Nicaragua, eating fruit provided by tourists during a boat ride. As I mentioned, this is a big lake (19th largest in the world), with volcanoes in and around it. Some big blow sent huge chunks of black rock through the air, creating a group of islands in the northwest corner. This pair of monkeys were settled here, we were told, for rehab purposes.

Late post today. The tour company picked us up at 4 AM and got us back at 9 PM. Now a slow day.                     

WE DID IT IN THE 1940S

 

According to Merriam-Webster:

Fascism : a populist political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual, that is associated with a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, and that is characterized by severe economic and social regimentation and by forcible suppression of opposition

Sound about right? Again, from the No Kings rally. Don't know what I'll do over the Easter weekend since my mobility isn't very good. 

FREE BURRITO

 

Catholic Worker is a long-established left wing Catholic organization based in New York City. When I was in high school and had the run of the city by subway I think I ended up at some event there. A contingent of them was at No Kings Saturday, with this man calling out "Free burritos! Don't march hungry!" They gave a neatly foil wrapped snack to anyone in need. I guess that was part of their point.                     

NOT MY PROBLEM

 

I didn't listen to the president's speech last night - I wanted to get some decent sleep. Everything I needed to know was on the news this morning. Here's something that struck me. Although the U.S. and Israel started the war and Iran's closing the Straight of Hormuz was an obvious consequence, Trump thinks it's the rest of the world's problem to reopen it. Not ours. We spilled all the candy but somebody else has to pick it up.               

CITY DAILY PHOTO APRIL THEME - ENTERTAINMENT

 

What do you like to see, hear and do when you go out for an evening of fun - or choose to stay at home? Our choices of entertainment in today's society seem limitless. As the house photographer for the St. Louis Fringe, I have an obvious place to look for an example but a huge amount to choose from. These girls from a high school on the edge of the area performed a spin on A Midsummer Night's Dream called A Tale of Puck. Now that was entertaining.                         

MUG SHOT

 

I think I will leave the commentary to you, gentle reader. He does like his face and name on absolutely everything possible. Think of the opportunities.                 

WHITE, GOLD AND OUTTA HERE

 

Maybe not the best picture from Art In Bloom, but it's a travel day. Flying today to a giant airline hub and spending the night. Saturday morning down to our home away from home in Costa Rica. I think it's +/- our twenty-third visit to the country over some decades (we obviously like it). Anybody want to see pictures of beautiful Dallas - Ft. Worth International Airport?            

NO KINGS

 

The third No Kings demonstrations took place across America yesterday. There were 50 scheduled in Missouri, with a big one in downtown St. Louis. Mrs. C and I went, and an absolutely perfect day brought out a big crowd. No estimates yet of numbers. The mass of people marched down a main thoroughfare to the baseball stadium, where a game was about to end. My spine didn't carry me that far.                     

PLAY BALL!

 

It's opening weekend of the baseball season in the U.S. When I was young, I was interested in all kinds of sports, like most American boys. Over time, I have become bored with most of it, particularly our version of football, which I despise for its gratuitous violence and crass spectacle. There is still a soft spot, though, for baseball. I spent a bunch of my youth in the cheap seats in Yankee Stadium (two versions back). Thursday was opening day for our beloved Cardinals, who squeezed out a come-from-behind 9 - 7 victory over Tampa Bay.

We are going to try to get to the No Kings rally today with my rollator, camera and help from Mrs. C. 

           

SPRING, REALLY?

 

Fake ruins in Tower Grove Park, a 19th Century Romantic fantasy. No flowers around here yet, maybe because St. Louis can't figure out what season it is. When I shot this yesterday afternoon, the temperature was 94 F / 34.4 C. This morning as I write this, it is 40 F / 4.4 C. Not normal.                          

BUDS

 

Another early sign of the season. I have to confess that this is from the archives. The arthritis at the bottom of my spine has gotten a lot worse and I'm not walking well. There is a pain management procedure scheduled for April 9 that has helped in the past, but until then it will be either old stuff or whatever I can shoot from my car (sitting is okay).