Occassionally the snuggly, fluffy thing I like to curl up with (Puddy) needs her own snuggly, fluffy thing – a huge toy dog that came to visit when my brother stayed with us for a while. It’s massive and so incredibly soft, so I wasn’t surprised when I came downstairs to find Puddy half on it, chin resting on its tummy, drifting off to sleep.

Of course, in taking the photo I managed to disturb her enough to get the pointy-eared reaction, but she quickly closed her eyes again. I don’t blame her – that dog is really cuddly!

Phill: What’s the point of a clock if it doesn’t tell the time?
Me: I’m sure it does … we just can’t figure it out.

The Astronomical Clock in Prague, located in the Old Town Square, is one of those sights that you look at and just don’t get. It’s colourful and interesting and quirky – but I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to read the thing!

According to Wiki (yes I am a Wiki addict), the clock is composed of three main components: the astronomical dial, representing the position of the Sun and Moon in the sky and displaying various astronomical details; “The Walk of the Apostles”, a clockwork hourly show of figures of the Apostles and other moving sculptures; and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months. Phew – that’s a lot of things all going on at the same time!

There was a large crowd gathered at the clock, but they weren’t all there for the same reason – we quickly discovered the clock was a popular meeting place for pub crawl groups.  We saw four or five groups waiting to go to their next pub, and we were offered flyer after flyer inviting us along. It wasn’t just a meeting place for pub crawls either – Phill was offered drugs by a man who “accidentally” bumped into him and muttered, “Wanna joint?” Phill, of course, declined and we both watched as the man moved on to some teens standing near us. Another bump, another mutter, and the three of them walked off together.

I remember looking at Phill and saying excitedly, “OMG, our first drug dealer!!”

Yes, it’s small things that amuse me.

Anyway, back to the clock. It was pretty impressive and we spent a while there trying to figure it out (but with no luck). The clock itself is mounted on the Old Town City Hall and it’s possible to climb to the top to get a birds-eye view of the Old Town Square, so we did that. There was a religious concert(?) being held in the square. I’m not sure which religion it was, but it was quite popular. You can see the yellow shrine in the photo and the stage is to the left, where there was singing and music.

It was very crowded at the top of the hall and very windy too. The walkways around the top are very narrow, so we had to keep squeezing to one side to let people pass. After ten minutes or so, we decided to go back down and look at the clock one last time.

We still couldn’t figure out what time it was, but it was definitely interesting!

There was one very famous building in Prague that Phill and I wanted to see – the Dancing House, nicknamed “Fred and Ginger” after Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, because the building, when viewed from a particular angle, resembles a pair of dancers.

Isn’t it beautiful in a strange way? The buildings in Prague were so interesting – at times it felt like we were standing in completely different centuries just blocks away from each other. Fred and Ginger are situated on the end of the building, as you can see in this next photo, so to see the “dancing building”, you need to go to the end and view it from this angle. I remember seeing the building and thinking that I couldn’t see the dancers at all, then we came to the end and turned around – and I saw it immediately.

The top floor is the fancy Celeste Restaurant, which has stunning views of Prague. Unfortunately we didn’t make it up there to eat, as much as that would have been an experience! We crossed the road and headed out onto the bridge, snapping photos like crazy tourists. I love being a crazy tourist sometimes, taking millions of photos of buildings and food and plants and animals. Nobody is going to roll their eyes and say you’re taking too many photos – you’re supposed to!

I love this photo because it shows the contrast in the style of the buildings – in just one photo, you’ve got such a range of design and colour! It was seriously amazing. At this point I was a little addicted to the Dancing House and Phill had to tear me away from taking more photos. I just wanted to make sure I had the shots I wanted, since I wouldn’t get another opportunity to photograph it in a while.

The Dancing House is on the banks of the Vltava River, which is the longest river in the Czech Republic.

Some of our best lunches were simple store-bought food, eaten while perched on the wall running along the river, watching the boats go by. We actually walked along the river one day for hours – it was very beautiful but very long too and by the end of it, we were absolutely exhausted!

I know it’s been a while since we returned from our EuroTrip, but Terri’s comment reminded me that I’ve been very slack in posting about it, so I’ve finally got my act together and started writing up some posts. I’ve only done one so far and already it’s bringing back fantastic memories of our trip! I’m excited about sharing our experiences overseas and I hope you enjoy reading about it.

Puddy likes to go outside for a few hours a day, spending her time curled up under the trees in the shade, or on our table and chairs. She’s not very adventurous – she sometimes takes off and leaves the yard but she’s getting old (ha!) and prefers the lazy approach now. She’s never caught a bird (or come close to it) and there’s no other cats in the neighbourhood anymore so she’s safe from nature and nature is safe from her.

Well, that was how it used to be. Now nature seems to have some beef with Puddy because there are two little squarking birds who have targeted her. They sit on the wall and scream their heads off at her, ruffling their feathers, while Puddy crouches on the ground, staring up at them, chattering away.

I don’t know how it started, or when, but all of a sudden whenever I let Puddy outside, the birds are there only seconds later, squarking at her. It’s not a cute little squark, it’s a loud, annoying scream that drives me nuts, especially when I’m trying to relax inside. I end up having to go to the door and clap loudly to scare them off – but even then they simply fly up, hover and come back. Phill said he’s seen them swoop Puddy and I wouldn’t be surprised – everything about the confrontation screams “bully”.

Puddy doesn’t even try to run after them, she just chatters away with a few little audible meows in there. When I come outside and scare them away, she turns and looks at me as if to say, “Hey, I was dealing with it!”

They are worse than the crows in the morning because at least the crows stop making noises once we’re awake. These little birds are there all day long and it’s really not what I want to hear on my day off!

I’ve brought Puddy inside because of the birds, but also because I just spotted a wasp-infested tree out the front and I don’t want Puddy to think they’re something to play with. As I bent down to pick her up, I spotted another nest hanging under the outside table, which is pretty much right next to the screen door, with wasps buzzing around it, so I might get Phill to deal with that one when he gets home. Until then, Puddy stays inside.

I didn’t manage to get a photo of the birds because, surprise surprise, they disappeared as soon as Puddy came inside. I heard their faint squarking which could mean they’ve found another target. I wonder what’s going on? Are they protecting a nest? I haven’t seen one anywhere near our house that Puddy might be a threat to. Are they just bullies? It’s possible. Why won’t Puddy at least run after them to scare them away? Because she’s a wuss?

Does anyone else have this problem? I thought it was meant to be the cats scaring the birds, not the other way round!

Edit to add: Just as I went to hit “publish” the damn birds came back, squarking loudly from the wall. Puddy is inside at the screen door, chattering at them. How do I get rid of them?????