Prague pics

 sudden cloudburst that caught us by surprise in the public square....

 Charles Bridge (not sure my pics do justice to the statuary and grandeur, certainly this one doesn't)

vi

Awwww....

 Street food on the public square: Prague's version of "pizza" (garlicky bread, ketchup, cheese).  Note the "Prague Ham" in the left corner--basically a plate of ham cooked on a spit complete with crackling.  I got four giant hunks of meat and three pieces of amazing rye bread.  Plus, Pilsner Urquell.  (I actually preferred Kozel dark--sorry B.J.).  "All tradition, no nutrition"?

 I took countless cityscapes--not even sure these are the best, although they were taken on the prettiest day, so the light helped....

New fave building....

St Vitus Cathedral in Prague Castle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Vitus_Cathedral


Awe-inspiring:

trip/visit o' a lifetime....

a different kind of archeological remnant....

Just outside of the castle (below) was this--any guesses what it is?

It's a World War II coastal fortification.  The slots are for guns and there's grass on top to hide it from bombers.  Apparently they are common all over England where attacks were likely.

Jars a bit strangely with the castle begun in 1313, but 700 years from now....

Dustanburgh Castle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunstanburgh_Castle

Along the North Sea, about 45 minutes north of Newcastle.  Pretty much speaks for itself, I think.  Absolutely majestic scenery.

Rothbury hike

Went with some friends for a vigorous hike around the countryside that surrounds Rothbury
[http://www.rothbury.co.uk/].  We were in the shadows of the Cheviots, the mountain range that marks the Scottish border.

We huddled under rock outcroppings when necessary, in a mini-cave of sorts:

And took a quick nap when necessary:

It was amazing.  In the space of about four hours we had bright sunshine, unreal gale-force winds, whipping sideways rain, and back to sunshine, all in a mix of rocky terrain, country footpaths, and low bursh covered hills.

At the end (stop me if you've heard this one before), we rewarded ourselves with ales and an epic pub lunch.....

allotment update

Below a few posts you'll see it in its full wilderness.
After a bit of work it became:

As I caught the gardening spirit:

now it currently stands at:

We went ahead and planted some taters, leeks, and spinach, although it may be too late in the season.  We will give it a go and if it doesn't work out, we will still be in good shape come winter to do it all properly. 

The back section is a giant pile of brush; we have to wait for the town to take down a tree and then I'll wait for autumn and create a firepile to burn the excess.  And hopefully not burn the neighborhood down in the process.

The only problem is that the people who share our plot (you may remember we chose first and stuck them with the worse section) had it all cleared, planted, gridded off with wooden planks to properly crop-rotate, and so on, within a week.  Bastards.