#getting lost in the beauty of prague

[spaceorphan18]

Bits and Pieces : Moment 1

This is the first one in an anthology of one-shots where I fill in missing moments during Season 3. Mostly, I just wanted to explore the unseen things we didn't get on the show, and do some character studies for Pen and Colin. The first one is set just as the season opens, from Pen's POV.

****

A stack of letters waits for Penelope on her nightstand.  She knows what they are, and yet moves around her room, attempting not to look at them. 

The summer had been… as good as one could expect given the abysmal end to the previous season.  Her sisters’ weddings had been dizzying affairs but at least they left Penelope in relative peace.  Left to sit in the corner to read.  To write.  To think.  And think and think and think… 

Oh how she had wanted to get out of her own head.  

Returning to Mayfair hasn’t been the worst experience.  Plenty of new faces showing themselves this season.  Plenty of new, lovely ladies -- many of whom she sees shades of herself in, making their debut.  Plenty of things for Lady Whistledown to write about.  

She isn’t able to make herself feel better but at least through her writing she could do better for others.  She is trying to atone for her past mistakes.  She is of the mind that even if she can’t do anything about herself, she can at least attempt ease for others.  She is not completely powerless.  

The stack of letters still waits.  

She tells Rae she doesn’t need help to unpack.  All of her books are carefully returned to their home on the shelves.  All of her hideous dresses crammed back into the wardrobe.  All of her secrets buried safely underneath the floorboards.  She has a lot to do now that she’s back.  

Yet the distraction on the nightstand is becoming unavoidable.  

She sits on the edge of the bed, and picks up the first one from the pile.  It’s thick and heavy in her hand.  She knows from experience that it’s not a single sheet of paper, but pages and pages of writing, front and back.  He used to write her everything.  Apparently he still does.  It makes her stomach turn.  

The postmark is from Dublin and dated a week and a half earlier. 

Oh god… is he close to home? Her heart involuntarily flutters at the thought.  

Of course he’s close to home -- the season is starting.  Francesca is making her debut this year.  He would want to be there for that, wouldn’t he? 

She stares at the letter and contemplates.

She had spent so long over the past few months trying to forget the gentleness of his face, the soothing sound of his voice, the protective grasp of his hand.  So long did she try to untwist the deeply rooted thorns of love so painfully ground into her heart.  

She looks at the stack of letters and wonders why every time she takes a step forward there’s always something to pull her back.  

She begins to flip through the envelopes, noting the vast array of postmarks on them and wonders even more -- did he miss her?

Lisbon, Madrid, Barcelona, Bordeau… 

Her mind races back to that evening, back to that gut wrenching night.  The kindness she thought she saw in his eyes.  

I will always look after you. 

…Paris, Lyon, Zurich, Munich… 

The flippancy of his voice, how it tore through her heart like a knife.  

I would never dream of courting Penelope Featherington

…Milan, Rome, Venice, Vienna… 

How could such sacred words to her be so hollow to him? 

You are special to me.  

…Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam, Brussels…

How was it she could be deluding herself for so long? 

Not in your wildest fantasies

…Athens.  Athens?? 

It’s the last envelope in the stack, and the only one that gives her pause.  There’s no way… she tears open the letter, not helping herself, and notes the date from a year and a half prior.  It must have gotten lost or delayed.  

She unfolds the letter and a few dried, dark red flower petals fall out.  

Penelope, 

I spent the day wandering the beautiful gardens of our host and came across an array of poppies that reminded me of you.  Of the splendid color of your hair.  As much as I’m enjoying my tour, I suppose I’m missing home just a little bit.  And looking forward to the day when I can describe such beauty to you in person. 

Or maybe, I wish you were here to see these flowers in their natural glory.  

The best I can do is send a little piece of Greece to you.  

Colin 

She casts the letter onto her bed with a frustrated cry.  

Why? 

Why is there always something that makes her love him just a little bit more? 

She hops off the bed, collecting all of the letters, including the one she opened, and gathers them in her arms.  In a moment of anger, she rushes to the fireplace with the intention of throwing all of them in.  But she stops, mesmerized by the flames.  .  

Her brain is screaming at her to throw them all in and be done with it.  Nothing good will come of keeping those letters.  

Her heart won’t let her; keeps her frozen in place.  His letters are a piece of himself that he’s giving to her.  And she can’t so easily cast that aside.  

Resigned to her own predictability, she heads to her desk, and opens the bottom drawer, placing them gently against all the rest of the letters she’s received from him over the years.  She still won’t read them.  Won’t allow herself to read them. 

The poppy petals she has kept out, and puts them in a small jar on her desk with other small trinkets that she has kept over the years, smiling at them fondly as she does so.  

She has to try to move on somehow, someday.  

But today is not that day…  

It’s only later that she realizes there have been no letters from Eloise.  Her heart aches just a little bit more.  

[xanadontit]

For those who asked how my brother enjoyed his little European tour the tl;dr is he absolutely loved it, 12/10, would do it again.

His favorite city (and he said he’d like to go back!) was Prague. Reasons: beautiful city and they had a lot of freedom there to explore. He said that the structured tours were pretty fun but being able to go off and get lost was the best for him. My little adventurer!

Lucerne was the “prettiest” city according to him but he caught a cold there and wasn’t feeling so hot so he’d also like to go back and “do stuff without feeling crappy.” He’s also dying to snowboard in the Alps. Well OK!

Hot goss interlude: Leo and Camryn are officially back together. But don’t tell anyone, OK?

He’d like a little more time to explore Dresden but other than that isn’t dying to go back to Germany. “We spent the most time there and I’d like to check out other places.” Fair! Pretty sure they also traumatized the poor tour bus driver, Dimitri, while there. Sorry, Dimitri!

Paris had the worst food! Sacre bleu! Per the kid, the organized dinners were underwhelming at best and straight up gross at worst. “I had a cheese crepe and I think the cheese had gone bad.” Betrayed by melted cheese… the horror. But he said the sunset cruise on the Seine was beautiful and he’d definitely go back. Also he was able to procure a non-sus crepe to right the previous crepe wrong. He also had really good pizza there for lunch a couple of days.

Speaking of food, I was curious if he was adventurous and he said “as much as possible.” They were largely left to their own devices (within reason) to get lunch. Usually kids and a chaperone would break off into a smaller group to get lunch somewhere. Dinners were with the whole group (50 kids plus chaperones) and arranged in advance and there wasn’t much choice in terms of ordering. But there was usually local entertainment so he said even if he wasn’t in the mood for the chicken being served it was still fun.

No one was sent home, no one did anything terribly insane, and the chaperones, understandably, had a drink or two each night (per my brother they “were drunk” but he’s prone to exaggeration). One of my brother’s friends got day drunk by accident and lost on his way back to the bus so he had to drop a pin and a few kids had to fetch him lol. My brother wanted to try a German beer so he did and when I asked how it was said “it was a beer” lol.

He bought me an insane purse in Paris; it’s very much like a Chanel bag in that it’s quilted with a chain strap but it’s not a Chanel. He told me the other option he found was an alligator print but he thought this was more classy for me. How much longer until he realizes his big sister is three raccoons in a trench coat and not some debutante?

I’m so, so happy he had this experience but I’m also really happy he’s home.

[punkahudsonia]

Okay, so. Let’s talk Goncharov (1973). One thing I think has been largely lost in the (deserved) praise of the film on tumblr is just how weird Goncharov is as a film in general (I mean, you can’t tell me the plot as described doesn’t seem doomed to be a confusing narrative mess,even if you have three hours to tell that story; it should not be the absolute tightly-wound banger that it is in practice) but also how weird it is as an example of a Scorsese film. This, I think, is inevitable, because almost everyone on tumblr is young enough that Scorsese has ALWAYS been a Big Name in Film. To see him attached to a masterpiece doesn’t seem weird in that context. And since very few people got to see this movie before it was digitized and widely distributed for the first time in the mid-aughts, it seems to have largely become viewed as a creation of Martin Scorsese, the master filmmaker. But. Martin Scorsese, master filmmaker, had made a grand total of two features prior to Goncharov (three if you count Mean Streets, but let’s come back to that). One, Who’s That Knocking at my Door, has some similar themes to Goncharov, but it’s a very rough film (hell, the only reason it got distribution is because Scorsese recut it as a sexploitation film). And the second, well, it’s called Boxcar Bertha and Scorsese made it for Roger Corman. It’s not what you’d call Great Cinema. By 1972/1973 Scorsese’s working feverishly on two films. One will become Mean Streets, which is a real firecracker of a movie. It’s compact, furious, and intensely personal, and here again we see some themes that also get deployed in Goncharov; a trio of two men and a woman as the central figures, an obsession with honor and loyalty, personal dissolution and power. It’s a masterwork and when it saw general distribution in the US, it deservedly made Scorsese’s name as a filmmaker. But the other film. Oh, my god, the other film is Goncharov. And it is so technically proficient, so richly written, so layered, so complex, and so goddamned beautiful to look at, and how the fuck, one wonders, did the same man make the scrappy indie crime drama based on his own childhood friends and neighborhoods, AND the complex meditation on grief and obsession and mafia and soviet politics, in the same goddamned 24 months?? How does one film feel like a fresh wound from a creator just launching his stardom while the other feels like the culmination of a lifetime of study of how to make a film that hits you where you live?

Okay, so. I have a theory on that.

We all know by now that Goncharov almost didn’t see the light of day, allegedly due to mafia objections to its distribution leading to the systematic destruction of the general-release prints. We know also that the producer of the film was Matouš Cimrman, grandson of the immortal Czech polymath and playwright  Jára Cimrman  -- hat tip to tumblr user @eightfourone on that, because their post is what got my wheels turning here. Of course Jára Cimrman’s son František Cimrman, Matouš Cimrman’s father, was a legend in prewar European cinema for his intimate dramas that drew on his father’s theatrical sensibilities. "Franta” fought with the Czech resistance in WW2 and then returned to filmmaking, though most of his work from the Soviet period (1948-c 1965) was virtually inaccessible to the West. In 1966 he was imprisoned and his films were banned and destroyed, and although he was supposedly released in 1967 he never made another film, and there’s no official record of his existence after the Prague Spring in 1968. Most people think he was disappeared by the Soviet Czech government, with a small minority thinking he was smuggled to the West for his own safety. His son has never, ever talked about Franta’s post-WW2 life in public. But I have another theory. While I’ve never been able to see his films in person with the exception of Pískle (”Spring Chickens”, 1933, but every film student’s seen that one) , the descriptions we have of his Soviet-era works talk about an increasing preoccupation with time passing, with fixing mistakes, with the magnetic pull of loyalty between men who can’t admit their attractions for one another. And, of course, Franta Cimrman shared his father’s gift for finely developed, humanized, well written women (I think any scholar worth their salt HAS to credit that to the huge influence of Franta’s mother/ Jára’s second wife, Karolina, and I’m not going to go on a huge ADHD tangent here about how cool SHE was, you’ll have to google, this is stupidly long already).

What’s the one thing you hear over and over when people discuss Goncharov, especially in contrast to Scorsese’s body of other work? How great the women are, especially Katya (my beloved, my pearl beyond price, my girlboss, etc.). Doesn’t it strike you as strange that he made a film with Katya in it, and then just . . . made the rest of the Martin Scorsese movies after that? For that matter, isn’t it a little strange that he managed to evoke the energy of worldweary inevitability so well when his prior films are, if anything, textbook examples of classic Movie Brat youthful auteurism and his next films seem to snap right back to that oeuvre? Say what you will about Taxi Driver, but it’s CLEARLY a film about young men’s discontent, not middle-aged disillusionment. Look. I’m not saying that Martin Scorsese didn’t make Goncharov. His fingerprints are all over the film visually and narratively, and we have recollections from the actors involved clearly demonstrating that Martin Scorsese was behind the camera lens and on the set on a daily basis. But one of the few concrete details we know about the NOTORIOUSLY secretive preproduction/scripting process is that the producer, "Mateo jwhj0517", reached out personally to Scorsese after seeing a rare UK screening of Who’s That Knocking at my Door in or around 1970 in Birmingham (and listen man I’m not going to judge him if he went to see it for the sexploitation scenes, they didn’t have an internet yet, you do what you got to do). I just don’t think it’s crazy to say that there was more than one Cimrman in those script meetings. I don’t think it’s crazy to say that an artist who had lived through the brutal first half of the 20th century, with a good chunk of that time under Soviet rule in Czechslo-fuckin-vakia, would perhaps be better positioned to create a masterpiece about brutality, failure, and the cruelty of relentless time. (I think it was Pauline Kael who wrote the essay on the Mafia’s parallels to the Soviet authoritarian governments? IDK it’s late I’m trying not to write a book here cut me some slack). I don’t think it’s crazy to posit that a man at the end of a life of creative vision would see something in a younger artist, and take him under his wing, and help guide his hands on the clay when it needed done. Anyway I look forward to the inevitable “Punka doesn’t believe Scorsese made Goncharov / Punka is pro-Soviet Czechslovakia / Punka thinks this film was made by a ghost and also is a homophobe for writing not one word of Gonch/Andrey in this entire novel of a post” callout.

[m-i-s-a-n-t-r-o-p]

how do you actually study for subjects that do not interest you, that you just KNOW you will not need for your chosen career and how do you stay motivated enough to care about a university that completely fails every single day to make you feel good about what you are studying?

how do i balance selfcare, good eating habits, good grades and finished homework, a new relationship, altogether while trying to make new friends and keeping the ones you made in highschool, while also trying to survive in a new big city where there is no nature and the people are all so rude?

this is a post to all the people who just can’t romanticize their way out of a bad life situation. lately, everything in my life has been going badly - my mental and physical health declined to a point where i was feeling so lost and so alone and so so tired and weak. i could not care less about my uni; all the subjects are either way too hard for me or i know them completely. and nothing seems to interest me.

but i want to get better. so here’s a list of things that are actually good about my new life:

- i have a loving and supportive boyfriend

- my roommate is amazing

- my dorm is pretty and new

- we learn a lot with our hands! it’s so amazing to make things that you can touch!!

- my history professor is so so great, i love him so much

- our technology classes are super interesting

- my art teacher is pretty funny and she wants the best for us

- i get to draw again

- my walk to/from uni is actually quite beautiful

- the people in my class are kind of cool

- prague is beautiful

- i like riding the tram (not when it’s packed lol)

- sometimes i get to see my friends from prague that i otherwise would only see once a year

- i get to tell everyone i go to a prestigious uni lol

- my family supports me

- my best friend lives in the same building as i do which means we get to have tea afternoons where we reflect and heal together!

so see, maybe it’s not all that bad. maybe i just need to look at the good stuff sometimes. uni is hard. not going to uni is hard. i chose my hard and i want to make sure that it’s worth it. hang in there; things are gonna get better. and if not, make them better.

peace and love x

[hanzajesthanza]

"[I do have] a truly important mission, a truly sacred duty. What I'm doing, I'm doing for you. For us. My mission will change the nature of the world, improve the world, make it better and more beautiful. When it dawns, we will live, you and I, live and love to the end of our days in such a world, a truly Divine Kingdom. That is what I desire, Jutta. I dream of it."

A. Sapkowski, Warriors of God (Chapter Fifteen)

one of the most touching romantic scenes, but rereading this in context with the rest of the book and the end of the series just shows how fatal of a flaw reynevan's idealism became, manifested in these words, these unfulfilled promises to her... he wanted to have it all, and lost it all.

furthermore... stories about wrongfully-maligned characters have always provoked a strong emotional reaction within me. across the trilogy, reynevan is not only accused of so much wrongdoing, but his reputation falls very quickly from bad to worse—murderer, kidnapper, rapist, heretic, sorcerer...

and with two years separating him and jutta since the events on grochowa mountain, and with him in these two years living in prague and becoming a hussite with complete conviction, that he must have been a changed man. plus, that he brought her there with a love spell...

i can't help but think... as jutta was constantly reminded of reynevan's repuation for two years, and now compelled by magic to meet her hussite sorcerer lover amidst snowbanks... as we see their relations from reynevan's perspective, we get this line:

"His memory of her was different. (...) Her eyes had changed. Or perhaps they hadn't changed at all, perhaps what he saw in them now had always been there?"

reynevan senses that she has hidden depths that he has not yet discovered. jutta may have felt the same, looking into his eyes—but, instead of "[the] enigma waiting to be solved, [the] mystery waiting to be discovered" that reynevan sees in her, what does she see in his?

[saintsenara]

11, 13, 18 for the not from the usa asks 😊

thank you very much for the ask from the i’m not from the states ask game, anon!

11. who is your favourite native writer/poet?

i've given one answer to this here - and i still refuse to say seamus heaney - so i'm going to go with... the novelist anna burns.

13. does your country (or family) have any specific superstitions or traditions that might seem strange to outsiders?

as a nation, we love/"love" parades and bonfires. maybe you're thinking that doesn't sound strange... but it is the way we do it. the same is true of street art.

as a nation, we very much don't love small talk. this caused a lot of trouble for me when i lived in england, because people will ask you benign questions [where are you from? do you follow any sports? how do you pronounce the letter h?] because they're being nice... but over here any and all small talk is someone trying to work out what religion you are... [my apologies in particular to the wee girl who was trying to drum up interest in the christian union on my first day of university, asked me if i went to church, and was greeted with me immediately going full "who wants to know?"]

in terms of superstitions... we've got plenty. fairies are real, going out with wet hair will kill you, the child of prague stops rain, having itchy palms is a good thing, the devil lives in bread...

my favourite local one, though, is that a short drive from where i live there's the grave of a vampire king. because, the rest of the world is wrong to assume that dracula was from transylvania. he was actually an irishman.

18. do you speak with a dialect of your native language?

yes. in english i have a distinctive and beautiful accent which has only sometimes been described as "incomprehensible" and "nasal" [less so since i spent a decade living in britain and lost my rhotic r, which is a tragedy].

in irish, also yes. the irish language has three major dialects, which each have their own various subdivisions - so i speak the ulster dialect with a vaguely western-ulster flavour. you can get some idea of how that might sound from the youtube channel gaeilge i mo chroí - especially this interview she does with a native ulster speaker.

but it is worth saying that speaking any degree of irish is still relatively uncommon here. my dad made us learn the language fluently for... political reasons, but i was one of the only people who could speak it beyond a couple of phrases by the time i started secondary school [where it was on the curriculum]. so when i was younger i definitely spoke in a way which was slightly archaic/literary - and which was also influenced by the idiosyncrasies of my own family - which it took a bit of time to break the habits of...

contemporary irish-language media etc. in northern ireland is mostly found in belfast, so i also have a bit of a belfast twang in irish.

basically, it's a mess.

[lilacliquors]

day two: rocking around the christmas tree

pairing: sersi x reader

word count: 772

notes: here's day two! this one was super fun to write and i think it turned out pretty cute, so i hope you enjoy. as always, reblogs, comments, or even an ask about the fic are highly recommended, and likes are appreciated <3

christmas music filled the room as you came out of the kitchen. two mugs of hot cocoa were in your hands and you set them down on the coffee table on top of snowflake coasters. sersi was bringing down boxes from your attic, and you smiled at the jingling. you two had collected numerous ornaments over the years, and now it was your favorite day of the year: it was time to decorate the tree. sersi made it clear that each year, you’d have a real tree, no fakes. she enjoyed the smell of real pine too much to ever give it up, and you were happy to oblige.

“don’t you look excited?” she asked, and you couldn’t help but laugh.

“of course i am. it’s the best day of the year. hot cocoa, warm cookies, and getting to decorate the tree with the most amazing woman in the world,” you said, wrapping an arm around her waist to press a kiss to her cheek. you caught her face flushing slightly before she returned the gesture, and you grinned. letting go of her, you crouched down and opened up the nearest box of ornaments, sighing happily as the light that bounced off of them lit up the room.

“it’s also a nice little walk down memory lane,” she said, crouching down across from you. you nodded in agreement and gently began to pull ornaments out from their boxes. but with each one you removed, you wondered if you’d be able to fit them all onto the tree. perhaps you could talk your girlfriend into getting a second christmas tree, a fake one for ornament purposes only. she could be agreeable to that…

“oh my god, i remember this one,” you said, snapping yourself from your own thoughts. it was a glass ornament, beautifully red and gold, something you had picked up during a christmas in prague.

“oh, i love that one. it reminds me of makkari’s suit a little bit,” she said.

“it does, doesn’t it? i bet we have at least one for each of them at this point,” you said, and she chuckled softly.

“if not, i think we should try and collect some.”

you two shared a brief kiss before getting started with hanging up the ornaments. you reminisced about each one you carefully pulled the box: a glittering stocking ornament from italy, a fat and jovial santa from russia, the little eiffel tower covered in strings of christmas lights you got in france all those years ago. each one just as special as the last.

“i never realized just how many places we’ve been,” you said softly as you hung up a cute little novelty ornament from mexico.

“me too. it’s actually kind of scary. but there’s no one else i’d rather see the world with than you,” she said, reaching to give your hand a squeeze. you smiled a bit and glanced back down into the box, then tilted your head as you reached down. you pulled out a small ornament, and you could feel the tip of your nose tingle.

“oh wow… i thought we’d lost those when we had to flee germany all those years ago,” she said, and you could only nod.

in your hand sat a very simple ornament. two ceramic hands that held onto simple gold bands. your very first wedding bands. of course you two wore different ones now, nothing too elegant for either of you, but these…

“well, i’d say this is a christmas miracle, wouldn’t you?” she asked, setting her hands on your shoulders.

“yeah, i’m gonna have to agree. and i know just where to put these,” you said softly. you walked up to the tree, and in the open spot just below the christmas star that adorned the very top, you carefully hung the ornament, then stepped back to admire your handiwork.

“i think it looks beautiful,” she said, coming up to stand beside you. she took your hand and gave it a squeeze, smiling as you squeezed back.

“i do, too. but i did have one small question to ask.”

“and what might that be?”

“would you be opposed to a fake tree? simply for decorative purposes. we still have two unopened boxes!”you gestured around you, and she laughed while giving your hand another squeeze.

“you know what? i think that sounds like a great idea. we’ll go get one tomorrow, i promise. i kind of what to see what other old memories we can find buried in these boxes,” she said, and you smiled warmly at the love of your life.

“yeah, me too.”

[joywaytravel]

💘Romantic Escapes: Top Travel Destinations for Couples💘

Love and adventure go hand in hand, and what better way to celebrate your connection than by exploring the world together? Whether you're planning a honeymoon, an anniversary trip, or a spontaneous getaway, here are some enchanting travel destinations for couples:

1. Santorini, Greece: Known for its stunning sunsets, whitewashed buildings, and crystal-clear waters, Santorini is a dream destination for lovers.

2. Venice, Italy: Glide through the picturesque canals on a gondola ride, savor authentic Italian cuisine, and get lost in the maze of romantic alleyways.

3. Bali, Indonesia: Embrace the island's serene beauty, lush landscapes, and luxurious resorts for an unforgettable escape.

4. Paris, France: The City of Love needs no introduction. Explore iconic landmarks, savor exquisite pastries, and take leisurely strolls along the Seine.

5. Kyoto, Japan: Discover tranquility in ancient temples, stunning cherry blossoms, and traditional tea ceremonies.

6. Maldives: Immerse yourself in overwater bungalows, clear turquoise waters, and some of the world's most stunning coral reefs.

7. Prague, Czech Republic: Wander hand in hand through historic streets, cross charming bridges, and enjoy a fairy tale romance.

8. Bora Bora, French Polynesia: Experience overwater bungalows, lush jungles, and coral reefs teeming with marine life.

9. New York City, USA: From Broadway shows to rooftop bars, the Big Apple offers an exciting blend of culture and entertainment.

10. Florence, Italy: Explore Renaissance art and architecture, indulge in Tuscan wine, and savor the romantic atmosphere.

Joyway Luggage: Your Travel Partner for Every Journey

As you embark on your romantic adventures, trust Joyway Luggage to accompany you every step of the way. Our luggage is designed for style, durability, and convenience, ensuring you have the perfect travel companion for your couple's getaway.

Joyway Luggage is always with you on the way. Safe travels!

Explore our range of travel solutions at joyway-luggage.com and make your romantic escapades even more memorable and hassle-free.

[spaceorphan18]

The Letters

A/N :: This is just a reworking of something I put up originally as a multi-chapter, and decided they'd work better as one-shots. So, the series is now called Bits and Pieces; and it's a collection of canon-compliant one-shots. This is the first one.

This is set pre-3x01, and is about Penelope deciding what to do with all the letters Colin has sent her.

Read it on Ao3 if you like

****

A stack of letters waits for Penelope on her nightstand.  She knows what they are, and yet moves around her room, attempting not to look at them. 

The summer had been… as good as one could expect given the abysmal end to the previous season.  Her sisters’ weddings had been dizzying affairs but at least they left Penelope in relative peace.  Left to sit in the corner to read.  To write.  To think.  And think and think and think … 

Oh how she had wanted to get out of her own head.  

Returning to Mayfair hasn’t been the worst experience.  Plenty of new faces showing themselves this season.  Plenty of new, lovely ladies -- many of whom she sees shades of herself in, making their debut.  Plenty of things for Lady Whistledown to write about.  

She isn’t able to make herself feel better but at least through her writing she could do better for others.  She is trying to atone for her past mistakes.  She is of the mind that even if she can’t do anything about herself, she can at least attempt ease for others.  She is not completely powerless.  

The stack of letters still waits.  

She tells Rae she doesn’t need help to unpack.  All of her books are carefully returned to their home on the shelves.  All of her hideous dresses crammed back into the wardrobe.  All of her secrets buried safely underneath the floorboards.  She has a lot to do now that she’s back.  

Yet the distraction on the nightstand is becoming unavoidable.  

She sits on the edge of the bed, and picks up the first one from the pile.  It’s thick and heavy in her hand.  She knows from experience that it’s not a single sheet of paper, but pages and pages of writing, front and back.  He used to write her everything.  Apparently he still does.  It makes her stomach turn.  

The postmark is from Dublin and dated a week and a half earlier. 

Oh god… is he close to home? Her heart involuntarily flutters at the thought.

Of course he’s close to home -- the season is starting.  Francesca is making her debut this year.  He would want to be there for that, wouldn’t he? 

She stares at the letter and contemplates.

She had spent so long over the past few months trying to forget the gentleness of his face, the soothing sound of his voice, the protective grasp of his hand.  So long did she try to untwist the deeply rooted thorns of love so painfully ground into her heart.  

She looks at the stack of letters and wonders why every time she takes a step forward there’s always something to pull her back.  

She begins to flip through the envelopes, noting the vast array of postmarks on them and wonders even more -- did he miss her?

Lisbon, Madrid, Barcelona, Bordeaux… 

Her mind races back to that evening, back to that gut wrenching night.  The kindness she thought she saw in his eyes.  

I will always look after you. 

…Paris, Lyon, Zurich, Munich… 

The flippancy of his voice, how it tore through her heart like a knife.  

I would never dream of courting Penelope Featherington

…Milan, Rome, Venice, Vienna… 

How could such sacred words to her be so hollow to him? 

You are special to me.  

…Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam, Brussels…

How was it she could be deluding herself for so long? 

Not in your wildest fantasies

…Athens.  Athens?? 

It’s the last envelope in the stack, and the only one that gives her pause.  There’s no way… she tears open the letter, not helping herself, and notes the date from a year and a half prior.  It must have gotten lost or delayed.  

She unfolds the letter and a few dried, dark red flower petals fall out.  

Penelope, 

I spent the day wandering the beautiful gardens of our host and came across an array of poppies that reminded me of you.  Of the splendid color of your hair.  As much as I’m enjoying my tour, I suppose I’m missing home just a little bit.  And looking forward to the day when I can describe such beauty to you in person. 

Or maybe, I wish you were here to see these flowers in their natural glory.  

The best I can do is send a little piece of Greece to you.  

Colin 

She casts the letter onto her bed with a frustrated cry.  

Why? 

Why is there always something that makes her love him just a little bit more? 

She hops off the bed, collecting all of the letters, including the one she opened, and gathers them in her arms.  In a moment of anger, she rushes to the fireplace with the intention of throwing all of them in.  But she stops, mesmerized by the flames.  .  

Her brain is screaming at her to throw them all in and be done with it.  Nothing good will come of keeping those letters.  

Her heart won’t let her; keeps her frozen in place.  His letters are a piece of himself that he’s giving to her.  And she can’t so easily cast that aside.  

Resigned to her own predictability, she heads to her desk, and opens the bottom drawer, placing them gently against all the rest of the letters she’s received from him over the years.  She still won’t read them.  Won’t allow herself to read them. 

The poppy petals she has kept out, and puts them in a small jar on her desk with other small trinkets that she has kept over the years, smiling at them fondly as she does so.  

She has to try to move on somehow, someday.  

But today is not that day…  

It’s only later that she realizes there have been no letters from Eloise.  Her heart aches just a little bit more.  

[plenilune]

tagged by @endquestionmark an age and a half ago but I lost it in a tab. however I love to do a little Survey like it's 2004 on Xanga.

relationship status: ecstatically partnered, but non-monogamous

favorite color: the specific pale green smoothing to black of oxidised copper, and the dark dark pine green that is its companion.

favorite food: god I love food. favourite categories include: inventive sandwiches with many layers, very simple and perfect sandwiches (peanut butter, nice salami, ham on brioche with kewpie mayo, tamago sando, the old American man version of tamago sando which is very mustardy egg salad on toasted pumpernickel), tomato soup, buttered toast, ramens and stir fries, anything of the put an egg on it variety, Corey's chicken cooked in herbs and butter and white wine, Corey's strip steak, hot dogs from the roller grill at Speedway, anything you can order at a diner at 3am, Fancy Pizza, anything that goes in a fry-up, quiche, marble rye, beer bread, fresh baguette with cheddar, rosemary bread, focaccia, savoury scones, sourdough, bread, also bread, other bread, more bread,

song stuck in my head: perpetually the main riff from Charles Mingus' "Moanin'" (specifically this version), a tune which Corey and I have decided is just the soundtrack to an easily imagined animated piece about small terriers getting into Trouble. thus it has become the melody to at least a third of the little songs we sing to and about our small terrier when he is, getting himself into Trouble.

last thing i googled: kdjsshjkghs. well. it was "bicycle in tenebrae" because I watched the opening to Argento's Tenebrae last night and discovered the protagonist spends the first scene riding a MOTHERFUCKING CELESTE BIANCHI to the JFK airport and I needed to know if any other bicycle enthusiasts were talking about this. (a Bianchi is a very iconic Italian racing bicycle, often painted a highly recognisable shade of oxidised-copper blue-green called Celeste. anyway I happen to have one from the mid-80s because Corey, who works as a bike mechanic and salesperson at a terrible little bike shop that is absolutely exploiting them, scored a frame in perfect condition in my exact size and has been refurbishing her since like, August, and she is my pride and joy and the fastest and most beautiful bicycle in the WORLD.) the most ABSURD special-interest collision I've had in months. anyway Corey was able to identify the bike in the film down to the model and the approximate model year, which I thought was very sexy of them.

local time: 5:19 pm

dream trip: I want to show Corey (and everyone else I love) New York, the city I fell in love with, and Corey wants to show me London, which they fell in love with as a teenager, and we both want terribly to spend a month in Scotland, walking Edinburgh for hours and bicycling through the otherworldly green hills. I want to go back to Boston. I want to go back to West Virginia. I want to go back to Nova Scotia, and explore the plains of Canada as well, and I want to drive up the entire west coast and get my head lost on those long strange highways. I want to see Prague, and Tokyo, and Berlin, and Vienna, and Mumbai, and Sao Paolo, and Paris, and Beijing, and, everywhere that's a city that has become a myth of a city. I want to see places I'd never considered and fall in love with the unexpectedness of them. I want to take every single subway in the world. I want to go on a food tour of Italy, and Vietnam, and Turkey, and Morocco. I want to see forests that are older than any building I've ever touched. I want to see Australia, and Galapagos, and I want to get stoned as fuck with Rebecca and Britt in Atlanta and then go hiking, and for Corey and Rowan and Dylan and I to all cook a big meal together and then scream about tv, and go thrifting with JD in Texas, and have Kater show me her best weird secondhand shops in upstate New York, and Avery I want to lie on the floor with you and the record player and get so fucking lost, and I want all the people I love best to show me the places they love best, and tell me why it matters to them and try to see the ways in which they love that place and if I can get it inside of me, too. I want to see so much. I want to see everything.

[kirstlander]

I was tagged by the wonderful @likesummerrainn tysm <33 Post ten of comfort movies and tag ten people. Also these are in no particular order.

The Mummy (1999) This is THE ultimate comfort movie for me and my favourite movie of all time. There are no downsides: the cast, the action, the soundtrack chef's kiss. I've lost count of the amount of times I've seen this but it's been on the regular since I was six so take that as you will. Also, the first time I saw this movie, I had a really bad fever and hallucinated the scarab beetles were chasing me.

2. The Mummy Returns A solid sequel, lots of fun, and so much more Ardeth. He truly was on one of my first loves. Really set the scene for future Kirsty to develop a Type.

3. Howl's Moving Castle My first Ghibli film! Do I 100% understand the plot of this movie? No but that's irrelevant. Stunning and so beautiful. Every time I hear the music I feel so safe and happy. I recently watched this on a flight from Prague to Amsterdam and had the best time.

4. Overlord A weird tradition where I often watch this when I get ill. It's an intense horror movie set in world war two and there's nazi zombies. Non-stop action right from the beginning. Also made me fall in love with Wyatt Russell a wee bit.

5. Insidious Saw this in the cinema when it first came out and it was like they made a horror movie exactly how I would make it. It's not perfect but it's really fun and I love the aesthetic.

6. The Conjuring I think at this point we can establish the fact that Patrick Wilson is a babe. Again, very easy and fun and I love the dynamic of a husband and wife ghost hunting team that love and look after each other.

7. The Lost Boys Do I know this off by heart? Yes. Top tier vampire movie and incredible soundtrack. There is nothing bad about this movie other than it ends. I had the biggest crush on Alex Winter because of this movie (and still do let's be real). Thanks to my mum for showing me it when I was little.

8. Rocknrolla I went through a weird period in 2015-2016 during my last year of uni where I would watch this movie constantly. I think it became a genuine hyper fixation as a result of stress and keeping on top of my academic work and dissertation so it became a "safe" movie. Underhyped Guy Ritchie movie.

9. Pride and Prejudice True love is real. The soundtrack, the cinematography, the yearning, the hands!! Ugh, I love it so much.

10. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) You cannot tell me this movie is not good. I wanted to be Lara so bad (and still kinda do). I think people look down on this because they're seeing it from a more modern lens but it's really fun and FEELS like a Tomb Raider movie. It still holds up tbh.

Okay so I don't think I'm going to tag anyone just because I've been tagging people quite a lot recently and don't want to bother anyone! However, if you do want to do this, PLEASE DO and tag me so I can see because it would be so much fun to see what other people have put.

[shadowfromthestarlight]

So many people are still talking about wanting to change their lives and I’m wondering whether I even need to. My life is pretty awesome. I’ve never lost a loved one suddenly or unexpectedly. I didn’t even lose a grandparent until I was 17. I’ve never been hospitalized. I’m in good physical shape with no major medical conditions. I’ve never been uncertain that I’d have my next meal or a roof over my head. I’ve never been unable to buy food or clothing or necessary supplies. I’ve never had a huge family issue with family members hating or not speaking to each other. I count my parents, my sister, my grandma, and my cousins among my best friends. I’ve never been hugely betrayed or cheated on or abused. I’ve never been a crime victim. I graduated from college and have an advanced degree. 

I’ve been to over 30 countries, over 30 U.S. states, and 27 U.S. national parks. I’ve been to some of the most recognizable cities in the world, including Sydney, Tokyo, Beijing, Singapore, Paris, Rome, Prague, New York, Chicago, Seattle, Las Vegas, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Dubai, Madrid, Miami, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Venice, and Athens. I’ve watched the sunset from New Caledonia and Aruba and the middle of the Mediterranean. I’ve ziplined through the Costa Rican rainforest. I’ve walked over the border from Thailand to Myanmar. I’ve taken road trips in Europe where I’ve been to 4 countries in one day. I’ve hiked in Patagonia. I’ve dodged traffic in Hanoi. I’ve seen the sunrise over Ankar Wat. I’ve ice skated in the biggest mall in the world on my birthday. I’ve watched New Year’s fireworks in Brisbane, Queensland and Cusco, Peru. I’ve stopped for lunch in Lake Como. I’ve stood on the Great Wall of China. I’ve ridden a train through the Candian Rockies. I’ve been to the place I consider the world’s most beautiful - Glacier Point, Yosemite - 4 times. My family owns property in Florida and the Hamptons so I have a beach getaway about 10 times a year. 

I have an apartment with my own washing machine and dishwasher. I have a job I can work remotely whenever I’m sick or otherwise need to be away from the office. I have coworkers I actually look forward to seeing. I have a cat who loves me. I live about 30 seconds away from a bakery, ice cream shop, Mexican restaurant, pizzeria, and bagel shop, and within walking distance of three grocery stores. It takes me about 4 minutes from my door to the train platform to get to work. I say this just to point out that my day-to-day life is almost absurdly easy. 

Some people would look at my life and think there are still things missing from it; I don’t have my own house, I don’t have kids, I’m not married, I have very few friends who aren’t from work or family, I don’t have my own car, I don’t make six figures, I’m still just an “associate” without a prestigious job title or ranking within my firm. But I still have a lot that most people don’t. I need to remind myself of that at times, because sometimes I even feel unsatisfied. I never feel like I’ve learned enough; I’ve never read enough books or watched enough movies or practiced enough hobbies to please myself. I often feel happy doing activities alone, but sometimes I wish I had a close friend my own age to hang out with just once a week or so to make things more interesting. I live somewhere convenient, but there are trade-offs; it’s loud, there are too many lights obscuring the sky at night, it’s crowded, it’s not where I want to be forever. I haven’t even figured out whether I’m serious about doing some of the things I say I want to do; move to the West Coast, open my own law office or other business, conduct research and write articles, buy my own house where I can have chickens and a root cellar, climb mountains. Maybe I’m just too complacent a person deep down? I fear that. I’ve found that a decent life can be a trap; if things are good enough, you can start to genuinely wonder if it’s worth it to work any harder or take any more risks to make them better. Let this be a reminder that nobody’s perfect, I guess; I have a lot that’s enviable but I still don’t have all the answers.

[shareyourloveandhope]

When you lose someone

Hi brothers and sisters

I would love to send you some words that are straight from my heart, full of care and compassion. I would love to remind you that even though in the present it's very hard, and your heart is full of pain, it will be alright in the future. That's why you shouldn't give up. There are people who understand your situation, how you feel and how you are dealing with it. You don't have to keep things bottled up. Being silent and not sharing your experience with others isn't what shows the strength. It's good to share your experience, it's easier together. If you have problems with seeking support in others, you can always repost this post or leave a comment, send a private message in which you describe your problems. I will try to give you some encouraging words and advices, fill you with hope, show you support and surround you with care.

However, don't forget about the One, in Whom you can always put your whole hope and trust — Jesus, Holy Spirit and God. Lord Jesus is the Way. To Him, we can surrender all our cares: the positive and the negative ones. He will always listen to them, give protection to you and your loved ones that is the most powerful. He will take all of your sadness and problems, place them in His Holy Heart, and then show them to our Heavenly Father as His requests. His help will ease your hurt and in the hard times will be closer than ever. He will help every loved one of yours and take care of all the problems, even the ones that seem to be not resolvable. There is a beautiful novena: ”The Surrender Novena: Let Jesus Take Care of Everything". It lets us see how Merciful is God's protection, how great is surrendering our cares to the One Who loves us the most and wants the best for our souls. I recommend you to read it every day and remember that God sees every single tear of ours, is always ready to wipe them. We just have to let Him do this. Even if you aren't ready to give Him everything right away, it's good to pray this prayer and show God how our situation looks like, how we feel about it and ask Him for help, for He values this kind of honesty and the desire to build trust in Him. That's when He can work on the solutions more effectively, show you more of His love, care and hope. So wonderful is Psalm 91. Reading it and having faith in leaving our everything in God's Hands, being safe and believing that He will lead us to His Light brings miracles to our lives. For He is the Good Shepherd Who never leaves His sheep, but seeks them everywhere He goes. Even though you're hurt so much, and it's hard to see that, God is always very close to us in the worst moments. Sometimes we feel how He works in our lives, sometimes He works in a very quiet way that we don't feel His presence, we don't see that He walks beside us. That's because He carries us in the hardest moments and protects us under His Wings, takes care of us in the best way. Our requests that we give Him are in His Holy Heart, that's revealed in a precious way in a prayer ”Infant Jesus of Prague Novena Prayer”.

Even though it's hard, remember that God is with your loved one that you lost is now with Lord Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit. Holy Trinity is with this someone and this person spends time with The One, Who created him/her with such a great love. If you miss your close one, you can tell God how you feel about it and pray for him/her. I remind you that you have your Heavenly Father — God Almighty — Who is always with you and never leaves you. In Him, you can find your strength, hope, joy and persistence in every moment of your life, for He listens to you during the day and night. Inside your heart, you also have the Holy Spirit, Who was described by Jesus as the Comforter. He will comfort you and give you strength, lead you straight to Heaven and help to get through the sad moments. Keep in your heart the fact that there is always hope that won't extinguish. I wish you the best.

God bless you brothers and sisters. You can leave your prayer requests, I will pray for you.

Praised be Jesus Christ now and forever. Amen.

[unhonestlymirror]

At the end of the USSR, in 1989, the first official exhibition of erotic photography, "Flowers in Flower", was held in moscow. Its author, Lithuanian artist and photographer Rimantas Dichavičius, recalls how his “flowers” ​​broke through the concrete of soviet morality and hypocrisy, and why his exhibition never returned to Lithuania.

When the album "Flowers in flower" was released in 1987, it was so popular that Dichavičius was given only three copies. He left one at home and took the other two to America. For the first time in 50 years of his life, the artist was allowed to travel abroad. He gave one book to the USA as a gift and brought the other back. “When I arrived in moscow, they took it away from me at Sheremetyevo. I tried to explain that it was my book, that I was its author. The customs officer ran with my book to his superior. And he said: “Yes, yes, it’s him, I was at his exhibition, everything is fine, let him go,” recalls Dichavicius."

As a little boy, Rimantas Dichavičius and his parents were exiled to Siberia along with thousands of Lithuanians during Stalin's time. Having lost his mother and ended up in a special institution for children of "enemies of the soviet people", Rimantas did not become embittered, on the contrary, he sought and seeks beauty in everything and everyone: "Today we must save beauty itself, it is not in demand. We must cherish it, we must pass it on to others. That is when beauty begins to save. This ideal is scattered in people."

"The exhibition was born from the album of the same name. Dichavicius, together with his second wife Valerija, collected it from photographs of nudes and nature, taken over many years of creativity. Working with photography, the artist tried to capture not only the beauty of the female body. His archive - over 275 thousand negatives - are unique and full of lyrics shots of the post-war Lithuanian village, cemeteries, monuments and architecture, and even just stones and trees.

It was difficult to work with photography in the USSR. It was impossible to get Western film, and the soviet one was of poor quality. Rimantas had tens of thousands of rejected pictures. But the main thing is what to shoot. Dichavicius was detained at least twenty times for shooting “inappropriate” (by soviet standards) nature. Once, he was kept in jail for a day for filming a grandmother and grandson near Šalčininkai. Against the backdrop of the Prague events of 1968, local police officers suspected him of spying for America: "Vilis is driving, stops, a guy gets out: "What are you filming here? Why are you filming a dirty old woman, a house with a leaky roof, a boy on a dusty road... For what purpose, you faggots, are filming?"

However, even more dangerous, according to Rimantas, was photographing girls on the Lithuanian coast, in the Palanga area. There, soviet border guards had to search every square meter. “I was detained by soldiers, forced to peel potatoes. I had to argue with their superiors, explaining that I was an artist, that I had come to the sea and was taking pictures. To which the superior said: the soldiers are looking at you, and they should be looking at Sweden. Maybe an enemy ship is sailing by, and you are lying around in the sand with women,” the photographer recalls. "And then he says: "Okay then... Print me one beautiful girl as a gift, and I will let you go."

Despite the harsh soviet morality, the girls themselves rarely refused Dichavičius a photo shoot. In total, he persuaded 141 girls, only three refused. One of them had just had her appendix removed, and the other came to the artist 40 years later in tears – she really regretted that she had refused to be photographed in her youth.

Taking a photo is one thing - and it’s quite another to explain why you don’t want to photograph piggeries and milkmaids. And it’s even more difficult to get erotica into a magazine or an exhibition. In the USSR, where it was officially stated that there was no sex, there could be no erotica either. In the press, which was only state-owned, especially. This taboo was periodically violated by the Lithuanian, Kaunas, magazine “Nemunas” (“Neman”). Back in the 1970s, the publication began publishing non-standard texts and poetry. Once, it “let through” a photograph of a naked girl. This caused a scandal, but the editors decided not to stop there – two or three times a year, the magazine would feature “nudity”: “These magazines were sent by relatives to guys who served in the army all over the Union. And the army was surprised: is it really possible that “such things” are printed in the USSR?! In Lithuania it is allowed, but not in other republics? The echo reached from all corners of the USSR.”

The album “Flowers in flower” ​​compiled by Rimantas and his wife Valerija lay in a box for several years. Until the director of the experimental printing house Genrikh Vysotsky came to Vilnius from moscow. It was 1987, already "perestroika", a little more freedom, but censorship was still strict. Vysotsky, who was originally from Vilnius, went around to all the publishing houses in search of an “interesting album.” He explained that he had received the latest Japanese two-color offset printing press and wanted to publish something unusual. He was offered Dichavičius’s album. Vysotsky looked at it and was inspired, took the folder, went to moscow, and a week later summoned Dichavičius to the capital.

“I have two pieces of news for you: good and bad. Everyone likes the book, but no one dares to give it the go-ahead. Everyone says, ‘move on.’ It turns out we’re going to storm the kremlin wall,” Dichavicius recalls Vysotsky’s words.

They managed to take the wall – the album was brought to Mikhail Gorbachev for approval. According to the photographer, he looked at it and said: “Beautiful girls, not vulgar at all, even romantic and poetic. Marx also said that what is human is not alien to us. Why not? This is a hackneyed theme in the world, and we, like barbarians, are here in armor. He waved his hand and said: "Let it be." Five minutes later, Vysotsky and Dichavičius got the necessary stamp, and they rushed to the printing house.

There was less than a week left until the International Book Fair, and they managed to print the first edition of 10 thousand copies for it – they printed around the clock. The album, still smelling of printing ink, decorated the Lithuanian stand. The cover was nothing special, just a portrait of a girl. One comes up, opens the album, looks and shudders - there are many beauties in Eva's clothes inside, - says Dichavičius. - And something incredible began. Everyone swam to our stand, hundreds of people. They broke the stand! They decided to close it, surround it with stools, and began inviting potential customers one by one. The Chinese came and were endlessly surprised: how could the "big brother" publish such a book! They asked to print two million copies. We said that this was a lot. To which they replied: "Well, at least a million - for a narrow circle of specialists."

The album blew up soviet reality. It was reprinted several times. But Dichavičius did not receive any royalties from the new multi-thousand print runs (they said that all-Union fame was enough), nor any author's copies: "For me, this was a big blow. It was terribly offensive. Human dignity disappeared in an instant. And why? The book officially cost 18 rubles. But it is nowhere to be found. People paid up to 200 rubles for it – two salaries at that time. Many people brought a set to russia as a gift – Lithuanian vodka “Dainava”, smoked eel and “Flowers in flower”. And all the doors opened! And you – a poor author, you are not entitled to anything”.

How did a Lithuanian album with erotica suddenly come to light in this soviet swamp, where an artist was not allowed to photograph what he wanted, or to wish for money, or to show normal human feelings? Rimantas Dichavičius believes that by the mid-1980s people were tired of being robots in a soulless and hypocritical and false soviet system: "My photographs expressed normal human feelings. But for a soviet person this could not be the norm, – reasons Dichavičius. "You had to follow the party, go without blinking, to communism. And love is the most sacred feeling, and you give it to the woman, your beloved. But in the USSR, you had to love the party and the people first. And this theater drowned out normal feelings in people. You can't confess your love to anyone except the Leader hanging on the wall."

After the album's enormous success, Dichavičius was offered to hold an exhibition in moscow at the Photo Center of the Union of Journalists. It was opened by the Chairman of the Union of Artists Andrei Vasnetsov. Chief editors of major newspapers, the US Ambassador to the USSR Jack Metlock and other diplomats came.A report from the opening of the exhibition was shown on TV - and the people came: "There was such an influx of people! The first came, then more followed them, then thousands of people were standing and pressing forward. Under the pressure of the queue, the first entered the buildings, breaking glass and doors. They called the police - it was useless. They shot into the air, but the crowd continued to press. Then they called the mounted police. People were scared of the horses, the entrance was blocked. Fortunately, there were no casualties, but there were scratches and dents. They spent a couple of days restoring the entrance and made zigzags of barriers in front of it to organize a queue. And the exhibition hung for five and a half months."

Usually, photo exhibitions of one author were displayed for no more than a week. But Dichavičius' exhibition attracted crowds - 20 thousand people a day - and brought in a large income - a ruble from each visitor. However, the author was again denied a fee. And according to Dichavičius's own calculations, it came to no less than a million rubles. The artist again had to storm the high offices - this time together with the director of the photo center, Valery Nikiforov. But the official who received them was adamant: "He came up to me, poked me in the chest with his fist and said: "Citizen Dichavičius, are you a Soviet man? Soviet people are people with ideas! And you, scoundrel, came here to beg for money! We made you world famous, and now you dare to ask for money?! Get out of here!"

The most interesting thing began later. After this conversation, Dichavičius decided to close the exhibition. The photographs were removed in the evening of the same day, and in the morning he was supposed to take all the pictures. But they were not there. The works were taken from the photo center by unknown persons, and Dichavičius himself was told: if you want to stay alive, forget about this exhibition and go home. And the exhibition began to live its own life - the author learned about its fate from the stories of his friends.

One of them came to Dichavičius from Tbilisi with a gunshot wound to the leg and with an accusation: naked beauties almost cost him his life. His friend miraculously got to the exhibition when they were already preparing to take it to another city. "I was walking around the exhibition, and after me, five to seven minutes later, other guys came, - Dichavičius recounts the words of his friend. - They were told: it's closed. And they brazenly: "We will open it, then." They come in, and the leader calls the main one and says: "It was your exhibition, and now it will be mine. Now I will travel with it around the Union." The gangster brawl ended with gunfire into the ceiling, and the artist's friend was wounded by a ricochet.

Another time, news about the exhibition “Flowers in flower” ​​came from Leningrad. Dichavičius decided to go and see it himself. He arrived, saw a long line, but was not afraid and decided to stand in it and listen to what thoughts people had when they went to the exhibition. He did not buy a ticket but asked directly: “Maybe the author doesn’t need one?” The ticket seller and the controller were confused, they decided that a madman had come, but they still called the elders. Dichavičius was taken backstage, asked to show his documents and asked why he had come. The photographer honestly admitted that he wanted to see his exhibition and find out how it ended up there. They answered him: “We didn’t get it from you and we won’t report to you. And who we got it from is none of your business.” The elder ordered Dichavičius to be put on the next flight to Vilnius and threatened to kill him if he did not fly away: wrap him in a carpet and throw him into the Neva. Already at the plane's steps, the bandit who saw him off repeated the threat: "If you look for the truth at home, we will find you there too." Dichavičius returned home, told his wife and friends about his adventures and decided not to search for the exhibition anymore.

Rimantas Dichavičius never saw his legendary exhibition again. Although news about it came from different cities all over the USSR. Today, 35 years later, Rimantas Dikhavicius recalls this criminal story with philosophical calm and a smile: "The power of art and female beauty won!"

Source: Delfi.lt

[umichenginabroad]

Week 12: Down Bad (TTPD version)

Hey all,

Welcome back to this week’s blog in Prague! I wasn’t feeling 100% at the beginning of the week, so I made some efforts towards self-care. I felt pretty good by the end of the week, but we went wild in Budapest this weekend… whoops. Hear about everything below!

Self Care Efforts

This week I came down with a bug and just felt off. I decided to listen to my body and do small acts of self-care to aid in quick recovery: eat better, sleep more, and turn off my phone. I even skipped out on a trip to Zagreb, Croatia with my friends, which I was hesitant to do because I’d heard amazing things about Croatia, namely its beauty and tranquility, but I wasn’t feeling right and I didn’t want to use all my class skips so I think I made the right choice. A couple people stayed back and we ended up doing a “no phone” challenge. I kept it loosely, but Abby and Ava fully turned off and traded their phones to hold each other accountable. I found their success with it pretty impressive. To be honest, the only thing we truly need our phones for were the transportation passes that could get randomly checked on the tram or metro, but not anything else besides maybe an alarm. I found that simply being more mindful of my phone usage made me much more social during mundane tasks like washing dishes, cooking, or folding laundry. I realized I rarely get time to chat and catch up with my roommates, and it was nice to sit down with them. I definitely felt better by the end of the week than I did at the beginning, and my screen time was down like 50%. I should probably continue these habits lol… they seem to be good for me.

Book Exchange

There are book exchanges throughout Prague if you’re ever in need of a book to read. Many are located in parks, and there is even one in our school! After finishing “Only Love is Real”, I picked up a new book and found a postcard within the cover page! It made its way from a traveler in Greece, all the way to the states, and now rests in Prague… I wonder how many people have held it!

Budapest

On Friday, Mihika, Alisha, and I traveled to Budapest! We opted for the 8hr FlixBus because it was like $150 cheaper than flights and nearly missed our 6am departure after getting lost in Hlavni Nadrazi - Prague Main Train Station. While the bus was definitely the much cheaper option, I’m not sure if 8 hours each way on a bus would ever be worth it if we weren’t young and broke. The bus ride honestly didn’t feel that long though since I spent most of the time working on my blogs and listening to the new Taylor Swift album (entering my TTPD era)! Side note:  the Hungarian countryside is absolutely beautiful ft. vast rolling meadows and boutique mountainside towns, so I’m glad I got to witness that from my bus seat lol.

The rest of our program is spending this weekend in Brno, the second largest city in the Czech Republic. I’m sad we’re missing out on Brno, but Budapest was extremely high on my list of the cities I wanted to travel to, and this weekend was the only time we could all go. For prospective students reading this, I do highly recommend that you go to Brno and all of the IFSA sponsored trips because they are already included in your program fee and they offer unique excursions and experiences in the Czech Republic that you otherwise probably wouldn’t seek out on your own time.

Anyways, back to Budapest! The city is extremely unique because it actually used to be three separate cities: Buda, Óbuda, and Pest. They were unified in 1873 to form the modern city of Budapest that we know today. Buda and Pest are situated on opposite sides of the Danube river, connected by the famous Chain Bridge and other bridges. We stayed in Pest, which we found to be more modern and lively, especially at night. Buda was known for its hills and historical sites, including Buda Castle, and was seemingly more residential. Friday night we booked a highly regarded (by others in our program) *unlimited* Prosecco cruise. It was deadly, to say the least. This was my first time drinking heavily in a very long time, and within 5 minutes we made new friends, and then after 20 minutes my memories started to fade. We pieced together the night the next morning, based on new instagram follows, photos, and Life360 tracking. After the cruise we somehow found ourselves at the Hungarian Parliament Building, in the river for a quick dip, at some ferris wheel, and finally, escorted by a kind security guard in the metro to our AirBnB. Thanks sir. Wild night to say the least, but we signed up for it.

Saturday, we slept in a bit and did our own little walking tour of the city. We went back to the Hungarian Parliament Building, then crossed the river to explore the Buda Palace complex, and lastly, an underground Labyrinth in an ancient cave system. We went out again Saturday night because we wanted to check out the infamous ruin bar, Szimpla Kert. I opted for no more drinks, though. It had a super cool atmosphere, but was super crowded. It reminded me of Dog Bar, which is one of our favorite bars in Prague.

Sunday, we hiked up Gellért Hill, and reached a birdseye view of the whole city and the Liberty Statue! Alisha and Mihika were hungry afterwards, but I wanted to explore the Jewish quarter so I went solo. I visited the "synagogue triangle,” stopping to admire the Dohány Street Synagogue which also contains the Jewish Museum, the Holocaust Memorial Room, and the Raoul Wallenberg Holocaust Memorial Park. It had loads of tourists lining up for a free tour outside of it, which I thought was a cool concept. I noticed that Budapest was the only city that didn’t have armed guards outside of every Jewish building, which I interpreted as a tribute to the lack of antisemitism, respect for the Jewish history, and overall safety of the Jewish community here. Claps for Budapest!!! Also, the bagels here are freaking incredible… I got two on Sunday, one for brunch and the other for the bus ride home :)

Now for some ins and outs:

Ins:

Bagels: The Jewish quarter of Budapest was poppin’ when I visited on Sunday, and it only made sense to grab some bagel sandwiches from a local joint. These hit the spot. Certainly comparable to NY bagels, in my opinion.

Ruin Bars: These bars originated in Budapest in the early 2000s, reclaiming derelict spaces or abandoned buildings and creating a super eclectic, open-air environment. They’re popular throughout European cities, I highly recommend checking a few out!

Goulash: The classic Hungarian food lived up to its hype. Absolutely delicious.

Outs:

Screen Time: We’re computer science majors, so we obviously spend most of our day looking at screens in class and doing homework. We thought to ourselves, why not turn our phones off and minimize screen time outside of class? So we did. Hence, the “no phone” challenge. Highly recommend the cleanse, you really don’t need your phone when you’re with a group of friends.

Prosecco: Read about our unlimited Prosecco cruise experience above, and you’ll understand why..

Thanks for reading this week’s edition, see you next week!

Na schle,

Reese Liebman

Computer Science and Engineering

Institute for Study Abroad (IFSA) CS Tech Career Accelerator in Prague, Czechia

[travelupdatesbyflamingotravels]

Exploring Europe on a Budget: Free Things to Do in the Old Continent!

Europe, with its rich history, diverse cultures, and stunning landscapes, is a dream destination for travelers worldwide. However, experiencing Europe doesn't have to break the bank. From iconic landmarks to hidden gems, there are plenty of free activities to enjoy across the continent. Whether you're a budget traveler or simply looking to save some euros, here's a curated list of free things to do in Europe.

1. Wander Through Time in Rome

In the eternal city of Rome, history comes alive at every corner. Visit the iconic Pantheon, marvel at the ancient ruins of the Roman Forum, and toss a coin into the Trevi Fountain for good luck. Don't forget to explore the charming streets of Trastevere and enjoy breathtaking views of the city from the Janiculum Hill.

2. Get Lost in Barcelona's Gothic Quarter

Barcelona's Gothic Quarter is a labyrinth of narrow streets, medieval buildings, and hidden squares. Lose yourself in its atmospheric alleys, admire the stunning architecture of the Barcelona Cathedral, and soak up the vibrant street life along La Rambla. Don't miss the chance to relax at the picturesque Park Güell, designed by the renowned architect Antoni Gaudí.

3. Experience Art and Culture in Paris

In the city of love and lights, cultural riches abound. Explore the world-class art collections at the Musée d'Orsay and the Centre Pompidou, and admire the breathtaking architecture of Notre-Dame Cathedral. Take a leisurely stroll along the Seine River and picnic in the charming gardens of Luxembourg Palace. For a unique experience, visit the atmospheric Shakespeare and Company bookstore and lose yourself in its literary treasures.

4. Discover Natural Wonders in Iceland

Iceland is a paradise for nature lovers, with its otherworldly landscapes and natural wonders. Visit the majestic Gullfoss waterfall, marvel at the geothermal wonders of the Blue Lagoon, and hike through the dramatic landscapes of Þingvellir National Park. Don't forget to chase the elusive Northern Lights for a magical experience you'll never forget.

5. Explore the Beauty of Prague

Prague, with its fairytale architecture and charming streets, is a delight to explore on foot. Wander through the historic Old Town Square, admire the iconic Charles Bridge, and climb up to Prague Castle for panoramic views of the city. Explore the hidden courtyards and quirky art installations of the Prague Castle complex, and don't miss the chance to sample delicious Czech street food at the bustling markets.

6. Embrace the Spirit of Amsterdam

In Amsterdam, cycling is not just a mode of transportation but a way of life. Rent a bike and explore the city like a local, cruising along picturesque canals and charming streets. Visit the famous Anne Frank House to learn about the city's poignant history, and explore the vibrant neighborhoods of Jordaan and De Pijp. Don't forget to take a leisurely stroll through the serene Vondelpark and soak up the beauty of nature in the heart of the city.

Plan Your Budget-Friendly European Adventure with Flamingo Travels

With so much to see and do in Europe, planning your itinerary can be overwhelming. Thankfully, Flamingo Travels offers a range of Europe tour packages designed to suit every budget and preference. Whether you're dreaming of exploring the historic cities of Italy, soaking up the sun on the beaches of Greece, or embarking on a scenic road trip through the Swiss Alps, Flamingo Travels has got you covered.

From expertly crafted itineraries to personalized service, Flamingo Travels takes the stress out of planning your European adventure, leaving you free to focus on making memories that will last a lifetime. So why wait? Start planning your budget-friendly European getaway today and embark on the adventure of a lifetime with Flamingo Travels.

In conclusion, exploring Europe doesn't have to break the bank. With a little bit of planning and a sense of adventure, you can experience the best that the continent has to offer without spending a fortune. So pack your bags, hit the road, and get ready to discover the magic of Europe, one free attraction at a time.