Sat 07.Feb.2015
Střibro, Bohemia, Czech Republic
Image dates: June 2014
Waiting for dinner under the awning of a tapas bar on the Costa del Sol on
a February evening, chilly, but mild for Europe in February. Let's see
if I can get the last of last year's pictures out tonight, before this
year's pictures begin to accumulate.
Tonight's locale... Střibro, Bohemia
First off, how do you pronounce it? (Answer: with practice.) st-ZHEE-bro!
ZH sounds like the "s" in "measure". This is the same letter ř that
we know from the composer Dvořak, who - surprise! - was Czech. That
letter doesn't sound anything like "r", but it has replaced r extensively
in the Czech language. Who knows why? Probably not even most modern
Czechs. To them it sounds natural.
Střibro means "silver". There was a major silver mine here
centuries ago. In the twentieth century, the silver was long gone, but
the town was a major source of uranium. Whoopee. That seems to have
passed as well.
Now Střibro just sits out there in the heavily forested mountains
of Bohemia, a stop on the rail line between Pilsen and Marienbad.
I never felt like I got the hang of the place in the few days I spent
there, but goodness knows the old town is picturesque enough. The
overcast skies did nothing to help show it, but here we are.
That is it for last year's pictures. The next post - whenever it
comes - should kick off the current season.
I hear that California
has finally gotten some desperately-needed rain in the few days since I
left.
If I had known, I'd have gone earlier.
See you next time!