UK 2.0: Flight: Prague - Bristol

The final daylight hours on 27 Nov were to be spent flying. As the baggage loading hunk was busy in his task, another plane touched down nearby.

We soared though the clouds till an ocean of white was all that was visible.

The vapors collected in the nicks and scratches on window glass began to freeze into thin crystallize line. You can notice a circular white line upon the clouds. I wonder if another plane has made a U-turn here.

Parallel to us, flew another jet.

I soon lost track of it when I was distracted by the city beneath.

The pilot did announced, 'behold Amsterdam'.

You can see a row of white windmills along the river in the northeast.

Over the Dutch sky we flew. A shame we saw no sign of the Flying Dutchmen.

Loosing altitude and sunlight, the cloud's personalities became more pronounced. They sometimes looked smooth and soft like motion-blurred wool, while other times jutted out like rocks in the sky.

Above the English Channel, tiny clouds spread out like tiled patterned upon the blue infinity.

A fleet of ships sailed on the seemingly 2D sea. They looked vaguely like airships in an inverted sky.

Our shadows were cast on English soil once more.

Not sure if this city is London but I was pleased to see the land between London and the South West for once. To set the record straight, it has been cloudy and raining every single time I do fly over that stretch.

I saw emeralds and sapphires, jewels of the land.

Despite the negative weather report, there was nary a trace of cloud as far as we flew till we neared the shores of Wales. A giant in the distance blushed pink perhaps in mock-shyness of its exalted position.

From the west, storm clouds were rolling in full force.

Within minutes of our landing, the floodgates of heaven opened. Whatever happened in Bristol that afternoon, in that torrential downpour, I have no idea. But it did caused a super-massive-traffic congestion unlike any I have seen during my 20 months there. Even well into the night when the rain has stopped but the wind still strong, many taxi companies remained unavailable to provide an immediate car.

It was just as well. I was blessed with one last walk from the city center to Ashton Park in the cool night air. That was the road I have been through so many times throughout the seasons, in sunshine, storm and even snow.

UK 2.0: Prague - Day 3

Yesterday night would be the last night I drift off to sleep listening to Amanpour (CNN was the only English channel in the hotel). We rose early on 27 Nov and went and shot some lions. A pair of sphinxes gazed river-ward, while lions growled at the rush hour traffic.

We went up to the castle's entrance by St. Wenceslas´Vineyard. Czech Republic's flag fluttered in the morning breeze while two well-dressed handsome strong stood guard beneath. Time was short and we did not linger long on the hill.

I had been to the Old Town Square twice, but both times in the bustling night. The city had a more subdued vitality compared to the wilder revelry the night before. It was a time of preparation for the new day. The Christmas market was being put up with a huge green Christmas tree freshly being loaded off a truck. Ladders and steps leaned on many structures still. A few ladies where busy dressing the scarlet roofs of the newly erected stores. A Nativity set stood quietly in the bustling square. The single color hard timber-carved structured betrayed an energy ready to bust into celebratory dance.

Beside the square, horses were already prepared for their day's work. The carriage drivers bantered among themselves as their immaculately groomed partners waited patiently.

Pigeons were bathing in a pool on the cobble road. Sometimes I wondered if the equus envied the avians their freedom.

Is the price of dignity freedom? I'm sure no one would call a horse a pest, while there are t-shirts printed with "Pigeons Are Rats With Wings". I have seen ugly things happening to pegions, from being swallowed alive to being torn in two by seagulls after getting ran over by a car. Bold rats doesn't tend to live long. Pigeons took flight when spooked. But the birds has this in their favor - their expert aerial maneuvers can be an elegant thing to watch unlike the frantic scampering of rats.

I wasn't sure how to read the face on the Astronomical clock. If I may venture a guess, it would be time for us to start making our way back to the hotel. The bottom dial with the twelve circle is a calender.

I love the unmatched intricacies of the buildings. Everything provided stimulation for the eye. From mural covered walls to stickers filled car and many highly figurative signage, all had their stories waiting to be heard.

This was a visually boisterous city of many tales. A child-size puppet half my height dangled on the threshold of its shop. Neither its snaggletoothed smile nor his squalid and gnarly appearance detracted from its friendliness.

A lady with 2 Chow Chows ambled past our hotel as we checked out. It was a good omen to see puffy-lion dogs.

At the airport, we witnessed 1 more interesting incident, a meeting of trolleys where one stopped many.

At long last, the holiday was finally nearly its end.