Ponto de Vista

#throwback to our trip to Vilnius and some fun things we did there. I loved this brilliant sculpture (top right) – an abstract portrait of 16th century Polish queen Barbara Radziwiłł, Grand Duchess of Lithuania – by Vladas Vildžiūnas, from 1979.

It’s on what translates as German Street and one side had to be completely rebuilt after the bombing in WWII.

I loved Vilnius more than I’d expected to. We’d planned only two days and 1 night here and we really lucked out. The location of our B&B was fabulous, the city was easy to navigate and I loved that the “old” town was a living city – I mean the university is smack in the  middle of it (like Krakow) and it was teaming with students and locals, not just tourists like Riga or Tallinn old town were.

Plus there was Užupis, the cheeky artists’ republic with their lovely constitution that affords respect to cats and humans alike. On our first evening there in the square of the Cathedral, we saw dozens of hot air balloons go past. And I just adored the sculpture of Grand Duke Gediminas. (Of course, we also found the lucky star and did little turns while making a wish.) Later we walked up the Hill of Three Crosses in Kalnai Park – it was a good climb and the wooden path kept disappearing down corners, a little stairway to … well, toward heaven.

#sculpture #publicart #europe #Lithuania #Vilnius #summertime #summer2018 #blog #wp #rainy #showers #cloudy #summerholiday
on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BmS0Lq3Fqu3/ style=”text-align: center; width: 500px;”

Latvia was lovely to us and we wished we’d had a little more time. Our Riga apartment couldn’t have been in a better location (though google maps deserves two slaps for bringing us to it the long, long way around) and Sigulda was splendid. We loved walking around Riga and cycling around the tiny, flowery Sigulda with it’s astonishingly good bakery cafe and peach railway station. I don’t know if I’ll be back, but life is long…

#throwback Google has helpfully reminded me that we were in Vik, Iceland, on this day four years ago, on (more…)

For 27 years, I’ve made pilgrimages to Berlin to visit family. My mother’s sister moved there in 1964 and her children and now grandchildren were all born there. Since I can remember, Berlin has never been a tourist destination, more a homestay, sometimes a stopover. When I lived in Poland I went numerous times and when I moved to the US, I tried to break my homeward journey there. And still, when I visit Europe, (more…)

I’m sure you’ve looked at an exhibit somewhere and thought, “Hmm, if I remember my history lessons right, around this time, this war was happening in X country.” Or if you’re like me, “I wish I could remember anything at all from my boring history lessons. I wonder what was happening in India and China and the Ottoman empire when this painter was capturing this!” (more…)

Funny stuff in Kreutzberg

Grumpy cat had a message, I was reminded that I cannot wait for the Ab Fab movie, and in dry German fashion, a witty name for a minimalist coffee shop – all in the Kreutzberg area of fun restaurants and a gazillion coffee shops that all smelled good and all seemed full even on a Monday afternoon.

#Berlin #absolutelyfabulous #grumpycat #cafe #street #blog Shared via Instagram http://ift.tt/2ci3VEO and IFFT

Perfect weather came back later in my Stockholm week, but by Day 2, Sunday, the clouds were out. Monday was chilly. Tuesday was damp and cold. These photos are from Sunday and Monday. World Water Week officially started at 9 a.m. on Sunday (really) and after several panels, seminars, and plenaries, I went on a Bridges of Stockholm boat tour, from which I caught sunset over the water and viewed a lot of “Functional Architecture,” which I thought was quite nifty with their floor-to-ceiling windows. On a side note, I don’t know if the tour guide made that up or was translating something (more…)

Stockholm presented a face that was picture postcard perfect. The weather was warmer than my app had predicted, the sun was out, the sky was cloudless and the waters bluer than I’ve seen anywhere in a long time. Everything was welcoming, everything seemed to whisper, “Stay, stay, this is where you belong.” I didn’t fall for it (see what I did there?) Good weather is always followed by ridiculous cold. (And it was.) Anyway, I got in at about 1:30 on Saturday afternoon — sans luggage, that’s a different story — with the rest of my afternoon free and a rumbling tummy, so I hoofed it up the street, maneouvering sort of by instinct, kinda by map, away from Vasagatan (more…)

A walk and dinner over sunset and moonrise at the Ponte Abril de 25 and doca de Santa Amaro in late August. We walked for (pointless) miles to get here but it was worth it. I loved how the esplanade was bustling with joggers, bikers, and walkers. Under the bridge, by the marina, is a public sports facility with squash and raquetball (maybe even tennis). Such a cool use of space. We had a lovely, slightly pricey dinner seated outdoors as we watched the big, bright moon come up. Then we took the extremely short way back back to the main road and took the tram back to our hotel. #travel #portugal #Lisboa #throwback #summer #blog

A post shared by chhavi sachdev (@chhavi_sachdev) on Sep 26, 2015 at 9:26am PDT

AND

'We later considered this crap.' Subversive graffiti under Lisboa's ponte 25 de abril bridge. The legend is on the left/West side support pillar. I loved it 🙂 #streetart #graffiti #snarky #travel #portugal

A post shared by chhavi sachdev (@chhavi_sachdev) on Oct 4, 2015 at 6:02am PDT

#travel #Portugal #Lisboa #throwback #summer #blog
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Bizarre rickshaw Batmobile with crow beak, gull back, and human feet…spotted behind the Museu de Arte Popular in Lisboa. Quite … fetching, don't you think? Sadly we were too tired and in pain (aunt's knee, my shoe blisters) and hungry to go in. So that's saved for my next trip to #Portugal. #travel #blog #modernart

A post shared by chhavi sachdev (@chhavi_sachdev) on Sep 15, 2015 at 1:48am PDT

But, check it out online, too: The Museum of Popular Art