This post will be a collection of street scenes. I didn't take very many pictures of people. It feels instrusive and most of the people we saw in Prague and Cracow were also probably tourists - not local color.
The squares and the main pedestrian streets were home to people trying to entertain and earn a little money. Guitar players and breakdancers. These two guys were my favorites. The first delighted the children with his ability to keep the ball moving with various parts of his body, but no hands.
This one kept the children happy with enormous bubbles that they chased and popped. It was fun to watch the moms come up with their kids and put some coins in his urn and let their kids go. One rather tall momma helped her "smaller than the other kids" daughter pop a few bubbles before taking her away.
Of course there were plenty of pigeons. Nate calls them flying rats. Some are pretty bold. We were having our granola bars (aka emergency food to get you to the end of the exhibit) and some tried to land in our laps. The little boy in the picture below was feeding them with the crumbs from a pretzel stand until his momma pulled him away. You can see that he wasn't quite ready to go. In Lviv there was a lady the pigeons seemed to know. They flocked around her as she walked past us and when she was a little ways away she released the bag of crumbs she carried. The pigeons left little evidence of her passage.
There were plenty of charming windows fitted with white lace curtains and or flower boxes.
As well as some creative displays of flowers
Advertising wasn't always what you would expect - as these women of "substance" illustrate...
But there were celebrity endorsements, even in Poland.
In Lviv, the notables of ancient times were recast in traditional dress
In Everett this year, they have artist painted working pianos on the streets. In Prague they have painted non-working pianos honor a Chopin anniversary.
This is a Polish style street sign.
Open air cafes were everywhere. I wonder if they have to rent their sidewalk space? Although the cafes allow for smoking diners, they also allow for fresh air on a hot day.
Art shows up in surprising places, cement trucks, manhole covers and the inside shutters of market stalls.
The old and the new find themselves at home together.
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