Beth Winter

The Koya-san cold managed to put us both under the weather - I'm the one who's actually upright, so I'm taking the opportunity to sort through photos. I can't believe there are less than three days left before I'm back home.

( J-11, days 1 to 5 - Kyoto, Nara 1300th anniversary celebrations, Tokyo )

I've been getting home at about 7-8PM each day, but I'm literally too tired to write. There is so much to see here that it occupies all of my brain. What little is left is taken up with the images of the cloaked cavaliers that should be striding about the place. I didn't think it was possible for there to be so much history in one place, not preserved this way, one upon another. I remain in love with Italian museums and their habit of just shoving interesting things in a room. "Is that-!!!" is a running theme, from Caravaggio to Leonardo to random Dali and Van Gogh and Tintoretto and Rafael O.o

Oh gods, Rafael. I remain in utter awe and admiration ♥ He's the only painter to reduce me to this state, where I can just sit and stare happily, melting into a puddle.

I am also taking way too many photos. Especially of angels. There are angels everywhere.

( This example in Santa Maria del Popolo is the current favourite )
Tomorrow, I hope to improve the count of people-in-my-icons-whom-I-have-seen-live by one *points up* Then Trastevere, then on Monday frantic running around filling in the sightseeing gaps, and by Tuesday evening I should be home.

Happy Easter, Passover, Ostara and other holidays taking advantage of the spring equinox :)

( The result of my trek through Warsaw churches yesterday )

Wilhelm von Hohenzollern may very well be stalking me. A week after a couple of photos sent plotbunnies running through my brain, Mother was in Pszczyna, in the castle of the dukes von Pless. The palace was Wilhelm's headquarters during most of World War I, and five rooms have been reconstructed according to photographs and using furniture that, like the rest of the fantastic castle, survived two world wars and half a century of communism.

And it really should be used as historical arguments. Especially the chaise.

( Wilhelm's dubious taste in fabulous furniture )

As demanded, here are photos of my new lodger. As far as I've been able to determine, he is very much in looks and behaviour (squeaking) to a Norwegian Forest Cat, which means he'll be about 10kg when grown - right now he's 0.6kg of fluffy hairball. Oops?

( Monsieur Fluffy )

Not my best gallery, but either way, I'm back from Edinburgh and have photos in tow :)

( Edinburgh photos )

I was walking aimlessly down Vaci Utca after getting lost in re-routed Budapest traffic on my way to somewhere else entirely. I entered a church at random, after idly noting that there would be a concert there that evening.

Then I heard the music. They were rehearsing, a singer singing something I didn't understand. For a moment, there was magic.

( And I had my camera with me )

The less said about the past week, the better. An infection retreated just in time for work to hit me like a ton of bricks. Fortunately, the next two weeks will be a lot of work - but at my own pace, and on my own, too.

Meanwhile, here are a lot of pictures of very, very pretty butterflies from the Vienna Schmetterlinghaus.

( Large quantities of tropical butterflies )

Part three of my picspam is Sunday night. There was an organ concert at the Peterskirche, one of the examples of a baroque church you just need to love. Afterwards, I took some photos of Vienna by night. There really is some magic to the city, even just in the tourist quarter.

At some point I'll toy with those pictures - I concentrated too much on sharpness as opposed to cropping and colour - but right now, I'm still waiting for someone to install my harddrive. It's been two months I've been without a functional home computer :/


( My camera takes good nighttime photos )


Next: dead Habsburgs and fallen angels, or my second nighttime church excursion.