Flora/Fauna/Trauma

A green lizard (Lacerta viridis), spotted along the trail. Followed by ...

.. what I believe is a grass snake (Natrix natrix).

Each week, Daisy and I head over to our old house in the village of Černý Vůl to feed Oscar, our old stray cat whom we nursed back to health a few years ago after he caught pneumonia. He never wanted to come inside while we lived there (except for the occasional curious peek inside the front door), and though we agonized about it, we knew that, once we had to move away (our landlord was selling the house), Oscar would never let us take him away from his home (happily, anyway).

So we asked our landlord to keep an eye out for him and put out some dry food when he could, and we go once a week to treat Oscar to a package of wet food and make sure he's got water.

Each time we arrive, he greets us as if we'd never left. The solution seems to be working out just great.

Daisy and I wanted to go on a bike ride a few days ago and decided to ride from our new flat in Prague 6 to Černý Vůl to feed Oscar. It was a gorgeous day, and our route along the river to Roztoky and along the forest path to Černý Vůl would happily put us on course for a stop at the Únětický pivovar, too.

The beer was crisp and cold. Oscar was his usual frisky self.

At Únětický pivovar. I broke the metacarpal bone in my little finger a few weeks ago. That door had it coming.


Riding back from Únětice to Roztoky, we also had the good fortune to spy both an iridescent green lizard and a good-sized grass snake crossing our path in the hot dust. I even managed to take a couple of decent photos with my iPhone.

Just outside the village of Sedlec, we also passed the site of some sort of tragedy. Roses had been left along the bike path. The guardrail had been obliterated, and after a drop of 15 meters or so, there were more flowers and few stuffed animal toys next to a tree along the river.

As we later found out, an SUV had recently plunged over the side. The driver had been killed. As far as I know, no children were involved, so I'm not sure about the stuffed animals. Perhaps someone out there knows more. Horrible stuff.

Daisy and I continued along the river and rode back up the street known as V šáreckém údolí from Lysolaje to Prague 6. We stopped for lunch and sat outside at one of our favorite restaurants, Chorvatský Mlýn.

We had a half-dozen oysters on the half-shell, Black Risotto, and Tomato Salad With Mozzarella Burrata and Basil. They've got the most amazing fresh bread there, too. More like cake than bread, really, but moist and delicious, especially dipped in some Croatian olive oil.

A great ride, with more up and downs than usual.

RIDE STATS
Length of ride: 35 kilometers
Average speed: 16.2 kph
Maximum speed: 37.1
Time on the bike: 2.06.17
Pivo Index: 3
Distance ridden so far in 2012: 174 kilometers

Oscar doing his traditional greeting of rolling-over-so-we-can-scratch-his-belly.

A happy Daisy.

Bread as sweet and soft and moist as cake.

Tomato Salad With Mozzarella Burrata and Basil.

Black Risotto.

A section of the lovely new bike path along the west side of Vltava between Podbaba and Sedlec.

The scene of the fatal accident near Sedlec.