Happy New Year 2015

So I'd like to wish all of you and your families a Happy New Year and a peaceful 2015.
Instead of the usual postcard, here are a few shots of a cold and snowbound Prague from my own camera today from Letna Park (just behind our apartment).

Nothing of course that couldn't be remedied with some hot wine in the park :-)

More on the sorry state of my 2014 later, and more modest/non-committal  plans for 2015. Now back to family, food and champagne.

Prague floods

Apart from lovely architecture, fine beer, complicated languages, history and the attendant abundance of battlefields, the one thing Central Europe can really boast of is extreme weather. Winters are long and very cold, brief Springs and Autumns are pleasant while Summers (usually) are short and very warm. But over the last 15 years, the weather seems to be more like South-East Asia. So today we have a big flood emergency in Prague after more than 4 days of non-stop rain in Bohemia.

I took these photos at lunchtime today, about 300 metres from my apartment. Thankfully I had the foresight to live on a hill given the history of floods in Prague. So the metro and most of the bridges are closed, which makes commuting a non-starter. Hopefully a bit of normality by the morning.