Worthy

This door has suffered time, man and nature. We've seen this before (far worse than this!) and we'll see it many times again. This rather simple, but potentially beautiful door could, with a good sanding and a coat or two of varnish, again be something wonderful. Afterall, it has all the elements ...beautiful wood, great door accessories and an interesting stone doorframe. This poor guy (yes, this door has now been elevated to the status of deserving a gender, even if, in Czech, the word for door - dveře - is neutral!) is just there begging to get a bit of attention so that he can once again smile the strong, proud smile of a worthy door.

Vysehrad

It's perhaps a sad truth, but most of us are creatures of habit (well, perhaps not everyone is, but I think most of us are)...I am no exception to this rule. For example, in general, I tend to gravitate towards the centre of Prague within a certain radius of the Charles Bridge, but now that we have a dog, I have found myself trying to find new places (new to me, that is!) where there are also large green spaces as well. On one such occasion, my husband (a native Pragois) decided to take a walk in Vysehrad. Well, if any of you know Prague (and many of you certainly do!), Vysehrad is not just an area, but to be precise, it is the second castle in Prague. Until now (and even still) I have only made short visits to Vysehrad and all that is encompassed in castle's walls...which is A LOT! Vysehrad isn't far from Prague...it is right inside of it!! I have always thought of Vysehrad as the lesser sister of the two castles in this city since it doesn't receive the same recognition that the Prague Castle does (I guess having the president and the government there makes a difference), but that doesn't mean it is less interesting. It is very interesting, but in an entirely different way. I won't go into detail on that, but I will show you some photos of a small chapel that is in the castle grounds. The chapel/rotunda is interesting in itself, but it is, OF COURSE, the door that I was most interested in when the path I had taken lead me to it. A round building, a rounded door frame, round columns, lots of rounded shapes on and around the door...and look at that fabulous curvy wrought-iron work on the door...what spectacular hinges those are!! Wow, Wow and WOW!! One could say that all those loopty-loos and curly-cues might just be for decoration, but one could also think that maybe they were designed to help offer additional support for the door and even a bit of extra surface protection. Sure, the door is of wood, but with those hinges it might withstand a beating before giving in. Give into what? Well, churches have notoriously been sanctuaries for those seeking shelter...of all kinds. Maybe not so much today, but perhaps back when this building was initially constructed*.

*This chapel / rotunda is called Saint Martin and is the oldest of Prague's 3 surviving rotundas. It was probably built some time during the second half of the 11th century under the reign of the first king of Bohemia (yes, Prague is in Bohemia), King Vratislav.

A Solid Beauty

For your upcoming weekend* I offer you the above rose and the beautiful door it has 'grown' on.

This lovely door (and entry) has a quiet beauty that gives a heart strength...well, perhaps I'm speaking for myself here, but I find that when I look at this door I feel not only peace, but calm. Can a door really do that? Take a look for yourself and tell me what you think.

*The first photo is my contribution to 'Weekend Reflections', a meme by James of Newtown Area Photo. For more information please see here.

A Clever Door

This door is pretty, but not drop-dead gorgeous...it's loved, but not spoiled...it has a beautiful handle (see the last photo below) and lovely woodwork (see below). But what about all this makes it clever?

Look at the triangle over the door...see that line down the center of it? That is where the big doors separate so that a truck can pass through what looks to be a small door. Clever, huh?!

Unique - and worthy of more than a glance

Several months ago I think I mentioned in one of my blogs something about not wanting to 'spoil' you with only fabulous doors. Sure, you would like this, but I think it is necessary to appreciate even doors that at first glance appear less fabulous than others. My 'job' is to help you appreciate those doors. Today's door needs appreciation (in more ways than one!)...you might not give it a second glance if you walked by it, but I think you should and here is why. It has wonderful round windows both on the doors and above the doors and it has interesting, unique-shaped windows around the round window above the door. It also has a great face (albeit a little scarey!) over the door and some nice wrought-iron work in the circle windows on the doors.

Sure, there are bits of paper stuck to the door here and there, but those are not the fault of the door, but of heartless people. Forgive the door for those bits and admire it for the parts that it can own up to!! Now, aren't you glad you stopped to appreciate this door with me?

Oh yeah, forgive the door for its cheap, ugly handle...that was once again the work of a heartless (and uncreative) person.

Pleasant

I think this door clearly has charm and style ... one example is the unusual shaped windows in the door itself and the part above it. And it has beveled glass windows, which are - in my book - always stunning. Not only that, it has a second set of incredibly gorgeous doors farther behind it. Notice the lovely old floor tiles that decorate the floor space between the outside doors and the inside doors...nice!! The ensemble is very pleasing to my eyes.

If I HAD to complain about something I would say that the only sad thing about this door is its very modern (in other words: not very pretty) handle, but I guess I'll have to forgive it for this...modern problems sometimes call for modern measures...including door handles.

Sad Door Saturday

Now this is wrong...JUST PLAIN WRONG!! How could a reasonably nice door become THIS??? It looks to me like the SPCD* should be called in right away on this poor thing!!

*SPCD - the unfortunately non-existent 'Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Doors'. For previous examples of doors needing the SPCD's help, please see SPCD in the side bar.

Twins...but not Identical

This is to show that not all twins look alike...especially when they are doors! I like this building and I like how the double door entrances set off the feel and style of entire building... and I like the two doors...well, I guess I have to say I prefer the one on the right. The door on the right has more class AND a nice handle. The door on the left has been made less attractive by ads (for an esthetician?) and the not very aesthetic looking wrought-iron fence. Nevertheless, the complete package - building and all - is aggreable to look at.

Colourful Door Monday

Green!! Like Summer! Like grass and leaves! Green is good!

I think this is a happy, pleasant door and I especially like it's unusual shape (not squared) and the interesting windows above it. Ok, so otherwise it is rather simple, but the green sure gives it extra value and I imagine that originally the glass in the windows was more interesting...stained glass? or beveled? or frosted/decorated? Who knows. I just regret that the handle is so unoriginal!

Colourful Door Monday

Well, once upon a time this door was colourful!! Despite this poor door's lack of love and a fresh coat of paint, I still like it's colour and it does have charm and character. I especially like how the double windows are the same shape as the one large window overhead in the door's frame. And the door's frame...it seems to have faired far better than the door itself...the only thing that I wonder about is whether the window over the door originally had a different kind of glass in it...stained glass window or maybe beveled glass? It just seems to me that the glass there now is too plain; too normal for the rest of the door and frame...but maybe I'm wrong. As for this door's accessories, I'm not showing you a close-up of the handle because, as you can see well enough from the second picture...it just isn't worth mentioning and the person who chose it had zero imagination and not even an ounce of creativity. Too bad...this door deserves something nice. I wonder what it's original handle looked like.

Wow!!

I love this door. I LOVE this door...and not just because it is big and complicated. In my opinion, this is a fabulous door because ALL the elements work together. First, there is the lady high above, who holds the children under her arms and looks out over the land in such a way that you feel that she is there for you - for everyone. There is the coat of arms style presentation of a honeybee in the pediment - symbolically, honeybees have an extremely rich cross-cultural importance including, but not limited to, their representation of eloquence, poetry and intelligence. Another highly symbolic element is also present - cornucopia overflowing with fruit - which, over time, has come to mean liberty, gratitude and good fortune. The puti, or angels floating gracefully above the door are also very symbolic elements - they function as, among other things, messengers, guardians, conductors of the stars and upholders of laws. The symbolism surrounding this door does not stop there... even the columns have a strong symbolic value - including their physical and/or visual assurance of the strength of a structure either in the physical sense or in the social or personal sense.

Now, onto the non-symbolic elements of this door...isn't the wrought-iron work fabulous? It is so incredibly intricate that it takes my breath away! And look closely at the door, whose colour is like chestnut-flower honey (ah! honeybees!!), the handles are simple but inviting and the metal plates that act as kick plates across the bottom of the door are not just simple strips of copper, but are cut out in an interesting pattern.

I love this door!!

Sad, but there may be hope!!

OK, this door looks rather sad and lacking in love, but I was looking closer at it and noticed that in the top right corner there is a building permit sign..Perhaps I just need to go back and pay a visit to this door. I just might find that it has been renovated...had a door face-lift!! Until I can do this, I'll let you admire the door's frame which is simple, yet inviting especially with the sweet face above it. The door itself is nice with it's interesting shaped window and the wrought-iron work over them. I especially like the window over the door...it's shape and the other decorations around it. The only REALLY sad part of this door is that horrendous handle!!! Let's hope this door has finished it's door spa treatment and is now repaired and lovely!! I'll let you know what I find if I get over to this door's neighborhood.

Colourful Door Monday

Monday!! Eye candy day!! Well, I try to make every day (except Saturday) eye-candy day, but Mondays are special because there is always a colour to look forward to!! I think we all have liked all the colours, but red does seem to be a favourite. This nice door was recently repainted and I think the designs on it were also worked on at the same time. It appears that they changed the handle though...to something less than exciting. Oh well, we can't have it all now, can we?!

Big School Door

This is a huge door! It was so big that I had a hard time squeezing it and its frame into my camera's viewfinder without having to stand in the middle of a very busy street!! The door rather simple, but still is charming with it's modest decoration and as always, I like the wood. The door's frame with it's ribbons and wreaths floating delicately are happy and uplifting, but what I really like about this door is the fact that somewhere along the way, someone must have gotten tired of swinging that big door open and closed a million times a day so they decided to just cut it in half and only open and close half the door! And why not?! This is a door to a school afterall...can you imagine how much use this door gets on an average day? And now, imagine that the lower half of door is tall enough for a 2m / 6ft person to walk through...that should help you comprehend the size of this door. BIG!!

I like the mail slot. For once, it isn't a tiny little thing that only lets you slip one very thin piece of paper through it at a time; no, this mail slot means business. It is ready to receive books and thick documents, but given the size of the door, I suppose it is only fair that the mail slot be of a proportional size. And yes, the door handle is also big. Hey, maybe once upon a time this was a school for giants! That would explain everything (or nearly)!

Colourful Door Monday

Ah, now isn't this a nice blue?! I saw this door from quite a distance and nearly ran to it I was so attracted to it...it was just so inviting!

Though the face above the door is neither happy nor sad, it doesn't turn you away. The flowers around the arch are also delicate and light and inviting. The lines of the door and its windows are tastefully decorative and flowing and are in accordance with the arch that surrounds the door. If I MUST find something unpleasant about this door, it would be the handle. It is unfortunate that they didn't find something with more character and style! Otherwise, in my book, this door is an absolute winner!

Colourful Door Monday

I wouldn't necessarily put this shade of green in the 'colorful' category, but it is nice and I have to say that the lighting the day I took this picture didn't do justice to the door so be disappointed with me and not the door, please!! I like the unusual shape of the windows and the design in the wood below the windows. I don't quite understand from where the window shapes were influenced given the arches overhead. The geometric window shapes don't really go with the rounded arches, but the oddity is not too blatant so I guess it could pass. My only real gripe with this door is the less the unusual handle, but hey, I guess it can't have it all!!

Sad Door Saturday

Spring is here, the weather is lovely, everyone is smiling...but this sad door. Not even the two faces on this door look very happy. Honestly though, just a little work and this door could once again be happy and smiling. I really do not understand the need of some people to deface doors and walls...or anything!! Are there not any door angels out there to protect these innocent doors from angry, heartless people? Please come forward if you are out there!!

At least the pretty door handle has remained intact!

Colourful Door Monday

And today's lucky colour is GREEN! I like this little door (we could call it an 'Emily door'!)...notice how high the handle seems to be...so high that it looks like the picture is upside down, but it's not...this is confirmed by the cobblestones at the bottom of the picture! The handle isn't bad either!

At the Blue Lion

'U Modreho Lva' - which is what is written above this door - literally translates as 'At the Blue Lion' though, unless there is a blue lion statue somewhere higher up on the wall of this building, I'm a little confused because I don't see any blue lion anywhere in the door frame or it's ornamentation!

Granted, the door is very charming and the sculptural work above it is fabulous...but WHERE IS THE BLUE LION?! I'll just have to go back and see if I can find that blue lion, but until then, take a look at the richness of this door, it's frame, it's wrought-iron work and, of course, the arch above it. I would be happy to walk through this door each day!

Colourful Door Monday

I like this door! No, the door itself doesn't have a LOT of character, but the frame has a story to tell which I would like to know, but don't...and the light blue color of the door is like a summer sky...light, cheery and uplifting. I like how the six square windows in the door are complimented by the 12 squares above the doors. The lions watching over the playing babies actually inspire confidence...well, they make me feel confident!