When I was a child I used to go house hunting. I clearly wasn't looking for a house to buy, but I was looking to be inspired. I'd find the most beautiful houses I could, study them, draw pictures of them, imagine what they looked like inside... and enjoy every moment of it. This activity is somewhat easier now with the internet, but not everything is available online and you sometimes have to just get out there.
The other morning my neighbour and friend, Jitka, mentioned she was going to town to get her nails done and asked if I'd like to come. My nails would need a little more than some acrylic to make them look half decent after this week's gardening, but I did have some From No 19 bags to send off and some shopping to do, so we arranged to leave at 11.
Although the post office can often take a while I knew I'd have some time to kill and as it was a lovely autumn day I thought I'd go to the farmers' market and get my shopping.
Armed with my super strong bags, pictured below in the town square 😁 I bought leaks, a cauliflower, some broccoli, plums, dill, peppers, and avocados. I took my time but still an hour to wait...I could have gone to a café, but I decided to explore.
The town of Litoměřice has some beautiful suberbs of turn of the century buildings with some spectacular houses and I'd always wanted to have a closer look.
These are just amazing. I love this period of architecture in many countries and each nation seems to have their own spin and style.
Seeing 1906, 1910, animals, faces, and flowers in ornate plasterwork on the sides of these buildings makes walking a normal street a delight. The details are just staggering.
Litoměřice is a relatively small town, and there are far bigger and grander towns in the Czech Republic. However, these houses are huge, sofisticate, spectacular and stunningly beautiful.
Although many of them have suffered over the years, these buildings paint a particular picture of a town just over a hundreds years ago. This was once, clearly a very desirable place to live and the people building these houses were investing in a future they thought would continue well into the twentieth century...
At the risk of sounding old (you are old! I hear Lu saying) the craftsmanship that went into this architecture seems to have been lost. Modern buildings, especially flats and houses in small towns just don't have this level of beauty anymore and I think that's sad.
I do think Litoměřice is a beautiful town, but I also think many of us have beauty in the villages, towns, and cities where we live. It's good to take a look around and see the beauty. There are amazing buildings like these all over the world still being pulled down to build carparks and supermarkets and before we know it, they'll all be gone ♥️
