Color Story : Budapest in blue & gold

Evening walks along the Danube in Budapest had a luxurious feel… as the lights came on, elegant bridges & buildings began to sparkle like gold while the sky and the waters deepened to a brilliant shade of blue…

 More stories from Budapest!

Gothenburg graffiti

Regular readers at my blog must have noticed how much I love street art. So, continuing the theme from my last post Street art in Reykjavik, I give you some graffiti from Gothenburg. I hope you like them!

Street art in Reykjavik

A few weeks ago, I went on an awe-inspiring road-trip through Iceland with Mr.A and two of our closest friends in Stockholm. Although it will take me a while to recount all those breath-taking views and experiences we shared along the way, let me start with Reykjavik, our port of entry & exit. Like I do on all my trips, I tried to capture the spirit of the city through its vibrant street art. At least a few years ago, the authorities in Reykjavik were not very supportive of this form of art. Not sure where they stand now, but I was happy to find a lot of color along Laugavegur, Reykjavik’s hep main street, leading up to the beautiful harbor area of Gamla Höfn. Take a look 🙂

You may also like:

• Street art in Zagreb from my road-trip through Croatia earlier this summer.
• Graffiti on the East Side Gallery, some remains of the Berlin Wall.
• Street art in Stockholm, another city with a strict view on graffiti.
• Cheerful paintings in Copenhagen’s Freetown Christiania.
• Plaka & Monastikari, those lively areas in Athens.
• Graffiti on the by-lanes of Barcelona.

Enjoy reading!

Croatia Day 7, 8 : Zagreb

… Continued from Croatia Day 6: Motovun, Hum
We spent most of Day 7 on the road, stopping here and there, at no particular destination. The drive from Hum to the capital Zagreb was  about 200km, we finally arrived at our apartment hotel by sundown and settled in for the last leg of our awesome Croatian road-trip.

Highlights

• Next morning the plan was to walk through Zagreb’s Upper Town. Mr.A and I started our tour at the Ban Jelačić Square & the Manduševac Fountain. Next, up to the Kaptol dominated by the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Then onto the colorfully umbrella-ed Dolac Market where local farmers bring fresh produce every day of the week. Strolling through the happening Tkalciceva Street, we passed under the Gradec Stone Gate, dating back to the 1200’s. Here locals and tourists light candles to the Virgin Mary even today. Next stop was the colorfully tiled St.Marks Church. We toured Gradec some more, listening to piano music floating in from a ballet school, such a pleasant touch to our afternoon! And then ended up somewhere in the Lower Town. The final high-point was the fun funicular ride up to the Strossmayer promenade. At the top, we were enchanted by the bird’s eye-view of the city warmly lit by the setting sun.

• Tkalciceva Street (pronounced tkal-chee-tseva) needs special mention when one is talking about Zagreb. This is the city’s hep street lined with scores of restaurants, cafes and fast-food joints that to satisfy any craving you might have. Of course, the cuisine is not limited to Croatian food, but a large variety from all over the world. This is where you will find the best dressed Croatians sipping on their coffee, meeting friends and family, hanging out with friends, and generally enjoying the good life. Mr. A and I happily joined the scene strolling through to the very end.We even witnessed some sort of horse procession! We rewarded ourselves with an excellent lunch and coffee 🙂

• You might have noticed that I have a thing for street-art  😉 and Zagreb had lots to offer on that front. Zagreb’s prominently young population is owed to its universities that attract students from not only the rest of Croatia but also neighbouring countries. As such, it is not surprising that graffiti show up on its walls as an expression of the young voices. Also, there are several inspiring installations all over the city in the form of sculptures & statues.

And that brought us to the end of our amazing week in Croatia, the fascinating, versatile land of natural & cultural wealth. We could wish to stay on much longer, but it was time to head back to new adventures. And there is always a way back to places we love, isn’t that right?!

Street art in Stockholm

Following up from my previous post about Stockholm graffiti, here is the story of project ‘Slussen Restart’ that my pretty girl was a part of… Slussen, in central Stockholm is all set for a facelift. Of the many changes that are underway, Kolingsborg, which acted as the canvas for the said street art, was recently demolished. Now Stockholm has a pretty strict stand against graffiti, but Kolingsborg proved to be an exception. Some renowned spray artists were invited to create their magic on the historic building before it was torn down. The remodelling project has faced some protests, too, from citizens who do not support the changes. I have not read much about this myself, so I will refrain from commenting on the reasons. You can read more about Slussen Restart here and here! I also enjoyed watching these videos from the project – when the building was painted white to prepare the canvas and the other one showing the project in progress. And of course, I had to go see it for myself and click some pictures before it was all gone…

There’s more street art on Sunny District, from Athens, Barcelona & Copenhagen! Wish you an awesome week ahead 🙂