Daily details

I went out for a walk this morning for a few errands in my neighborhood. My top priority was finding a copy shop where I could do some xeroxing for things I need to send back to the U.S. My University department has a machine, but I don’t want to wear out my welcome.

This Kopírovacia has heavy-duty gray steel mesh over the windows, but it is bright and friendly inside, a veritable Kinko’s. Single copies cost $0.10. And if I feel the urge, I can get a California sunless tan right next door!

Thick white stripes in the street signal that pedestrians have the right-of-way in all circumstances. We have this rule in many California cities, too, but I always wonder if all the drivers know about it.

These handy traffic signs let drivers know that parking is available at the Opera House and the New Bridge, but not at the passenger ship port.

This tram sports a city slogan I see everywhere in English: “little big city.” The ticketing system requires you to carry a valid pass or ticket with you and have it available for a surprise inspection. Yesterday was the first time since I arrived that an inspector actually came on board to see our tickets/passes. He dinged a couple of people on my tram with 32 Euro fines (about $45) – ouch! I suppose the gamblers have figured out the odds of getting caught versus the cost of a valid pass.

I also stopped at the meticulously elegant and spotless ticket office of the National Theatre to get a ticket for tomorrow’s performance of the ballet. I paid 280 Koruna ($11.20) for what I consider the best seat in the house, first row of the boxes, center section, on the aisle. No, that is not the same-day-half-price cost. At the Met in New York, standing room at the back costs $20. More later on the performance.

The entrance to the ticket office is on the side of the building. Access for the disabled here is much as it is in London, which is to say, dreadful. At least the doors open out for this office. Many doors in public buildings and stores here open inward, a fire hazard that you never see in the U.S. We learned the hard way from some historic disasters (the Iroquois Theater fire, the Cocoanut Grove fire) that people panicking to get out of a building on fire crush against the doors, making it impossible to open them inward in an emergency.

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