Lake Bled, Street Grammar, Hopepunk, Iconic Meals, Bookwallet & More: Endnotes 29 July

Lake Bled, Street Grammar, Hopepunk, Iconic Meals, Bookwallet & More: Endnotes 29 July

Friday, 29 July, 2022

Every Friday, we celebrate the weekend — and all the reading and relaxing and daydreaming time ahead — with Melissa's favorite book- and travel-related links of the week. Why work when you can read fun stuff?!

This post is part of our Endnotes series.

rule

That enchanting lake+island+church combo above is Lake Bled in the Julian Alps of Slovenia. It’s about an hour by car or 90 minutes by train from the capital city of Ljubljana. There’s a 4-mile path made for a leisurely stroll around the lake. At various points, you can take in views of the medieval Bled Castle perched on a craggy hilltop, a slew of 19th-century villas — including the former residence of Yugoslav president-for-life Marshal Tito — and the Church of the Assumption, which sits on the picture-perfect island in the middle of the lake. The only reasonable way to refuel after that walk? Kremna rezina, the local cake made from thick layers of cream and vanilla custard tucked between sheets of buttery, crispy pastry. Enjoy a virtual visit to Lake Bled, then treat yourself to this celebration of kremna rezina. For more details, we love Rick Steves coverage of Lake Bled and Slovenia.

  • We’re currently watching (and loving) Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, so I was delighted to read this interview with actor and artist Bruce Horak. He plays a blind telepathic alien on the show, and in real life, he’s a painter. The Art Newspaper has an interview — and here’s his art website.

  • This is very entertaining and sweet: What Happens When You Offer Grammar Advice to Complete Strangers in the Middle of Manhattan. ‘Sometimes my interventions soothe the insecurities of the questioner. A tiny Filipino woman — maybe five feet tall, about forty years old — approached the table holding the hand of a tinier girl. She wanted to know how to pronounce “finance.” Did the word start out like “fine” and have the stress on the first syllable, or did it begin like “fin” and have the stress on the second? When she heard that her second-syllable stress was fine, even preferable in the opinion of one of the experts whose books lay on the Grammar Table, she started jumping up and down. This is neither hyperbole nor metaphor: she literally jumped up and down and made her smaller companion’s arm sail in sync with her excitement. Someone had been telling her she was wrong, and now she knew she wasn’t, and she felt better!’

  • Oeuf mayonnaise is one of life’s simple, elegant, delicious pleasures. Dave and I had a sublime version at this bistro in Paris just before the pandemic struck, and it’s one of our best memories of the Before Times. Who knew there’s an Egg Mayo Protection Association?

  • Sorta related; sound up.

miniature versions of classic book covers with a passport inside

 
 

rule

New Episode of The Library of Lost Time

In each 5-minute show, we talk about two new book releases at the top of our TBR, then share a fun book- or travel-related distraction. Get all the episodes and books galore here.

hey. don't be alarmed, but I didn't find an image at /images/lolts/kutshers.png

For this episode, we get excited about two new book releases: The Half Life of Valery K by Natasha Pulley (which I’ve already devoured and loved loved loved) and The Man Who Could Move Clouds: A Memoir by Ingrid Rojas Contreras. Then we go retro with Welcome to Kutsher’s, a documentary about the last surviving Jewish resort in the Catskills, a.k.a., the most Dirty Dancing-esque hotel ever.

Books
Distraction of the Week
 

May you feel as joyous as a sea lion doing the tango.

Top image courtesy of Ursa Bavcar/Unsplash.

Want to keep up with our book-related adventures? Sign up for our newsletter!

keep reading

Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got a sonnet about Anne Frank, the train from Marseille to Berlin, travelogue cookbooks, a love letter to bookshelves, and more.
Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got an Italian town that treasures personal diaries, AIGA 50 Covers competition, unlikable characters, The Statesider, and more.
Every Friday, we share our favorite book- and travel-related links. This week, we've got the history of rainbows, authentic Mongolian food, inspiring stuff left in library books, new novels in translation, and more.

sharing is caring!

Can you help us? If you like this article, share it your friends!

our mission

Strong Sense of Place is a website and podcast dedicated to literary travel and books we love. Reading good books increases empathy. Empathy is good for all of us and the amazing world we inhabit.

our patreon

Strong Sense of Place is a listener-supported podcast. If you like the work we do, you can help make it happen by joining our Patreon! That'll unlock bonus content for you, too — including Mel's secret book reviews and Dave's behind-the-scenes notes for the latest Two Truths and a Lie.

get our newsletter

Join our Substack to get our FREE newsletter with podcast updates and behind-the-scenes info — and join in fun chats about books and travel with other lovely readers.

no spoilers. ever.

We'll share enough detail to help you decide if a book is for you, but we'll never ruin plot twists or give away the ending.

super-cool reading fun
reading atlas

This 30-page Reading Atlas takes you around the world with dozens of excellent books and gorgeous travel photos. Get your free copy when you subscribe to our newsletter.

get our newsletter
Sign up for our free Substack!
follow us

Content on this site is ©2024 by Smudge Publishing, unless otherwise noted. Peace be with you, person who reads the small type.