Summer evenings in the park

Charlotte and I continue to explore the city.

And the nicest thing about exploring with a dog as cute as Charlotte is that we're welcomed everywhere.

Last night, wandering around Warmer Damm park, I spotted some men in one corner, smoking and laughing and playing chess.

The park actually has a designated chess area. (There's even a large checkerboard carved into the concrete.) The city provides the playing pieces and the tables, and every night men a dozen or so men of varying nationalities gather to battle it out.

One guy was from Pittsburgh -- although he said he'd come here with the army 30 years ago and just decided to stay. He claimed he'd nearly forgotten how to speak English.

I couldn't even tell if they were all speaking the same language -- but I like to imagine it didn't matter. That with a few grunts, whistles and gestures, they were all able to communicate as much as was necessary.

But they sure seemed to be having fun.

(I also remember them all having beards -- so it's strange to see that, in the photos, only two do! I guess sometimes we like to remember things as they ought to be rather than as they actually were.)

And Charlotte liked sitting in the cool, thick grass in the setting summer sun.