Wish Upon a Falling Fall Leaf

(I’m taking a break from posts about Madrid to write about Petřín Hill)

What is so captivating about leaves in fall?

Those same leaves are there during the summer and spring, so what makes fall so special?

How can leaves dying and falling off a tree be so wonderful? And yes, it isn’t always so wonderful since people have to painfully rake them off their yard. But, put that aside for now.

Yesterday I went with my classmate, Taylor, to Petřín Hill.  Let me tell you, yesterday was the perfect weather (and season) to walk up and back down this hill. It wasn’t too hot and it wasn’t too cold, perfect weather for walking a long way.

Petřín Hill is located above the left bank of the Vltava River and is roughly 130 meters tall. On this hill, there are plenty of parks, different paths, and a tremendous number of trees that cover and hug the walkways.

For me, the best part of fall is seeing the leaves change color. The leaves look gorgeous no matter where you look:

- at a group of trees

- at a single tree

- at a single leaf

- at a pile of leaves on the ground

- at a combination of all of these ^^^^

Everyone says snowflakes are so special since no two are the same, but what about fall leaves? It amazes me how many different shaped and colored leaves there are, not only among different trees but also within the same tree.

The two pictures below are from paths up the hill. Notice how they are both paths with trees surrounding them, but the colors of the leaves are different.  Notice the yellow/orange leaves on the edge of the pathway? What a contrast in color they are to the trees! I prefer the dark green leaves with the orange ones on the path.

I love how fallen leaves create a ground treatment. 

These leaves are all on the same tree. I plucked 3 of these leaves to put in my sketchbook.

I love the contrast in color between the green leaves still on the trees and the brown/red/yellow/orange leaves that are on the ground. Try to imagine this picture with no leaves on the path. I would find the dark gray color of the pavement to be so ugly against the beautiful trees, but in this case the leaves that have fallen soften up the paving.

We made our way into a rose garden. It was a nice place to sit and sketch after a long walk uphill.

Next to the rose garden there is a tower that resembles the Eiffel Tower but this one is called the Petřín Lookout Tower (in Czech: Petřínská rozhledna).  This tower is 60 meters high, which sounds kinda wimpy, but it is on top of a hill that’s already 130 meters tall.

At the top of this tower you can overlook the whole city of Prague. Only bad part is that you have to climb 299 steps to get there. Did we climb them? Of course we did!  What could be better than a great view with good exercise?

Here is the staircase we climbed. 

I was gripping the railing the whole way up. They had a separate staircase for going up and down. Could you imagine people going up and down on the same tiny staircase? Thank goodness they had two separate ones!

There’s Prague Castle in the distance, see it (upper left)?

I was paying more to the color of the leaves than the buildings.

I don’t think I have ever seen the tops of trees during the fall like this:

Yay fall and leaves!

Aren’t these leaves so beautiful?

So go on a walk today with a loved one, a friend, or your children, and admire the leaves, or even pluck a few to hold onto.

I couldn’t have thought of a better day to visit Petřín Hill.  The weather and season were perfect. For my current studio project, and future ones, I will definitely consider the change in seasons and how it affects my design.

And if you think it’s magical to wish upon a star, then maybe you should consider wishing upon a falling fall leaf instead.

I know I will!