Under no illusions as to the character of the environs. Though I've stumbled into a reasonably comfortable place for the several days I'm here, this is still the most commercial, class-conscious, and ruthless city on the itinerary. Sometimes you need to take the low path through the old city. Though I didn't have any choice in making the interstitial jaunt, I'm hoping to make the best of it. It does bring some shadows into the mind, but the dawn runs are easier here than in sleepy Transylvania, and much more than the other place before but one.
The immediate environs are the biosphere of the Euro-jaunters, which I find a bit frightening, tbh. But on the periphery, the familiar chain coffee stores where I can sit for a bit with a book. And the museums and theatres are very reasonably priced, if you're willing to take the most distant seats in the house. Which has been my course for lo these many years. A habitual resident of the heavens.