Sometimes its good to get a little lost. That happened to us after we had visited the Corinth Canal footbridge in Greece. We were driving down a small rural road, and I saw this old car parked in a field. I’m sure by its condition that it had been parked for a very long time.
It’s an American truck, sitting in a field in a Greek farm, I really wonder just how it got there.
This is the chapel of the cathedral in the Wieliczka Saltmine, Krakow. The mine is so deep that the workers built homes in the mines (the mine is just over 300m deep; by modern standards it is not deep at all, but at the time that was a long way down), and being religious people they needed places to pray. So they build a cathedral under the ground. This is the front of the cathedral, the “choir” from where the services were conducted.
Just look at this beautiful library. Doesn’t it make you wants to browse those shelves to find a good book, pour yourself a good brandy, and to sit quietly and disappear in a good book.
An HDR shot of the The Palace of Science and Technology in Warsaw. I love the way the top of the tower pokes into the dark thunder clouds, just waiting for the lightning bolt. Although that is an artifact of the HDR processing; if you look closely at the people in the foreground most of them are in summer clothing.
I saw this strange building on the main road into Zakopane, and it really interested me. It looks exactly what Guidi would have built if he was an artist in Zakopane instead of in Barcelona. I love the way the two architectural styles are so seamlessly blended in this building.
If you want to find out more about the house (and are willing to read Polish or at least use Google translate), here is an interesting interview.
By the way, they say that the best camera is the one in your hand. I shot this with my phone and the processed it in Photomatix afterwards.
There are some wonderful old buildings in Cape Town, and the Cape Town Club is no exception. If you go down into the basement there is a lovely old dark bar, complete with old carpets and period furniture – I am convinced the furniture was modern when the bar was originally built! This is where you go to watch magic. In fact the Cape Town Magic Club meet here (which is where I first found the bar). It is a lovely old building with some beautiful furniture inside.
Old bar (and rather well stocked) bar
Velvet cushioned chairs
The side room
Watch this space to see some more pics of the Cape Town Club.
Update: the Cape Town Magic Club now meet at Truth Coffee – still in the city bowl.
The Odeon of Herodes Atticus was build in 161 AD, and is still used as a theatre today. That probably makes it one of the oldest theatre in the world. The oldest is the Theatre of Dionysius – right next door, If you walk to the top of the Acropolis you will see a wonderful view of the theatre.
It is not often you get to see the dome of a church from upfront. If you visit Karlskirche in Vienna you can do just that. They have built a scaffolding platform right all the ay to the top of the church, If you go up in a rickety lift and them climb about 3 fights of stairs, you can admire the artwork and architectural detail from close up (just don’t look down).
The scaffolding to the top
The dome from close up
Some of the Biblical scenes from up close
It is a wonderful experience, so give yourself some time for the climb.
This is the same church in which we listened to Mozart’s Requiem a few days later.
This church doesn’t look very impressive from the outside, but it is beautiful, cool and quiet on the inside. You are welcome to come into the cool inside, sit on one of the beautifully carved chairs, and enjoy a few minutes quiet inside this lovely church.
The lovely chandelier inside the church
View of the facade – not much to see but beautiful inside
A view of Karlskirche and the lovely pond in front of it in Vienna. We went back to the church a few days later to listen to Mozart’s Requiem played on period instruments. The pond is a popular student hangout, and is packed at the weekends with food and pub-carts, live music and lost of partying.
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