Full steam ahead in the Railway Museum, York, England, UK

weekly update 022 - York and the National Railway Museum

June 5, 2017

Welcome to the National Railway Museum, one of the highlights of the visit to York, and some will say the main reason to come to the city. I would argue that it is a great reason to keep coming back.

Great Northern Railway no. 50 at the National Railway Museum, York, England, UK

The National Railway Museum (NRM) is a museum in York forming part of the British Science Museum Group of National Museums and telling the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001. It is the home of the national collection of historically significant railway vehicles, as well as a collection of other artefacts and both written and pictorial records.
The NRM displays a collection of over 100 locomotives and nearly 300 other items of rolling stock, virtually all of which either ran on the railways of Great Britain or were built there. Also on the 20 acres site are many hundreds of thousands of other items and records of social, technical, artistic and historical interest, exhibited mostly in three large halls of a former motive power depot next to the East Coast Main Line, near York railway station. It is the largest museum of its type in Britain, attracting 727,000 visitors during the 2014/15 financial year.

LMS Princess Coronation Class 6229 Duchess of Hamilton, National Railway Museum, York, England, UK

The NRM was established on its present site, the former York North locomotive depot, in 1975, when it took over the former British Railways collection located in Clapham and the York Railway Museum located off Queen Street, immediately to the south east of the railway station since then, the collection has continued to grow.
The museum is a short walk from the railway station in York, either on the road or via a staircase from the rear of the platforms. A "roadtrain" runs from the city centre (near York Minster) to the museum on Leeman Road during half term, holidays and summer. York Park and Ride also serve the museum from the car park entrance, on Line 2 (Rawcliffe Bar-York). Admission to the museum has been free since 2001.

Gladstone decorated for Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria at the National Railway Museum, York, England, UK

Copper, Steel & Iron at the Railway Museum, York, England, UK

There are approximately 280 rail vehicles in the National Collection, with around 100 being at York at any one time and the remainder divided between Locomotion at Shildon and other museums and heritage railways. The earliest are wagonway vehicles of about 1815. The permanent display includes "Palaces on Wheels", a collection of Royal Train saloons from Queen Victoria's early trains through to those used by Queen Elizabeth II up to the 1970s, among them some of the first rail vehicles to be set aside for preservation.
Other key exhibits normally to be seen at York include the 1846 Furness Railway No. 3 "Coppernob" locomotive, and the more modern express passenger steam locomotives London and North Eastern Railway Class A3 No. 4472 Flying Scotsman, its streamlined sister Class A4 No. 4468 Mallard and London, Midland and Scottish Railway Princess Coronation Class No. 6229 Duchess of Hamilton.
The museum has imported several major vehicles for display: the Chinese Class KF7 4–8–4 locomotive donated in 1981 was built in Britain and the Wagons-Lits sleeping car donated in 1980 had been used on the Paris-London Night Ferry service. Rail vehicles on display are exchanged from time to time with other organisations, and examples of new-build stock from the current industry sometimes visit the museum for short periods.

Golden hours at the Yorkshire Herald bars and restaurants, York, England, UK

After spending the whole morning at the NRM, we head back to town and stroll around looking for lunch and do a bit of shopping before catching the train back home.

Street lamps on Marygate, York, England, UK

There are still lots of buildings standing that attest to the heritage of the city, keep looking up when walking around and you are bound to find many interesting details like the wooden carvings

On Marygate, the street that runs on one of the sides of the Museum Gardens, the street lamps catch my eye. Rising from the rusted iron railing, the elegant curved shape and rusty color make a great contrast against the green foliage of the trees of the garden. Aligning two, that are closer together also help make a stronger image that helps tell the story of our walks over the long weekend on such an historic city.

Detail of medieval building ornaments 2, York, England, UK

Since I couldn't make up my mind as to which photo to use to end this post, I'm leaving you with two. On the left I have two swans that were swimming along the river while the sun was setting. On the right is a long exposure typical of urban environments with light-trails from the bus that crossed the Lendal bridge, and the water reflections on the river.
Pick you favourite and let me know?
I'll be in Iceland when this gets posted, hopefully I will share some daillies from the trip while I'm there. But next week we start focusing on Copenhagen, Denmark, which at this time is my second favorite city in the world.
Until next week,
Keep wandering this rock of ours.

White Swans under The Yorkshire Herald, York, England, UK

Lightails on Lendal Bridge, York, England, UK

Inside the Harpa concert venue, Reykjavik, Iceland

dailies from Iceland: Harpa and ice-cream on Reykjavik

June 5, 2017

Today was feel like a local day.
The day started with a guided tour to the Harpa, iconic building for music and architecture lovers alike, the tour shows you how this ingenious building was created, aiming for perfect acoustic conditions but also to integrate culture in day to day city life.
After another stroll up the hill, we had a tasteful brunch at the Rok, surrounded by locals exiting mass in nearby Hallgrimskirkja, followed by a nice hipster coffee at the Reykjavik roasters.
No summer Sunday is over without ice cream and so off we went to the maritime museum area and a delicious pineapple cup at Valdis.

Telma & Antonio,
from the land of Ice and Fire, and Ice-Cream

Views to the West from the Dyrhólaey Lighthouse, Iceland

dailies from Iceland: On to the South Coast

June 4, 2017

Our first tour in Iceland went south, through black sand beaches, weird shaped rocks and water, all around, in the shape of rivers, waterfalls and lots of rain.
Or even steam that comes out of the earth and led to the name Reykjavik, smoky bay as the settlers thought they were seeing smoke.
The first stop was the photogenic Seljalandsfoss the magnificent waterfall that welcomes you to go behind it and then greets the adventurous with a shower of its mighty waters down from the glacier, followed by a harsh lesson on global warming when we paid a visit to the shrinking glacier Solheimajokull.
After lunch, we took a short stroll to the black sand beaches, and up the hill to enjoy the great views of Dyrhólaey and finally contemplate Reynisdrangar and the basalt sea stacks in the middle of the sea.
This was a day of many contrasts, unpronounceable names and water, lots and lots of water.

Telma & Antonio,
from the land of Ice and Fire

York Minster and the hidden gardens of the City Walls, York, England, UK

weekly update 021 - Inside the Walls of York

May 30, 2017

Welcome back to the City of York, the historic heart of Yorkshire in the North of England. This week we are focusing on the walk around part of the city walls and the Yorkshire Museum Gardens.

Preparing for a banquet inside York's City Wall, York, England, UK

Inside the secret garden from the York City Wall, York, England, UK

If you're in York, and are rewarded with nice weather, head for the City Walls. You'll get great views of the city inside and beyond the walls, from a great vantage point. And best of all, at the time of writing, completely free. So head down to High Petergate street, and climb a few stairs up to the walls. This will not really be an option if you have limited mobility, as the steps are steep and the passage quite narrow.
Once up on the wall you are rewarded with a view of the rooftops of the buildings around the wall and the city beyond, as I showed last week. But even better are the views inside the wall perimeter to the the great York Minster, and all the historical buildings and gardens that still exist within the protective wall.
You can see the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, more commonly known as the York Minster, in the background of the first two images here. As it tends to happen on our latest travels, the main church of the city we are visiting is in the middle of a major renovation, which means we will need to go back to shoot it, and go inside and also climb the main tower to get even wider views of the city. The York Minster, is the cathedral of York, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England. The title "minster" is attributed to churches established in the Anglo-Saxon period as missionary teaching churches, and serves now as an honorific title.
Apart from the Cathedral there are some very well kept and pretty gardens, some are part of event venues and restaurants, while most are for private houses. Inside one of those I found this statue of a small girl that imediatelly made me think of Alice in Wonderland. If someone knows if that is really the case, please let me know!

All Saints Church tower, York, England, UK

After coming down to the walls, and having a great lunch on one of the many pubs and restaurants you can find in the centre of York, we strolled down to the end of Parliament St. and got to the All Saints Pavement Church, on the Parish of All Saints Pavement with Saint Crux and Saint Michael Spurriergate. Now that is a mouth full. I just loved the church tower architecture, which has a lot of empty spaces within the arches and it's octogonal shape. Having blue skies, scattered with white fluffy clouds, I went for a very steep angle to maximise the contrast with the stone colour and also to isolate it from the rest of the modern buildings that surround it.

Mrs. Thornil last will to the Holy Trinity Parish, York, England, UK

Detail of medieval building ornaments, York, England, UK

York being a city full of history, actually founded by the Romans in 71 AD, then called Eboracum, and having it's great expansion in the Middle Ages, there are multiple examples of this medieval heritage scattered across town. I chose a couple to highlight this here. Above is a detail of a building on Coney St, which today is mostly dominated by shops, that shows some carved heads on the buildings wooden frame facade. On the left is a wooden framed tablet with the last will of Mrs. Thornil, in which she donates money to the Holy Trinity Parish in Goodramgate to the education of poor girls. This can be found inside the Holy Trinity Church, in the center of town.

Yorkshire Museum and the Museum Gardens, York, England, UK

William Smith's 1815 Geological Map - Yorkshire Section, York, England, UK

In the heart of the York Museum Gardens you will find the Georgian building of the Yorkshire Museum, opened in 1830 and one of the first purpose-built museums in the UK. Reopened in 2010 following a nine-month £2million refurbishment project the Museum houses five galleries showcasing some of Britain’s finest archaeological treasures and many rare animals, birds and fossils, in exciting displays. The gardens also houses The Hospitium, a 14th century two-storey building that you can hire as the setting for your ceremonies, and overlooked by the striking ruins of St. Mary's Abbey pictured on the last post.

While strolling through the gardens I found a very interesting geological map of the Yorkshire area made out of colored pebbles. This a copy of a segment of the famous 1815 Geological Map of 'England and Wales with part of Scotland' by William Smith. The full original title of the document is : A Delineation of the Strata of England and Wales with part of Scotland; exhibiting the collieries and mines, the marshes and fen lands originally overflowed by the sea, and the Varieties of Soil according to the variations in the Substrata, illustrated by the most Descriptive Names by W Smith. This was the first geological map that covered such a wide area, and is only six years older than the first geological map ever produced.

The Hospitium on the Museum Gardens, York, England, UK

So I'll leave you this week with another sunset image from the shores of the River Ouse, great place to finish the day when in York and have nice weather. Next week I'll finish the set about York, with a trip to the National Railway Museum.
This week we are getting into a plane heading to Iceland, for a short scouting trip. Hopefully we will be publishing some daily posts with a summary of the day.
Until then,
Keep wandering this rock of ours...

Sunset by the shores of the River Ouse, York, England, UK

Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II and the Basilica di San Pietro by night, Rome, Italy

weekly update 019 - Dailies from Roma

May 15, 2017

Finally we've made it to Italy, after a few years postponing it as I tend to prefer the colder northern climates. But Rome is definitely an unavoidable destination in the world, and I'm very glad to have been persuaded to go at last.

St. Peter's Basilica from the Via della Conciliazione on a cloudy night, Rome, Italy

This post is just an introduction to the trip, and the city, illustrated with the photos I shared daily while there. The weather on the first two days went from grey and gloomy to short strong showers, so not the ideal to leave a good impression or take pretty pictures. But when you're in a city so steeped in history and full of art, a decent photographer can produce some illustrative images. The bad weather also meant that we could just walk into an almost empty St. Peters square in the middle of the Vatican City, without any queues. Just two days later, on a sunny Sunday, you could hardly see the street leading to the Basilica for all the tourists and pilgrims that headed towards the Vatican.

Inside the Galleria Borghese, Rome, Italy

The second day started with a quick visit to the Vila Borghese gardens, and a lengthy visit to the Galleria Borghese which houses an impressive collection of works by my favourite sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini, and also a great collection of paintings and frescos organised over two floors. If you like classical art this is an obligatory visit.

At the end of the day, we went for the two other well-known tourist traps in Rome, the Spanish Steps and the Treviso Fountain. And don't be fooled by the images in all the movies and television were these places aren't completely overrun by visitors and people selling all kinds of useless knick-knacks like selfie sticks and strange, gooey, dolls that make annoying noises. Even on a rainy Thursday evening, both places were full of people, so I would say to try and go there early in the morning if you want some space to photograph.

By the third day, we had a glorious sunshine and a, boring cloudless, sky. I know, only photographer complain about a blue sky. And we decided to go to the Colosseo, the Foro Romano and the Palatino. These are basically two attractions and you can get a single ticket for both. I would advise to buy this in advance, as the queue to buy tickets on location was huge. And then there is the queue to actually get into the sites. I was not expecting these sort of amount of visitors waiting to get in. You can see on the picture to the right the huge amount of people present at the time. If after you visit these sites you can still walk, you can visit the imposing monument to the fatherland, the Altare della Patria pictured below.

I think that a four-day visit is great to get a feeling for the city, but there are things that we didn't get to visit, and will probably come back for, like the museums which we didn't get to visit any. It is definitely worth staying in the old part of town and just walking everywhere, which we did. We stayed in an apartment from Airbnb, just of Piazza Navona. Gabrielle, our host, was great and the apartment had the perfect location and a great neighbourhood feeling.

This is for the first impressions, soon I'll start showing the full-colour images, and more in depth posts.
Until then,
Keep wandering, keep looking...

Schönbrunn Palace gardens and city view, Vienna, Austria

weekly update 017 - Easter at the Schloß Schönbrunn

March 10, 2017

The Schönbrunn Palace (Schloss Schönbrunn in German) is a former imperial summer residence located in Vienna, Austria. The 1,441-room Baroque palace is one of the most important architectural, cultural, and historical monuments in the country. The history of the palace and its vast gardens spans over 300 years, reflecting the changing tastes, interests, and aspirations of successive Habsburg monarchs. Since the mid-1950s it has been a major tourist attraction.
This beautiful palace and its impressive gardens are located just 5Km away from the Hofburg Palace at the center of Vienna, is one of the must-see places in the city. And going there during the Easter is probably one of the best times since the gardens by then have regained the green color after the cold winter, and you get the privilege of visiting a small but very interesting Easter market just inside the main gates.

The Easter market in front of Schönbrunn Palace is considered to be one of the most romantic Easter markets. In front of the backdrop of the palace, 60 exhibitors offer all sorts of culinary pleasures as well as decorative Easter decorations and handicrafts from Austria. Children have fun in the Easter Bunny workshop, where they shape marzipan bunnies and make Easter flower arrangements, in the Easter nest hunt and in the Kindermuseum, while the adults enjoy the entertainment at "Jazz at the Easter Market".

Schönbrunn Gloriette through a fisheye, Vienna, Austria

Schönbrunn Gloriette sculpture detail, Vienna, Austria

After going through all the delicacies of the Easter market and visiting the exquisitely ornate interiors of the palace itself, a visit to the gardens is in order. Specially if you happen to have the great fortune to be presented with a glorious sunshine as we were on the day of our visit. The gardens are vast extending for 1.2 km from east to west and approximately one kilometre from north to south, it was placed together with the palace on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1996. This is a great place to visit with kids since it has a small Zoo, believed to be the worlds eldest still in function, laid out around 1720 and originally had four quadrants with a central (probably elevated) pavilion. Consisting of paths between tall, narrow hedges without the dead-ends and false turns of a classic maze, it was intended to offer an inviting setting for a gentle stroll.
On top of the hill you will find the small Gloriette, pictured here, a tower-like two storied pavilion built around 1775, probably to designs by Isidor Canevale. The octagonal structure with its balconies and built-on stairwell was probably used as a viewing pavilion. On the ground floor, the interior is decorated with Rococo architectural murals which on the second floor open up above a balustrade into a painted sky.

Having a snack, or a not so light lunch, at the café inside the Gloriette is a great way to enjoy the panoramic view of the city that it's location provides. Also a great idea is to spend some time lying on the lawn in front of it, after the snack, and contemplate the palace, gardens and the city beyond. This seems to be a favourite activity of many people on that sunny afternoon, and the grass was full of people, young and old, enjoying the Spring sunshine.

Next week I'll be showing a few selected images of statues around the city, and if you like statues like I do, this is a great city to visit as there are many, with differing styles and for all tastes.
Until then,
Keep wandering, keep shooting...

weekly update 016 - Inside the Wiener Staatsoper

March 8, 2017

Main stairwell of the Vienna State Opera, Vienna, Austria

Welcome to the inside of the Wiener Staatsoper, known to all English speakers as the Vienna State Opera, one of the world's most iconic concert hall. On the 3rd week of this Vienna, I'm concentrating on the inside of this beautiful and legendary building which has been showcasing opera since 1869. If you have more than one day in Vienna, please do try to get tickets for the tour of the inside of the building, as you will get a glimpse of the glamour that an evening at the opera here holds. If you're a fan of opera on a budget, there is better news for you, since you can get tickets for €2 to €4 for all performances if you don't mind standing. These are available 80 minutes before the show starts and are in high demand from an eclectic clientele that is always keen to make their thoughts on the performance known.

The opera house was the first major building on the Vienna Ringstraße commissioned by the Viennese "city expansion fund". Work commenced on the house in 1861 and was completed in 1869, following plans drawn up by architects August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll. It was built in the Neo-Renaissance style by the renowned Czech architect and contractor Josef Hlávka. The building was, however, not very popular with the public. On the one hand, it did not seem as grand as the Heinrichshof. On the other, because the level of Ringstraße was raised by a metre in front of the opera house after its construction had begun, the latter was likened to "a sunken treasure chest".

Ceiling of the Schwindfoyer at the Vienna State Opera, Vienna, Austria

Towards the end of World War II, on March 12, 1945, the opera was set alight by an American bombardment. The front section, which had been walled off as a precaution, remained intact including the foyer, with frescoes by Moritz von Schwind, the main stairways, the vestibule and the tea room. The auditorium and stage were, however, destroyed by flames as well as almost the entire décor and props for more than 120 operas with around 150,000 costumes.

The Austrian Federal Chancellor Leopold Figl made the decision in 1946 to have a functioning opera house again by 1949. An architectural competition was announced, which was won by Erich Boltenstern. Boltenstern decided on a design similar to the original with some modernisation in keeping with the design of the 1950s. In order to achieve a good acoustic, wood was the favoured building materia. In addition, the number of seats in the parterre (stalls) was reduced, and the fourth gallery, which had been fitted with columns, was restructured so as not to need columns. The façade, entrance hall and the "Schwind" foyer were restored and remain in their original style.

Inside Concert Hall of the Vienna State Opera, Vienna, Austria

The Vienna State Opera is closely linked to the Vienna Philharmonic, which is an incorporated society of its own, but whose members are recruited from the orchestra of the Vienna State Opera. The Wiener Staatsoper is one of the busiest opera houses in the world producing 50 to 60 operas in a repertory system per year and ten ballet productions in more than 350 performances. It is quite common to find a different opera being produced each day of a week. The Staatsoper employs over 1000 people.

Gustav Mahler was one of the many conductors who has worked in Vienna. During his tenure (1897–1907), Mahler cultivated a new generation of singers, such as Anna Bahr-Mildenburg and Selma Kurz, and recruited a stage designer who replaced the lavish historical stage decors with sparse stage scenery corresponding to modernistic tastes. Mahler also introduced the practice of dimming the lighting in the theatre during performances, which was initially not appreciated by the audience. Herbert von Karajan introduced the practice of performing operas exclusively in their original language instead of being translated into German. He also strengthened the ensemble and regular principal singers and introduced the policy of predominantly engaging guest singers. He began a collaboration with La Scala in Milan, in which both productions and orchestrations were shared. This created an opening for the prominent members of the Viennese ensemble to appear in Milan, especially to perform works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Richard Strauss.

Behind the stage at the Vienna State Opera, Vienna, Austria

I leave you this week with a view of the backstage area of the opera house. This is one of the areas of the building that is only viewable during the guided tour unless you happen to work there. The guided tour is definitely worth the time and money, as not only do you get access to areas off limits during performances, you also get to know a lot about the story and inner workings of the building and it is also the best way to photograph the interiors, especially if you get a small group and an understanding guide.

This post is very late, but I had a few technical issues to sort out in the meantime. Next post should also be up this week, focusing on the Schloß Schönbrunn during the Easter time.

Until then,
Keep wandering, keep shooting...

Wiener Secessionsgebäude, the Vienna Secession Building, Vienna, Austria

weekly update 015 - Vienna's Architecture

February 15, 2017

So this week I'm focusing on Vienna's architecture, and I could only start it with a picture of the Vienna Secession Building designed by Joseph Maria Olbrich as an architectural manifesto for the secession movement. It is the home of one of the most important works by the most well known artist of the Secession movement, Gustav Klimt's Beethoven Frieze. A 34 meter wide, 2 meter tall painting homage to celebrated composer Ludwig Van Beethoven, that illustrates human desire for happiness in a suffering and tempestuous world in which one contends not only with external evil forces but also with internal weaknesses. Like all other work by Klimt that features extensive use of gold leaf, no reproduction will do it justice, and must be experience in person.

Modern and Classic Architecture at the Albertina, Vienna, Austria

A more conventional subject for a post about Viennese Architecture is the Albertina Palace, which houses one of the world's finest art collections since 1805. The palace itself, a fine example of the Neoclassical style, was built in 1744 for Count Silva-Tarouca and given as a gift to Duke Albert from which derives the name. Over the centuries it has been enlarged and updated, and by 2003 underwent a complete renovation, with the most dramatic addition being installed in 2004. Architect Hans Hollein created the spectacular 64-metre titanium wing shaped roof which has become one of its most recognizable feature.

Gutenberg Denkmal and Regensburger Hof building, Vienna, Austria

Less well known, and slightly harder to find, is the Regensburger Hof building and the Gutenberg statue in front of it. This site was home to one of the most impressive 15th-century buildings in Vienna, that was demolished in 1896 to give its place to the Orendi department store in 1897. The building was designed by Franz von Neumann, which had a long running enmity with Otto Wagner who was associated with the Vienna Secession group, and was clearly more interested in propagating the classical forms of the 19th century. In the center of the buildings facade you can find a life-size statue of Emperor Frederick III. In front of this building is the cast bronze Gutenberg Denkmal by Hans Bitterlich, and unveiled in December 1900.

Schmetterling Haus at the Burggarten, Vienna, Austria

Another great example of the variety and quality of the architecture in Vienna is the Schmetterlinghaus, The Imperial Butterfly House. Located on the Burggarten palace gardens, part of the Hofburg Royal Palace, just 200m from the Opera House, this is one of the most beautiful Art Noveau palm houses in the world. It is said that Emperor Franz Josef I and Sisi, the Empress of Austria, found tranquility and quiet inside the building surrounded by around 400 live, free flying butterflies. The main entrance of the house, pictured here, is ornamented with statues and ceiling has a lovely patina. If you're happen to be around there on a sunny day, the Palmenhaus cafe is a great place to have a snack with views to the garden. Or go at evening for a more upscale experience on their brasserie.

Facade detail of building in Stock-Im-Eisen-Platz 2, Vienna, Austria

One of the things I would recommend doing, in most cities you visit, but specially in Vienna, is to have a wander around the streets of the historic city center. Here, go for a walk from the Schmetterlinghaus, or the Albertina, towards Stephansplatz. And keep looking up at the buildings, not just the shops at ground level. You can find lots of wonderful details of the historic buildings that flank these streets. One that I really liked was at Stephansplatz, and you can read Zum Goldenen Becher, which translates to The Golden Mug. The amount of details painted on that small piece of the facade is extraordinary, and most people will just walk by not noticing it.

J&L Lobmeyr Store fron on Kärntner Str., Vienna, Austria

You can also find great looking shops, that by now are no longer what is advertised on the original facade, but you can still trace it back to the original purpose of the building. In this case, Lobmeyr is still operating from the same place. This family run business, now it its sixth generation, has been providing the excellent crystal products since 1823.

Below you can find a couple of detail pictures of the Hofburg Palace. Built in the 13th century and expanded in the centuries since, the palace has been the seat of power of the Habsburg dynasty rulers, and today the official residence and workplace of the President of Austria. It was the principal imperial winter residence, as Schönbrunn Palace was the summer residence.
On the right is the main gate on the Michaelerplatz, this area of the palace is known as the St. Michael's Wing and was finished in 1893. The facade on this side is heavily ornamented with sculptures and gold details. On the left is a detail of the Amelienburg wing on the Internal Castle Square, that shows a 'modern' mechanical clock above a sundial.

Burgtheater on a cloudy day, Vienna, Austria

Probably the most important sights in the city of Vienna reside on the Ringstrasse. This 5.3km long road provides enough space for numerous monumental buildings, which were built during the period of historicism between the 1860s and the 1890s, and created under the orders of Emperor Franz Joseph.

One of the great buildings here is the Burgtheater, in the style of New Baroque according to designs by Gottfried Semper and Karl von Hasenauer, it was finished in 1888.
This theater, with its distinguished company, has held a leading position in the dramatic arts of the German-speaking countries. For the season 2014/15, the Burgtheater was awarded "Theater of the Year" by the German-language journal "Theater heute".

Rathaus, Vienna's City Hall, Vienna, Austria

Just on the other side of the road is the Rathaus, Vienna's City Hall. This imposing neo-Gothic building, the most important secular example of this style in the city, was designed by Friedrich von Schmidt who had been the architect of the Cathedral of Cologne. Built between 1872 and 1883, the main tower has a height of 97.9m, topped by the "Iron Rathausmann". This allowed to circumvent the Emperor's order that the building could not be taller that the nearby Votive Church, whose tower measures 99m. On the right is the main facade of the building, viewed from the Ringstrasse, and below is the also impressive view of the back of this extraordinary building.

Rathaus building viewed from the Landesgerichtsstraße, Vienna, Austria

This week has been a very extensive post, but if you love architecture, there is always more to say and share when talking about Vienna. Next week will be a shorter post, totally dedicated to the legendary Vienna Opera House.
And now to sleep, see you next week,
APN

weekly update 013 - 2017-01-18 - Strolling through the streets of Lisbon

January 19, 2017

Ethereal sunset at the Alges Maritime Traffic Control Tower, Lisbon, Portugal

Deciding this week's first photo of the post was very complicated for me because I have three images that are really strong. Usually I would only show one per week, but this is to be the last post dedicated to Lisbon for a while. So I ended up just sorting them out by the way I could make the text flow around them.

So I start with another two images of the Maritime Traffic Control Tower in Algés, taken on Christmas Eve 2016. This site is very popular with photographers, for obvious reasons, and is usually very busy at the end of the day. Being the 24th of December, I was the only photographer there with only a few more people for company at the beach. That meant I was able to move around quite freely and make the most of the fading sunlight from a few vantage points.

This first image using a Lee Big Stopper and a Lee Hard ND Grad filter to bring the exposure down and blur the water for that ethereal look. And on the second image going for a more subtle blur effect but using that bring more impact to the wet sand and pebbles on the foreground. I will be printing this one on metallic paper and putting it on some wall around the house, should look great.

Sunset at the Alges Maritime Traffic Control Tower, Lisbon, Portugal

The last photo I wanted to highlight comes from my second visit to the site of the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology more commonly known as MAAT. I won't go into the usual details about the building, since I did that last week. I wanted to go back to this place, since realising I hadn't captured what I wanted first time around. As a plus of visiting on a regular night, I was also able to see how many people are using this area to exercise or just walk around at the end of the day. That is great to see since this used to be really underused part of town. So I decided to go for a very slow shutter speed to capture the movement of all the people walking by.

As I do every year I get a few hours of free time in Lisbon, I like to wander around the Chiado area of the city. Still remember the time when my grandmother used to take there for the afternoon for some shopping and coffee, milk for me at that time. The area used to be dominated by the great department stores of Armazéns do Chiado and Armazéns Grandella, which sadly burnt down when a great fire destroyed most of this area in 1988. After many years, both buildings were rebuilt but the two stores never came back. At least it was revitalised with the creation of a small shopping center and a couple of big stores which draw lots of people on a daily basis. On that area you can also find Bertrand, the World's Oldest Bookstore. Established in 1732, on a different site but moved to it's current location after the 1755 earthquake that completely destroyed most of Lisbon. And of course a stroll around Chiado is never without a visit to the Fernando Pessoa statue, that will always greet you at the front of his favourite cafe, A Brasileira, which you should visit as it is one of the most beautiful coffee houses in Lisbon.

And I'll leave this week with the final edit of the bridge photo I showed earlier on Instagram. You can't really tell the difference on Instagram, but that image was done from a single frame, and had a few issues with noise and lack of details on the highlights. This final version is a manual blend of 6 exposures, to be able to capture the detail of the Christ Tower on the South side of the river, the few visible stars in the sky and also all the reflections of the lights on the river. This was actually taken from the top of the MAAT building, which gives an interesting vantage point when shooting the 25th of April bridge of the Tejo river.
Next week I'll start showcasing photos from last years visit to the beautiful city of Vienna in Austria, hope you enjoy it. Hope to also get new galleries up on the main website in between blog posts.
Until then,
APN

Night falls over the Tejo, Lisbon, Portugal

Sunset panorama of the Maritime Traffic Control Tower at Alges, Lisbon, Portugal

weekly update 012 - 2017-01-11 - New year, new post, still in Lisbon

January 10, 2017

Happy new year to everyone, hope that the holiday season was kind to you. For my part, it was another week of great food and better company with family and friends in my hometown of Lisbon. I decided to start off the year with a fresh batch of photos I took during Christmas week on the few hours that I was able to set apart to shoot.
There were a couple of places that I had planned to shoot this time around. First was the Algés Maritime Traffic Control Tower, pictured above. This is one of the most innovative buildings of the type, and it stands out in the area that so far was dominated by old industrial architecture. Designed by Architect Gonçalo Byrne, it was inaugurated in 2001 with the most advanced maritime technologies. Since then I had mean to go and photograph it, but until this year other places had taken my time. Going there on Christmas eve for the sunset was a great choice, as the beach was all but deserted, and a glorious sunset and dusk awaited me. I have another shot from that place that I will show next week.

The second place I wanted to shoot was the newly inaugurated MAAT (Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology), inserted on the prime location by the Tejo riverside. This extraordinary building will be the subject of many photographs by everyone that visits it, or just passes by. Architect Amanda Levete has achieved the complicated task of creating a building that is modern and amazing, but at the same time melts into the background. It also encompasses the old Tejo Power Station, that was also used as a Museum before, and which is a great example of 19th century industrial architecture, although it was built in 1909.

I'll leave you with a couple more photos taken on Boxing Day, which we don't celebrate in Portugal, but is a great day to walk around town if the weather is good. I was fortunate to spot this man basking in the Winter sunshine, that was a constant this year oddly. Better yet he was leaning on the sculpture that bears the name of the town visible on the other side of the river, Almada where I've spent many great nights at concerts and more commonly eating and drinking with friends.
Below is a shot from Praia Grande, one of the beach villages around Sintra. The sea there is usually cold, and with many waves. But I recommend it for the food mainly, you can get a great seafood meal with a wonderful sea vista.

Next week I'll share my last images from that week in Portugal, and I'm also preparing an overhaul of the galleries on the website. I'll also reveal the travel plans for this year, which should give me plenty more photos to share with you.
Hope you all have a great 2017,
APN