Let's do a small jump of about 4500 kilometers (2800 miles) form San Francisco to New York. While having to wait 12 hours for a connecting flight to Brussels, we decided to make a quick visit to the Big Apple.
I spotted this photographer while during our morning stroll in Central Park. I learned from Ron Niebrugge that the camera he is using is a 4x5 large format camera which apparently is still very popular with landscape photographers. It is not as impressive as the one he encountered during his photo shoots though, which you can see in this post on his blog.
Central Park, New York
An interesting...
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This picture of the bell of an SFFD fire truck was taken in one of the 48 fire stations the city has. The SFFD was formed in 1850 and the largest disaster in which the fire department was involved was the 1906 earthquake. The department found itself reduced to fighting the fires of the quake aftermath with axes and shovels, as most of the city's water mains were broken.
SFFD Fire Truck Bell
A few weeks after the disaster, Chicago-based photographer George Lawrence saw an opportunity to capture a unique image of the sprawling ruins using his “captive airship,” a hand-built, 49-pound panoramic...
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As far as technology goes, San Francisco is probably one of the cities with the most high tech companies in the world (Silicon valley is just a couple of miles away). Transportation wise, the city is still very old school. The cable cars are still operated in the traditional manner with manually operated cars. They are the only moving National Historic Landmarks in the United States and the oldest and largest such system in permanent operation. The picture below shows a still manually operated turntable, the cable car gets on the turntable and the operator rotates the turntable so it faces the new direction.
Cable...
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Kitzbühel is home to the historic Grand Hotel Kitzbühel, dating from 1903, which is now a private resort, training and conference facility led by the worldwide management consulting firm McKinsey & Company. A decade ago Ernst Freiberger purchased and restored the legendary building to its former glory in exemplary fashion using the original construction plans from 1903. The hotel is currently owned by Freiberger Holdings.
Access to the Grand Hotel, which is also called the McKinsey Alpine University, is generally limited to members and alumni of the firm and their families.
* Thanks...
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Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a town in the state of Bavaria, Germany, well known for its well-preserved medieval old town. It was also the inspiration for the village in Walt Disney's masterpiece Pinocchio.
This photo shows Rothenburg's most famous streets Koboldzellersteig and Spittalgasse. The two towers are part of the outer wall of the city. The city has a beautifully conserved medieval inner (built prior to the 13th century) and outer defense wall.
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
This view is also depicted on the cover of two Blackmore's Night albums. 1999's Under a Violet Moon and their 2006 festive...
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Neuschwanstein was built by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and as a homage to Richard Wagner, the King's inspiring muse. In a letter to Wagner, the King wrote:
It is my intention to rebuild the old castle ruin at Hohenschwangau near the Pollat Gorge in the authentic style of the old German knights' castles... the location is the most beautiful one could find, holy and unapproachable, a worthy temple for the divine friend who has brought salvation and true blessing to the world.
The construction of the castle started on September 5, 1869 and was was close to completion when, in 1886, the King...
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Mount Everest, also called Chomolungma or Qomolangma or Sagarmatha.
This weekend we went to a lecture of a Belgian guy, Robert Huygh, who climbed the Mount Everest. I have always been fascinated by the Mount Everest and the stories of people who tried to climb it.
Photo by Star Trooper
Different attempts to the top have been made.
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Last week, while walking around in Sint Martens Latem, I stumbled across this old abandoned house. Apparently this used to be the gallery of painter Evarist de Buck (1892-1974). Too bad I didn't have enough time to go closer and get some more interesting shots. Maybe worth a revisit before it gets leveled...
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Another picture from the Tyne Cot Cemetery in Passchendaele. This is the entry gate to the cemetery showing the walkway to the Cross of Sacrifice.
You can read the previous blog entries about the Tyne Cot cemetery here:
Tyne Cot Cemetery Pt. 1
Tyne Cot Cemetery Pt. 2
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Another picture of the Tyne Cot cemetery. The name "Tyne Cot" is said to come from the Northumberland Fusiliers seeing a resemblance between the German concrete pill boxes, which still stand in the middle of the cemetery, and typical Tyneside workers' cottages - Tyne Cots.
The "Cross of Sacrifice" (Upper right) that marks most Commonwealth war cemeteries, was built on top of a German pill box in the center of the cemetery, purportedly at the suggestion of King George V of the United Kingdom, who visited the cemetery in 1922 as it neared completion.
In this picture I added some grain and vignetting...
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