2008

This is another interesting old building, with that Skoda ad that's been on top for decades and decades. The Ligna company was founded in 1949, but I'm fairly sure the building is older. Does anybody know???

This was an alternate shot that I took of the Ligna building that I thought looked much better in black and white, so I converted it.

Again, I don't know the history of this building, but I noted when I took that that much of it seemed unoccupied, and indeed the endless construction in Vaclavske Namesti appeared to have killed many of the businesses cut off by it, although Vaclavske Namesti didn't die, and remains vibrant today.

I just couldn't resist this shot, with the combination of the architecture, the sunlight, the shadows, and the sky. I may work on this one in Gimp a little bit more, but this is the most basic version for now...

I liked the light, I liked the buds on the trees, and so on, so I figured this shot was one that I wanted. I've forgotten whether I took this from the ground or a tram window, though.

The location is just one that I remember, without remembering very much else about the day in question. I actually rediscovered this shot when I was scanning the roll, as I had completely forgotten about it. I'm assuming that this was a joke done at the depot, and not what a vandal would do....vandals are idiots and probably wouldn't be able to come up with this.

If this is really Palac Adria or some other such building please let me know! :-) I just liked the look of the architecture, of course, and took the shot.

Is the Phillips building really at the north end of Vaclavske Namesti, a.k.a. Mustek??? I can't remember.

Hidden behind the Gambrinus sign it says "hard rock cafe," although I don't know if this is a legitimate "Hard Rock Cafe," or if it's just a name and/or ripoff. I've never been in this place, even though I've been by it countless times.

The Trziste, or open-air market, which used to be in Hradcanska always had a number of customers going in and out, and back behind the Ceske Drahy tracks there was a row of kiosks on Dejvicka Ulice where I sometimes had lunch. Today, this is an ugly disorderly mudpit of a construction site for the infamous Tunnel Blanka.

I liked this shot also in black and white, so I did both versions.

I've only occassionally shopped here, but it nevertheless provides me with another opportunity to show off the beautiful architecture of central Prague. :-) In actuality, Cerna Ruze, or the "Black Rose," represents two eras of architecture, the 1840's, and the 1930's, the shopping center being actually made up of two buildings.

Of of Na Prikope is this rather interesting street, Ne Kazanka, crossed by ornate pedestrian bridges linking the buildings. I liked the look of this so much that I took four shots, and decided to post them all on Flickr and iPernity.

Here's the second Ne Kazanka shot...

..here's the third shot...

...and here's the fourth.

These three tunnels connect Malostranske Namesti, home to the Czech Parliament and St. Nicholas's Church, where Mozart used to perform, with the area around the Malostranska Metro/tram stop. I'm not sure over how many years these were constructed, but as you can see each has its own unique design. The tunnel on the left is for the tram traffic, and is partly supported at the entrance by buttresses, the tunnel in the center, the simplest of the three, is for auto traffic, and the tunnel on the right, with its traditional arched design, is for pedestrians. It isn't clear from the signage which one is for bikes, but on organized bike rides that I've been on, the police have directed us through the auto tunnel. Normally, though, I wouldn't do this, since in Prague you can walk a bike on pedestrian paths, so I just wouldn't ride through here in that case. My only real regret about this photo is that I didn't manage to get a tram emerging from the tunnel. Maybe some other time....

The original negative for this shot was very low contrast, so the version that I uploaded to Flickr was post processed to increase it. I did two versions in my editing, though, and this one was actually the first, being deliberately edited with very high contrast and saturation to maximize the brilliance of the colors. It isn't realistic, but I liked it enough when I made it that I decided to save it and also upload it.