2011

Well, here it is, my first image of 2011, taken a couple of hours after midnight on the 1st of January. This photo, even if it is a cameraphone photo, holds several records for me. First of all, it's the earliest photo in the year that I've ever taken in Prague and posted online (although I have others from my Nikon N6006 which are earlier in the year in the strict sense, and others which I've never posted), its earlier in the year than any rail photo that I've ever taken, and it's my first-ever photo of one of Prague's night trams, in spite of my having taken them for years. Basically, between about 1230 and 0430, the night trams and night buses are the only services running in Prague, as the Metro is shut down (although services were recently extended a bit), so you're stuck with a bike or a cab (if you don't have a car, and having a car in Prague is generally stupid). I think I've seen all of the tram classes except for maybe the KT8's on night duties, but I still was expecting a Tatra T3 on this shot, as they're still the most numerous.

This was the second night tram shot I took, giving more detail, although I clearly would have been better off with my Nikon N80 and high-speed film (like ISO 1600).

This is the station at Telc, a popular tourist destination and UNESCO world heritage site. I visited at the time when there were very few tourists there, partly because it was right after New Year's, but also because the weather was quite cold and most of the businesses were closed.

This was the yard, with a Class 814 and an 810 waiting to work local services. Telc doesn't have a direct connection to Prague, in spite of its status, but it can be reached fairly easily via either Tabor and Kostelec u Jihlavy or Havlickuv Brod and Kostelec u Jihlavy. At some times of day, Kostelec can also be accessed more quickly via Ceske Budejovice.

This is a roundabout that includes portions of Masarykova and Slavickova, an arrangement for naming that I haven't seen anywhere else. Normally, this would be a square with a name, or something similar. The building with the mural on the left is not one that I'm familiar with, but the Pivnice Armagedon forms part of it.

Here's a closer shot of Pivnice Armagedon

Here you can see the Tower of St. Duch, and what's left of the city moat (or I think that's what that big trench was, anyway). Today the moat (or whatever it is) is used as a pasture.

Here's one of the deer in the moat (or whatever).

Here's a closer view of the tower of St. Duch....

....and an even closer shot of the Tower of St. Duch.

This is the famous Baroque town square of Telc, which actually has some buildings dating back to the 16th Century.

Here's another shot of the square in Telc.

This is one of the old water pumps in town. The Czech Republic still has these all over the country, in both Bohemia and Moravia, in spite of their scarcity in many other developed countries. Even Prague still has them, although the water isn't fit to drink from all of them.

Here's another view of the square, with the castle, or Zamek in the back.

This is the Hasicsky Dum, or literally the firehouse, or old firehouse, as it's now an art gallery.

This is the Zamek, or castle, in Telc, see from the square.

This is the clock tower on the zamek.

This is the Name of Jesus Church in Telc. Like the other buildings on the old town square, I haven't been able to track down definitive information on it, but it seems to be semi-integrated with the Zamek. I'll have to search around for better information on it, like the proper Czech name.