Getting Around

 I can't really say why but I really like trams and one of the things that I enjoyed about my road trip back in 2018 was the number of cities that had tram systems, some of them really old such as these in Prague and Vienna, also in Gothenburg but I don't have any pictures ready to upload and others like in Copenhagen which were super modern and fully automated. Amsterdam has a mix of old and new and somehow they fit with the city which is itself a mix of old and new.

As I say, I am not really sure what the appeal is, maybe it is the mixture of sounds; the rumble along the tracks, the electric buzz or the clanging bells but whatever it is there is something special about this form of transport.

Of course driving around these cities and having to negotiate the trams can be a bit of a challenge given that there are so few cities in the UK that have tram systems. In some places there are dedicated tam lanes and in others cars and trams share the same streets and so extra vigilance is needed.

Medieval Rooftops

These three views show the rooftops of the old city of Prague. This is a beautiful city with lots of old buildings and the rooftops give a sense of the character of the place.

In the second shot you can see the modern business district on the horizon.

Halfway Up The Stairs Is A Stair Where I Sit

I have been exceptionally lucky this year in that I have been able to travel a great deal and that means I have had lots of great photo opportunities.

For today I have gone back to May and the streets of Prague. During my roadtrip I tried to do a little street photography and here are a couple of shots that I rather like.

The first one shows a young couple taking a few moments to rest in the shade on some steps near the castle. I think it is a lovely scene, a romantic moment and a moment of calm away from the bustle of the castle precincts.

The second shot shows one of the many trams that work their way through the city's narrow streets.

I recently finished reading a novel set in these streets and having been there and walked the streets of the old town the narrative seemed more alive to me. It really is a beautiful city.

Tram Lines

One of the things I enjoyed about visiting different cities was finding out about the transportation systems. In Copenhagen the metro was a driver less system that was brand new and super efficient, whereas in Gothenburg the trams were almost all very old and creaky with absolutely loads of character.

In these pictures you can see two different styles of tram in Prague, both are quite old and sadly we didn't get to ride on any. Instead we used the metro (see my post from 22/07) to get into the city and then we walked everywhere and I mean we walked miles but at least that we way we didn't miss anything along the way.

Although these shots are in Black & White you can see that it was a hot day with mostly clear blue sky and you can see some of the fine architecture in this old city. Such a wonderful place to visit.

Czech Underground

After a night in Dresden we moved on to Prague for a couple of nights. We were staying in a very modern hotel in the business district and so to get into the city centre we took the metro.  At first this was looking like it might be a problem since I didn't have change for the ticket machine and there was no ticket office. When I found a tabac where I could get tickets the vendor was not terribly helpful or friendly but we eventually got tickets and made it into the city.

As you can see we got off the train at Malostranska and were immediately impressed by the underground architecture and attention to detail. It was a bust station but I waited until the platform and then the escalators cleared so that I could get a couple of shots. The light was quite poor so I have had to use a very high ISO since these were handheld and I didn't want to risk a slow shutter speed. In spite of the grainy quality I really like these pictures and I hope that you will like them too.

Contemporary Prague

Today we have spent a second day in Prague and what a beautiful city it is.

We were lucky with the weather because thunder storms were forecast and after Fridays storm and flash floods on the way to Dresden we weren't sure what to expect but in fact it has been hot and sunny just about the whole time.

We have spent most of the visit in the old town, the Jewish quarter, the castle and gardens and the old architecture is stunning. We've walked about 9 miles in all and we had to take time out in the shade a few times but we've had a lot of fun.

I have mostly photographed old architecture and a few people but while the old town really is the star attraction there is some really nice contemporary architecture and so I wanted to share a couple of examples.

The first pictures show the Dimension Data Trask building next to our hotel. I really like this building and in the middle of the first image there is a reflection of our hotel where we are staying on the 8th floor.

The third image shows the interior of one of the metro stations, I think it may have been inspired by Daleks but it could also have been the inspiration for Gringotts in Harry Potter, at least so I'm told...

From here we are heading off to Vienna for a couple of days s