A Room With a View

 On the drive back from Alsace I had decided to break up the journey with a stopover in Bruges. I had visited the city before but had never stayed overnight and I wanted to see it after dark; It really is a fairy tale city and I hoped to capture some of the magic of the beautiful architecture and the reflections in the canals.

I booked a room in what was once a brewery and I paid a supplement for a room with a canal view and the images above show the view of the canal and the courtyard below both in daytime and at night.

I love the architecture in Bruges. The city has a really interesting history and is famous for the production of handmade lace for hundreds of years. The street on which my hotel was located (Wollestraat) is very old, it is a busy thoroughfare with lots of shops one of which is a fabulous lace shop. The shop was built prior to the Napoleonic era when Belgium was under the rule of the Napoleonic empire. A curious hangover from that era is the window tax. I say curious because the tax is still applied today but only to buildings that were in existence at that time, so the owner of the lace shop has to pay an annual tax on each of her windows but the shop next door which was built slightly later is not liable to the tax. 

Anyway, over the next few days I will share a few more pictures from my wanderings around this beautiful city which I hope you will enjoy.

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.

Straight Up!

I spotted this wonderfully wiggly rooftop on the walk up to the Schlossberg park and garden in Graz.

I love medieval buildings and this old Austrian skyline doesn't disappoint.

Above the City

I love looking out over the rooftops of the towns and cities that I have visited.

I had come to Prague with high hopes of seeing some wonderful architecture and I wasn't disappointed. As we walked up towards St Vitus Cathedral from the Malostranka metro station we were treated to spectacular views across the old city.

I think the view looks just as good in black and white as in colour. The monochrome image gives a sense of age or history which fits the style of the architecture. In colour though you get the richness of the rooftops and warm colours of the walls which stand out against the wooded hills. It looks particularly good as the sun comes through the clouds and lights up the old town.

In the second image you can see across to the business district, one of the high rise buildings on the horizon was our hotel. You can also see the Vltava as it cuts through the city and some of the many bridges that span the river.

Rooftops of Paris

I have been fortunate to visit Paris many times and it is one of my favourite places to be, I love the architecture and there is always something new to see.

On one occasion there was a large ferris wheel in the Jardin des Tuileries by the Louvre Museum. It was a great opportunity to get some different views of the city.

The first shot is slightly spoiled by a reflection in the glass of the compartment but other than that it is a terrific view of the rooftops along the Rue de Rivoli, with the Opera on the left of the picture and across the city toward Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur.

The second picture looks across the Place du Carrousel towards the Louvre with the crowds of people thronging around the entrance to the museum complex via the great glass pyramid.  In the distance you can see the towers of Notre Dame.

The final shot is of the beautiful roofs above the colonnades along Rue de Rivoli with the flag flying above the Palais Royal in the background.

I really love this city and look forward to going back.  I can easily imagine myself living there in a tiny attic apartment and walking the streets soaking up the atmosphere...

Up on the roof

Three pictures today, taken from the Belfort or belfry of Bruges.

I really like the colours of the roofs and the house fronts, I also like the style of the buildings with the steeply pitched rooftops.

I think getting up high provides a unique perspective on the city.

Medieval France

Today's pictures are of Carcassonne in the Aude region of France.  The first photo was taken in the heart of the old city and the second and third are of houses just on the outskirts.

I really like the warm colour of the stone and the arched windows.  I also really like the tiled roofs.  The buildings in the second picture are in a very old part of the town but the TV satelite dishes on several house tops put the picture right into the modern age.

I loved visiting Carcassonne and look forward to sharing more pictures in the future, but for today enjoy these, feel free to leave a comment below.  Tomorrow I will be sharing a few pictures from Barcelona so make sure to look out for those...