Album Czech Republic from Jon Searles

Nadrazi Mirosovice u Prahy, Mirosovice u Prahy, Stredocesky kraj, Bohemia(CZ), 2015

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sat, 20 Apr 2024 14:19:02 +0000

As you can see, Nadrazi Mirosovice u Prahy was in very good condition as of 2015, and as far as I know it still is today. Mirosovice is two stops south of Strancice (with Mnichovice in the middle), and on this particular day, for whatever reason, I concluded my cameraphone shoot for the day. It may have been the battery, in hindsight, as I didn't want to be without a phone.

View of Mnichovice (from the train), Stredocesky kraj, Bohemia(CZ), 2015

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sat, 20 Apr 2024 14:18:04 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

The Mnichovice station isn't visible in this shot, as it's out-of-frame to the right. What you can see is that interesting Baroque-style building, in the distance, with the bell tower. That's the Church of the Birth of the Virgin Mary, or the Kostel Narození Panny Marie, in Czech.

Nadrazi Strancice, Strancice, Stredocesky kraj, Bohemia(CZ), 2015

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sat, 20 Apr 2024 14:17:16 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

Nadrazi Strancice is actually two stops south of Ricany, as Svetice is in between. For some reason, I didn't get a shot of Svetice on this trip. Strancice is mostly notable for being where some of the locals from Prague terminate, rather than continuing on to Benesov u Prahy. Whenever I've had to go further south, I've had to be mindful of this. There's also a freight-only branchline to Velke Popovice from Strancice, but this was cut short in around 2013, so it may have been left mostly in place as insurance for the future. I'm not aware of any current services on it, although it still had some working signals the last time I saw it.

Nadrazi Ricany, Ricany, Stredocesky kraj, Bohemia(CZ), 2015

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sat, 20 Apr 2024 14:16:25 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

When southbound one Linka 220, Ricany is the first station outside of Prague. As you can vaguely see in this shot, as of 2015 it was in decent condition, and my understanding is that it's been maintained well since. It's notable for the spiral ramp for passengers, especially those with bikes, just barely visible behind the platform canopy. The station building is on the other side of the tracks, behind me in this shot. The building dates to the 1880's, if I'm not mistaken, although services began stopping here in November of 1871, in line with most other stops on Linka 220.

Trial at Fluff Fest 2015, Rokycany, Plzensky kraj, Bohemia(CZ), 2015

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 14 Apr 2024 13:16:51 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

I managed to get relatively few good cameraphone shots at Fluff Fest 2015, but I had a few. This shot is of Trial, on Saturday.

Hibakusha at Fluff Fest 2015, Rokycany, Plzensky kraj, Bohemia(CZ), 2015

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 14 Apr 2024 13:16:50 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

I managed to get relatively few good cameraphone shots at Fluff Fest 2015, but I had a few. This shot is of Hibakusha, on Saturday.

Dark Circles at Fluff Fest 2015, Rokycany, Plzensky kraj, Bohemia(CZ), 2015

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 14 Apr 2024 13:16:49 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

I managed to get relatively few good cameraphone shots at Fluff Fest 2015, but I had a few. There were a number of old favorites at the festival, including Gattaca, but I didn't manage to get good shots with my cameraphone. This was one of my best shots from Fluff Fest 2015, with decent lighting, and a shooting location close enough so that I didn't have to use digital zoom. This set was on Saturday, soon after I arrived.

Nadrazi Cernosice-Mokropsy, Picture 5, Stredocesky kraj, Bohemia(CZ), 2015

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 18:21:35 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

This was the Class 471 "City Elefant" EMU that took me back to Prague. Having said this, the photo is too blurred to get the road number.

Nadrazi Cernosice-Mokropsy, Picture 4, Stredocesky kraj, Bohemia(CZ), 2015

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 18:21:34 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

This was the colour-coded recycling bin on the platform of Nadrazi Cernosice-Mokropsy. I took this picture because it included a bin for metal recycling, something that wasn't generally offered in Prague (and, as far as I know, still isn't), in spite of metal being one of the least complicated things to recycle.

Nadrazi Cernosice-Mokropsy, Picture 3, Stredocesky kraj, Bohemia(CZ), 2015

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 18:21:33 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

This is the station building at Cernosice-Mokropsy. This building looks like it could have been built since 1933, although some buildings in 1933 already looked like this. Ceske Drahy still advertise a staffed ticket office here (as of 2024).

Nadrazi Cernosice-Mokropsy, Picture 2, Stredocesky kraj, Bohemia(CZ), 2015

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 18:21:33 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

This is a view of the platform at Cernosice-Mokropsy. The station is advertised as having only one platform, which is true, but the platform serves both tracks.

Nadrazi Cernosice-Mokropsy, Picture 1, Stredocesky kraj, Bohemia(CZ), 2015

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 18:21:32 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

Although, as a facility, Nadrazi Cernosice-Mokropsy dates to 1862, my sense is that this station is mostly not original, as the buildings appear to be from a 1933 reconstruction (https://www.atlasdrah.net/cz/stredocesky/?id=baza&poz=12805). I've been through this station many times, as it is on the Prague-Beroun mainline (Linka 171), which ultimately continues to Plzen (via Linka 170), but I have only occasionally been out of the train, on the platform. In this case, I had been dropped off to take the train home to Prague. I have so far been unable to uncover much more information on this station, as it is one of the smaller ones on the Ceske Drahy network.

Hrad Zvikov, Picture 4, Orlik, Stredocesky kraj, Bohemia(CZ), 2015

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 18:19:43 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

This is more of a closeup of Hrad Zvikov. For a more complete history of the castle, see the description for Picture 3.

Hrad Zvikov, Picture 3, Orlik, Stredocesky kraj, Bohemia(CZ), 2015

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 18:19:42 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

Hrad Zvikov, like Zamek Orlik, was originally on a hill, but the high water level of the Orlik reservoir has made it more accessible from all directions. Today, it's on more of a peninsula than a mountain. The first mention of Hrad Zvikov dates to 1234, and it is thought to have been built on the orders of king Otokar I, as it was an official royal castle, and not one owned by a local noble. However, from 1306, it became the property of the Rosenberg family, and was passed through various owners until it returned to government ownership in 1947, on the eve of the Communist coup the following year. It remained in government ownership after the fall of Communism in 1989 (as far as I have been able to determine), and today is maintained as a tourist attraction. This is the most complete view I was able to get of the castle.

Hrad Zvikov, Picture 2, Orlik, Stredocesky kraj, Bohemia(CZ), 2015

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 18:19:42 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

In this photo, the castle is only barely visible behind the trees, although the docks for the tourist boats (seen elsewhere in this collection), are visible on the water. For a more complete history of the castle, see the description for Picture 3.

Hrad Zvikov (in the distance), Orlik, Stredocesky kraj, Bohemia(CZ), 2015

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 18:19:40 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

In this photo, Hrad Zvikov is only visible in the distance, but I liked this photo generally so I still included it in this collection. The castle was built in the 13th Century during the reign of Otakar I, and I've put a more thorough description for Picture 3.

Outcropping on the Bank of Orlik, Stredocesky kraj, Bohemia(CZ), 2015

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 18:18:55 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

Orlik, like most reservoirs created by damming a river, used to be a canyon, and much of the reservoir is bordered by cliffs and outcroppings like this one. I took this photo (albeit with my cameraphone) solely because I thought it looked interesting.

Boat Crane on Orlik, Stredocesky kraj, Bohemia(CZ), 2015

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 18:16:57 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

I don't remember the exact location of the this crane, but I think it was actually the one at the Orlik Marina, across from the Zamek Orlik, where the HACJACHT boat rental company is also located.

Zdakovsky Most, Stredocesky kraj, Bohemia(CZ), 2015

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 18:15:40 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

Although this highway bridge is not so widely known today, at the time of its construction in 1967 it had the longest single arch in the world at 362 metres. It is named after the village of Zdakov, which was flooded during the construction of the reservoir.

Zamek Orlik, Stredocesky kraj, Bohemia(CZ), 2015

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 18:14:31 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

This is Zamek Orlik one of two castles on Orlik. Like many castles in the Czech Republic, it could more easily be defined as a chateau. This "chateau" version, if that's a fair characterization, dates to 1508, after the original 13th-century castle burned down. Also, like most Czech castles, this complex was originally built on a hill, at an altitude of approximately 500 metres ASL. However, the contruction of the Orlike reservoir meant that it is no longer significantly higher than the level of the water (formerly of the Vltava, now of the reservoir).