Photos, videos and docs of Don Barrett (aka DBs travels), with the keywords: "Europe2018"

Prague Saint Wenceslas Square (#0669)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sat, 25 May 2019 05:01:07 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Wenceslas Square looking from behind the statue of Saint Wenceslas, the ‘square’ stretches from here to the end of the boulevard in the distance.

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Prague Saint Wenceslas monument (#0665)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sat, 25 May 2019 05:00:53 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Saint Wenceslas monument on Wenceslas Square; the statue was unveiled in 1913. Saint Wenceslas was seen to be the patron saint of Czechia.

Source:
www.prague.eu/en/object/places/1878/statue-of-st-wenceslas?back=1

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Prague (#0663)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sat, 25 May 2019 05:00:34 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Undefined harvest relief, over the entrance to Sberbank at Václavské nám.
(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Prague Jalta Hotel (#0640)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 19 May 2019 22:49:54 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

The Jalta Hotel in Prague, completed in 1958 and described on some websites as socialist, Stalinist, or Stalinist Baroque architecture. The hotel has an anti-nuclear bunker spread over 3 floors under the hotel. Since the hotel was used for housing foreign dignitaries during the communist era, the bunkers were used for housing by the Secret Police for tapping the rooms above. There is supposedly the Museum of the Cold War there now, but when I was in Prague I could not find an entrance to it. The adjacent pictures are close ups of the statues on the lower level of the hotel.

Source: www.private-prague-guide.com/article/museum-of-the-cold-war-prague

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Prague Jalta Hotel (#0640b)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 19 May 2019 22:49:50 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

A cropped version of the previous picture, highlighting the statues along the first floor. For some reason I had assumed that architecture of the Communist era would be very dark and brutalist, but as I learned in Berlin several years ago, such is not the case. More detail of the statues in adjacent pictures.

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Prague Jalta Hotel (#0638)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 19 May 2019 22:49:48 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Statues on the 2nd floor of the Stalinist Baroque, Jalta Hotel.

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Prague Jindrisska Tower Lime scooters (#0635)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sat, 18 May 2019 06:31:06 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

More ubiquitous in Prague than anywhere else I visited, Lime electric rental scooters.

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Prague tourists (#0636)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sat, 18 May 2019 06:31:10 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

I had hoped that visiting Prague in December would result in escape from the hordes of tourists that I had heard about. It didn’t look like that was going to be the case – this shot is taken late morning on a Thursday in Wenceslas Square. Many of the tourists sites did have more people than I expected and the sidewalks were fairly congested, but how much that was just local shoppers versus tourists is unknown.

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Prague Jindrisska Tower Pepsi (#0630)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Thu, 16 May 2019 06:52:06 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Classic Pepsi mural ad near Jindrisska Tower; I didn’t find any information about it.

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Prague Jindrisska Tower (#0635)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Thu, 16 May 2019 06:52:08 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Jindrisska Tower, or St. Henry’s Tower, or (for me), my transit stop…

Somehow I missed that it was known for the view of Prague from the top of the tower, or that it was built in 1472-1475 but has been repaired/rebuilt many times due to damage from weather and by foreign military troops.

Source: www.prague.net/jindrisska-tower

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Prague Jerusalem Synagogue (#0628)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 15 May 2019 08:46:23 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

The Jerusalem Synagogue – the most colorful and intricately designed synagogue that I can recall seeing. It was just around the corner from my hotel, so I passed it often. It was built in 1905-06 in Moorish Revival style and has held religious services since, with the exception of during WWII and the Nazi occupation.

Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jubilee_Synagogue
www.synagogue.cz/jeruzalemska-synagoga?p=16 (in Czech)

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Prague Hlavní nádraží Woodrow Wilson (#1306)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 15 May 2019 08:46:20 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Woodrow Wilson statue at the Central Station in Prague. This was a total surprise to me, since President Wilson is barely remembered in the U.S. It turns out that Wilson was the earliest international advocate for Czechoslovakia, having recognized the government in WWI.

Per the article (below), there was a statue honoring Wilson at the Central Station from 1928 until 1941, when the Nazi occupiers destroyed it. The current statue was based on remaining molds from the original statue, and was installed in 2011.

My hotel, which turned out to be an excellent location and service, is just past the statue.

Source: www.washingtonpost.com/local/prague-to-honor-woodrow-wilson-with-new-statue-at-main-train-station/2011/09/29/gIQAeghoLL_story.html?utm_term=.1b80c0c0e6d6

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Prague Hlavní nádraží (#1306)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 15 May 2019 08:46:16 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Hlavní nádraží (Central Station), Prague.

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Bavaria (#1298)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Tue, 14 May 2019 08:03:43 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

From the train, somewhere in Bavaria, between Nuremberg, Germany and Cheb, Czechia.

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Cheb, Czechia (#1305)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Tue, 14 May 2019 08:03:51 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Train to Prague – comfortable and fast.

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Cheb, Czechia (#1304)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Tue, 14 May 2019 08:03:49 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

At the Cheb, Czechia station – the train in the center of the picture is a local, my express train to Prague is on the left. The station was in fairly rough condition, poorly signed and with very little in terms of shops (I was looking for a sandwich); but it was also apparently being remodeled.

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Bavaria Marktredwitz (#1303)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Tue, 14 May 2019 08:03:45 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Passing through Marktredwitz, Germany. Even though I was traveling in early winter, this was the only snow I saw on the entire trip.

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Rhine River – Marksburg castle at Braubach (#1279)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 08 May 2019 07:23:48 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

(This is a replacement of a picture that had been posted without a description).

Not a good picture, but historically relevant. Photo of Marksburg castle at Braubach, taken from the train. The castle apparently dates to 1117 but many of its remarkable features were added in the 14th and 15th century.

My first view of the castle was in 1969: www.flickr.com/photos/donbrr/3547726525

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marksburg

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Rhine River – Pfalz castle at Kaub (#1283)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 08 May 2019 07:23:50 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

(This is a replacement of a picture that had been posted without a description).

Not at all a good picture, but a part of history. The Pfalz or Pfalzgrafenstein Castle at Kaub, photo taken from the train. The castle was constructed in 1326/1327 and served as a toll gate. I could not find when toll-taking ended, but it seems to have continued into the 19th century -- the time when the river was straightened for international shipping.

Here’s a picture taken from a road trip along the Rhine 50 years ago, in 1969: www.flickr.com/photos/donbrr/3547726555

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pfalzgrafenstein_Castle

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof (#1291)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 08 May 2019 07:23:45 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

The Central Station (Hauptbahnhof) in Frankfurt am Main (on the Main). The station opened in 1888 and was apparently not severly damaged in WWII. It’s the busiest rail station in Germany which is surprising given that it, unlike most large city stations, does not have through tracks – trains must either back in, or back out.

I was in Frankfurt only for the night. My next destination was Prague and I wanted to see some of the Czech countryside; to do that I had to take an express train to Nuremburg and then a local train to Cheb, Czechia where I would transfer to a Czech express train to Prague.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt_(Main)_Hauptbahnhof

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)