Prague: Jewish Quarter, Střelecký Island and New National Museum / December 2017

Jewish Quarter

The Jewish Quarter in Prague, known as Josefov, is located between the Old Town Square and the Vltava River.

Over the centuries, with Jews banned from living anywhere else in Prague, and with new arrivals expelled from Moravia, Germany, Austria and Spain joining them, more and more people were crowded in.

The Jewish Quarter has six synagogues, including the Spanish Synagogue and Old-New Synagogue, the Jewish Ceremonial Hall, and the Old Jewish Cemetery, the most remarkable of its kind in Europe.

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Prague Castle and Petrin Hill / December 2017

Prague Day 1

We started first day from Prague Castle and Petrin Hill.

Prague Castle info

We bought Prague Castle – Circuit B for 250kc and visited:
St. Vitus Cathedral, Old Royal Palace, St. George’s Basilica, Golden Lane with Daliborka Tower

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Ships from Gdynia, Poland / August 2015

For those who does not know:

Gdynia

Gdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea. Located in Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the Tricity (Trójmiasto), with a population of over a million people.

For centuries, Gdynia remained a small agricultural and fishing village on the Baltic coast. At the beginning of the 20th-century Gdynia became a seaside resort town and experienced an inflow of tourists. This also triggered an increase in local population. After Poland regained its independence in 1918, a decision was made to construct a Polish seaport in Gdynia, between the Free City of Danzig (a semi-autonomous city-state under joint League of Nations and Polish administration) and German Pomerania, making Gdynia the primary economic hub of the Polish Corridor. It was then that the town was given a more cosmopolitan character with modernism being the dominant architectural style and emerged as a city in 1926.

The rapid development of Gdynia was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. Although the German troops refrained from deliberate bombing, the newly built port and shipyard were completely destroyed. The population of the city suffered much heavier losses as most of the inhabitants were evicted and expelled. The locals were either displaced to other regions of occupied Poland or sent to Nazi concentration camps throughout Europe. After the war, Gdynia was settled with the former inhabitants of Warsaw and lost cities such as Lviv and Vilnius in the Eastern Borderlands. The city was gradually regenerating itself with its shipyard being rebuilt and expanded. In December 1970 the shipyard workers protest against the increase of prices was bloodily repressed. This greatly contributed to the rise of the Solidarity movement in Gdańsk.

Today the port of Gdynia is a regular stopover on the itinerary of luxurious passenger ships and a new ferry terminal with a civil airport are under realisation. The city won numerous awards in relation to safety, infrastructure, quality of life and a rich variety of tourist attractions. In 2013 Gdynia was ranked as Poland’s best city to live in and topped the rankings in the overarching category of general quality of life.[2] Gdynia is also highly noted for its access to education. There are prestigious universities such as the Polish Naval Academy located nearby.

Gdynia hosts the Gdynia Film Festival, the main Polish film festival, and was the venue for the International Random Film Festival in 2014.

[Source: Wikipedia]

It was my first visit in Gdynia and first try with ship shots xd

Enjoy 🙂

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Limassol, Cyprus / September 2017

Historic Limassol

This colourful harbour town is Cyprus’s second-largest city, but at its historic heart it is a kaleidoscope of architecture, packed with reminders of the island’s chequered and multicultural past, from the Crusaders through to Venetian and Ottoman eras, to the present day. Around Limassol’s medieval core the streets are lively and bustling and authentically Cypriot in character. The best way to explore the city is on foot, and there are plenty of tranquil corners, including the lovely Municipal Gardens.

Limassol Municipal Gardens

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Whitby / March 2015

Throwback to 2015 and great trip to Whitby 🙂

Whitby is a seaside town in Yorkshire, northern England, split by the River Esk. On the East Cliff, overlooking the North Sea, the ruined Gothic Whitby Abbey was Bram Stoker’s inspiration for “Dracula”. Nearby is the Church of St. Mary, reached by 199 steps. West of town is West Cliff Beach, lined with beach huts.

Source: Wiki

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Prague, Czech Republic / June 2017

I have been to Prague four or five times in my life so far, but every experience with this city is different. Prague is always great, every time I seem to explore more and deeper.

This time is was special occasion – my hen do ! with a couple of friends.

We went to the city centre at night, clubbed until dawn….

Later on (after few hours of sleep) we went to the city centre again to admire it in a daylight. My MUST SEE attractions this time were:

  • to climb an Old Clock Tower and have a view on Old city from above
  • to visit Golden Lane

Unfortunately, the tower was being renovated and we just had selfie with an Astronomical Clock.

At the end of the day, we reached the Castle and Golden Lane. Weather was lovely that day: clear sky and over 30 degrees !

All pics taken with Sony a58 and Sony 16-50 f2.8 plus polarizer

© 2017 Paulaart18 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Brussels, Belgium / April 2017

Atomium is the greatest attraction in Brussels !

It is a building constructed for Expo1958. Designed by the engineer André Waterkeyn and architects André and Jean Polak, it stands 102 m (335 ft) tall. Its nine 18 m (60 ft) diameter stainless steel clad spheres are connected so that the whole forms the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. It is now a museum. (Source: Wikipedia)

Admission: around 8 euros

Review: 4/5 – views are not perfect, but exhibitions and tubes are interesting 🙂

Tubes inside:

Around the city:

CLICK TO ENLARGE.