Festive Holiday Season at Old Town Square

Týn Church, Christmas at Prague's Old Town Square.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year. :D

(Photo taken with the GoPro Hero3+ (I'm getting the hang of taking photos without the LCD!). Takes really good photos.:3 Love the wideness and the colour. Downside is that it only lasts half a day when used continuously / left on standby. )

Skywatch - 20140614

[* A Skywatch Friday post.]

(Copy of) David at Piazzale Michelangelo, Florence, Italy

(Another) copy of David @ Piazzale Michelangelo, Florence, Italy

[* Weekend in Black and White post.]

Skywatch 20140605

[* A Skywatch Friday post.]

U - Under the Tree

Seen at the park outside the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.


[* An ABC Wednesday post. This week's letter is - U.]

T - Taxi Stand in Xi'an, Shaanxi, China

People waiting in the rain,



Taxi stand in Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.

[* An ABC Wednesday post.]
[* A Weekend in Black and White post. Click to see more photos in B&W!]

The original shot was glum in itself with all the rain. I was tempted to keep these bright patches of colour.



[* A Skywatch Friday post, Click to see more skies from around the world.]

P - Public Park @ Tokyo

A park situated outside Tokyo's Imperial Palace.




[* An ABC Wednesday post. This week's letter is - P.]

L - Lucian Freud Exhibit, Kunst Historisches Museum, Vienna

This week's Our World Tuesday / ABC Wedneday contribution is a continuation of last week's Kunst Historishes Museum post.

During my visit, there was an ongoing special exhibit on the artist Lucian Freud [click to see wiki bio].



Photography wasn't allowed in the actual exhibit (and it was filled to the brim with people!).

But what you see in the next photo are some of the paintings on display.



Right outside you will find a museum shop selling only Freud items.



They have highly informative and visual books in the shop for those art aficionados out there.



I highly recommend this museum.

They have a vast (and quite consistent) collection from other famous painters as well and it doesn't end there. The paintings are but a fraction of what this museum has to offer. I could spend a whole day in there and still find that there are more to see.

[*For more info, visit the official website at: http://www.khm.at.]


--


Prior to this, I have been to another Lucian Freud Exhibit at the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid. It was a joint Frued-Watteau exhibit (Freud's style is closely compared and somehow similar to that of Watteau.). On display were mostly commissioned portraits (nothing too revealing of this sort). The strokes and the painting style were so consistently Freud even so.

[*Our World Tuesday post; Click to learn about more cities around the world. ]
[*An ABC Wednesday post.]

K - Kunst Historisches Museum, Vienna

Entrance to the Kunst Historisches Museum on Maria-Theresien Platz, Vienna.



Old lady looking outside.



The grand entrance to the different halls.



Ceiling.



Heading up. Intricate details everywhere.



We checked the paintings first and it was organized by country of origin.



Wide spaces and lots of comfy seats so you can sit back and analyze art pieces.
(With a train to catch that day, I did not have time to but certainly would have loved to take it slow)



Room featuring Pieter Bruegel's works.



Posh dining place at the museum.



It really is too overwhelming if I posted everything; Next week I will be posting a special exhibit during my visit to this museum. Until then, have a lovely mid-week!

[* An ABC Wednesday post. This week's letter is - K. ]

Skywatch 20140221 - Toyohashi, (Aichi), Japan

A beautiful clear morning in Toyohashi,



The moon looks different during the day but still so marvelous.

.

Toyohashi is located in southeastern Aichi Prefecture. Bordered by Shizuoka Prefecture to the east, and by Mikawa Bay and the headlands of the Atsumi Peninsula to the west. To the south is the Enshu Bay of the Pacific Ocean. It is known for its port, the largest for the import/export of automobiles in Japan. source

Taken during our drive to Kyoto from Toyohashi.



This route heading west passes through Nagoya and I wish we could've stopped for a bit. But maybe on another trip.

= By train

Toyohashi is a stop on the JR Tokaido Line and the Tokaido Shinkansen, and is also the terminal of the Meitetsu Main Line from Nagoya and Gifu.

Hikari trains on the Shinkansen run from Tokyo every 2 hours (with two late-night trains running 30 minutes apart), reaching Toyohashi in about 90 minutes. The all-stopping Kodama trains, which depart twice every hour, take 45 minutes longer. The price is the same for both trains (¥8700).

Bullet trains from Kyoto (¥7530) and Osaka (¥8380) reach Toyohashi in about 75 and 90 minutes, respectively (1 or 2 departures per hour).

From Nagoya you can reach Toyohashi in 25 minutes by bullet train (¥2230 unreserved seat, 2 to 3 departures per hour) or in 50-60 minutes on the Meitetsu Line (¥1080, 5 to 6 departures per hour).

Rapid trains on the regular JR Tokaido Line run from Nagoya in 50-55 minutes (¥1280). Local trains also run 2-3 times per hour from Hamamatsu (35 minutes, ¥650).

With the exception of the Meitetsu Line, all of the above trains can be used at no charge with the Japan Rail Pass.

= By bus

Toyohashi Railroad and KB Bus run a daily overnight bus from Shinjuku to Toyohashi (6 hours, ¥4500 each way, ¥8000 round-trip).

Highway buses during the daytime only stop at the Toyohashi Kita stop of the Tomei Expressway. There are six daily Tokkyu buses from Tokyo station to Hamamatsu station, from which you can take a local train to Toyohashi (about 5 hours, ¥4420 [¥3770 Bus Fare + ¥650 Train Fare])

...I am keeping this for future reference. ^_^ source

[* Skywatch Friday post.]

Skywatch 20140214

[* A Skywatch Friday post.]

E - Entrance with Elephants @ Elephant Hill Scenic Park, Guilin, China

The entrance to Elephant Trunk Hill (a rock formation in the form of an Elephant) inside Elephant Hill Scenic Park in Guilin, China.

[* An ABC Wednesday post.]

Skywatch 20140207

A cloudy and sunny afternoon in the tropical island.

[*A Skywatch Friday post.]

C - Cave (Fengyu Cave in Guilin, China)

Inside (豊魚岩/丰鱼岩) Fengyu Cave in (Lipu) Guilin, China

[* This week's letter is "C". An ABC Wednesday post. Click to see more fab photos related to the letter "C".]

Coming and Going

@ Muenchen Hauptbahnhof (Main Train Station) - Munich, Germany