Boston walk around photography

Boston is the city Ive been to the most in the US. This time when I got a chance to revisit the city, I decided to move around and use my new phone camera to do some photography. Mostly I chose to stick to the famour tourist trail - the freedom trail of course but also moving to seaport boulevard, USS constitution and taking the boat from charlestown at navy yard back to down-town. Would say best 3 dollars spent !

This was also the time I realised that the newer phone cameras, especially the one I was using, the Iphone 6, has evolved to such and extent that they can be used as a travel snapshot tool, almost producing quality that matches an entry level camera in good light conditions.
Some of my favourite travel snapshots from the trip are below

Around south Boston station - loved the sky set against this nice victorian building

 Close to seaport boulevard at the water front - interesting set of lines, colors, shadows and reflections made this one of my favorites from the trip

Regulation shot at Boston common looking towards the Mass. state house - starting point of freedom trail

Melancholic place - dog tag memorial for all dogs that fell during the Iraq and Afghan operations by US Military - as wind blows you can hear them chime.

Close to the USS constitution museum in the freedom trail

 A good-looking vessel at the harbor - USS constitution

One of the multiple Charles river crossing close to Harvard campus

The legendary Harvard business school

Warsaw, Poland

I was at this amazing Polish city - its capital with a solemn history across the wars. It still is a beautiful city with amazing architecture though the tallest structure is the obscene looking (in my view) Palace of Culture and Science gifted by Soviet Union to polish brothers ! (Which many poles have had a hate-hate relationship with)

I could only spend couple of days in this lovely place and both days were frigid, wet and perfect for blackberry based photography ! (not that even an SLR would have helped in such drab weather and lighting). Hence none of the shots are worth it but atleast it helps me remind places and learn their histories !

Let us start with the  Palace of Culture and Science - built almost as anything else in Moscow by the Stalinist government of USSR, it towers over anything else in Poland let alone Warsaw. It was a good 20 minutes walk from Sofitel where I was staying. I did manage to roam a bit and also managed to take my hands out of the gloves to click it.

Across from Sofitel, 1 minute walk away was the tomb of the unknown soldier. It was nice to stand there seeing the change of guard and the eternal flame thinking of how unfortunate a country could be sandwiched between USSR and Germany. How many of her sons and daughters sacrificed for the geopolitical ambitions of neighbours.

Behind the tomb, is the saxon garden which was at this time of the year, pretty drab. I can imagine how beautiful it could be in better weather.

Warsaw has various parks of different sizes - Lazienki park is one of the more famous ones which has museums, lakes, some amazing sculpture and acres of greenery to walk around in.
One of the more famous sculptures is the Chopin's one. The original one was bombed by Germans in WWII but since the original mould had survived it was recreated as a genuine monument for the famous son of soil.

Second day of walking was almost fully spend roaming the area around the old city and the royal castle. We actually had a dinner in the castle with the former president Aleksander Kwasniewski. It was interesting listen to him admonishing his former friend Putin for his belligerent overtures towards Ukraine. Palace has the interestingly photogenic wall of defence in front of it.

Even the walk down to the castle and the various alleyways around it provide a glimpse to the glorious architecture and past this city can be rightly proud of. There are many sculptures that are stark - very much like the vegetation and the weather at this time of the year. Some of the views from the high banks of the river are also stunning for its panoramic vistas.

The trip was short but a savoury one - good enough to mark it as a relatively cheaper, interesting city that has to be revisited in better weather. A parting shot, which was in my view my best shot of the trip. Has nothing to do with any of the monuments in Warsaw.

Sinai mountains and Sharm-el-sheikh

Had a chance to enjoy some blissful days in the diving capital of North Africa, namely Sharm-el-sheikh. Though I typically do not love the fancy hotels, the Hyatt Regency there was an amazingly attractive property. Was a tastefully done property with amazing view of the Red Sea.

Sharm itself is a semi-Russian party place (Signboards in Arabic and Russian !) situated in the southern tip of the Sinai peninsula (Recently infamous for some of the worst terrorist attacks in history of Sinai). Given the number of international peace conferences that have been held in Sharm, it is also called the City of Peace, a bit ironic given what is happening in the larger Sinai region these days.
In line with the broader security concerns, we did have a large number of security personnel with us - for the trek up the Sinai, we had more security personnel than tourists which was a bit funny ! Multiple security outposts were put up along with people with some serious artillery. (Which made it a very interesting experience for some of us and not so pleasant for others)

People seemed to be moving about in the Arid sinai land - their wonderfully colorful belongings providing a contrast to the colorless and rather lifeless barren earth.

For me, one of the key objective was to shoot at the famous colored canyons. (Apparently formed by flowing water in the bygone era, cutting through mineral rich rocks and mountains). We took a long and sometimes tiring / boring drive of 4 hours through the middle of nowhere to reach the point from where the trek down begins - yes its trekking down into the depths of the mountains to find the erstwhile riverine paths.

Once down it was indeed a fascinating display of patterns, contrasts and colors that can help a photographer spend many hours if not days down in the depths of earth.

Here is a collection - shot on mostly Canon 7 D, 10-22, 17-40 L lenses.

Munchen a.k.a Munich !

Had the chance to quickly cover Munich last week before the hard winter sets in. Was there on work and took the opportunity to walk around to see what the city has on offer for couple of days.

Was staying at the Charles Hotel across the park surrounding the Botanical gardens in Sophianstrasse. As my room was not ready post the long DXB-MUN flight, I thought of taking a run/quick walk in the park to beat the jet lag. With the temperature hovering around the 5 degs mark, it was still quite pleasant to be outdoors. And with the fall colors still abounding amongst the trees, it was worth the early morning walk. I also caught the big red circle which some have called an occult symbol in Munich.

 

A trip to Munich should definitely cover the Marianplatz - the square of Mary. It is the centre of the old town and has many architectural wonders including the new town hall, old townhall, multiple shopping centres and lovely beer houses. You can order your Tegernsee or any other amazingly tasty Bavarian beers and enjoy the world pass by.
You can also enjoy the intricate facades of the new town house (Neues Rathouse) with the long Mary's column reminiscent of some of these in Rome.

Nearby, one can also visit the Old Townhouse which was destroyed by fire and then again by WWII.

One can take a tram or enjoy a lovely walk along the Isar river which cuts right across the city and dances its way through the English garden (equivalent to Munichs central park). Some courageous were still fishing in the ice cold river so late into the fall. The receding waterline formed interesting patterns and texture that made me wish I had taken a proper camera instead of by BB to shoot Munich.

There are so many other marvellous structures to see and shoot if one can spend a week in Munich.

Though locals would advise you to avoid the touristy Hofbrauhaus, I could not. It was here an up and coming leader of National Socialist German workers party laid out an ambitious 25 point program in a cold February of probably 1920 (or 21?). Little would have people guessed that winter day in the second floor of this beer hall what disasters the Fuhrer and the Third Reich would wreak upon themselves and the world. What ever be the sinister darkness history casts upon these wooden benches, I can't fault their Hofbrau dark beer (the full 1 L of it) and the pretzels. (Local friends of mine did warn me about the over prices average brew ;)

Rotterdam

Got an opportunity to go and spend few days in Rotterdam before the winter starts to set in. For a change, stayed in SS Rotterdam, a ship which is now forever anchored close to the city and functions as a hotel, albeit an interesting one decked up like a fully functioning liner. You can read more about it here

Also took a speedboat ride at reasonable fast pace down the channels taking a full view of the Rotterdam port city, one of the biggest ports in the world (largest in EU). It is also the second biggest city in Netherlands and is known as the gateway to Europe given its air, water, land and rail connections into the European mainland given it strategic location of on the Rhine delta.
Architecture is a mix of old world Holland and post modern Houston. For some reason the more modern areas of Rotterdam reminded me distinctly of Houston, TX in far away US. (not quite sure if its complementary!)

SS Rotterdam itself was a nice break from the usual hotels - multiple decks, swimming pool overlooking the channel, rooms which are indeed cabins - all reminding me of my previous life as an offshore oil & gas engineer.

You could even tour the old engine room and look at the machines - probably not the most imminent need for the majority of tourists who come to stay here. You can have a languid breakfast (good old Dutch spread) before going about the town.

I must confess it went above my expectations in terms of service, food and overall experience !

Madrid, September 2014

Had a short trip to Madrid over the summer. Planned along with a work related travel.Hence did not have too many days to roam around but did a quick tour of the city covering some of the most interesting but still touristy aspects of the city. Below is the list of things that I found interesting and should be a good starting list for anyone doing a quick Madrid tour.

1. Temple of Debod : One of my favourite places in the city. It is in a lovely hilly park behind the Plaza Espana. The temple itself was shifted almost "as-is" from Egypt while the great dam of Aswan and built and many such precious treasures were going to be lost to flood waters. Supposedly, Spain helped save many of them and relocated within Egypt and as mark of thanks this was "gifted" to the Spanis. For an Egyptophile like me this was a wet dream right in the middle of a European city. Something which was bilt across the epochs  - starting from Adhikhalamani around 2 BC. Further worked on through the Ptolemaic periods and on until the Romans. It depicts various offerings from the King Adhikhalamani to gods like Amun, Isis etc. Fascinating, fascinating piece not to be missed. 

2. Puerta del Sol : Regarded as the centre of Madrid, this is where all trains originate from. Walkable distance from most of the major old city tourist attractions including plaza mayor and even the royal palace, this can be considered the most famous and central square in Madrid. Right outside the metro is the square which has the statue of King Carlos III. It also has, to a side, the famous bear and strawberry tree sculpture which is in the coat of arms of Madrid. And also the symbol for Atheltico Madrid football club (and not of Real Madrid interestingly)

3. Palacio Real or the Royal Palace  : Famous palace of the Kings of Spain - currently they don't stay here any more but still used for major state ceremonies. I think it is the largest Palace in Europe by floor area. Worth paying the 10 odd Euro entry free to see the royal armoury, rooms and dining areas etc. 

4. Plaza de Oriente : Towards the east side of the palace (and hence the name oriente) there is Plaza Oriente with a small garden with statues of Kings and lined with leafy trees. Worth sitting and relaxing while watching the side of the royal palace - also some good cafes around for the cervezas that you need especially during the hot Spanish summers. 

5. Cathedral de la Almudena : Arguably the most important church in Madrid, it has St Mary of Almudena the patron god of Madrid. Whatever be the religious significance, of which Im least bothered with, the architecture looks very pleasing and there is a silence inside the huge space which almost takes one to the big Roman churches. If you want quite peace in the city if pubs and nightlife, this is a good place to start. 

6. Plaza Mayor : The most important plaza in Madrid, its stone's throw from Sol metro station. Its a rectangular plaza and has the statue of King Philip III on a horse in the middle. Built in early 1600s, it has been reasonably intact and potentially looks very similar to how it was. Take a walk back to past.

7. Plaza Espana : Close to intersection into the bustling Gran Via, this is probably one of the most crowded plazas - for ever bustling with tourists. It has the monument of Cervantes, Spanish novelist. You can sit here on your walk back from Royal Palace to the Gran Via to get your breath before hitting the traffic !