Painted Dishes

Satellite dishes, that is.

I saw these funky painted dishes on an apartment building in an "ethnic" part of Amsterdam. What a marvelously creative way to color your world.

 Amsterdam, 2011

 [click to enlarge to see more colors!]

Linking to fans of color at Mellow Yellow Monday and Blue Monday.

Truss Railway Bridge

This photo of a truss railway bridge in the Romanian countryside I took some weeks ago before spring came to color our world green is for Scenic Sunday and Sunday Bridges. [Enlarge for better view of bridge.]

Romania, 2011

Capitol Reflection

The grand old Hotel Capitol is located on the main Bucharest avenue Calea Victoriei. I posted an image of the 1901 building in full here.

A walk down this road on a different day offered me a nice street shot for Weekend Reflections, Walk in the Street, and Weekend in Black and White.

Reflected, besides the street traffic, is another historic restaurant, now a 61-room hotel, called Casa Capşa, built in 1852.

Bucharest, 2011

[SkyWatch] On the Road in Romania

Today I offer two drive-by shots taken in the countryside of Romania for SkyWatch Friday.

The bright yellow rape field contrasts nicely against the gray sky.

Romania, 2011

We had to look up towards the sky to spot a number of these large nests with mama and baby storks up on top of streetlamps and power poles. Nice to see them back. These birds had disappeared for some time because the use of pesticides like DDT had weakened the shell of eggs so the mothers had crushed them. A testament to the resilience of nature when given a little wiggle room.

F is for Fashionista

From the Urban Dictionary: ..."Fashionistas" simply look at Fashion as an Art, their own bodies as the canvas, and the sense of style they develop along the way is simply the masterpiece.

What teenage girl these days is not a fashionista?

These girls in a small nameless town less than an hour's drive north of Bucharest posed for my camera this afternoon. A universal scene. Suweeet.

This is my post for Alphabe-Thursday.

S is for Sightseeing in Sinaia

At the Sinaia Monastery in the Prahova Valley in Romania, home to less than 20 Christian Orthodox monks, there are two churches, an old (biserica veche) and a new (biserica mare). Both the town and the monastery (completed in 1695) were named after Mount Sinai.

Today I show you the newer, The Great Church, built between 1842 and 1846.

[click to enlarge for more detail]

Sinaia, Romania, 2011

This is my contribution to ABC Wednesday where S is the letter of the week.

Forget Domani

Do you recognize this angel?

 Bucharest, 2011

My clue for you is the song Forget Domani sung by Katyna Ranieri. Listen to it, if you have a few minutes, it's so fun (right click on the title to open the link in a new tab).

Here is a longer view for the answer.

 

She is called Spirit of Ecstasy and has quite the romantic history. This hood ornament has adorned the RR since 1911. And the whole yellow car...

 

And what has that to do with Forget Domani? The song won Best Original Song at the 23rd Golden Globe Awards. It was for the movie The Yellow Rolls-Royce. It looks like a good film, but I've not seen it. Have you?

This post links with Macro Monday and Mellow Yellow Monday.

Anchor Clock

The famous Ankeruhr (Anchor Clock) forms a bridge between two buildings of the Anker Insurance Company located in the oldest square of Vienna, Hoher Market. 

 Vienna, 2011

Franz von Matsch designed this elaborate clock in the Art Nouveau style I introduced here. It was built in 1917 to commemorate twelve famous Austrian personalities, such as Prince Eugen, Empress Maria Theresa, composer Joseph Haydn and others. 

Each hour, one of the figures moves across the bridge. If you enlarge the image, you can better see that I took the photo at about 17:40, but I can't tell you who this figure represents. At noon, the historical figures are all displayed together; I missed that show.

Linking to the community fascinated by bridges at Sunday Bridges.

Portrait of Man's Best Friend

Bucharest, 2011

Linking with Camera Critters and Weekend in Black and White.

R is for Renovator

Bucharest, the capital of Romania, boasts an eclectic range of grand architecture, which, coupled with a sophisticated urban culture during the 1920s and 30s, earned the city the nickname "Little Paris." 

From the beginning of WWII and the subsequent internal political upheavals up to the 1989 Revolution that ended a rogue regime little was spent on building maintenance, with the sad inevitable result that many buildings have felt the pain of neglect, run down or ramshackled.

As the economy generally improved over the past two decades, and as I've written here before, the city is getting a facelift. Many old mansions and buildings have been, or are in process of being, renovated.

The renovator, then, could be considered a modern day hero...

...especially when the job may require the additional skills of a rock climber! You'll have to enlarge this image to see this renovator hanging outside the last window on the right on the seventh floor.

Bucharest, 2011

And R is the letter at ABC Wednesday today.

The Common Dandelion

What is the difference between a weed and a flower? Only that the weed grows where it is not wanted, I've learned. Does that make it less beautiful or useful? Well, no. 

Take the common dandelion. Isn't it delightfully pretty? Each bright yellow flower is unique, no two alike, as far as I can tell... so much like snowflakes that way... and humans.

[Enlarge me by clicking.]

Dandelions have medicinal and culinary uses. If, for example, you have low appetite, upset stomach, or liver or gallbladder issues, or you need to normalize your blood sugar level or improve your lipid profiles, you may want to look more into the curative powers of the various parts of this lowly weed. Its young leaves are great in salads or sauteed with sweet vegetables. 

 Austria, 2011

Hey, honeybees love them... and after a spring of seeing bright yellow dandelions everywhere, so do I.

This is my contribution to Today's Flower, Mosaic Monday, Macro Monday, and Mellow Yellow Monday. (If a host of any of these memes frowns on multi-linking, don't be shy to let me know.)

Road Bridge in Romania

Romania, 2011

When you can't get through, go around.

A road bridge somewhere in the Carpathians for Sunday Bridges.

Pi as Public Art

Vienna, 2011

This is a permanent media installation in an underground passageway under Karlsplatz in Vienna. The artist is Canadian Ken Lum. If you'd like to read more about this artist or his public art click here.

This photo is my contribution to Weekend Reflections, Weekend in Black + White and Walk in the Street. Enlarge it for a better view.

Reflections on Wall and Window

Bucharest, 2011

For Weekend Reflections and Weekend in Black and White.

Enlarge for best view.

[SkyWatch] Romania Skies

We drove by car between Bucharest and Vienna through some pleasing countryside in the north of Romania. Sometimes the action in the sky added to the drama of the scene. These were all drive-by shoots on one day.

           

Romania, 2011

These skies are for SkyWatch Friday and there's a bridge too for Sunday Bridges. Check out those memes for links to many awesome skies and eclectic bridges around the globe.

C is for Clock

These are three of the ten public clocks commissioned by the city council of Bucharest at a cost of nearly Euro 100K each as part of their plan to revitalize the city center. 

 Bucharest, 2011

C is the letter of the week at Jennie's Alphabe-Thursday.