Uploads from Nathan Bergeron Photography, tagged getty

Do Widzenia Poland *

nobody@flickr.com (Nathan Bergeron Photography) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:54:06 -0800

Nathan Bergeron Photography posted a photo:

* Goodbye Poland in Polish

Well as you can clearly see from yet another shot of the Basilica of St. Mary's maybe I didn't have as much In-Spire-ation, as I would have hoped for during our one day in Kraków, Poland.

As it looks like from all 4 of my photographs all we did was stay in the same 100 foot radius of the Main Market Square , haha. We did visit other places like the Wawel Castle for example, but I didn't take many photos in the city. It was one of the few times on our travels when I spent little time documenting.

That's not to say Kraków wasn't a historic and very charming town, it really was and Laurie and I loved our one day exploring the city, I was just not that In-Spired to take many photos. Sometimes we as photographers have these days don't we?

The building on the right here is the world famous Cloth Hall (Sukiennice). It's one of the cities most recognizable icons and was once a major centre for international trade. Travelling merchants met there to discuss business and to barter. Now it's a market which houses mainly souvenirs for tourists.

So with this I say goodbye to Poland and say thanks for the memories! We will cherish our time there forever.

Next week I will take you to yet another country. It's southeast from here my friends, lets hop on the next train to ____________ ;-)

I used the fantastic new plug-in Viveza by Nik Software to edit this photo. It's the most powerful tool to selectively control colour and light in photographic images without complicated selections or layer masks. And let me tell you it's brilliant. I definitely recommend looking into it. There's a 15 day trial version on the website.

+++ Have a great weekend my friends, T.G.I.F!!!! =D +++

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In-Spired in Kraków

nobody@flickr.com (Nathan Bergeron Photography) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:42:34 -0800

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Lets all take a step outside for a view of the exterior of the 14th century brick Gothic Basilica of St. Mary's in Kraków, Poland. Which is one of the few brick churches we saw in Europe.

For more information on the church please see my previous two photos here and here.

This view was captured from the Town Hall Tower which is one of the main focal points of the Main Market Square in the Old Town district of Kraków. The Square is 430,000sq ft and is the largest medieval town square in all of Europe.

The tower is the only remaining part of the Old Town Hall which was demolished in 1820 as part of the cities plan to open up the main square. The massive 70 meter tall tower which is built of stone and brick dates back to the end of the 13th century. Its cellars once housed a city prison with a Medieval torture chamber. The tower leans 55 centimeters as a result of a major wind storm in 1703.

For a picture of the tower I took this photo from you can check out wikipedia here.

Please enjoy this picturesque view and get ready to say goodbye to Poland...

+++ I hope everyone is having a pleasant week. I will try to wrap up my tour of Poland on Friday and we'll be on to our next country!! +++

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I Got The Basilica Blues in Kraków

nobody@flickr.com (Nathan Bergeron Photography) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:11:43 -0800

Nathan Bergeron Photography posted a photo:

Explored.

Good day friends!! =)

Lets continue our short tour through the historical Old town of Kraków in Poland with another view from St. Mary's Basilica.

This is what you'd see if you took a complete 360 from my previous post here. This is the rear of the church facing the organ. Without a doubt one of the smallest organs we saw on our journey through Europe. Doesn't quiet do the basilica justice, but still a stunning sight none the less.

For more information on this striking basilica please see my previous post.

With the 12-24mm wide angle lens there's considerable distortion in this shot, but if I'd correct it I would have lost too many details for my liking, so you'll all just have to take what you can get, haha. ;-) Some slight work with shadows/highlights this time around in Photoshop to get some of the details under the arches on the sides.

Now come with me for a view of the exterior of the basilica...

+++ I hope everyone had an enjoyable and spooky Halloween weekend. Lets start the month of November off with this kracker in Kraków. +++

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Neck Kracking View in Kraków

nobody@flickr.com (Nathan Bergeron Photography) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:17:30 -0700

Nathan Bergeron Photography posted a photo:

Let me take you all back to Poland.

Welcome to Kraków one of the largest and oldest cities in Poland and a major tourist hot spot.

This is the interior of the beautifully ornate St. Mary's Basilica in Kraków. Which was re-built in the 14th century, originally built in the 13th century.

The Basilica which is a Brick Gothic Church is extremely tall and stands at 80 meters (262 feet) tall. The Basilica has been an architectural model for many churches built by the Polish abroad, especially St. Michael's and St. John Cantius in Chicago, designed in this so called "Polish Cathedral style". Laurie and I were blown away by the detail and colours of the Basilica.

The church sits just adjacent to the Historic Main Market Square. Which including the church is part of Krakow's Historic Centre which was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978.

Not the greatest photo of an interior of a church in my stream, there's some blown highlights on the right side and major distortion, but with only one "Krak" at it I think I did alright. As a side note, this was one of the only churches out of dozens where you actually had to pay to take photos.

No HDR or blending here this is from one shot with slight adjustments in Camera RAW.

Please enjoy this neck Kraking view and thanks for stopping by....

+++ Happy Monday everyone!! Been really busy lately, so haven't been able to get to many of your streams, sorry. This is catch up week for me so everyone be patient as I get back into the swing of things. Have a wonderful week!! =) ++++

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We Came We Saw Warsatisfied

nobody@flickr.com (Nathan Bergeron Photography) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:03:36 -0700

Nathan Bergeron Photography posted a photo:

Explored.

Now it's time to say goodbye to the memorable city of Warsaw and head to our next destination in Poland.

This is of course Castle Square in the historic centre of Warsaw, Poland. The same location where I took the photograph seen here. This was captured about 2 hours later in the evening when I decided to once again climb the stairs of the 70 meter tall Bell Tower of St. Anne's Church to watch the night fall on my only night in the capital.

The tall statue on the far left is Zygmunt's Column, which is one of the cities most famous landmarks and one of the oldest monuments in Northern Europe. Erected between 1643-1644. On September 1, 1944, during the Warsaw Uprising, the monument was demolished by the Germans, and its bronze statue was severely damaged. After the war the statue was repaired, and in 1949 it was set up on a new column.

I hope everyone has enjoyed my series on Warsaw and if you haven't seen all of my shots from this fascinating city please check out the whole set here.

Goodnight and goodbye Warsaw thanks for the memories!

+++ I just had a busy, but happy Thanksgiving weekend, I proposed to my girlfriend and hell she even said yes! After buttering her up for nearly 7 years it has finally paid off, haha. Have a happy hump day everyone and take care of yourselves!! +++

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A Night of Reflection in Warsaw

nobody@flickr.com (Nathan Bergeron Photography) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:30:47 -0700

Nathan Bergeron Photography posted a photo:

IT'S A MUST SEE LARGE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lets all take some time to stand here in the Old Town Market Place and reflect on the history of this city.

Wandering through the streets in Warsaw, Poland it was always in the back of my mind all the history and despair that these cities and the people have gone through. It's heartbreaking just thinking that these aren't even the same buildings that once stood in this place. This sqaure was planned in the late 13th century and these buildings are only from 1948-1953.

In 1945, after the bombing, the revolts, the fighting, and the demolition of WW II had ended, most of Warsaw lay in ruins.

So on this Canadian Thanksgiving weekend lets all take the time to reflect and give thanks for everything you have in life. Because life is to short to let pass you by.

Again this is straight out of the camera, no HDR or Digital blending whatsoever. Just some minor tweaks in Camera RAW.

+++ Happy Thanksgiving my fellow Canadians, I hope everyone
gets fat and has a good time! +++

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The Bright Lights of Warsaw

nobody@flickr.com (Nathan Bergeron Photography) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 06:50:38 -0700

Nathan Bergeron Photography posted a photo:

Explored.

MUST SEE THIS LARGE PLEASE!!

As night fell quickly on my one night in Warsaw, Poland the night lights came out. Follow me and lets all step inside one of the prettiest squares in Eastern Europe.

This is the Old Town Market Place. Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. It sits in the centre of the historic Old Town. It is lined with unique traditional Polish restaurants, cafes and shops and is the oldest part of the city and one of the busiest tourist spots. So, with that being said, you can only imagine how hard it was to get a shot like this... in the dead of summer.

Although this is one of the oldest parts of town these buildings are only from 1948-1953. Immediately after the Warsaw uprising during WW II this square was destroyed and it was rebuilt to it's former glory for all of us to see after the war.

As the blue hour faded I was having a great time photographing the square and how could you not look at this scene. Oh and have you noticed the puddles... sign of things to come maybe? ;-]

This photograph is straight out of the camera, no HDR or Blending, just some minor adjustments in Camera RAW.

+++ I hope it's a happy Monday Blues for everyone, have a terrific week and take care of yourselves. +++

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Walk This Way...

nobody@flickr.com (Nathan Bergeron Photography) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 21:48:29 -0700

Nathan Bergeron Photography posted a photo:

Towards the Old Town Market Place in Warsaw, Poland.

We'll now get down from the tower and start to walk through the wet streets of this historic fairy tale city as night falls on my one night in Warsaw.

This is a photograph I captured during the blue hour of some wet cobble stones and looking towards the row of buildings in the Castle Square. This is the same buildings as in my first photo which you can see in daylight here.

Next I'm going to take you straight ahead down the street...

Let's all follow the cobble stone road....

+++ I hope all y'all are having a hella good week. Been a busy one for myself, just got a new job here. Check it out. =) +++

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Let Me Take You Higher...

nobody@flickr.com (Nathan Bergeron Photography) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 07:53:01 -0700

Nathan Bergeron Photography posted a photo:

To the next stop on the tour...

Which is an epic view over the historic city of Warsaw in Poland photographed from the 70 meter high Bell Tower of St. Anne's Church that overlooks the vibrant Castle Square.

You can see the Warsaw Castle off to the right here and rising high above the old town, the green roof of St. John's Cathedral just to the left of it.

While I was up in the tower shooting it started to rain really hard, thank heavens there was a roof over my head, so I decided to stay put and keep on shooting these stunning views till the rain stopped. Unfortunately for me it didn't look like the rain was going to let up, it was raining for like 20 minutes with no end in sight (and from my great vantage point no end in sight was for a long time) So I headed down and started to make my way back to the hostel. Of course I was disappointed, this was such a unique and colourful city and I was hoping to get some shots at sunset and during the blue hour.

Upset, I walked down the steps of the bell tower and listened to the rain ruin my one night in Warsaw, then I turned and headed towards the cable cars. =(

All of a sudden like a gift from the heavens the sky opened up and the sun started to pour over and set on the city. What luck!! Could you believe it?! So of course I continued to shoot for the remainder of the night with a huge smile on my face!! =)

So in my next few photographs you will follow me on a night to remember and say goodbye to Warsaw with me.

Till next time, enjoy the view from here in LARGE. No HDR or Blending used here, just added some contrast/saturation and brightened it in Camera RAW

+++ I hope all of you have a great weekend, TGIF!! +++

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Please Walk This Way As You Hear The Organ Play

nobody@flickr.com (Nathan Bergeron Photography) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 11:56:00 -0700

Nathan Bergeron Photography posted a photo:

+++ I guess I'll post the wider one as well since a lot of my friends seem to like it more. At least this way you can see it LARGE. Don't feel like you have to comment twice, please. +++

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This is the organ inside St. Anne’s church in the Historic Old Town of Warsaw just outside the Castle Square. This ranks as one of the oldest buildings in the city. It was built in the 15th century, but severely destroyed in 1655 by a Swedish invasion. The church made quite an impression on us with all the intricate frescoes that decorated the walls. You can see here that the two columns on either side of the organ are painted to make them look like they were made of marble. In 1939 the church was bombed and its roof burnt down together with one of the chapels. Another bomb damaged it again during the Warsaw Uprising. When reconstruction started in 1945. So as you can see this church has had a turbulent history much like the country it resides in.

I love the beauty of an organ and both Laurie and I were very impressed by the beauty of this one. It has been said that along with the clock, an organ is considered one of the most complex human-made creations before the Industrial Revolution. Mozart himself called the organ the "King of instruments".

Please enjoy the tunes...

+++ Been a busy few days around here lately, sorry I haven't visited your streams or posted in awhile. Be around soon enough! Have a happy hump day!! +++

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Let's Go Organic in Warsaw

nobody@flickr.com (Nathan Bergeron Photography) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:13:41 -0700

Nathan Bergeron Photography posted a photo:

Explored.

Welcome to the next stop on our tour of Warsaw, Poland.

Before we go on, lets all take the time to see this one LARGE.

This is the organ inside St. Anna’s church in the Historic Old Town of Warsaw just outside the Castle Square. This ranks as one of the oldest buildings in the city. It was built in the 15th century, but severely destroyed in 1655 by a Swedish invasion. The church made quite an impression on us with all the intricate frescoes that decorated the walls. You can see here that the two columns on either side of the organ are painted to make them look like they were made of marble. In 1939 the church was bombed and its roof burnt down together with one of the chapels. Another bomb damaged it again during the Warsaw Uprising. When reconstruction started in 1945. So as you can see this church has had a turbulent history much like the country it resides in.

I love the beauty of an organ and both Laurie and I were very impressed by the beauty of this one. It has been said that along with the clock, an organ is considered one of the most complex human-made creations before the Industrial Revolution. Mozart himself called the organ the "King of instruments".

Please enjoy the tunes...

+++ Been a busy few days around here lately, sorry I haven't visited your streams or posted in awhile. Be around soon enough! Have a happy hump day!! +++

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Welcome to Warsaw *

nobody@flickr.com (Nathan Bergeron Photography) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 09:30:00 -0700

Nathan Bergeron Photography posted a photo:

Explored.

* Zapraszamy do Warszawy (Polish)

First: Please see it LARGE!!

As we say goodbye to the Czech Republic, it's now time to welcome you all on the next stop on my tour around Europe. We're heading north towards Poland. This is the Old town of Warsaw (Warszawa).

Laurie and I spent only one day in this the capitol and largest city in Poland, but from what we saw we both loved it, it was enchanting to say the least. The city was so clean and colourful. There was history and incredible architecture around each corner, exactly what I enjoy! =)

This is a photograph of a lovely scene from the Castle Square in the Historic Centre of Warsaw which was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. This is one of two stunning squares I will take you to on this tour of Warsaw and Poland.

During the Warsaw uprising during WWII over 85% of the old town was destroyed, but a tireless 5 years of reconstruction has made this city what it once was so we can now all appreciate it's splendor. I hope you enjoy the views.

Would you like to ride carriage on this tour?

+++ Hey folks, hope y'all had a rambunctious weekend. Lets hope your weeks a good one! +++

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I'm Krumlovin' It

nobody@flickr.com (Nathan Bergeron Photography) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 08:24:05 -0700

Nathan Bergeron Photography posted a photo:

Tuesday Blues??? =)

Hey friends! If you follow my stream regularly this scene is nothing new to you. Sorry to bore you with it again.

Sitting magnificently perched towering over the small city, built right out of the South Bohemian hills of Czech Republic this is the 14th century Krumlov Castle in Český Krumlov. One of the largest Castles in all of Europe.

Since I'm now finished taking you on a tour of Prague, I wanted to make sure all my new contacts had an opportunity to see this magical city first before I head to the next country in my archives. So please, If you haven't seen any of my Český Krumlov pictures please check out the set here and tell me what you think.

This photo is SOOC just some tweaks in Camera RAW and some added vignetting. Please see it LARGE for the details on that bell tower.

+++ Have yourselves a fantastic week everyone. It's a short one!! WOOT WOOT!! +++

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Na shledanou Praha*

nobody@flickr.com (Nathan Bergeron Photography) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 21:42:31 -0700

Nathan Bergeron Photography posted a photo:

*Goodbye Prague (Czech )

When Laurie and I visited Prague we had a fabulous time. We were fascinated by the city and it's interesting architecture and stunning location on the Vltava River. This is why it's made it into my top 5 cities in all of Europe.

This photograph is from our last night in Prague and it's one of the last photos I took before heading back to the hostel. You can even see on the left a big storm moving in, and moving in fast. It was so hard to get this shot. There were so many people in the square and the wind was quite strong. I wanted to get a couple of nice blue hour shots of this scene, but unfortunately I was running a little late from unforeseen and expensive hold-ups. Once I got to the square those clouds where moving in so fast I only had a few moments to capture the deep blue sky before it got swallowed up by the thick storm clouds.

This is the Old Town Square facing the magnificent Church Our Lady Before Tyn that is so elegantly towering over the other buildings.

I hope you have enjoyed my tour of Prague, you never know maybe I'll be back...
If you haven't seen all of my Prague tour yet go here to see the set. =)

++ I hope everyone has a great long weekend, last one of the summer don't let it pass you by!! ++

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Just One Last Dance in Prague

nobody@flickr.com (Nathan Bergeron Photography) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 22:58:47 -0700

Nathan Bergeron Photography posted a photo:

Welcome to the next stop on the tour:

The Dancing House located in Prague Czech Republic, designed by the famous Canadian architect Frank Gehry and completed in 1996.

Originally named Fred and Ginger building because it's suppose to resemble two dancers, Fred Astair and Ginger Rodgers. It also has the nickname of drunk house.

It was overcast on our last day, so I waited for a colourful cable car to drive by to make the composition pop a little bit more. This building has been photographed so many times and you've all seen it done better, but I still want this in my stream, to bad the light was crap, oh well... better luck next time.

There's one more stop before I saw goodbye to Prague and move on to yet another city in Europe to show you all.

++ I hope everyone behaved themselves this past weekend. Let's hope we all have a great week. ++

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Symmetry in the SynaPrague

nobody@flickr.com (Nathan Bergeron Photography) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:23:10 -0700

Nathan Bergeron Photography posted a photo:

Explored.

Welcome to the Syna-Prague... please see this in LARGE!!

As we head into one of the last weekends of the summer let me take you inside The Jerusalem Synagogue (A.K.A. The Jubilee Synagogue) to take a quick peak inside.

This is the largest and youngest Synagogue in Prague Czech Republic and is located in the New Town right near the Main Railway Station. I just happened upon this beauty as I was hurrying to the station. So I went and dropped all our heavy bags off at the train station and I ran back to go inside and snap off a few photos, before we headed to Český Krumlov. I am sure glad I did. It was near empty inside and as you can see quite remarkable. The colours where just incredible throughout this architectural masterpiece.

The Synagogue was built in 1906 and is a blend of Moorish Revival and Art Nouveau styles. I was lucky enough to go when I did because only as of April 1, 2008 was the Synagogue open to tourists on a regular basis.

++ I hope y'all have a funtastic weekend and remember to be safe... I'll be here praying for ya! ;-) ++

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Photo Op in Prague

nobody@flickr.com (Nathan Bergeron Photography) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:10:15 -0700

Nathan Bergeron Photography posted a photo:

Explored. Highest Position: #18

Here we have one last photograph of the Prague skyline looking towards the East Bank of the Vltava River.

This is a classic postcard view of Prague, Czech Republic that was captured from the West bank. The swans there are very photogenic, so if you're ever in Prague and want a great Photo Op look at my map to see where this was taken.

In the center of the photo the Old Town Bridge Tower stands tall among the buildings as the famous 14th century Charles Bridge sweeps across the Vltava, being kissed by the sun as it sets on my last night in Prague.

I hope you've enjoyed these views of the elegant skyline as much as I enjoyed my night photographing them. This sure is a magical city!! =)

++ Have a wonderful upcoming weekend! As the summer quickly draws to a close make sure you take advantage and get out there and soak up those rays! ++

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I Still Miss You

nobody@flickr.com (Nathan Bergeron Photography) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 08:27:06 -0700

Nathan Bergeron Photography posted a photo:

Explored. Highest Position: #10

Please see this one LARGE for all the details!

As I continue to crawl my way back onto Flickr after my long break I share with you another view of the Prague Skyline looking toward the East Bank of one of our favourite cities in all of Europe.

This is as wide a view as I could get as I enjoyed the sunset from Strelecký Ostrov on the Vltava River looking towards the Old Town in Prague, Czech Republic. The first mention of this island was in the 12th century back when it was given the elegant name of Lawn.

If you haven't already done so, you can take a look at a closer view right here. This was one of my most enjoyable sunsets on our travels. It doesn't get much prettier than this for me. I will showing you one more view next.

++
I hope everyone has a terrific weekend ahead the summer is winding down although it's still like 40 degrees here in Chatham and hot. Thank heavens for pools and basements.++

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Guess Who's Back... To Prague

nobody@flickr.com (Nathan Bergeron Photography) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 21:18:52 -0700

Nathan Bergeron Photography posted a photo:

Explored.

Well... well, how has everyone's summer been going? Mine has been a busy one, sorry I haven't been around much. :[

Now let's get this back on track...

As I continue to bring you on a tour of Czech Republic here's another view of the beautiful Prague skyline looking towards the East on the historic Vltava River. This is the same night I captured this photograph here. This view is a little further South on the riverfront.

The third building from the left is the Lažanský Palace built in French Renaissance style. Since 1946 it's been the site of the Film and TV School of The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague or FAMU. It's one of the oldest film schools in all of Europe. Right next to it is the National Theatre which was built in 1844.

The bridge to the right is called The Bridge of Legions or Most Legií. The bridge consists of 9 arcs, its length is 350 m and width is 16,4 m. On both sides are 2 towers, former toll houses.

++ We're now settled and moved into our new townhome in Chatham. After some good times and some trying times in the last month it's time to start our lives here. We really enjoy Chatham and have even bought ourselves a brand new 2009 Honda Civic EX-L. So let the good times roll. I hope to get back to flickr on a regular basis in the next little while. It is the summer though, so I like to take advantage ++

I hope you like this one and please enjoy the rest of your summer, cheers!

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Let Us Pray in Prague

nobody@flickr.com (Nathan Bergeron Photography) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 21:49:21 -0700

Nathan Bergeron Photography posted a photo:

Explored.

It's Sunday and for many of you that means it's time to pray....

Let's enter the impressive St. Vitus' Cathedral in Prague, Czech Republic.

This shot is taken real wide and yes there's distortion, but I don't care I want to see it all!
You must SEE this LARGE!!!

St. Vitus' Cathedral was one of the last Gothic masterpieces we saw on our travels and definitely one of the most magnificent ones. The colours really came out when I took this photo as the sun was streaming through all the gorgeous stained glass.

The 14th century Gothic building that is located almost entirely within the Prague Castle was a major influence on the development of late Gothic architecture in Central Europe.

++++++
For the next 10 days I will be visiting my family back home and moving to Chatham Ontario and starting a new life with Laurie. I'm sorry if I don't get to your streams for awhile, I'm going to be really busy. Don't worry I'll try catch up, I hope.
Time to get the hell out of Dodge. =]
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Have a wonderful Sunday and a great week ahead!

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