photography class.

For our final project in my photography class we were supposed to look for a common theme within our photos and create our project based off that theme. I realized that a lot of my photos were taken as close ups and so I inventively called my project "Closer" (not really inventive at all but it gets the point across). I put them all in black and white to try and make it a little more cohesive. Here are a few of the final picks.

swissland.

 

I spent a wonderful weekend in Zug, Switzerland (outside of Zurich) with the Taube family. Their daughter, Melanie, is one of my best friends from university, and her parents were kind enough to let me stay in their house for the weekend. Not only did they give me a place to crash, but they also took me into Zurich to see a wonderful Picasso exhibit and shop for canned pumpkin, cranberries, and other Thanksgiving staples, since we were to have.....wait for it....THANKSGIVING DINNER!! on Sunday. Sure we were a little early, and we held it on a Sunday instead of a Thursday, and we watched Rugby afterwards instead of American football, but it was still wonderful. I was also was lucky enough to go up Mount Rigi to see wonderful views of the Swiss Alps. I know it's a cliched phrase, but the mountains were absolutely breathtaking. I just stood there for a good hour marveling at them all. It was a perfect weekend. Thanks to Lanie for letting me steal her family for a couple of days :)

 

Views from the Taube house. Not too shabby to wake up to.

Train ride up the mountain. Peace sign courtesy Georgie, the adorable 7 year old British child who came up the mountain with us.

Swiss Alps.

See mom. I'm not dead.

sites of praha.

 Astronomical Clock

This famous clock in the middle of Old Town has an astronomical dial with a background that represents the Earth and sky, and four main moving components: the zodiacal ring, an outer rotating ring, an icon representing the Sun, and an icon representing the Moon.

Lock Bridge

Legend has it that if you and your love fasten a lock to the bridge and throw the key into the river below you will have a lifetime of happiness with each other.

 Across the Pond Pride.

Marionette Puppets were everywhere and just a tad creepy.

I loved the mulled wine that you could buy on the sides of the streets and carry around in a paper cup. It added to the fall feel and made for happy strolls around the city.

 Jewish Cemetery

We went to the Jewish Cemetery on Halloween. It was one of the most beautiful and haunting cemeteries I've ever seen. There are over 200,000 people buried beneath a small plot of land, and given the Jewish tradition that the deceased must be buried within 24  hours of their death, the graves seem to have been quickly placed wherever there was room, creating a very haphazard lay out.

John Lennon Wall

"Imagine there's no heaven. It's easy if you try"

"You may say I'm a dreamer. But I'm not the only one"

The John Lennon wall was created in the 1980s in tribute to John Lennon (shocker). It's a free graffiti wall where people are welcome to put up any inspiring quotes or pictures that pertain to the music legend. The major themes are peace and love. Not the worst message to be painting on a wall.

City views from Old Town



charles bridge.

The Charles Bridge (that bridge like structure in the top right) was once the only bridge in Prague that connected the Old Town with the New Town. Now, with the building of many other bridges in Prague to connect the two sides, it has become a happening tourist spot with street vendors and muscians lining the sides and wonderful views of the picturesque city everywhere you turn.

View from the bridge.

One of the many statues.

Jazz performers aplenty

Everywhere I visit there seems to be some statue that you are supposed to rub for good luck. In Prague it was this dude, Saint John of Nepomuk, who was thrown off the bridge to his death, probably for relgious reasons (that seemed a popular excuse back then). You were supposed to touch the cross he is holding and make a wish.

Did I mention all the people?

The white balloon thing was a tourist attraction where you could pay 500 Crowns (roughly $30) to sit in the balloon and look at the city. I prefered just walking around.

End of the bridge.

some prague.

Prague (Praha) was absolutely beautiful. My friends and I spent an extended weekend there, walking around the city, eating bagels, and enjoying the perfect fall weather. I was lucky enough to meet up with my friend from back home, Emily, who is studying abroad in Florence and happened to be visiting Prague at the same time as me. We spent Saturday together, walking across the Charles bridge and finding a lovely island that was the epitome of fall. These pictures are from that day, although I have many more that I will put up later with a better explantion of my time in the lovely Czech Republic.

brussels.

Find the Grand Place!

I spent the weekend in Brussels, Belgium, visiting friends from school who were studying up there. Despite the cold and a 180 euro taxi ride (which I still refuse to believe actually happended), I had a wonderful time learning all about the Flemish and French divide, the current lack of government, the many times Belgium has been conquered, and so much more (I'm pretty sure I now have a better understanding of Belgium history than many of the people living there thanks to my well informed friends).

Brussels is filled with random statues. From the famous peeing boy, to the less famous squatting girl (made in retaliation to all the attention that the peeing boy was getting), they were everywhere you walked. It was a welcome break from all the big mustached statues of military men that are seen in Rome.

These two dapper guys are my friends from school, who provided me with a wonderful history and political strife filled tour of the city.

The main food groups of Brussels seemed to be: waffles, beer, chocolate, and fries. In my two days there I made sure to sample one (or more) of everything. My favorite had to be the waffles. Bought from stands and loaded with whipped cream, fruit, and chocolate sauce, they were my go to food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Yum.

All weddings in Brussels take place in the Grand Place. It looked like a cold wedding.

The Grand Place, the popular meeting spot of the weekend, is a wonderful gilded square and easy to find due to the tall steeple sturcture in the middle. There are Carl Marx used to own a flat on the right side of the Place. It has now been turned into the most expensive restuarunt in Brussels. Capitalism prevails.



Find the Grand Place!

Welcome to Brussels version of Embassy Row. All the Embassies along this street represent the states that first recognized Belgium as a country. The American Embassy is way at the end. Supposedly if the guards see you taking a picture of the Embassy they delete every photo on your camera, so this was as good as it was going to get.

Some planes from the Military Museum.

The Royal Palace of Brussels.