CockneyRebel
Mick Avory, Sensitive brown-eyed Sweet Pea
Joined: Jul 18, 2004
Age: 38
Posts: 87358
Location: In a quiet and peaceful garden, where gentle Mick Avory-like Sweet Peas grow.
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ButterflyLady
Snowy Owl
Joined: Apr 30, 2012
Age: 30
Posts: 146
Location: Gainesville, FL
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 Posted: Sat May 05, 2012 1:45 am Post subject: |
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lol thanks, that was at a nature park close to me. my mom and me also got pictures of each of us standing by it but i don't like others seeing my picture very often.
Last edited by ButterflyLady on Sat May 05, 2012 8:19 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Tequila
Trust the people!
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 26302
Location: Lancashire, UK
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| Posted: Sat May 05, 2012 5:52 pm Post subject: |
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Some more:
The Quadriga of Brandenburg Gate.
Information (from Wikipedia):
The Berlin Quadriga was designed by Johann Gottfried Schadow in 1793 as the Quadriga of Victory, as a symbol of peace (represented by the olive wreath carried by Victory). Located atop the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, it was seized by Napoleon during his occupation of Berlin in 1806, and taken to Paris. It was returned to Berlin by Field Marshal Gebhard von Blücher in 1814. Her olive wreath was subsequently replaced by an Iron Cross. The statue suffered severe damage during the Second World War, and the association of the Iron Cross with Prussian militarism convinced the Communist government of East Germany to remove this aspect of the statue after the war. The iron cross was restored after German reunification in 1990.
The information board at Pariser Platz, which also hosts the Brandenburg Gate. The complete text of the information board - in English - is reproduced below:
Pariser Platz (Paris Square) is one of Berlin's most distinctive squares and occupies a unique place within the groundplan of the city. Its planning is attributed to Philipp Gerlach (1697 - 1738), the architect commissioned by Frederick William I to extend the city's development westward, which had begun in 1688. In 1732, at the request of the "Soldier King", Gerlach extended Fredrichstrasse to intersect with Lindenstrasse, where he laid out a circus (now Mehringplatz) at its southern end. Two years later, in 1734, the construction of Wilhelmstrasse and the squares to the rest of it defined the entire western boundary of the city: the octagonal Leipziger Platz and the rectangular Pariser Platz.
Thus the city gained three unique baroque piazzas, each in the form of a different geometric figure. A common feature is that all three were designed as squares at gates in the city wall and thus represented "reception rooms" to the royal capital. The monarchs' influence on the architectural surroundings corresponded to each square's hierarchical significance within the city structure.
As of 1735, baroque palaces were built on all sides of Pariser Platz, which was topographically the most significant of the three, establishing its noble appearance. Both the type of buildings and the fact that Unter den Linen boulevard ended there - the thoroughfare that soon became the central axis of the city's expansion - indicated the special importance of Pariser Platz among the newly constructed squares. Its direct proximity to the Stadtschloss, which Andreas Schluter's extensions had turned into the dominant feature of the city, enhanced further the significance of Pariser Platz.
The construction of the Brandenburg Gate in 1788 - 1791 to plans by Carl Gotthard Langhans (1732 - 1808) brought architectural eminence to Pariser Platz, already anticipated by its position within the topography of the city. Langhans' Brandenburg Gate set a new benchmark in style and its dimensions introduced a new scale. The new storied baroque palaces could not compete with the towering, elegant architecture of the Gate. From the early ninteteenth century onwards, subsequent redevelopment of the square took as a model the more block-like, three-storied palace architecture of the Italian Renaissance. The lent Pariser Platz the generous spaciousness, which is still associated with its name today.
The simple paving of the square remained until 1880, when park elements were added by the second Berlin City Parks Director, Hermann Mächrig (1837 - 1909). His design, in which prestige was the supreme consideration, aligned two decorative parterres with central fountains in such a way that the neutral orientation of the square was redefined to emphasise its function for traffic. Mächtig wrote "The two halves of Pariser Platz, in keeping with its form and surroundings, are laid out discreetly in parterres: the beds contain mainly low bushes, box, low perennial flowering roses on ivy banks high enough to rise above the level of the lawn, and a number of higher-growing plant groups in the lawns on either side of the fountains." Essentially, this layout was retained until the destruction caused by the World War II., as confirmed by archaeological excavations in 1992.
Pariser Plartz is still Berlin's most impressive entrance and reception room. Until the 1940s, not only Langhans' Brandenburg Gate but also other important builings, such as the American and French embassies, Hotel Adlon, and the Palais Liebermann gave the square its characteristic aspect, famous all over the world, and, after the United States Embassy is completed, will do so again.
Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, Pariser Platz has regained its old importance as a public attraction; however, at first the totally derelict and ruined square represented a poor calling card for the city. In the spring of 1992, there was an opportunity to secure financial aid for rebuilding the square from the "Upswing East" funds of the European Regional Development Fund and special aid from the EU for "the development of infrastructure, land improvement for public tourist facilities". This was gratefully taken up by the Historical Gardens section of Berlin's Department for Urban Development and Environmental Protection and, in cooperation with the Mitte District's Office for Nature Conservation and Parks, the park elements of the square were completely restored the same year.
Ten years later, in September 2002, the extensive restoration of the entire area of the square was completed. The work was carried out by the Senate of Berlin's Construction Office in cooperation with the Civil Engineering Department and the Historic Gardens section, based on the traditional design principles used for Unter den Linden boulevard. The pavements besdie parterres with fountains were widened - exactly a century after the first time, in 1902. Three rows of granite flagstones side by side flanked by cobblestone mosaics now form the pavements. Granite blocks were used for resurfacing the square and a raised, mounded central island created. Replicas of Schupmann's distinctive candelabra street laterns, which have belonged to Under den Linden since 1888, were installed to illuminate Pariser Platz.
The Brandenburg Gate - this is an immense structure and much of Berlin's momentous history is concentrated on this structure:
A side view of the Bundestag, the German parliament:
A view of the street sign on the Platz des 18. März. The date in the title of the square has political importance, for 18 March 1990 was the first - and only - genuinely free and fair elections to take place in East Germany. The two largest parties to win the election both favoured abolishing the East German state and bringing it within a united Germany:
Another side view of the Bundestag:
And a view of the police assisting a tourist in the non-public area of the Bundestag - it really was lovely weather!
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Sylkat
Miskatonic University Student Body President
Joined: Sep 03, 2011
Posts: 7135
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| Posted: Sat May 05, 2012 9:34 pm Post subject: |
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I wish that classical buildings like that were still being constructed.
I loathe modern architecture.
Sylkat |
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ButterflyLady
Snowy Owl
Joined: Apr 30, 2012
Age: 30
Posts: 146
Location: Gainesville, FL
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| Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 4:03 am Post subject: |
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watching the moon rise tonight i snapped a few pics, my camera won't get the "facial features" on the moon only a glow but here are a few that i got.
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keira
Still not a morning person
Joined: Feb 17, 2011
Age: 29
Posts: 4331
Location: misplaced
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| Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 6:03 am Post subject: |
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^^^ Beautiful!  |
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TenPencePiece
Curiosity Killed the Cone
Joined: Dec 12, 2009
Age: 18
Posts: 44574
Location: Greater Manchester, United Kingdom
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| Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 7:08 am Post subject: |
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Here's a video still that I got of the moon, through glass - it's a bit of a strange one but look how bright it is
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ZX_SpectrumDisorder
Phoenix
Joined: Feb 25, 2012
Posts: 1608
Location: Ireland
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| Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 7:31 am Post subject: |
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| I can't post pics in this thread. I've tried for three days and get the same *error posting* message. Halp! |
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TenPencePiece
Curiosity Killed the Cone
Joined: Dec 12, 2009
Age: 18
Posts: 44574
Location: Greater Manchester, United Kingdom
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| Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 7:36 am Post subject: |
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I know, it happens a lot - keep trying
Some of my favourites from yesterday follow, but I can only post one at a time because WP doesn't like more than one.
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TenPencePiece
Curiosity Killed the Cone
Joined: Dec 12, 2009
Age: 18
Posts: 44574
Location: Greater Manchester, United Kingdom
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| Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 7:37 am Post subject: |
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TenPencePiece
Curiosity Killed the Cone
Joined: Dec 12, 2009
Age: 18
Posts: 44574
Location: Greater Manchester, United Kingdom
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| Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 7:39 am Post subject: |
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TenPencePiece
Curiosity Killed the Cone
Joined: Dec 12, 2009
Age: 18
Posts: 44574
Location: Greater Manchester, United Kingdom
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| Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 7:40 am Post subject: |
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Like the town name
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TenPencePiece
Curiosity Killed the Cone
Joined: Dec 12, 2009
Age: 18
Posts: 44574
Location: Greater Manchester, United Kingdom
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| Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 7:42 am Post subject: |
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_________________
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TenPencePiece
Curiosity Killed the Cone
Joined: Dec 12, 2009
Age: 18
Posts: 44574
Location: Greater Manchester, United Kingdom
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| Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 7:43 am Post subject: |
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And finally...
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ZX_SpectrumDisorder
Phoenix
Joined: Feb 25, 2012
Posts: 1608
Location: Ireland
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| Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 7:56 am Post subject: |
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| Giggleswick ftw! |
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