Posted bythirdeyemom
— 55 Comments

Prague does not disappoint even in the rain. It is one of the most beautiful cities in the world filled with history, culture, and architecture that will make you swoon. Left basically untouched by the destruction of WWII and kept tightly sealed behind the iron walls of communism for 40 years, Prague has come to life over the past decade as tourists from all over the world come to relish her fairytale beauty.

I too was swept away and seduced by the delights of Prague, and I couldn’t stop looking up at the immaculate detail on each and every building. Sometimes however it pays to look down. One morning before the crowds stormed into Old Town Square I climbed the Bell Tower for an aerial view of the city. Despite the poor weather conditions – it was rainy and gray – I was able to capture these shots of the serpentine curves of the city and red rooftops below.

Bell Tower Old Town Prague

Climbing the winding narrow stairs up the bell tower, I stopped to take in the view from a window. People were just starting to come out and fill the square. In a few hours, the square would be filled with people leaving little standing room.

Bell Tower Old Town Prague

Bell Tower Old Town Prague

Bell Tower Old Town Prague

Bell Tower Old Town PragueI admit that I was slightly disappointed in the rainy weather. But with such immense beauty,  my weariness quickly disappeared. It doesn’t take long to fall in love with Prague.

 

 

55 comments

    1. Yes suburban America is pretty plain. I thankfully live in the city and our neighborhood is all homes built in the 1900s. I love the character of old homes!

      Reply

    1. Yes that is the one thing Sue that drove me crazy about Prague. I hate going to touristy places and by 12 pm you could hardly walk through Old Town in Prague. Normally it would have been a turn off yet I think since I loved the architecture so much I was able to deal with it better. But yes Even in early May there was wall to wall tourists and lots of groups.

      Reply

      2. I have never been there Sue but I’ve seen pictures. I would love to go. I tend to like the off the beaten path travel the most. Where there is no one. When my dad and I went hiking in Bolivia we were the only people in the park the entire four days!!!

      5. Thing is, I am a tourist at the end of the day…..but I don’t consider myself one…how arrogant is that?

    1. Yes that is very true Debra. I think I was just so in love with the architecture. I haven’t been to other places in Europe that had suffered through communism except Berlin. I went there right after it opened up in 1993. It felt so sad there. I haven’t been back since but people I know who have been to Berlin say it is an amazing city now so full of culture and vitality. The only communist places I have been are Cuba and China which felt very repressive.

      Reply

      1. I thought the architecture was lovely too, but the people were not particularly friendly and the food mostly awful. I had to get up very early in the morning to have some space on the beautiful bridge and we were not there in tourist season. Berlin is a very modern, lively city, you must go.

    1. Thank you! I actually try to not shoot much on my iPhone as my camera is better but I still do at times. Normally I shoot on my camera and then import them into Lightroom. For this set, I actually did use special filters and used the Painterly filter on Photomatrix another application for processing. Then I imported them into instagram and went from there! I also love Snapseed too! Good luck! So many amazing filtering programs out there and many are free too on the iPhone.

      Reply

  7. I was there 15 years ago and LOVED it. It is ALL about the architecture, even the spotless subway stations with their art. Are you going to the UNESCO city of Cesky Krumlov or are you back to the states?

    Reply

    1. Thanks Louise! I am actually home now. I went about a little over a month ago and am just catching up to writing about it. I did not make it to Pesky Krumlov but did go to nearby castle and loved it.

      Reply

  8. That bird had a great eye…and a good camera, too! 🙂 Are those the real colors or did you saturate a bit? I only ask because the colors are so bright a vibrant. I’m really enjoying this visit, Nicole.

    janet

    Reply

    1. Thanks Janet! Yes I used filters for these photos as the dark gray sky and rainy weather made it tough to get good shots. My last post on Prague gives a more accurate illustration of the colors. With the sun out the colors stand out way more than my photos show however these photos I used painterly to give them a
      More surreal look. I will have a series of posts coming up with more unfiltered photos so you can get a feel for it. The buildings are amazing and seeing them in person would not disappoint.

      Reply

      2. Thanks Janet! I was disappointed when I got home as I took almost 1,000 pics and the weather was so gray and rainy. I felt so letdown when I looked at them. I always feel this way as unless you are a precessional photographer it truly is hard to capture the beauty of a place. So glad you like these! 😊

      3. I used to look at photos for sale and wonder how they got the colors or whatever that they did. I’ve since realized that most photographers edit the heck out of their photos. Not saying it’s good or bad, but it just is.

      4. Yes I agree. I personally wish I was a good enough photographer to not have to change the photos too much. I think it is remarkable when a photographer knows how to take the perfect real photo in any weather or light situation and get it right. 😊

      5. I sometimes saturate a bit for color and sometimes I use a vignette or frame, but other than edits just for fun, I try to keep my photos close to the original. Cropping is kosher to me, though. 🙂

      6. Yes the ones I put on my blog usually are minimally edited through Lightroom. These photos were used on my Instagram along with the ones I showed last week from the sunset scenes. For those I’ve been spending a lot of time playing with them to make them stand out more. IG is such a big world!

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