Eastern Europeans do a grand ceiling. Their cathedrals and museums set the tone and then went on to inspire their hotels, railway stations and shopping malls.
This post brings you ceilings throughout the ages, from Moscow, Berlin, St Petersburg, Vilnius (Lithuania), Prague and - Auschwitz.
Yes. Auschwitz. Some ceilings are the pride of Europe. Others, such as those from Auschwitz, are a testiment to its shame.
And somewhere in between is the humble ceiling - it too has a place in this post.
We'll start with the trendsetters, such as St Basil's in Moscow and the Hermitage in St Petersburg.
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| St Basil's, Moscow |
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| Bolshoi Ballet theatre, Moscow |
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| The Hermitage |
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| The Hermitage |
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| A crystal viking ship in Vilnius |
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| The spider web ceiling in a Vilnius church |
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| Budapest |
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| Wieliczka Salt Mines, Krakow: the chandeliers are rock salt. |
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| Wilanow Palace, Warsaw |
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| Here he is: somebody to hold up all these ceilings |
Moving right along: European hotels met our needs for pillars and chandeliers.
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| Ritz Carlton, Berlin |
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| Grand Hotel Europe, St Petersburg |
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| Grand Hotel Europe, St Petersburg |
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Marriott, Moscow
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| Then there are the ceilings that hold up the sky, such as this Berlin suburban railway station |
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| The glass and mirror dome over the Reichstag |
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| An atrium strung between hi rise buildings in Berlin |
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| GUM Department store, Moscow |
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| Budapest market hall |
Ceilings of another sort: the underbellies of bridges. This one features the graffiti of Berlin.
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| Underneath a Berlin bridge, with graffiti |
These two bridges are designated 'No standing' bridges...
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| The Blue Bridge |
Read on to admire the ceilings of buses, trains, stations and then, the best for last..the grand finale...the ceiling to beat all ceilings...
But first, to the lowest of low ceilings: Auschwitz...
(CLICK ON 'READ MORE' below)
Auschwitz: the concentration camp.
The photo below shows the ceiling of a gas chamber. The square of light in the ceiling is a trapdoor. Through this trapdoor, a gas was released. Those people underneath died.
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| Auschwitz |
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| Auschwitz crematorium ceiling - black with use |
Let us climb these stairs to other ceilings...
Trams, trains and buses have their own language of ceiling...
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| The vintage tram in Prague that rattled through the streets. Pedestrians stopped and took photos. |
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| The ceiling of our dining car on the train |
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| Ceiling of dining car No. 2 in our train |
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| Underground train, Moscow |
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| Passenger carriage of Hungarian train |
I like this bus ceiling (in Berlin), because it had a window for viewing hi rise buildings.
And, of course, not to forget train station ceilings.
This fine utilitarian station, Sestokai - possibly built out of a flat pack from Ikea - was the meeting point for our Hungarian train.
Sestokai is somewhere in outback Lithuania and, make no mistake, it was not inspired by the following station...
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| Moscow underground |
Finally, there's the ceiling to beat all ceilings...
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| Sunset over fields in Lithuania |
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| Budapest |
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| Berlin |
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| Georges River, Sydney, NSW, Australia |
2 comments:
Fantastic job Robin, very creative. Regards Judy
What a great way to share your experience(s)! Remember slide nights?
Thanks,
Beryn
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