Travel-zakopane---sleeping-knight-ridge

The Sleeping Knight of the Tatra mountains
The Sleeping Knight of the Tatra mountains This formation is called the Sleeping Knight, there is a giant cross on the peak that is his nose. Mount Giewont one of the most distinctive of the Tatra peaks. This silhouette has long been likened to that of a Sleeping Knight, with his plumed helmet curling away at the westernmost extent.
Recent Uploads tagged travel

			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/spelio/">spelio</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/spelio/54853883810/" title="More copies from the 2000 trip to Lake Eyre"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54853883810_4c10a8620e_m.jpg" width="240" height="163" alt="More copies from the 2000 trip to Lake Eyre" /></a></p>

<p>Our visit to Kinchega Homestead, Park and shearing she.</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/spelio/">spelio</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/spelio/54853883670/" title="More copies from the 2000 trip to Lake Eyre"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54853883670_c8a5c310c8_m.jpg" width="240" height="161" alt="More copies from the 2000 trip to Lake Eyre" /></a></p>

<p>Our visit to Kinchega Homestead, Park and shearing she.</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/spelio/">spelio</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/spelio/54853579071/" title="More copies from the 2000 trip to Lake Eyre"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54853579071_6e959a3673_m.jpg" width="161" height="240" alt="More copies from the 2000 trip to Lake Eyre" /></a></p>

<p>Our visit to Kinchega Homestead, Park and shearing she.</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/lrod/">75CentralPhotography</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/lrod/54851957585/" title="Not the San Francisco Bridge You&#039;re Probably Thinking Of..."><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54851957585_82cc7f3c3c_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="Not the San Francisco Bridge You&#039;re Probably Thinking Of..." /></a></p>

<p>The bridge of the 1890 side-wheel paddle steamboat Eureka, which originally carried passengers and railcars between Tiburon and San Francisco and now resides in that city’s San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/dalecruse/">dalecruse</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dalecruse/54852618607/" title="The Crowned Tower of Sintra: Palácio Nacional de Sintra’s Neo-Manueline Jewel"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54852618607_7aa25d69b0_m.jpg" width="192" height="240" alt="The Crowned Tower of Sintra: Palácio Nacional de Sintra’s Neo-Manueline Jewel" /></a></p>

<p>Beneath the brilliant Portuguese sun, the ornate tower of the Sintra Town Hall rises like a fairytale spire—its whitewashed walls and patterned tile roof glowing against a cloudless blue sky. Officially known as the Câmara Municipal de Sintra, this remarkable structure embodies the Neo-Manueline revival that swept through Portugal in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. With its intricate stone tracery, decorative pinnacles, and playful asymmetry, the building is both civic architecture and national self-portrait—a proud celebration of Portuguese identity through design.<br />
<br />
The Neo-Manueline style, rooted in the sixteenth-century Age of Discovery, was revived at a time when Portugal was rediscovering its cultural heritage. Architects drew inspiration from the ornate maritime motifs of the original Manueline period—shells, ropes, crosses, and botanical flourishes—and reinterpreted them through a modern lens. Sintra’s town hall, completed in 1910 by architect Adães Bermudes, stands as one of the finest examples of this revival. Its tower, capped with a teal-tiled crown and golden orb, serves as both a literal and symbolic beacon for the town below.<br />
<br />
From the cobblestone roundabout, where bright flowers spill into view, the building’s rhythmic symmetry commands attention. Each window is framed with decorative plasterwork and iron lattice patterns that echo the fluid geometry of Gothic and Moorish design. The structure’s balance of precision and whimsy reflects the same architectural conversation found throughout Sintra—a place where Romanticism, nationalism, and craftsmanship converge.<br />
<br />
Standing before it, one can almost hear the hum of history. Once the seat of municipal governance, the town hall remains a working civic space, its meeting rooms and offices still resonant with the steady pulse of public life. Yet the architecture transcends utility—it’s a gesture of pride, the kind of building that reminds its citizens that beauty has a civic duty of its own. The decorative crown, gleaming in sunlight, is no mere flourish; it’s an emblem of Sintra’s enduring blend of elegance and imagination.<br />
<br />
For photographers, the tower’s creamy tones and precise shadows invite endless exploration. The structure embodies the very essence of architectural photography—contrast, rhythm, proportion, and texture, each playing its part in the visual harmony. Yet beyond composition, the story lies in how this building mirrors the town’s evolution. It bridges eras: the medieval charm of Sintra’s narrow streets, the Romantic dreamscapes of Pena Palace above, and the forward-looking optimism of twentieth-century civic design.<br />
<br />
In a town known for palaces, this is a different kind of monument—one that doesn’t retreat into myth but instead rises confidently into modernity. Its presence feels both historical and alive, a reminder that even in an age of simplicity, Portugal’s architectural voice remains richly, defiantly ornate.</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/darkelfphotography/">Maciek Gornisiewicz</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkelfphotography/54852609867/" title="Autumn&#039;s Embrace"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54852609867_61a5a4e933_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="Autumn&#039;s Embrace" /></a></p>

<p>Autumn impression from The Hermitage near Perth in Scotland. Fall colours were just getting towards their most intense when we visited a year ago.<br />
<br />
More about this photo on my Blog and Facebook page.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://darkelf.aminus3.com/" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Blog</a> | <a href="http://www.facebook.com/DarkelfPhotography" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Facebook</a> | <a href="http://www.darkelfphotography.com" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Website</a> | <a href="http://www.instagram.com/darkelfphotography" rel="noreferrer nofollow">Instagram</a></p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/merrillie/">Merrillie</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/merrillie/54853754973/" title="Clear Skies over Lake Mulwala and the dead River Gum trees"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54853754973_8ab66fd987_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Clear Skies over Lake Mulwala and the dead River Gum trees" /></a></p>

<p>Lake Mulwala, a man-made reservoir with with dead river red gums in the water at Mulwala, NSW, Australia.</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/spelio/">spelio</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/spelio/54853694619/" title="More copies from the 2000 trip to Lake Eyre"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54853694619_577d9ddab0_m.jpg" width="240" height="157" alt="More copies from the 2000 trip to Lake Eyre" /></a></p>

<p>Our visit to Kinchega Homestead, Park and shearing she.</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/203635282@N04/">JPB-Photo</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/203635282@N04/54852587207/" title="Spring Patience -2"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54852587207_bb26f778ab_m.jpg" width="165" height="240" alt="Spring Patience -2" /></a></p>


			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/203635282@N04/">JPB-Photo</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/203635282@N04/54853457006/" title="Patience in Bloom"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54853457006_54d745e4ca_m.jpg" width="165" height="240" alt="Patience in Bloom" /></a></p>


			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/203635282@N04/">JPB-Photo</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/203635282@N04/54853695234/" title="Evening Rays"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54853695234_e83f816928_m.jpg" width="165" height="240" alt="Evening Rays" /></a></p>


			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/203635282@N04/">JPB-Photo</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/203635282@N04/54853454666/" title="Kanpai-2"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54853454666_338ebefa17_m.jpg" width="240" height="165" alt="Kanpai-2" /></a></p>


			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/203635282@N04/">JPB-Photo</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/203635282@N04/54852587202/" title="Spring Patience -3"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54852587202_b9b2f0b182_m.jpg" width="165" height="240" alt="Spring Patience -3" /></a></p>


			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/203635282@N04/">JPB-Photo</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/203635282@N04/54853759355/" title="Welcome"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54853759355_727901abb3_m.jpg" width="165" height="240" alt="Welcome" /></a></p>


			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/spelio/">spelio</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/spelio/54853757185/" title="More copies from the 2000 trip to Lake Eyre"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54853757185_d51e2284f4_m.jpg" width="240" height="163" alt="More copies from the 2000 trip to Lake Eyre" /></a></p>

<p>Our visit to Kinchega Homestead, Park and shearing she.</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/203635282@N04/">JPB-Photo</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/203635282@N04/54853709483/" title="Old Ways-2"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54853709483_5830fed26a_m.jpg" width="240" height="165" alt="Old Ways-2" /></a></p>


			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/203635282@N04/">JPB-Photo</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/203635282@N04/54852587252/" title="Unnatural Beauty"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54852587252_2bc348b8d3_m.jpg" width="165" height="240" alt="Unnatural Beauty" /></a></p>


			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/spelio/">spelio</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/spelio/54853706688/" title="More copies from the 2000 trip to Lake Eyre"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54853706688_0f8e29ec9f_m.jpg" width="240" height="83" alt="More copies from the 2000 trip to Lake Eyre" /></a></p>

<p>Our visit to Kinchega Homestead, Park and shearing she.</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/203635282@N04/">JPB-Photo</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/203635282@N04/54853757635/" title="Date-san"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54853757635_0d6c2c61d5_m.jpg" width="165" height="240" alt="Date-san" /></a></p>


			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/203635282@N04/">JPB-Photo</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/203635282@N04/54853694599/" title="The Shot"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54853694599_2a16caef48_m.jpg" width="165" height="240" alt="The Shot" /></a></p>
Sign On