# EU capitals - STRASBOURG and BRUSSELS (April 2013)



## mb92 (Sep 13, 2012)

Wonderful pictures. :applause:


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## GhostOfDorian (Dec 29, 2012)

Some more pictures of Palais du Rhin.


Palais du Rhin 17-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Palais du Rhin 19-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Palais du Rhin 11-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Palais du Rhin 20-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr

Another great building at Place de la République.


Palais du Rhin 12-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


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## Benonie (Dec 21, 2005)

Time to put Strasbourg on my way too long _to-visit-list_.


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## Wapper (Feb 24, 2011)

^^ A trip to Strasbourg, combined with the surrounding an contrasting Alsace region, the Vosges mountains and the Schwarzwald is highly recommended to anyone. You won't regret it.


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## Vecais Sakarnis (May 22, 2007)

OK, Let's continue with Brussels where I happened to be even 2 times last year - when I started this photo thread I didn't knew I will have to visit EU parliament again in December, this time in Brussels. I had some spare time to take photo tours as well.

72. Can you guess - which one of the first two photos are taken in April and which one - in December? Because the weather was pretty much identical, around +7 degress and overcast, just in April it started to rain a bit. 










73.










(the right answer: first photo of December, second one - from April; it will be mixed furthermore, but most photos will be from December as in April I was just a few hours there)

74. I got amazed by Brussels architecture both times, rightly when I walked out of Brussels-Centraal station. It's somehow really magic in that mix of historical and modern urbanity, placed on a hilly streetscape 










75. 










76. A postcard view 










77.










78.










79. Highways usually goes below in underground tunnels in city centre of Brussels and then they pop out a bit farther










80.










Many more interesting photos will follow! Brussels is almost a constant pleasure to eyes and a city with very interesting cityscape!


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## Basnix (Sep 25, 2012)

Fantastic pictures!


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## Wapper (Feb 24, 2011)

Yes, I the weather in December (and right now still) was very much like April weather. I hope that we will get some real winter weather, but right now it doesn't lokk like that.

Great pictures! The tunnel is part of the small city ringroad around the centre.


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## Benonie (Dec 21, 2005)

Even with cloudy waether, you take beautiful pictures! We had the coldest and most grey spring in decades, with hardly sunshine or warmth. Fortunately we had 3 months of beautiful summer in 2013. :cheers:


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Indeed great, very nice photos :cheers:


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## paul62 (Jan 27, 2012)

Nice shots of Brussels. A good city, in my opinion.


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## Vecais Sakarnis (May 22, 2007)

81.










82. 










83.










84.










85.










86.










87. Two readers


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## Benonie (Dec 21, 2005)

Vecais Sakarnis said:


> 87. Two readers


The bronze one is Karel Bulls, a cultural and intelectual mayor who protected much of historic Brussels against demolution by King Leopold II in the 19th century.


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## Vecais Sakarnis (May 22, 2007)

88. BNP Paribas bank headquarters in Brussels. It seems it recently got sold










89.










90.










91. This thing was under construction in April, but finished in December










92.










93.










94. Cyan composition










95. Brown composition


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## Skrapebook (May 7, 2010)

Lovely pics but don´t forget about the stünning Berlin & Frankfurt! :bow:


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## Benonie (Dec 21, 2005)

Great shots! 



Vecais Sakarnis said:


> 88. BNP Paribas bank headquarters in Brussels. It seems it recently got sold


It will be demolished and replaced by this project.





Vecais Sakarnis said:


> 91. This thing was under construction in April, but finished in December


Strange, I think it was finished some years ago. It's the entrance to Square, the new underground Congress Center.


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## Vecais Sakarnis (May 22, 2007)

Benonie said:


> Strange, I think it was finished some years ago. It's the entrance to Square, the new underground Congress Center.


I wasn't neither drunk or high back in April, but probably confused something :lol:


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## Vecais Sakarnis (May 22, 2007)

Skrapebook said:


> Lovely pics but don´t forget about the stünning Berlin & Frankfurt! :bow:


Berlin - yes, I will continue my Berlin thread too... But Frankfurt? Haven't been there since 2007, and haven't started the thread about Frankfurt


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## Wapper (Feb 24, 2011)

Benonie said:


> It will be demolished and replaced by this project.


A huge improvement!:cheers:


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## GhostOfDorian (Dec 29, 2012)

Let's see what Strasbourg has to offer. It is ways more one imagines of a city of such size. An Art Nouveau building at the Alléé de la Robertsau which leads from downtown the the European Quarter.


Allée de la Robertsau 6-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Allée de la Robertsau 7-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Allée de la Robertsau 8-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Allée de la Robertsau 11-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Allée de la Robertsau 13-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


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## GhostOfDorian (Dec 29, 2012)

Some more details.


Allée de la Robertsau 15-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Allée de la Robertsau 12-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Allée de la Robertsau 17-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Allée de la Robertsau 18-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Allée de la Robertsau 19-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


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## GhostOfDorian (Dec 29, 2012)

Neo rococo


Allée de la Robertsau 20-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Allée de la Robertsau 21-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Allée de la Robertsau 22-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Allée de la Robertsau 23-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Allée de la Robertsau 24-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


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## GhostOfDorian (Dec 29, 2012)

Art Nouveau villa at the Ill river.


Quai Rouget de Lisle 1-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Quai Rouget de Lisle 2-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Quai Rouget de Lisle 3-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Quai Rouget de Lisle 4-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Quai Rouget de Lisle 6-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


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## GhostOfDorian (Dec 29, 2012)

Neo rococo villa which houses the dutch representation at the European Council.


Niederländische Repräsentanz 1-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Niederländische Repräsentanz 2-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Niederländische Repräsentanz 3-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Niederländische Repräsentanz 4-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Niederländische Repräsentanz 5-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


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## GhostOfDorian (Dec 29, 2012)

Jugendstil all over.


Rue du General Rapp 10-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Rue du General Rapp 8-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Rue du General Rapp 7-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Rue du General Rapp 2-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Rue du General Rapp 1-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


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## GhostOfDorian (Dec 29, 2012)

More details


Rue du General Rapp 6-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Rue du General Rapp 4-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Rue du General Rapp 3-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Rue du Général Rapp 11-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Rue du Général Rapp 12-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


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## GhostOfDorian (Dec 29, 2012)

Palais Rohan


Palais Rohan 1-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Palais Rohan 4-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Palais Rohan 3-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Palais Rohan 2-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Palais Rohan 5-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


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## GhostOfDorian (Dec 29, 2012)

The cathedral. The tower was with 142 m for centuries the highest building in the world.


Münster 3-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Münster 8-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Münster 7-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Münster 6-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Münster 4-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


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## GhostOfDorian (Dec 29, 2012)

Railwaystation


Bahnhof 4-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Bahnhof 3-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Bahnhof 2-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Bahnhof 7-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Bahnhof 1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


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## GhostOfDorian (Dec 29, 2012)

Neighbour buildings of the Palais du Rhin


Rue du Maréchal Foch 1-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Rue du Maréchal Foch 2-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Rue du Maréchal Foch 3-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Rue du Maréchal Foch 5-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr

Rue du Maréchal Foch 6-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


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## GhostOfDorian (Dec 29, 2012)

Rue du Maréchal Foch 7-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Rue du Maréchal Foch 8-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Rue du Maréchal Foch 9-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Rue du Maréchal Foch 10-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Rue du Maréchal Foch 11-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


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## Vecais Sakarnis (May 22, 2007)

Well, as next week I'm going to Strassbourg again, then this thread seems to become a permanent one 

But let's keep with Brussels from December now:

96. They're still renovating Palace of Justice (it was in scaffolding already in 2011):










97. The same palace from completely different place in a city:










98. Modern meets historical:










99. Music shop










100.










101. A colorful pair










102.










103.










104. Reflections 










105. Christmas atmosphere while approaching to EU parliament










106.










107.


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## Benonie (Dec 21, 2005)

^^ Great updates! 



Vecais Sakarnis said:


> 96. They're still renovating Palace of Justice (it was in scaffolding already in 2011)


Even worse... it's in scaffolding for decades!


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## Kampflamm (Dec 28, 2003)

So when is it supposed to be finished?


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## GhostOfDorian (Dec 29, 2012)

It's warm and sunny in the Rhine valley. We get 20 degrees next week. So be prepared for spring.


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## Vecais Sakarnis (May 22, 2007)

GhostOfDorian said:


> It's warm and sunny in the Rhine valley. We get 20 degrees next week. So be prepared for spring.


Thanks! It seems it will be similar as last year then! But last year I was in middle of April, and there was already sakura blooming. Are there any first green leafs now?


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## GhostOfDorian (Dec 29, 2012)

Well I saw some of them yesterday at a very early bush in Freiburg.. But probably you will see magnolias flowering. The flowering cherries need only a few more days, and the first daffodils are open.

They say it will stay sunny the whole week. Maybe some haze and since Strasbourg is close to the Rhine river there is always the possibility of some early morning fog.


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## Benonie (Dec 21, 2005)

Same in Brussels and Belgium! Spring is allready over the country. Sunny and warm weather. :cheers:


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## Vecais Sakarnis (May 22, 2007)

108. Next to cold, uncosy and rather ugly looking *EU parliament building *complex. Strasbourg one is much better










109.










110.










111.










112.










113. *EU Commission building or Berlaymont* - this one looks better. There is a congratulations on the wall to Latvia for joining euro zone. Latvian TV experiment on Brussels street proved that almost noone has noticed it though - interviewed people didn't knew of Latvia becoming a part of euro zone. 










114. *What on Earth is this?* - that was my reaction when I saw this wonder. Impressive piece of modern architecture, regardless of what it is...



















115. I merely risked with a police visit and went on the middle of street between some concrete blocks to take night shots of this lively traffic street - Wetstraat, if I remember correctly










116.










117. Approaching Brussels royal side, it's Triumph Arc. A park looking a bit spooky in the night...










118. Weird thing is that there is a highway going below this place. It divides a park in two pieces and then hides completely into underground but it is so silent that I was surprised to discover it.










119. Magnificent place










120. But historical quarters continue to offer their beauty also further on! There was a beautiful, wide central street with nice, Christmassy decorated sidestreets like these ones:










121.


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## Benonie (Dec 21, 2005)

Great updates again! :cheers:



Vecais Sakarnis said:


> 114. *What on Earth is this?* - that was my reaction when I saw this wonder. Impressive piece of modern architecture, regardless of what it is...



It's the extension of the European Council headquarters to accommodate the summit meetings and other high-level meetings, the offices of the Presidency and the General Secretary of the Council. It's part of the refurbishment of the Residence Palace building.

You can find the project thread in the Belgian subforum here.


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## Slartibartfas (Aug 15, 2006)

Vecais Sakarnis said:


> 108. Next to cold, uncosy and rather ugly looking *EU parliament building *complex. Strasbourg one is much better


I wouldn't be so harsh, but the exterior of the Strasbourg building is certainly more inspiring. The interior however is very nice in the Brussels building, and not cold at all.


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## Vecais Sakarnis (May 22, 2007)

Slartibartfas said:


> I wouldn't be so harsh, but the exterior of the Strasbourg building is certainly more inspiring. The interior however is very nice in the Brussels building, and not cold at all.


Yep, I was talking about exterior. Interior was OK, just hard to navigate in these buildings.


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## Wapper (Feb 24, 2011)

Kampflamm said:


> So when is it supposed to be finished?


Benonie is right. The scaffolding has been there since at least 30 years, if it's not more (I guess nobody even remembers what it looked like without them ). Every few years, the newspapers report that the scaffolding itself is rusted and worn and needs to be replaced. 
I'm not sure if the renovation will ever be finished since the building is enormous. It's a lot of work to renovate it all, and above all, very costly. I you would look closely at the building (inside and outside) you would quickly notice that it's in a very bad state and that some spots are even dangerous to stand.


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## GhostOfDorian (Dec 29, 2012)

The Ill river at Strasbourg.


Ill 1-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr

The medieval quarter La Petite France


Ill 2-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Ill 3-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Ill 5-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Ill 4-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


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## Bulevardi (Jul 19, 2007)

Great topic.
Haven't visited Strasbourg yet, and the EU Parliament photos are quite interesting, nice to know this building 


I'm a Brussels lover, though, so I certainly enjoyed your Brussels photos, you have a lot of nice views on the city, interesting points of view that I haven't discovered yet, but aswel views that I see the same way, sometimes.
There are nice mirror views on buildings I like.

Keep on photographing, and posting photos


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great, very nice updates from Strasbourg


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## GhostOfDorian (Dec 29, 2012)

Art Nouveau at Avenue des Vosges


Avenue des Vosges 4-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Avenue des Vosges 5-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Avenue des Vosges 3-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Avenue des Vosges 2-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Avenue des Vosges 1-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


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## Benonie (Dec 21, 2005)

Impressive! kay:


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## MilbertDavid (Nov 23, 2012)

lovely array of buildings with artsy designs.


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## Bristol Mike (Aug 5, 2007)

Lovely sharp pictures of Brussels and Strasbourg. Both beautiful in their own way!


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## Vecais Sakarnis (May 22, 2007)

122. Narrow sidestreet in Old Town










123. I like this careful attitude of decorating trees, looks gorgeuos. In Riga, some years ago such decorations looked like just thrown in the tree in a lasso style  










124. Central square in Christmas time. Was full of quite noisy and a bit drunk youngsters at the moment. 










125.










126. I expected a Christmas market to be there, but it wasn't.










127.










128. Very interesting attraction and a nice playful addition to public space - when one goes through, it makes a sound and changes the color of light. 










129. Area close to EU parliament. Nice, cosy, uphill sidestreet.










130.










131. Areas to south from centre. Nice, calm and silent, architecturally interesting places










132. Did I just said that these are architecturally interesting places?










133. Well, do I really have to repeat it once more? :lol: 










134. Central area, another one of true Art Nouveau "wonders" in Brussels which I was lucky to stumble upon. Actually they are very rare and scattered as such single buildings throughout vast areas in the city.










135.










136.










137. Is this cinema or what?










138.










139.










140. Panorama of one round junction next to one of many city squares (this one used for car parking though)










141. Interesting narrow building and sidestreet next to magistral avenue










142.










143. Got attracted by this composition of autmunish leaves, window tiles, bricks and doors










144. One more exquisite Art Nouveau cake, again, completely lonely in it's area. Is there a reason why these buildings are so scattered in the city? Why they weren't built mostly in one rather compact place/area?










145. As in any city, one of the most valuable assets is hillish cityscape. It offers breathtaking urban sceneries. When living in plain Riga, it lacks of the most.


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## GhostOfDorian (Dec 29, 2012)

Palais Rohan in Strasbourg by night


Palais Rohan 6-2 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Palais Rohan 7-2 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Palais Rohan 8-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Palais Rohan 9-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Palais Rohan 10-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


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## Wapper (Feb 24, 2011)

Vecais Sakarnis said:


> 137. Is this cinema or what?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Many of them are or were private homes. Art nouveau architects built them for themselves of for clients wherever they requested them to be. You will obviously find them principally in areas that were (mostly still are) the home of rich bourgeois (with good taste). In some areas you will find many art nouveau buildings close to each other, and in other streets you will unexpectedly stumble across a single marvelous art nouveau masterpiece. But that's something very particular to Brussels: walking through the city is never boring since you'll always discover some new hidden gems. :cheers:


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Once again, very nice updates; well done :cheers:


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## GhostOfDorian (Dec 29, 2012)

Ponts Couvert 1-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Ponts Couvert 2-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Barrage Vauban 1-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Quai Saint NIcolas 1-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


Münster 9-1 von GhostOfDorian auf Flickr


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## De Klauw (Apr 20, 2006)

^^Why don't you start your own Urban Showcase thread with Strasbourg pictures instead of spamming Vecais Sakarnis's thread


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## Benonie (Dec 21, 2005)

^^ It's not forbidden but very confusing here, as there's no information with GostofDorian's pictures.


Vecais Sakarnis said:


> 126. I expected a Christmas market to be there, but it wasn't.


There's no Christmas market on the main square, but the largest and busiest Christmas market in the Benelux, called '_Winter Wonders _', is situated in a large area just west of Grand Place. It was crowned as third best Christmas Market in Europe last year.


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## GhostOfDorian (Dec 29, 2012)

De Klauw said:


> ^^Why don't you start your own Urban Showcase thread with Strasbourg pictures instead of spamming Vecais Sakarnis's thread


I asked before starting to post my pictures. There was no notice that Vecais Sakarnis wanted to have this thread reserved for his pictures.

And I absolutely don't think that it is a good idea for smaller cities, that every user starts its own thread, where he posts some pictures, shot during a holiday and after a few posts the thread will be abandonned, and listed on page twohundredsomething. A thread in use is a good thing for all photographers, who have posted their pictures there. This thread would definitely not have had so many clicks without my posts, since I post only few pictures by post to keep the thread as long on the first page as possible.

I' m sorry that you feel spammed by my pictures. But you should not feel obligated to watch them. 

@Bennonie
I always descripe what is shown on my pictures. In the last post the pictures are named by the buildings one can see.


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## Benonie (Dec 21, 2005)

^^ I know there's some information about the buildings, but not about in what city they were taken. People who dodn't know Brussels or Strasbourg can get confused.

Anyway, even for smaller cities, a new thread is more interesting. If you post some new pictures now and then, the thread will not dissapear to page _twohundredsomething_ immediately.

But if Vecais Sakarnis doesn't have a problem with it, me neither. It's just a bit weird to have this mixture of cities all the time.


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## GhostOfDorian (Dec 29, 2012)

This mixture of the cities is Vecias Sakarnis decission. I knew it, when I joined the thread months ago. I will definitely not ask it. Maybe he didn't know about the competition between the two cities, and the jealousy of Strasbourg that the European Parliament wants to move to Brussels, and the jealousy of Brussels that Strasbourg is much more beautiful. 

Since this thread is only about beauty, Strasbourg can live perfectly being compared with Brussels. :banana:

To show the difference more offensive, I will underline in future that my pictures show Strasbourg.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Really very nice updates; well done :applause:


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## GhostOfDorian (Dec 29, 2012)

Carnival at Strasbourg.


Straßburger Karneval 5-1 by GhostOfDorian, on Flickr


Straßburger Höhlenmensch 3-1 by GhostOfDorian, on Flickr


Straßburger Hexe 2-1 by GhostOfDorian, on Flickr


Straßburger Hexe 1-1 by GhostOfDorian, on Flickr


Monster von Straßburg 1-1 by GhostOfDorian, on Flickr


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## Benonie (Dec 21, 2005)

^^ Nice ones!


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great, very nice updates as always :cheers:


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## GhostOfDorian (Dec 29, 2012)

Thanks for the comments.

Some more pictures of the carnival, which is very late. One says that someone is late like the carnival in Basle. But the carnival in Alsace is three weeks later.


Straßburger Karneval 7-1 by GhostOfDorian, on Flickr


Straßburger Karneval 6-1 by GhostOfDorian, on Flickr


Straßburger Karneval 1-1 by GhostOfDorian, on Flickr


Straßburger Karneval 8-1 by GhostOfDorian, on Flickr


Straßburger Höhlenmensch 2-1 by GhostOfDorian, on Flickr


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## GhostOfDorian (Dec 29, 2012)

Street car terminus of Zaha Hadid Hoenheim Gare at Strasbourg. RIP.


Hoenheim-Gare 8-1 by GhostOfDorian, auf Flickr


Hoenheim-Gare 5-1 by GhostOfDorian, auf Flickr


Hoenheim-Gare 7-1 by GhostOfDorian, auf Flickr


Zaha Hadid street car station at Strasbourg by GhostOfDorian, auf Flickr


Hoenheim-Gare 9-1 by GhostOfDorian, auf Flickr


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