December quiz: where were these pictures taken?

[ChristianPFC]

December quiz: where were these pictures taken?

 

During my travels, I came across an architectural element which is shown in all pictures. What is the name of this architectural element and where were these pictures taken (please be specific: town and place within this town).

 

I have been to four places (A, B, C, D) myself, pictures with date and time stamp were taken by me. Where my pictures are of low quality, I use pictures from internet. I haven’t been to the fifth place E, pictures are from internet. In some cases, I edited the pictures.

 

I will post links to the source for pictures from internet after the quiz is over. Sorry, there is no prize.

 

Please wait until December 24^th before you post your reply to let everyone interested participate.

 

Place A:

 

 

 

 

Place B:

 

 

 

Place C:

 

 

Place D:

 

 

 

Place E:

 

 

[kokopelli]

I never saw columns decorated with what seems to be Roman triremes.  Very odd looking.

 

A December Quiz with no prize?  Where is Fountainhall when you need him!

[Bob]

Roman triremes?  If you look in the first photo under "D", you'll see green/yellow taxicabs and an arch in the background that clearly mark those photos as taken here in Thailand.  Where?  Hell if I know.  As to the other locations, my best guess is somewhere between Austria and the Netherlands. 

 

As for a prize?  I'm guessing it's 9 baht (which was the amount Christian saved by switching to the drinking water machines).   (Just kidding, Herr Christian).

[kokopelli]

Bob; yes I see that now, also a photo of the King.  Maybe, in that case, they are Thai triremes?  Nonetheless, these columns are beyond ugly.  I had been hoping that CPFC would have, at least, offered an Eiffel Tower key ring.

[Moses]

First picture - city of A, second picture: city of B & C, third pic city of E. D - is in Thailand for sure, but where it is?
 

 

 

[Moses]

OK Have D also

[Guest abang1961]

Ha Ha, I've been to that McDonalds...

[vinapu]

First picture - city of A, second picture: city of B & C, third pic city of E. D - is in Thailand for sure, but where it is?

 

third picture -Petrodvorets near St Petersburg, Russia?

[Bob]

I think Moses' third picture is Catherine's Palace near St. Petersburg.  As to Christian's photos, hell if I know (except I think Place D is in Thailand and likely in/near Bangkok). 

The McDonalds in Moses' second photo sure looks like something out of Switzerland or Austria (but I don't know).

[Guest abang1961]

That McD is in France... although it looks more in-place in Germany

[Moses]

third picture -Petrodvorets near St Petersburg, Russia?

 

I think Moses' third picture is Catherine's Palace near St. Petersburg.  As to Christian's photos, hell if I know (except I think Place D is in Thailand and likely in/near Bangkok). 

The McDonalds in Moses' second photo sure looks like something out of Switzerland or Austria (but I don't know).

 

Nope. That's Winter Palace, at present time main building of The Hermitage museum, center of Sankt-Petersburg.

Cuz on E  picture are rostral columns from "Strelka"

[Bob]

Hmmm.....Moses, you're saying your third photo is the winter palace?  How do you explain the different architecture let alone the designs in the lawn out front?  Here's a photo of the Catherine Palace from the net (I'd note I've never been there):

[kokopelli]

Thanks to Moses we have the answers to some of Christian's questions in his Quiz.  The architectual elements of the columns are known as Rostral Columns which feature the prows of ships denoting naval superiority. Named after the Latin word Rostrum/Rostra meaning beak. Also confirms Kokus Pellius observation that these ship prows are those of Roman triremes as can be seen in the image of the Roman Forum.  Apparently the Romans visited Thailand thousands of years ago and the Thais erected a column to commerate this event.

 

In photo E, posted by Christian, the location of that column is in Moscow/Москва as Moses/Моисей indentified as the Strelka Institute.

[Moses]

Oh, yes, sorry, wrong picture has been attached to my post. This is palace from Tcarskoye Selo (Catherine's palace).

 

Winter palace is:

[ChristianPFC]

City and location within that city?

[Rogie]

Thanks Christian - a really intriguing quiz with excellent photos. I certainly hadn't realised the significance of the 'architectural element' before, although I have seen it but the once, and took some photos as it struck me as very unusual at the time.

 

So, can I answer your quiz? I failed all of them, no idea at all, except D. I knew that one straightaway as I took the klong taxi one day and alighted at the stop where I took photos of the 'element' on the bridge over the canal. I don't have my Bangkok map to hand and can't remember the name of that bridge. It's within walking distance of the Golden Mount as I recall.

 

Merry Christmas!

 

Rog

[vinapu]

E - Vasilievskij Ostrov / Island / , Naval Museum, Sankt Petersburg , former Leningrad , Russia, rest I don't know , wouldn't be surprised if B and C is somewhere in Great Britain,

 

Have mercy and stop tormenting us and give us answer ChristianPFC

[kokopelli]

In photo E, posted by Christian, the location of that column is in Moscow/Москва as Moses/Моисей indentified as the Strelka Institute.

 Ooops!  Not Moscow but St. Pettersburg on Strelka.  No  Eiffel Tower key ring for me!

[kokopelli]

Ok, now Dec 25, so I can reveal that I saw Photo A when I was in Vienna, Austria.

 

Photo B, where else but in Paris.

[williewillie]

Thread a nice tribute to Fountainhall. Whether intentional or not, it bought back fond memories of my favorite poster

on this forum.

[Guest abang1961]

Happy Boxing Day... quite a chilly day here in Singapore.

 

Yes it was exactly a year ago when I came across this forum and of course, ended up as the first runner-up of FH's 2012 quiz.

I actually met the man and collected the prize from him.

 

How time flies and due to some work commitment, I was unable to communicate on this board and it is really sad to see FH's departure/retirement from this board.

 

So my dear Christain, are you ready to reveal the solutions to us?

[ChristianPFC]

The architectural element is a rostral column. I saw it first at Opera Garnier and wondered why they put models of ships around the column.

 

A: Vienna, Tegetthoff monument near Praterstern

 

B: Paris, Opera Garnier

 

C: Paris, Place de la Concorde

 

D: Bangkok, saphan phan fa lilat near Golden Mount and Loha Prasat

 

E: Sankt Petersburg, on the Neva river (from internet: The Rostral Columns are situated on Strelka, the eastern tip of Vasilievsky island.)

 

Sources for further reading:

 

http://parisandbeyond-genie.blogspot.com/2013/10/palais-garnier-colonne-rostrale.html

http://www.geolocation.ws/v/W/File%3AColonne%20rostrale%20Opera%20Paris.jpg/-/en

http://www.tourspb.com/wallpapers/The_Rostral_Columns_Spit_of_Vassilievsky_Island_St.Petersburg_Russia.jpg

http://www.gweep.net/~saki/gallery/hydrofoil-to-Peterhof/Rostral_Column_Vasilyevsky_Island

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rostral_column

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/Praterstern_01_.jpg/506px-Praterstern_01_.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/Tegetthoff_monument_-_Vienna.jpg/739px-Tegetthoff_monument_-_Vienna.jpg

 

http://bangkoklibrary.com/content/359-phan-fa-lilat-bridge-ratchadamnoen-avenue

 

For sake of completeness, and because I think many readers are from the United States, there is one in New York, on Columbus Circle:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Circle

 

And once we are on the subject of Columbus, read this:

 

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/columbus_day
 

[kokopelli]

Reviewing all the entries it seems that Moses did have all the answers.

[vinapu]

he did

[kokopelli]

Moses, take your pick of trinkets: