Syt's Pictorial Collection of Stuff and Things (image heavy)

[Richard Hakluyt]

I just don't find Manchester very interesting, it is a boring place where people work; Liverpool has more interesting architecture, better pubs and i like the civic culture there. (I believe Manchester has fantastic club life btw, but i never really got on with clubs even when I was a youngster).

But, if we are talking transport policy, it is definitely the case that the railways in and out of Manchester require a massive capacity increase; and this is not a matter of being green and utopian, the demand is there and the lack of supply is holding the region back.

[Sheilbh]

I just don't find Manchester very interesting, it is a boring place where people work; Liverpool has more interesting architecture, better pubs and i like the civic culture there. (I believe Manchester has fantastic club life btw, but i never really got on with clubs even when I was a youngster).

But, if we are talking transport policy, it is definitely the case that the railways in and out of Manchester require a massive capacity increase; and this is not a matter of being green and utopian, the demand is there and the lack of supply is holding the region back.

Also if you go as far as Manchester you might as well go to Liverpool which will increase the metro area and all the benefits with that.

[Syt]

Photo of Vienna, tajen on the 21st November by the ISS



https://external-preview.redd.it/ZVGuLsM36--H3CHKngpUTBczRCnhzEosZ2sS4D8PPm0.jpg?auto=webp&s=097f755dd96adcd3e0ec0d309ae3ddf221e7db8d

[Maladict]

That's awesome. You can even make out some of the landmarks.
If only Franz Joseph could have seen the Gloriette lit up from space.

[Syt]

Tokyo and Mt Fuji

[Syt]

TIL: In 1949, the Third Avenue Transit Corporation of New York City donated 45 streetcars to the city of Vienna which were then in service till 1969, and one is still in the tram museum:

[Syt]

Vienna 1860. This is the area where the city hall and surrounding area would be built in the following decades (city hall was completed in 1883). This was mostly a parade ground after the city fortifications were removed (the dismantling of the old city walls started with Napoleon's occupation and continued till 1863 when the last bits were removed).



What the area looks like today:



You can see the Military Geographical Institute which is in the center of the first picture slightly behind/left of the city hall. The modern Ringstraße is basically where the old fortifications used to run.

[Syt]

Group of foreign officers. Probably taken during Austrian (or German?) Kaisermanöver (annual military exercise attended by the Emperor) 1900:

[The Larch]

What's with those pickelhaube-less German officers? Was the pickelhaube reserved only for certain ranks or units?

[Syt]

Might also depend on regiment or troop type, I would imagine.

EDIT: Or maybe a different form of dress. Dress uniform vs field uniform, e.g.

EDIT 2: Actually, they could be Bavarians. Apparently their generals didn't adopt the Pickelhaube.

[The Brain]

Cool photo.

As officers they had, at least in practice, a bit more freedom to use the headgear they preferred (within what was available to their troop type). I wonder, in principle you can tell by the lower cockade on their caps but it's a bit hard in the photo, but the two Germans without pickelhaube might be Bavarians. My sources tell me that Bavaria was slow to introduce the pickelhaube (1886) because it was felt to be too Prussian, and I suppose they may not have been as enthusiastic about wearing it. Bavaria's army was the most independent from Prussia in the German Empire.

[Josquius]

Just bavaria? Thought there was a fair bit of variety amongst the lesser kingdoms in Germany

[The Brain]

Just bavaria? Thought there was a fair bit of variety amongst the lesser kingdoms in Germany

IIRC, and maybe a bit simplified, the smallest states contributed units to the Prussian army, while Bavaria, Württemberg and Saxony had their own armies (which came under Imperial/Prussian command in time of war). Bavaria was the most independent non-Prussian state (the different states made different deals with Prussia when they tied themelves to Prussia/Germany, and Bavaria for instance retained direct diplomatic relations with the Vatican even when part of Imperial Germany).

[Syt]

Bavaria was weird that way. The resurgence of Lederhosen and traditional dress happened after unification as a means to instill a feeling of local identity for Bavarians (I seem to recall seeing a TV documentary about this many moons ago which detailed that the Bavarian monarchy was supported in that by a Prussian firm, basically an early PR/branding consultancy).

[Valmy]

I always wondered what Theodore Roosevelt would have looked like as an Austrian.