Photo of the Day (8.19.10)

by Meg Nesterov on

“Clang, clang, clang went the trolley,” sang Judy Garland in Meet Me in St. Louis, giving the most charming mode of transportation its own theme song. Except this trolley isn’t in St. Louis or even San Francisco, it’s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, part of the oldest operating tram system in South America. Whether you call it a tram, a trolley, a streetcar, or a cable car, this Flickr photo by AlexSven captures the old-timey fun (also, suspenders are the most charming way to hold up pants). Nowadays, trolleys are making a comeback, with new or extended routes planned for many cities in the United States including St. Louis, Memphis, New Orleans, and Little Rock. Kennebunkport, Maine is even home to a trolley museum.

Find a fun way to get around on your travels? Upload your pix to the Gadling Flickr pool and it might be featured as a future Photo of the Day.

Photo of the day (3.31.09)

by Grant Martin on

I just can’t resist a good tilt shift photo, and Foraggio Fotographic’s is no exception. On my temporary hiatus from normal Gadling duties, this week I’m wandering through New Zealand, and today finds me in the great North Island city of Wellington.

A relatively small city of only 400,000, Wellington is popular among toursits and locals alike for it’s compact, quaint downtown, solid nightlife, excellent food and ease of transportation. Cable cars like this one, for example move through the city and offer excellent views of the Cook Strait.

Have any cool photos you’d like to share with the world? Add them to the Gadling Pool on Flickr and it might be chosen as our Photo of the Day. Make sure you save them under Creative Commons though, otherwise we can’t use them!

Play chicken in Helsinki traffic

by Tom Johansmeyer on

I was pretty impressed by Helsinki‘s public transportation, which was more than ample with trolleys, subways and buses. There were few SUVs, and the bike lane was rarely empty. While the Finns got the ingredients right, the mixing was … well … suboptimal.

The least menacing of the interesting transportation overlaps involves the bike lanes and sidewalk. Neither is clearly defined, and I almost got clipped by a cyclist my first day on the ground. And, that wasn’t the only Finn to take a shot at me. Of course, this is tame compared to the streets, in which cars, buses and trolleys jockey for position.

I actually saw a trolley, bus and car jammed in traffic, while a pedestrian walked straight into a guy wearing headphones while riding a purple woman’s bike. From my spot on the small patio in front of the Klaus K Hotel, I was able to enjoy the misfortune of others. But, I almost lost my arm at the hands of an errant cyclist while taking the few steps back to the front door.With Satan traveling the roads, what chance does any pedestrian have?

I snapped this shot with my Blackberry. This was the taxi in which I rode while in Helsinki over the summer. Needless to say, I did pause for a moment before getting in.