(For the View From Your Window contest, the results below exceed the content limit for Substack’s email service, so to ensure that you see the full results, click the headline above.)
Highlights from this week’s write-up:
An avalanche during WWI that killed thousands of soldiers
Death-defying climbs by humans and ibex — a magical creature in medieval times
“Arguably the most influential architect of all time”
A movie that our cinema sleuth has watched dozens of times since childhood
A dwarf king with a vendetta against roses
From the winner of last week’s contest:
I’m thrilled to be the VFYW winner! When I told my wife, she just rolled her eyes — but I could tell she was secretly proud of me. I wish I had a clever anecdote about the city, but all I can say about Vancouver is it’s a place that’s been on my bucket list for a while. My son moved there recently and that prompted our decision to make British Columbia our summer vacation destination. We’ll be spending a week with him in the city, then another week on Vancouver Island.
Have fun! Here’s a quick followup from last week’s submitter:
I completely underestimated how much fun it would be to read the write-up about my window! Thank you!
Our self-described “a-maize-ing sleuth” follows up regarding the ambiguity of the Vancouver window:
For last week’s puzzle, I want to put in the most accurate information about the window locations by unit:
Wrapping around the floor are eight units: 904 (corner unit), 905 (VFYW), 906 (corner with open patio), 907-908 (diagonal opposite of 904), 901 (oppo. 905), 902 (oppo. 906), and 903 (oppo. 907). Berkeley chose the window from the Den of 805; and I chose the same, saying it could be either 805 or 905. The Den is to the left of the Living Room in the floor map of 905:
Here are patio photos from 706 (top) and 504 (bottom), and these units, x-04 and x-06, flank x-05:
Yet another followup comes from a non-sleuth:
Oh, wow! I almost sent last week’s VFYW email straight to my archives, as I generally don’t have time for the contest. I subscribed to the Dish for all the political-cultural stuff and the podcast, and I love the fact that VFYW exists, but I didn’t even know it existed until I became a paid subscriber, so I feel I’m not losing anything by not reading these emails.
But then I noticed “the birthplace of Greenpeace” at the top of the write-up and suddenly realized this view was all about my city!
And not just my city, but the neighbourhood I lived in more than 20 years ago. I walked past that Esso station constantly whenever I went across the Burrard Street Bridge, which was often. So I had to read your write-up. I learned a few things — for example, I hadn’t realized “Esso” was unique (or semi-unique?) to my country — and it brought back a ton of memories. Two that are particularly relevant:
Regarding the Celebrities nightclub: I’m straight, and the only time a gay man has grabbed my ass was when I happened to walk past this nightclub after one of my first dates with the woman who is now my wife. Maybe on some other occasion I would have taken offense at a stranger grabbing me like that, but that night, I was in such a good mood that I guess I didn’t mind sharing the joy. (Maybe the guy could sense that?)
Regarding the film Insomnia: I was a huge fan of Memento, and my review of the film was quoted in the local newspaper ads. The film’s publicist contacted me to say I could interview Chris Nolan, who happened to be in Vancouver shooting Insomnia at the time, and I got really excited ... and then the interview fell through somehow. So I can’t say I’ve met the guy, but it feels like I came close!
Here’s one more followup, from our super-sleuth in Milwaukee:
I was so interested in the wooden high-rises in Vancouver that I told my neighbor the architect about them, and he told me that we have the world’s tallest mass timber building right here in Milwaukee! I would never have known by looking at it:
Our super-sleuth on the UWS sends “a view in lieu of a guess!”
I totally missed participating this week — sigh. Too busy getting myself to Italy to celebrate one of those milestone birthdays I somehow keep having. But I can make a last-minute contribution of a just-for-fun View — from one of the Venice Biennale venues, this one on the tiny island right off the Giudecca:
And just to be clear, that is not my hand! The whole thing is a piece of art, though that is a real window pane with a real view.
Also, I just learned that the average elevation of Venice is 3.3 feet above sea level. So if you haven’t already seen it, get here as quickly as you can! Looking forward to this week’s write-up, which I’ll read no matter where in the world I am!
On to that write-up, Chini reveals the full beauty of our location this week:
Here’s a quick entry from our super-sleuth in Riverwoods:
I was hoping the simple Google search of “churches near ski lifts” would produce a hit, but it didn’t pan out. So I’m going with Austria.
By the way, I have some traveling coming up to different places, so I hope to get some VFYWs to you!
Yes please! To submit a photo, use contest@andrewsullivan.com. Horizontal photos are preferred, and make sure part of the window frame is showing. Please also send a photo of the building with the window circled, which makes the contest go much smoother. If we select your view, you’ll get six free months added to your Dish subscription.
From our super-sleuth in Sherman Oaks:
I tried to find the location, but instead I learned a lot about chair-lift types. The one in the picture is a 4-CLD/B (four-person, Chair-Lift Detachable with Bubble), as opposed to a CLF/B (Chair-Lift Fixed) or a CLFP/B (I don’t even know).
I found a blog that has a database of all the chair lifts around the world by type, and it gave me hope I would easily find the location. Unfortunately there are over 400 4-CLD/B lifts around the world. Germany only has five — a country I was guessing based on the look of the place — but none had the church in the picture next to it. I was going through all of the Austrian chair lifts but with over 50, I ran out of time. My closest guess would be somewhere in Austria, or maybe Switzerland near the German border.
Sticking with Austria is our super-sleuth on Park Avenue:
Sorry, I was on the road this week and didn’t get a chance to look at the view. Brief glance says somewhere in the South Tyrol — Austria?
Nope, but close. Here’s our super-sleuth in San Mateo with his weekly reimagining:
Because the original photo appears to have been taken in summer, with green meadows and forests, I thought to reimagine the scene as a winter landscape:
I introduced elements of skiing, snowstorms, isolation, and warmth, centering the composition on the glowing church and the lights of the mountain village below. The wooden balcony in the original image felt somewhat plain, so I added a steaming mug, a book about this mountain range, and a lantern to create a sense of comfort and human presence. I also illuminated the string lights, which were unlit in the original image. To heighten the drama of the scene, I made the surrounding peaks more imposing and made the sunset more dramatic.
Our super-sleuth in Hinckley writes, “Others must have sleuthed this doppelgänger shot featured on TripAdvisor”:
A sleuth in Buffalo identifies those peaks:
Clearly alpine region. I tried finding the distinctive church steeple to no avail, and the chair-lift yellow cars were a dead end as well. I always leave my entry to later, then never respond. I figured out the Esso gas station last week, but once the workweek starts, this falls to the wayside. So I’ll guess [country redacted], somewhere in the Dolomites. Can’t wait for the answer from the ski sleuth and his experience of this resort!
As an aside, the VFYW is a welcome reprieve from the crazy world we live in. It’s a congenial group where we learn a whole bunch of things every week from a positive and diverse group with a breadth of experiences. Thanks for bringing it all together!
I’m chuffed! And for me the VFYW is also a big reprieve from the crazy world that Andrew and I have to cover each week. If you’re not yet a paid subscriber and want to read the full VFYW write-ups, filled with fun facts and stories, subscribe here.
Back to the window hunt, the A2 Team in Ann Arbor reveals the right country:...
