"Try to remember the kind of September when life was slow and oh so mellow..."
The current installation in the window of the Swarovski store on Kärntnerstraße makes me think of a quote I recently disvored on a blog: "We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us..."
The Liechtenstein City Palace has been undergoing an extensive programme of renovation for quite some while now. The office and the accomodation for the construction workers is situated in several trailers nearby which have been decorated with flower boxes, and there´s even a small front garden. I´m wondering if this was an idea of the construction company or the workers themselves... By the way, the renovation of the Liechtenstein City Palace will be completed in spring 2013 and the palace will then provide exclusive venues for functions and a luxurious setting for high-end social and corporate events.
Did you ever ask yourself where all the artworks are stored that are not on show in a museum? Well, they are safely kept in depositories that look pretty much like the one of the MUMOK which ecceptionally opened its doors last Sunday on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the MUMOK the "Musikarbeiterinnenkapelle", a brass band established with the aim to overcome our collective brass bands trauma, played cover versions of current hits, workers’ songs and techno compositions. Click here for a short video.
Last Sunday the MUMOK (Museum Moderner Kunst) celebrated its 50th anniversary with an Open
House. The event programme comprised free entry to all current exhibitions, guided tours and workshops for adults and children, a fleamarket, a tram tour with stops at earlier sites of the MUMOK, candy floss
and music.
The past weekend the MuseumsQuartierWien hosted the project "Stadtlesen": a "reading pleasure tour" travelling through the country and turning popular locations into outdoor reading rooms where bookworms can choose from 3.000 books from a variety of genres and enjoy a good read in a relaxed environment (curled up on a beanbag or a hammock) free of charge. Despite the increasing importance of digital media I still prefer "real" books and therefore love this projcet.
"September: it was the most beautiful of
words, he’d always felt,
evoking orange-flowers, swallows, and regret." - Alexander Theroux
The independent art fair "PARKFAIR", staged in parallel with the "VIENNAFAIR", presents its theme-based ARTE
NOAH 2012 exhibition on the third-floor parking deck of a shopping center in the second district. 49 contemporary artists
explore the subject of "Judgement Day 2012" through location-specific
interventions, installations, performances as well as video and media
art.
Wednesday evening I attended the opening of the art fair "VIENNAFAIR The New Contemporary" where more than 100 galleries from Eastern and Southeastern
Europe are showing contemporary works of visual art, painting, graphics,
sculpture, photography, installations and performances. The art fair is open until Sunday, September 23.
The Haydnsaal was constructed under Prince Paul I Esterházy as part of
the baroque phase of Esterházy Palace after plans by the Italian
architect Carlo Martino Carlone. The hall covers most of the north wing and extends over three floors. Today it is hailed as one of the most beautiful and outstanding concert
halls in the world, above all because of its acoustics. Its name goes
back to the renowned composer Joseph Haydn who was in the Esterházy
family’s service for almost forty years and composed many of his works
in Eisenstadt.
The major attraction of Eisenstadt is the Esterházy Palace. Its origins go back to a castle of the 13th
century, which since then was continually remodelled and extended. In
1649, the castle came into the hands of the Esterházy family and in the
second half of the 17th century was remodelled under Prince Paul I into a
baroque palace. It was to be the main residence of the family for more
than 300 years.
Last Wednesday my company went on excursion to Eisenstadt, the state capital of Burgenland. We got off the bus next to the Haydn Church (also called Bergkirche), built between 1715 and 1803 according to plans by Prince Paul I. Esterházy. Several compositions for mass were first performed here and conducted by the composer Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) himself. Haydn has been employed with the
Esterházy family for more than 40 years. After his death he was first
buried in Vienna. In 1820 his remains were transferred to Eisenstadt and
put into their final resting place, the mausoleum, in 1954.
On Saturday (September 22) the Day of Sports will take place on Heldenplatz. At this open air festival you can try a range of cool sports or meet your favourite Austrian athletes. During my yesterday´s afternoon walk I stumbled upon the preparations for this event. I especially loved the lined up roofs waiting on the lawn in front of the Imperial Palace to be put on top of the tents.
"Flowers are restful to look at. They have neither emotions nor conflicts." - Sigmund Freud
The motto of the strictly limited Sacher Artists’ Collection, a
charitable project, is “Tradition meets innovation” and brings together Austria´s most eminent artists and
Austria’s most famous cake, the Sachertorte. This year (the 4th year of this project) the limited-edition wooden box was designed by Xenia Hausner. Every year the proceeds from the sales are donated to another charity organization. Click here for the online shop.
The new area "Viertel Zwei" in the 2nd district consists of several office buildings, a hotel and a residential
building. The area was designed as a place to feel good where people love to work in a relaxed manner. I´m wondering if this concept works out...
The office center "Rivergate" and the Nordbahn Bridge at sunset. I took this photo with a nostalgic feeling the day before yesterday during my probably last evening bicycle tour for this season.
A tree casting shadows on a building on Mölkerbastei.
Mölker Bastei, a relict of the city's former fortification, today is a quiet corner in the city center.
I love this building, located on my favourite square in the second district, because of its - for Vienna - rather unusual window shutters.
"Bread feeds the body, indeed, but flowers also feed the soul." - The Koran
When I made a short break during one of my last bicyle tours I discovered this couple taking photographs of each other on the northern end of the Danube Island.
Different people love different shoes...
There are still several photos taken during the History of Fashion event at the MuseumsQuartierWien last month that I want to show you. This lady caught my eyes with her mostly red outfit. I think even her shoes were red. I´m wondering if she was aware of standing in front of red parasols...
This historicist palace on Ringstrasse was built in 1860/61 and purchased by the brothers Max and Julius Gomperz, at that time succesful bankers . The statues on the second floor symbolize the four muses (dance, poetry, painting, music).
Today starts the new school year! The origins of the Austrian public school system go back to the Josephinium era when the government started to view
education as political concern instead of leaving it to the Church and the individual municipalities. In 1775 Empress Maria Theresia established the compulsory education for boys and girls from age 6 to age 12. By now school attendance is compulsory for children from age 6 to age 15.
"Every
flower about a house certifies to the refinement of somebody. Every vine climbing and blossoming tells of love and joy." - Robert G. Ingersoll
Some weeks ago I attended a fashion spectacle at the MuseumsQuartierWien. I was there very early and passed the time until the show started people watching. These two young men caught my eyes with their similar clothing and gestures and because they seemed to care a lot about each other.
Please click here for thumbnails of participants.
